Ham & Shortwave Information
- Emission Codes
- Common Emission Codes
- The RST Reporting System
- The SINPO Reporting System
- Q-Codes
- International Phonetic Alphabet
Emission Classifications
“Emission Classifications” provide an internationally recognised standard in which to specify accurately and concisely the significant characteristics of a transmission. A total of nine (9) characters are used - the first four (4) giving details of the bandwidth of the signal, the next three (3) providing the basic characteristics of the emission, and the last two (2), which are optional, giving any extra details that may be required to further define the emission.
e.g. 6M25 C3F MN = 6.25MHz bandwidth, vestigial sideband single channel analogue television, monochrome signal with no multiplexing.
The following table provides the most common designators:
First FOUR Symbols
These give details of the bandwidth using 3 numbers and 1 letter, the letter taking the position of the decimal point and also indicating the unit:
- H = Hertz
- K = kiloHertz
- M = MegaHertz
- G = GigaHertz
e.g. 2ØØH = 2ØØ Hz, 8KØØ = 8.ØØ kHz, 16MØ = 16.Ø MHz, 6M25 = 6.25 MHz, etc.
Next THREE Symbols
The next 3 symbols provide the details of the emission, and are broken up as:
- First symbol - modulation of main carrier;
- Second symbol - nature of signal modulating carrier;
- Third symbol - type of information being transmitted.
First Symbol - Type of Modulation
Emission in which the main carrier is AMPLITUDE modulated:
| Double Sideband (Amplitude Modulated) | A |
| Single Sideband, Full Carrier | H |
| Single Sideband, Reduced Carrier | R |
| Single Sideband, Supressed Carrier | J |
| Independent Sideband | B |
| Vestigial Sideband | C |
Emission in which the main carrier is ANGLE modulated:
| Frequency Modulation | F |
| Phase Modulation | G |
Emission of PULSES:
| Unmodulated sequence of pulses | P |
Second Symbol - Nature of signal(s) modulating the main carrier
| No modulating signal | Ø |
| A single channel containing quantitised or digital information without the use of a modulating sub-carrier | 1 |
| A single channel containing quatitised or digital information with the use of a madulating sub-carrier | 2 |
| A single channel containing analogue information | 3 |
| Two or more channels containing analogue information | 8 |
Third Symbol - Type of information being transmitted
| No information being transmitted | N |
| Telegraphy - for aural reception | A |
| Telegraphy - for automatic reception | B |
| Facsimile | C |
| Data, telemetry, telecommand | D |
| Telephony | E |
| Television | F |
| Combination of the above | W |
Last TWO Symbols
The last 2 symbols are optional and provide any additional information regarding the emission:
First Symbol - Details of Signal
| Sound of commercial quality with the use of frequency inversion or bandsplitting | K |
| Monochrome | M |
| Colour | N |
Second Symbol - Multiplexing
| None | N |
Common Emission Charatceristics
The following emission characteristics are commonly used on the Australian Amateur bands.
| Purpose of transmission | AM | SSB | FM | PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morse Code | A1A A1B |
J2A J2B |
F1B |
G1B |
| Speech | A3E |
J3E |
F3E |
G3E |
| Data (Packet) | A1D A2D |
J2D |
F1D F2D |
G1D G2D |
| RTTY | A2D |
J2D |
F2D |
G2D |
| Facsimile | A2C |
J2C |
F2C |
G2C |
| FST (Amateur TV) | C3F A3F |
J3F |
F3F |
G3F |
| SSTV (Slow Scan) | A2F |
J2F J3F |
F2F F3F |
G2F G3F |
Where:
AM = Amplitude modulated and uses double sideband, full carrier
SSB = Amplitude modulated and uses a single sideband, supressed carrier
FM = Angle modulated and uses frequency modulation, and
PM = Angle modulated and uses phase modulation.
The RST Reporting System
The RST Reporting System has been used since around 1934 as a shorthand method of reporting Readability, Signal strength and, for CW signals, Tone (i.e. purity of the CW tone). For voice contacts only the R & S need to be used. The S component is usually not the same as the signal or S-meter on your radio as not many signal meters are calibrated to track the RST system. The RST is also reported on QSL cards and must be completed correctly - e.g. a 569 report for a voice contact is invalid! Note that many DX operators and contesters often just report “59(9)” as a convienience to save time and avoid having to log the actual RST for each station - a rather questionable practice!
(R) - Readability
1 |
Unreadable |
2 | Barely readable, occasional words distiguishable |
3 | Readable with considerable difficulty |
4 | Readable with practically no difficulty |
5 | Perfectly readable |
(S) - Signal
1 |
Faint signal, barely perceptable |
2 | Very weak signal |
3 | Weak signal |
4 | Fair signal |
5 | Fairly good signal |
6 | Good signal |
7 | Moderately strong signal |
8 | Strong signal |
9 | Extremely strong signal |
(T) - Tone (CW only)
1 | Sixty cycle or less AC, very rough and broad |
2 | Very rough AC, very harsh and broad |
3 | Rough AC tone, rectified but not filtered |
4 | Rough note, some trace of filtering |
5 | Filtered-rectified AC, but strongly ripple modulated |
6 | Filtered tone, definite trace of ripple modulation |
7 | Near pure tone, trace of ripple modulation |
8 | Near pure tone, slight trace of ripple modulation |
9 | Perfect tone, no trace of modulation or ripple of any kind |
The SINPO Reporting System
Whilst the RST scale shown above is ideal for reporting the signal of an Amateur station, International shortwave broadcast stations often require more detailed information than the RST scale can provide. The SINPO scale provides a rating for Signal, Interference, Noise, Propagation and Overall merit. Note that the best report using the SINPO scale is 55555 with the worst being 11111.
(S) Signal
5 | Excellent signal |
4 | Good signal - just a little less than best quality |
3 | Fair signal - voices and music audible, music lacks clarity |
2 | Poor signal - voices and music sometimes understood |
1 | Terrible signal - barely audible |
(I) Interference
This refers to interference from nearby or adjacent stations.
5 | No interference |
4 | Slight interference - rarely prevents hearing of signal |
3 | Moderate interference - signal audible around 50% of the time |
2 | Severe interference - signal heard only some of the time |
1 | Extreme interference - signal barely audible |
(N) Noise
5 | No noise |
4 | Slight noise - program is still plainly audible |
3 | Moderate noise - notable noise but program still audible |
2 | Severe noise - ruins most of the program |
1 | Extreme noise - impossible to hear signal |
(P) Propagation
Propagation refers to the fading in and out of the signal.
5 | No fading - steady signal strength |
4 | Slight fading - almost steady signal, barely detectible |
3 | Moderate fading - noticeable but signal still clear and strong |
2 | Severe fading - fades often but not always beyond audability |
1 | Extreme fading - signal is low much more than it is strong |
(O) Overall merit
5 | Excellent - reception free of trouble |
4 | Good - occasional problem or slight constant problems |
3 | Fair - useful most of the time |
2 | Poor - signal usable only occasionally, generally not much use |
1 | Very poor - signal not usable at all |
Q-Codes
The Q-Code was first developed in 1912 as a way to facilitate communications between maritime stations of different nationalities using Morse code or CW to communicate. Use of Q-Codes also allowed some lengthy messages to be shortened. To avoid confusion callsigns never begin with Q. Q-Codes are still used in CW contacts but have also found their way into voice communication.
Most Q-Codes can be used as either a question or an answer, and therefore can have a different meaning depending on whether a question mark is used. The most common Q-Codes use on the Amateur bands are presented below:
| Q-Code | Question | Answer/Statement |
|---|---|---|
QRA | What is the name of your station? | The name of my station is .... |
QRG | Will you tell me my exact frequency? | Your exact frequency is .... |
QRH | Does my frequency vary? | Your frequency varies. |
QRK | What is the itelligibility of my signals? | The intelligibility of your signals are (1-5) |
QRM | Are you troubled by interference? | I am troubled by interference (1-5) |
QRN | Are you troubled by static? | I am troubled by static (1-5) |
QRO | Shall I increase power? | Increase power. |
QRP | Shall I decrease power? | Decrease power / Operating at low power. |
QRQ | Shall I send faster? | Send faster (...wpm) |
QRS | Shall I send more slowly? | Send more slowly (...wpm) |
QRT | Shall I stop sending? | Stop sending / Closing down. |
QRV | Are you ready? | |
QRX | When will you call me again? | I will call you again at ... on ... (freq) |
QRZ | Who is calling me? | |
QSA | What is the strength of my signal? | The strength of your signal is (1-5) |
QSB | Are my signals fading? | Your signals are fading. |
QSL | Can you acknowledge receipt? | I acknowledge receipt. |
QSO | I can/am communicat/ing with ... | |
QSP | Can you relay to ...? | I will relay to ... |
QSX | I am listening to ... on ... (freq) | |
QTH | What is your location? | My location is ... |
QUM | May I resume normal working? | Normal working may be resumed. |
QTHR is used to indicate the location appears
The International Phonetic Alphabet
| Code | Pronounced | Code | Pronounced | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | Alpha | AL-fah | N | November | no-VEM-ber | |
B | Bravo | BRAH-voh | O | Oscar | OSS-cah | |
C | Charlie | CHAR-lee | P | Papa | pah-PAH | |
D | Delta | DELL-tah | Q | Quebec | key-BECK | |
E | Echo | ECK-oh | R | Romeo | ROW-me-oh | |
F | Foxtrot | FOKS-trot | S | Sierra | see-AIR-rah | |
G | Golf | GOLF | T | Tango | TANG-go | |
H | Hotel | hoh-TEL | U | Uniform | YOU-nee-form | |
I | India | IN-dee-AH | V | Victor | VIC-tah | |
J | Juliett | JEW-lee-ETT | W | Whiskey | WISS-key | |
K | Kilo | KEY-loh | X | X-Ray | ECKS-ray | |
L | Lima | LEE-mah | Y | Yankee | YANG-key | |
M | Mike | MIKE | Z | Zulu | ZOO-loo |
Numbers & Special Characters
| No. | Pronounced | Character | Pronounced | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | WUN | . |
Full stop | |
2 | TOO | , |
Comma | |
3 | THUH-REE | - |
Hyphen | |
4 | FO-WER | ( |
Open bracket | |
5 | FI-YIV | ) |
Close bracket | |
6 | SIX | ".." |
Quote .. Unquote | |
7 | SEVEN | / |
Slant, slash or oblique | |
8 | AIT | |||
9 | NINER | |||
Ø | ZERO |