so ive been listening to a lot of HF lately and i keep hearing people say things like QSL and QTH and honestly theres a ton of them and i cant find a simple explanation anywhere that doesnt make my eyes glaze over. like i get that QSL means like confirmed or something? and QTH is your location? but then i heard someone say QRM and QRN in the same sentence and i wasnt sure if those were different things or the same thing. also people on PSK31 type in shorthand that i dont even recognize, saw someone write OM and 73 and de and i kinda figured out 73 means goodbye or goodluck or something but the rest i just pieced together from context. is there like a good way to just learn these or do you just pick them up over time

yeah you pretty much just pick most of them up over time honestly. but QRM and QRN are definitely different things — QRM is interference from other stations, like man-made noise, someone else transmitting nearby, that kind of thing. QRN is natural static, like from a thunderstorm or atmospheric noise. so if someone says the band has bad QRN they probably mean there's a lot of lightning crashes coming through. QRM means something or someone is stomping on the frequency.

73 is just the traditional sign-off, means best regards basically, goes way back to the telegraph days. OM means old man and its not rude, its just how hams call each other, doesnt matter how old you actually are. de just means from, so when you hear W5XYZ de K4ABC it means K4ABC is calling W5XYZ. the ARRL website has a pretty complete Q code list if you want to look them up all at once, but honestly after a few months of listening it all just clicks without trying.

QSL can actually mean a few things depending on context — it means I confirm, or I acknowledge, not just like a thumbs up. so when someone says QSL? with a rising tone they're asking did you copy that, and when you say QSL back you're saying yes i got it. the cards people mail each other are called QSL cards for that reason, its basically a written confirmation of the contact.

theres also QRP which means low power, youll see that a lot if you get into that corner of the hobby. and QSB is fading, like the signal is going up and down. once you start operating you'll probably be surprised how fast these stick. i was totally lost my first couple months and then one day it just kinda made sense without me realizing it happened.