Tools / Ham radio abbreviations

Ham radio abbreviations

The shorthand you'll hear and see on the air, from 73 and 88 to OM, XYL and FB, with the common Morse prosigns and the names of awards and organisations. Search for any abbreviation.

Find an abbreviation

Abbreviation	Meaning
73	Best regards
88	Love and kisses
55	Best success
99	Go away (not friendly)
AGN	Again
ANT	Antenna
AR	End of message (prosign)
AS	Wait (prosign)
BK	Break, back to you
BT	Pause or separator (prosign)
B4	Before
CFM	Confirm
CL	Closing down
CPY	Copy
CQ	Calling any station
CQ DX	Calling distant stations only
CUL	See you later
CW	Continuous wave: Morse code
DE	From, this is
DR	Dear
DX	Distant station or long distance
ES	And
FB	Fine business: excellent
FER	For
FM	From, or frequency modulation
GA	Good afternoon, or go ahead
GD	Good day
GE	Good evening
GL	Good luck
GM	Good morning
GN	Good night
GND	Ground
GUD	Good
HI	Laughter (in CW)
HR	Here, hear
HV	Have
HW	How, how copy?
K	Over, go ahead (prosign)
KN	Over, named station only (prosign)
LID	A poor operator
MNI	Many
MSG	Message
N	No, or 9 in contest numbers
NIL	Nothing
NR	Number
OB	Old boy
OM	Old man: any male operator
OP	Operator
PSE	Please
PWR	Power
R	Received, roger
RIG	Radio equipment
RPT	Repeat, report
RST	Readability, strength, tone report
RX	Receiver
SK	End of contact (prosign)
SKED	Scheduled contact
SRI	Sorry
SWL	Short-wave listener
T	Zero in contest numbers
TKS	Thanks
TNX	Thanks
TU	Thank you
TX	Transmitter
UR	Your, you're
VY	Very
WX	Weather
XYL	Wife
YL	Young lady: any female operator
5NN	599 report in contests
QRL	Is this frequency in use?
QRM	Interference from other stations
QRN	Static, natural noise
QRO	High power
QRP	Low power, 5 W or less
QRS	Send more slowly
QRT	Stop sending, closing down
QRV	I am ready
QRX	Wait
QRZ	Who is calling me?
QSB	Fading
QSL	I confirm, or a confirmation card
QSO	A contact
QSY	Change frequency
QTH	Location
POTA	Parks on the Air
SOTA	Summits on the Air
IOTA	Islands on the Air
WWFF	World Wide Flora and Fauna
LoTW	Logbook of the World, the ARRL's online confirmation system
DXCC	DX Century Club award
WAB	Worked All Britain
NoV	Notice of Variation to a UK licence
PEP	Peak envelope power
ERP	Effective radiated power
SWR	Standing wave ratio
ATU	Antenna tuning unit
HT	Handheld transceiver
SDR	Software-defined radio
EME	Earth-moon-earth, moonbounce
NVIS	Near vertical incidence skywave
MUF	Maximum usable frequency
UTC	Coordinated Universal Time
/P	Portable
/M	Mobile
/MM	Maritime mobile
/AM	Aeronautical mobile
/QRP	Operating at low power
ARRL	American Radio Relay League
RSGB	Radio Society of Great Britain
WIA	Wireless Institute of Australia
IARU	International Amateur Radio Union
ELMER	A mentor who helps new amateurs

Why amateurs use abbreviations

Abbreviations began in the days of Morse code, when every letter took time to send. Many have carried over into voice and digital modes and into the culture of the hobby, so you'll hear "seventy-three" on SSB and see 73 at the end of an FT8 contact. Some, like the Q codes, are international and mean the same in every language.

The ones everyone uses

73 means best regards, and is never "73s". 88 means love and kisses, usually only between friends or partners.
OM (old man) means any male operator, whatever his age, and YL (young lady) any female operator. XYL, ex-young lady, is a wife.
QSL means "I confirm", and also the card that confirms a contact. The QSL card designer makes one.
FB, fine business, means excellent.

Prosigns

In Morse, prosigns are sent as a single run of characters without a gap. AR marks the end of a message, K invites anyone to reply, KN invites only the station you're working, and SK ends the contact. The Morse translator plays them, and the Q codes page explains every Q code in full.

Questions

What does 73 mean in ham radio?

Best regards. It's used at the end of a contact, and is never pluralised as 73s.

What does 88 mean?

Love and kisses, used between close friends or partners.

What does XYL mean?

A wife, from ex-young lady. YL means any female operator, and OM any male operator.

What does QSL mean?

I confirm, or received. A QSL card is the printed confirmation of a contact.