This page provides an overview of some basics to assist new CW operators to get on-air and contains extracts from the Morse Code Community site: 

https://morsecodesessions.wordpress.com/

Some common CW operator abbreviations

K                      Invitation to transmit

CT                    Commence Transmission

DE                    This Is

AR                    All Received

BK                    Break Transmission (pass control to another operator)

BTU                 Back To You (pass control to another operator)

ES                    Also

FB                    Fine Business

SK                   Signed Clear

R                      Repeat

PSE                 Please

UR                   You’re

HR                   Here

OP                   Operator name

GM                  Good morning

GA                   Good afternoon

GE                    Good evening

GN                   Good night

HW CPI          How is the copy?

TU, TNX, TKS    Thank-you has a few different abbreviations

O or T              Shorthand. In place of sending zero – 5 dahs – many ops will send “o” or “t” instead

---

A typical CW contact procedure:

A call is received from a distant station:   

CQ CQ CQ de VK8XXX VK8XXX  VK8XXX K

Usually if you respond to a CQ you simply identify yourself – you want to be sure the station calling CQ has heard you properly first.

VK8XXX de <Your callsign>  K   

If conditions are poor, you might send your callsign three times.

VK8XX hears you and responds

<Your callsign> de VK8XXX [BT] GM ES TNX FOR CALL [BT] UR RST 579 579 [BT] OP JOE ES QTH DARWIN [BT] HW CPI? [BK]

R QSL ES TKS FER INFO [BT] UR RST 599 5NN [BT] NAME <Your name> <Your name> [BT] QTH <Your QTH> <Your QTH> [BT] PWR IS 1TT W 1TT W ES ANT IS VERTICAL VERTICAL [BT] HW? [BK]

R FB CPI ES TU <Your name> [BT] PWR HR 1TT W ES ANT IS DIPLE [BT] BTU [BK]

QSL ES TKS FER INFO JOE [BT] TNX FB QSO [BT] HPE C U AGN [BT] 73 73 [AR] VK8XX de <Your callsign> [SK] TU dit dit.

A few general pointers:

There is no need to use callsigns at the beginning and end of every over. It only slows down the flow of QSO. Once you have established a QSO you both know who you are; there is no need to send callsigns at the start and end of every over. Once every 10 minutes is fine, and then at the end of the QSO. Some people will send callsigns at the beginning and end of every over; this is optional.

Some ops, especially those from a professional background (Navy, Merchant Marine, Telecoms, etc), may use more formal message handling procedures. It’s up to each individual how they structure their QSO protocol.

Some use commas (dah dah di di dah dah), some use the Prosign [BT]. The prosign [BT] is more commonplace these days. You may also hear QRU, meaning ‘I have nothing more for you’, as a way to finish up the QSO. Simply thank the other op for the QSO and close per your normal QSO guidelines.

Don’t be afraid to ask for the distant station to repeat a transmission.  Just ask the other station to repeat – as you would in normal every-day conversation. 

R PSE UR NAME AGN? [BK]

If conditions are bad (eg. qrn, qrm, qsb) you may need to repeat your question.

R UR NAME NAME AGN? ? BK or UR NAME NAME? ? [BK]

Signal Reports

Much has been said about signal reports, and you will hear a lot of RST 599 or 5nn. (The letter “n” is used as shorthand for the number 9 – it’s a technique called “cut numbers”) If having quick exchanges with DX stations it is not uncommon for both parties to exchange 5nn (in place of 599). Why? It aids in the quick and efficient completion of the QSO, enabling the rare DX station to move on and get others in the log. Rightly or wrongly, most parties in these scenarios are not interested in an accurate RST. They just want to get a completed QSO in the log.  However, in normal garden variety QSOs it is both good practice and useful to provide accurate signal reports. This provides the other station with a good insight into propagation conditions, and also an appreciation of how well you are copying him.

It almost doesn’t matter how strong his signal is, if you are only copying him marginally, say readability 2 or 3, it makes sense to exchange the basics and finish the QSO. Whereas a signal report of 529 indicates you have good copy and that signals are weak. It also indicates that your noise floor is low.

Calling CQ

After confirming the frequency is clear with a couple of QRLs, (Is this frequency in use?) You have a few options:

A general call where you are open to all (local or distant) stations.

CQ CQ CQ de <Your callsign 3 times> k

It is common practice to send a 3 x 3 as per above. If the band is busy you could send 2 x 2

Where the CQ includes DX you are announcing that you are looking for distant stations from your locality

Calling CQ RC means the caller is looking for a ragchew, a chat… more than a standard QSO. If your confidence is still a little low, you’re better off avoiding ragchews.

Other information

A pdf document of with a more comprehensive list of abbreviations:

https://cwops.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CW-Abbreviations.pdf

Learn CW Online – a useful resource for learning the code
https://lcwo.net/

Morse Code Ninja – a useful resource for learning the code
https://morsecode.ninja/

Rufzxp – a fun tool for copying callsigns, building your speed and having some fun along the way
https://www.rufzxp.net/

CW Ops – great resources and the unique CW Academy – highly recommended
https://cwops.org/