Q code: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Type of Morse code operating signal}}

{{distinguish|QR code|Wikidata#Main parts}}
{{redirect|QRO|the airport in Mexico|Querétaro International Airport}}

{{engvarB|date=April 2021}}{{use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}

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==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 Conventionconvention 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:

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Over the years the original Q-codes were modified to reflect changes in radio practice. For example, QSW / QSX originally stood for, "Shall I increase / decrease my spark frequency?", but in the 1920s [[spark-gap transmitter]]s were gradually being banned from land stations, making that meaning obsolete.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sEeaJC_y22EC&q=spark&pg=PA14-IA15|title=Contact at Sea: A History of Maritime Radio Communications|first=Peter B.|last=Schroeder|date=December 29, 1967|publisher=Ardent Media|via=Google Books}}</ref> By the 1970s, the ''Post Office Handbook for Radio Operators'' listed over a hundred Q-codes,<ref>{{cite book |title=Handbook for Radio Operators |date=1975 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |___location=London |isbn=0118804626 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/HandbookForRadioOperators/page/n172 155]–174 |url=https://archive.org/details/HandbookForRadioOperators |access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref> covering a wide range of subjects including radio procedures, meteorology, radio direction finding, and search and rescue.

Some Q-codes are also used in [[aviation]], in particular QNE, QNH and QFE, referring to certain [[altimeter setting]]s. These codes are used in radiotelephone conversations with [[air traffic control]] as unambiguous shorthand, where safety and efficiency are of vital importance. A subset of Q-codes is used by the [[Miami-Dade County, Florida]] local government for law enforcement and fire rescue communications, one of the few instances where Q-codes are used in ground voice communication.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=National Communications Magazine |url=http://bearcat1.com/radiofl.htm |title=Radio codes & signals – Florida |access-date=2010-01-30 |archive-date=24 January 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980124072704/http://www.bearcat1.com/radiofl.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The QAA–QNZ code range includes phrases applicable primarily to the aeronautical service,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.airwaysmuseum.com/Q%20code.htm |title=The Q-Code |access-date=5 September 2016}}</ref> as defined by the [[International Civil Aviation Organization]].<ref>{{cite book |publisher=[[ICAO]] |series=Procedures for Air Navigation Services (PANS) |id=Doc 8400 |title=The ICAO Q-Code}}</ref> The QOA–QQZ code range is reserved for the maritime service. The QRA–QUZ code range includes phrases applicable to all services and is allocated to the [[International Telecommunication Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/navy/nrtc/14244_ch4.pdf |title=SM |access-date=2016-09-06}}</ref> QVA–QZZ are not allocated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portland-amateur-radio-club.org.uk/resources/q-codes.pdf |title=portland-amateur-radio-club.org.uk |access-date=5 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006210352/http://www.portland-amateur-radio-club.org.uk/resources/q-codes.pdf |archive-date=6 October 2011}}</ref> Many codes have no immediate applicability outside one individual service, such as maritime operation (many QO or QU series codes) or [[radioteletype]] operation (the QJ series).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kyalami.homeip.net/qcodes.htm |title=Q-Codes |access-date=2009-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323113250/http://kyalami.homeip.net/qcodes.htm |archive-date=2009-03-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Many military and other organisations that use Morse code have adopted additional codes, including the [[Z code]] used by most European and [[NATO]] countries. The Z code adds commands and questions adapted for military radio transmissions, for example, "ZBW 2", which means "change to backup frequency number 2", and "ZNB abc", which means "my checksum is abc, what is yours?"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armymars.net/ArmyMARS/DigitalOps/Resources/acp131-operating-sigs.pdf |id=ACP 131(E) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119091213/http://www.armymars.net/ArmyMARS/DigitalOps/Resources/acp131-operating-sigs.pdf |archive-date=2011-11-19 |series=Communications Instructions |title=Operating Signals |date=March 1997 |url-status=usurped |quote=Chapter&nbsp;2 contains a full list of 'Q' codes}}</ref>

Used in their formal question / answer sense, the meaning of a Q-code varies depending on whether the individual Q-code is sent as a question or an answer. For example, the message "QRP?" means "Shall I decrease transmitter power?", and a reply of "QRP" means "Yes, decrease your transmitter power", whereas an unprompted statement "QRP" means "Please decrease your transmitter power". This structured use of Q-codes is fairly rare and now mainly limited to amateur radio and military [[Morse code]] (CW) traffic networks.

Under U.S. F.C.C. Regulations, CFR 47 97.113(a)(4), Amateurs are not permitted to 'transmit codes or ciphers' (historical description), allowing only that 'plain- language communications' may be transmitted. The term 'Q-Signal' has been historically used in that context, not 'Q-Code,' - the use of 'Code' is technically a violation of F.C.C. Regulations. This essentially examples, in the U.S. the historic separation between Amateur and Commercial/Military radio services

==Listing according to service==

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|-

!

!'''Question ?'''

!'''Answer or advice'''

|-

|'''QAB '''

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|-

| QRT || Shall I stop sending? || Stop sending.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Morsum Magnificat Q & Z Codebook for the Morse-Telegraphy |url=http://www.n7cfo.com/tgph/Dwnlds/mm/MMs/Q&Z.pdf |access-date=20 October 2024}}</ref>

''Often heard coloquiallycolloquially as:''

I am suspending operation / shutting off the radio.

|-

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'''QTHR''' – "At the registered ___location&nbsp;____"; chiefly British use. Historically, the ___location in the printed Callbook; modernly, "as given in online government records for my callsign". E.g., "You can contact me QTHR".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ukrepeater.net/list1q.php |title=List of repeaters in the UK sorted by QTHR |access-date=2016-06-01}}</ref>

'''QBL''' – “Quit BeBein'ina a Lid” QBL is used among amateur radio operators to indicate humour in their CW transmission. While QBL is generally used by a small subsection of operators who can properly decode, it is available to anyone.

====German use during World War II====

During World War II, according to [[Bletchley Park]]’s ''General Report on Tunny,''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alanturing.net/turing_archive/archive/t/t01/TR01-016.html |title=TR01-016 |website=www.alanturing.net}}</ref> German radio teleprinter networks used Q-codes to establish and maintain circuit connections.

In particular: '''QKP''' [ought to be 'QEP', not 'QKP' - the print in the source document isn't very clear] was to indicate the [[Lorenz cipher]] machine setting for each message and, '''QZZ''' to indicate that the daily key change was about to take place at the sender's station.

== See also ==

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* {{cite web |url=http://www.kloth.net/radio/qcodes.php |title=List of Q-codes}}

* {{cite web |url=http://cw.hfradio.org/ |title=A resource for Morse Code operation in the amateur radio hobby}}

* {{cite web |url=http://www.yourprepconnection.com/attachments/history-q-coes.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402132136/http://www.yourprepconnection.com/attachments/history-q-coes.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2 April 2015 |title=Amateur Radio Q-Codes}}

* {{cite web |url=http://www.zerobeat.net/qrp/qsignals.html |title=Q-Signals}}

* {{cite web |url=http://phonetic.org.au/Codes3.pdf |title=Radiotelegraph and Radiotelephone Codes, Prowords, and Abbreviations|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131626/http://phonetic.org.au/Codes3.pdf|archive-date=2015-04-02}}