Amateur radio Codes

There are multiple sets of special codes used in amateur radio. You can find these codes in the tables below.

Q code

Q code

The Q codes have three letters each and all represent an entire sentence. The Q codes can be useful for faster communication.

Q codeClick to enlarge
Q code

92 code

92 code

The 92 code or Wester Union codes is a series of numbers, each with its own meaning.

92 codeClick to enlarge
92 code

RST code

RST code

The RST code is used to describe the readability, strength and tone of a signal. The code consists of three digits, the first one represents the readability, the second one represents the strength and the last one the tone.

number readability (R) strength (S) tone (T)
1 Unreadable Faint sginal, barely percentible Sixty cycle a.c. or less, very rough and broad
2 Barely readable Very weak Very rough a.c., very harsh and broad
3 Readable with considerable difficulty Weak Rough a.c. tone, rectified but not filtered
4 Readable with practically no difficulty Fair Rough note, some trace of filtering frequency
5 Perfectly readable Fairly good Filtered rectified a.c. but strongly ripple-modulated
6 not used Good Filtered tone, definite trace of ripple modulation
7 not used Moderately string Near pure tone, trace of ripple modulation
8 not used Strong Near perfect tone, slight trace of modulation
9 not used Very strong signals Perfect tone, no trace of ripple or modulation

CW abbreviations

CW abbreviations

The CW abbreviations are used to shorten a message. There are many abbreviations for many different messages, many of these are rarely used. Most operators do not use these abbreviations as they can be difficult to understand.

CW abbreviationsClick to enlarge
CW abbreviations

NATO phonetic alphabet

NATO phonetic alphabet

The NATO phonetic alphabet describes the pronunciation of the number one to nine and all letters in the English alphabet.

letter code-word pronunciation
A Alpha AL FAH
B Bravo BRA VOH
C Charlie CHAR LEE
D Delta DELL TAH
E Echo ECK OH
F Foxtrot FOKS TROT
G Golf GAHLF
H Hotel HO TELL
I India IN DEE AH
J Juliet JEW LEE ETT
K Kilo KEY LOH
L Lima LEE MAH
M Mike MIKE
N November NO VEM BER
O Oscar OSS CAH
P Papa PAH PAH
Q Quebec KEH BECK
R Romeo ROW ME OH
S Sierra SEE AIR RAH
T Tango TANG GO
U Uniform YOU NEE FORM
V Victor VIK TAH
W Whiskey WISS KEY
X X-ray ECKS RAY
Y Yankee YANG KEY
Z Zulu ZOO LOO
number code-word pronunciation
0 Zero ZE RO
1 One WUN
2 Two TOO
3 Three TREE
4 Four FOW ER
5 Five FIFE
6 Six SIX
7 Seven SEV EN
8 Eight AIT
9 Nine NIN ER

Morse code

Morse code

The morse code is used to encode text in a series of dots and dashes. Each character has its unique sequence, which can be sent over a radio signal.

character code character code
A ._ 1 . _ _ _ _
B _... 2 .._ _ _
C _._. 3 ..._ _
D _.. 4 ...._
E . 5 .....
F .._. 6 _....
G _ _. 7 _ _...
H .... 8 _ _ _..
I .. 9 _ _ _ _.
J ._ _ _ . ._._._
K _._ , _ _.._ _
L ._.. ? .._ _..
M _ _ " ._ _ _ _.
N _. ! _._._ _
O _ _ _ / _.._.
P ._ _ . ( _._ _.
Q _ _._ ) _._ _._
R ._. ._...
S ... : _ _ _...
T _ ; _._._.
U .._ = _..._
V ..._ + ._._.
W ._ _ - _...._
X _.._ _ .._ _._
Y _._ _ " ._.._.
Z _ _.. $ ..._.._
0 _ _ _ _ _ ._ _._.