Ham Radio CW and Contest Operating Abbreviations
Contest CW abbreviations exist to squeeze every second out of a contact. A full contest exchange can be sent in under three seconds by an experienced operator using standard shorthand. This page covers the abbreviations used in both everyday CW QSOs and competitive contesting, including the RST shorthand, common contest exchange elements, and the standard phrases that structure every contest contact.
| Abbrev | Meaning | Used in |
|---|
In contest CW, signal reports are almost always 599 regardless of actual conditions, sent using the following shorthand to save time. The numbers 5, 9, and 9 each have a one-character CW substitute:
The letter N in Morse is dah-dit, which sounds similar to the number 9 (dash-dash-dash-dash-dit) at high speed and is faster to send. Similarly T (dah) is sometimes used for zero. In practice most contest operators simply send the actual numbers 5-9-9 since the difference is minimal at modern contest speeds.
Standard Contest Exchange FormatsCQ WW (CQ World Wide) -- Most popular contest
CQ TEST DE W1AW W1AW TEST K K9ZX DE W1AW 5NN 05 05 TU W1AW DE K9ZX 5NN 04 04 TU W1AW TEST
Exchange: RST + CQ Zone. W1AW in zone 05, K9ZX in zone 04.
ARRL Sweepstakes -- US/Canada domestic
CQ SS DE W1AW TEST K9ZX 5NN A 72 W1AW MA ARRL R 5NN B 1234 K9ZX IL ARRL TU W1AW TEST
Exchange: NR + Precedence (A/B/M/Q/S/U) + Call + Check (year first licensed) + Section.
ARRL DX Contest -- DX stations work W/VE
CQ TEST DE DK2AB DK2AB TEST K W1AW DE DK2AB 5NN 100 100 TU DK2AB DE W1AW 5NN MA MA TU DK2AB TEST
DX stations send: RST + Power. W/VE stations send: RST + State/Province.
Simple CW QSO (non-contest)
W1AW DE K9ZX R TNX FER CALL OM UR RST 579 579 NAME BOB BOB QTH OHIO OHIO HW? KN
Standard rag chew exchange: RST + Name + QTH. No shorthand required at conversational speeds.
Running means calling CQ repeatedly and working stations as they respond. A running station sends very short CQs: CQ TEST DE W1AW K and works each caller quickly, ending with TU and immediately calling CQ again. Good runners maintain rates of 100–200 contacts per hour on a clear frequency.
Search and pounce (S&P) means tuning across the band, finding stations running CQ, and calling them. An S&P caller waits for the running station to finish a contact, then sends just their callsign once: K9ZX. If the running station copies it they will respond; if not, the S&P station sends their call again.
Most contesters use a combination of both strategies. Running is more efficient when you have a good signal and an open frequency. S&P is the only option when you cannot hold a run frequency or are hunting specific multipliers.
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