The Basics

[W1MSG]

I am starting this thread so every one can post little tid bits to help out the new Hams.

Ok to start it off here is the RST signal reporting in a nut shell, everyone is always saying your 59, but new Ham's have no idea what that means.

Here it ya go.

R = READABILITY
1 -- Unreadable
2 -- Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable
3 -- Readable with considerable difficulty
4 -- Readable with practically no difficulty
5 -- Perfectly readable

S = SIGNAL STRENGTH
1 -- Faint signals, barely perceptible
2 -- Very weak signals
3 -- Weak signals
4 -- Fair signals
5 -- Fairly good signals
6 -- Good signals
7 -- Moderately strong signals
8 -- Strong signals
9 -- Extremely strong signals

Tone is used for CW

T = TONE
1 -- Sixty cycle a.c. or less, very rough and broad
2 -- Very rough a.c. , very harsh and broad
3 -- Rough a.c. tone, rectified but not filtered
4 -- Rough note, some trace of filtering
5 -- Filtered rectified a.c. but strongly ripple-modulated
6 -- Filtered tone, definite trace of ripple modulation
7 -- Near pure tone, trace of ripple modulation
8 -- Near perfect tone, slight trace of modulation
9 -- Perfect tone, no trace of ripple or modulation of any kind

 

[mackmobile43]

You're 5 and nine in the rockies.

 

[74IN]

The third number is "Q" in digital modes, Quality.....

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]QUALITY[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Q9[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Clean signal[/FONT] [FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF]- no visible unwanted sidebar pairs[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Q7[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] One barely visible pair[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Q5[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] One easily visible pair[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Q3[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Multiple visible[/FONT] [FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF]pairs[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Q1[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Splatter[/FONT] [FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF]over much of the spectrum[/FONT]

 

[Wire Weasel]

I knew what it meant when I was a new ham

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I knew what it meant when I was a new ham

I knew what it meant about a dozen years BEFORE I was a ham.

 

[74IN]

C'mon, everyone is 599, aren't they?

Hey, it didn't hurt for him to make the post even though few will tell you that you are 455.

 

[kd-5-bgt]

Very good idea to post that. Even though most of us know the meanings it is always good to refresh the old memory....and I am sure the newer hams and SSB CBers would like to see this


5 by 9

 

[Wire Weasel]

Whatever....

I just hope Mo has his bandwidth expanded and all paid up so that some guy can create and publish a complete Radio 101 Basics course and post it here on this site instead of writing a book or just pointing out already existing information on the web.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Without a doubt everyone is 5-9 on contest day regardless of band conditions or QRM. Also without a doubt 99.99% of the signal reports are based on looking at the S-meter which is NOT what the RST scale was supposed to represent. The RST scale was made up long before receivers even had S-meters in them and was simple a judgement call on behalf of the operator as to how strong the signal was based on how loud the signal was. This was back before receivers had an AGC circuit that would keep audio levels constant regardless of signal strength. In those days the stronger the signal was the louder it was. If you have a receiver that you can disable the AGC do it and you will see what I mean. Nowadays everybody just uses the S-meter reading.

 

[kazz330]

I found this helpful!

 

[Beetle]

C'mon, everyone is 599, aren't they?

Hey, it didn't hurt for him to make the post even though few will tell you that you are 455.

I've given 575CK before, with no hesitation about how it would make the other station feel.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I've given 575CK before, with no hesitation about how it would make the other station feel.

I saw the CK part and thought you were talking about me and then it "clicked".

 

[office888]

I usually give:

5 9+20
5 9
5 3
5 1

If I can't understand them, I don't even try. I don't throw out CQ that often either.

-Richard-

 

[depark]

Licensing in Canada is so much easier. Basic or Basic +(with honours), Advanced and Morse Code(which you don't need anymore although still a good idea). Basic and Basic + are the same except if you get 80% or better on the exam you have access to the HF bands but limited to 100 watts. To pass basic you need 70%, an extra 10% to have HF. Like I said much simpler.:w00t:

 

[Klondike Mike]

>> ... RST signal reporting in a nut shell, everyone is always saying your 59, but new Ham's have no idea what that means.

I've never understood the reports before. Just assumed certain things. Now I know, thanks for sharing!