Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Q code
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Early development== The original Q-codes were created, ''circa'' 1909, by the British government as a "List of abbreviations ... prepared for the use of British ships and coast stations licensed by the [[Postmaster General of the United Kingdom|Postmaster General]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Great Britain|first=Post Office|date=October 1909|title=Handbook for wireless telegraph operators working installations licensed by His Majesty's postmaster-general|oclc=40616664|location=London|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|at=appendix iii}}</ref> The Q-codes facilitated communication between maritime radio operators speaking different languages, so they were soon adopted internationally. A total of forty-five Q-codes appeared in the "List of Abbreviations to be used in Radio Communications", which was included in the Service Regulations affixed to the [[International Radiotelegraph Convention (1912)|Second International Radiotelegraph Convention in London]] (The convention was signed on July 5, 1912, and became effective July 1, 1913.) The following table reviews a sample of the all-services Q-codes adopted by the 1912 convention: {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" summary="First 12 Q-codes listed in the<br/>1912 International Radiotelegraph Convention, including meaning and sample use" |+ First twelve Q-codes listed in the 1912 International Radiotelegraph Convention Regulations |- !scope="col"| Code !scope="col"| Question !scope="col"| Answer or notice |- !scope="row"| '''QRA''' | What ship or coast station is that? | This is ____. |- !scope="row"| '''QRB''' | What is your distance? | My distance is ____. |- !scope="row"| '''QRC''' | What is your true bearing? | My true bearing is ____ degrees. |- !scope="row"| '''QRD''' | Where are you bound for? | I am bound for ____. |- !scope="row"| '''QRF''' | Where are you bound from? | I am bound from ____. |- !scope="row"| '''QRG''' | What line do you belong to? | I belong to the ____ Line. |- !scope="row"| '''QRH''' | What is your wavelength in meters? | My wavelength is ____ meters. |- !scope="row"| '''QRJ''' | How many words have you to send? | I have ____ words to send. |- !scope="row"| '''QRK''' | How do you receive me? | I am receiving (1β5).<br>''(1) is unreadable and (5) is perfect.'' |- !scope="row"| '''QRL''' | Are you busy? | I am busy. |- !scope="row"| '''QRM''' | Are you being interfered with? | I am being interfered with. |- !scope="row"| '''QRN''' | Are the [[Radio atmospherics|atmospherics]] strong? | Atmospherics (noise) are very strong. |}
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)