HAM Radio 101

Word of the Day (QRP): What Does QRP Mean?

The 2019 QRP Amateur Radio Club International (ARCI) “Four Days in May” (FDIM) begins May 16 and runs until May 19. For the uninitiated, what does QRP mean? QRP is one of early radio’s Q-Signals. These abbreviations beginning with the letter Q were used by operators to save time and simplify communication between different language speakers. Back then, QRP stood for “Shall I decrease power?” Today, QRP operation is a badge proudly worn by those who relish the challenges of working distant stations on five watts or building efficient transceivers with as few components as possible—among other feats of patience, skill and ingenuity.

DX Engineering carries a number of transceivers, antenna tuners, amplifiers, paddles, meters, filter boards, books and more relied upon by QRP enthusiasts. Find a few of them here.

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