HAM Radio 101

Word of the Day (CQ): What Does CQ Stand For?

image/ARRL

From the ARRL Glossary, CQ is defined as “Calling any station.” It is the general call when requesting a conversation with anyone. Like many other telegraph terms which originated on the landlines, CQ was brought over into radio and used as a general call to all ships by the Marconi Company. Other companies used KA until the London Convention of 1912, which adopted CQ as the international general call or “attention” signal.

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