ok so ive been licensed for about 3 months now (tech, studying for general) and when i get on HF with my buddy's station i keep hearing and seeing all these Q codes and abbreviations and honestly half the time i have no clue whats being said. like i know QSL means basically confirmed or understood, and QTH is your location, but then people start rattling off QRM QRN QSB QRZ and i just kind of nod along pretending i get it

is there like a standard list somewhere or do people just kind of pick these up over time? also whats the difference between someone saying QRT and going QRT, seems like i see it used different ways. and people on digital modes especially just throw abbreviations everywhere, saw someone type "ur 599 bk" and had to look that up too. just wondering how long it takes before this all becomes second nature i guess

yeah it takes a little while but honestly you pick it up faster than you think once you're on the air regularly. QRM is interference from other stations, man-made stuff, QRN is natural interference like static from storms. QSB is when your signal is fading in and out, which happens a lot on HF especially. QRZ is basically "who's calling me" so if someone comes back with QRZ? they didnt quite catch who was calling

going QRT just means shutting down, signing off, so "i'm going QRT" means they're done for the night. the 599 thing in digital and CW is a signal report, 5 by 9 by 9, strength and tone, though honestly in contest exchanges everyone sends 599 regardless of actual conditions, its kind of a running joke

there's a full list on the ITU website and ARRL has one too but i'd just bookmark a simple cheat sheet page and honestly after a few weeks of operating you wont need it anymore. the ones you hear all the time just stick

dont stress it too much, i was in the same boat when i started. one that got me for a while was QSY which means change frequency, so if someones saying "let's QSY up a bit" they want to move. and QRP means low power which you see all over the place, there's whole groups dedicated to it

the BK thing in digital is just "back to you" basically, like handing the conversation over. PSE is please, OM is old man which sounds rude but it's just how guys refer to each other, YL is young lady. 73 means best regards and 88 is hugs and kisses technically but you mostly just see 73 to sign off