[Elecraft] "Q" signal trivia

[Fred Jensen]

On 7/16/2011 6:46 PM, Ken - K0PP wrote:
>
> "Q" signals were established to facilitate communication
> between stations that don't share a common language.
>
> In usual usage a "Q" signal without punctuation is considered
> a statement.  If it's followed by a "?", it's meant as a question.

In commercial radiotelegraph in the past, they were generally presented 
in the opposite order ... you ask the question "INT QRM" meaning, "Are 
you bothered by interference?," or "INT QLB KPH 6" meaning "Have you 
monitored KPH on 8 Mcs and if so can you report their signal strength?" 
and the answer "QRM" meant "Yes, I am bothered by interference."  If you 
weren't bothered by interference you responded "N N K", or "NO K."  "N" 
and "NO" work for a great number of languages, as does "OK".

If you had monitored KPH on their 8 Mcs, you might report "QLB KPH 6 QSA 
4" meaning "I have monitored KPH on their 8 Mcs frequency and I report 
them as QSA 4."

In that service, "INT" [di di dah dit dah sent as one character] was the 
interrogatory, and preceded the question you were about to ask. [INT 
QRL]  The Morse question mark is "di di dah dah di dit] which duplicates 
the prosign "IMI" meaning either "please repeat last" or "I will repeat 
last".  Those with commercial radiotelegraph experience may remember this.

INT never made it into ham practice as [I think] we found that we could 
easily distinguish a "?" from an "IMI" from context.  Of course, we were 
also not handling traffic for a price for a communications company who 
had a rule book and a Chief Op standing behind you about to box you on 
your ears if you screwed it up. :-)
>
> Needless to say, a purist would never use a "Q" signal in voice
> communications, but we all do. "The home QTH here is ... (;-)

Very true in commercial marine and aeronautical radiotelephone service. 
  Hams, being inventive and prone to thinking out of the ITU box, have 
nounified and verbified [and in some cases adjectivified and 
adverbified] International Q Signals.  QRM is too many stations on the 
same frequency, generally a noun, as is QRG ["HIS QRG?"].  QRQ can be 
either ... a noun denoting high speed CW, or a verb [QRQ] meaning "speed 
up."
>
> Oh ... 73 is correct.  73's isn't.  73's is equivalent to "Good lucks".

I'm not the expert, but I have always thought 73 meant "Best Regards." 
Thus, "VY 73 ES GUD DX" meant "Very Best Regards and Good DX."  73's 
would then mean, "Best Regardeses."

But, if you tell me "Best 73's" on phone, I will take it as a gesture of 
good will toward me, and thank you for that.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2011 Cal QSO Party 1-2 Oct 2011
- www.cqp.org