so ive been licensed for about 4 months now and i keep hearing and seeing all these abbreviations and codes thrown around, like QSO and QTH and QRM and i kind of know what some of them mean from context but then someone on the repeater last week said something was QRT and i had no idea if that was good or bad lol. also on digital modes like FT8 theres even more shorthand flying around and half the time im not sure whats actually being communicated vs whats just protocol stuff the software handles automatically

is there like a master list somewhere or do people just kind of pick these up over time? and are there Q codes that are mostly CW/morse things that you wouldnt really use in voice? feel like i should know this stuff better by now

yeah you definitely pick most of them up over time, but there are some you really should just memorize early on cause they come up constantly. QTH is your location, QSO is a contact or conversation, QRM is interference from other stations, QRN is natural static/noise, QSB is fading signal, QRZ means whos calling or who is this, and QRT means shutting down or going off the air so if someone says theyre going QRT they're done for the night basically.

QSL is a big one too, it just means confirmed or acknowledged, thats where QSL cards come from. most of these originated with morse code operators back in the day and yeah some of them feel a little weird saying out loud on voice but people do use them on phone too, especially on HF. honestly just hang around the bands and nets for a few more months and it clicks pretty fast, your brain starts pattern matching without even trying

dont stress too much about knowing every single one, even guys whove been doing this for years have to look up the obscure ones sometimes. the ones that actually come up day to day are maybe 15-20 at most. QRP is another one worth knowing if you get into low power operating, it just means low power transmission. and 73 isnt a Q code but you'll hear it constantly, it just means best regards basically, its the standard sign-off. people also say 88 which means love and kisses but thats more of an old timer thing mostly sent to close friends or significant others over the air