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Glossary

Every jargon term used in this guide, in one place.

  • Activator — in POTA/SOTA, the operator transmitting from the park or summit.
  • Amateur Radio Service — the formal FCC name for ham radio: a licensed, non-commercial radio service for individuals.
  • ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) — ARRL-organized volunteers who provide emergency communications.
  • APRS — Automatic Packet Reporting System; VHF packet system for position reports and short messages.
  • Band — a range of frequencies allocated to amateur use (e.g., the 2-meter band).
  • Band plan — voluntary convention for where modes and activities go within each band.
  • Base station — a full-featured fixed radio setup, typically at a desk.
  • Calling frequency — an agreed frequency for making initial contact before moving elsewhere (146.52 MHz on 2 m, 446.000 MHz on 70 cm).
  • Callsign — the unique letter-number identifier the FCC issues to each licensed amateur.
  • Chaser / hunter — in SOTA/POTA, the home station working activators.
  • CORES — the FCC's online registration system; where you get your FRN and pay FCC fees.
  • Courtesy beep — the short tone some repeaters emit when a transmission ends.
  • CTCSS / PL — Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System (Motorola's "Private Line"): a sub-audible tone that unlocks a repeater.
  • CW — Continuous Wave; Morse code transmission.
  • Dipole — the simplest effective antenna: two wires, end to end, fed in the middle.
  • Digipeater — a station (often on a satellite) that receives and retransmits packet data.
  • DX — distant communication, especially other countries or continents.
  • Element 2 / 3 / 4 — the FCC written exams for Technician, General, and Extra respectively.
  • FCC — Federal Communications Commission; the US regulator for amateur radio.
  • Feedline — the cable (usually coaxial) carrying signal between radio and antenna.
  • Field Day — the annual ARRL emergency-preparedness exercise (last full weekend of June).
  • FM — Frequency Modulation; the standard voice mode on VHF/UHF.
  • Foldback — a radio's automatic power reduction when SWR is dangerously high.
  • FRN — FCC Registration Number; your ten-digit FCC ID, obtained via CORES.
  • FT8 — a weak-signal digital mode exchanging minimal data in 15-second cycles.
  • General / Extra — the US license classes above Technician, each unlocking more frequencies.
  • HF — High Frequency (3–30 MHz); the shortwave bands that bounce off the ionosphere.
  • HT — handy-talkie; a handheld radio.
  • Input / output — a repeater's listen frequency and transmit frequency.
  • Ionosphere — electrified upper-atmosphere layers that reflect HF signals back to Earth.
  • Kerchunk — keying a repeater without identifying, just to hear the courtesy beep. Don't.
  • MHz — megahertz; millions of cycles per second, the unit of radio frequency.
  • Mobile — a higher-power radio designed for vehicle (or desk) use with an external antenna.
  • Mode — how information is encoded on the radio wave (FM, SSB, CW, digital...).
  • Net — a scheduled on-air gathering, usually on a repeater.
  • Offset — the gap between a repeater's input and output frequencies (±600 kHz on 2 m, ±5 MHz on 70 cm).
  • Packet — digital data sent over radio in addressed bursts.
  • PEP — Peak Envelope Power; how transmitter power limits are measured for SSB.
  • Phonetic alphabet — the NATO/ICAO word-per-letter spelling alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie...).
  • Pileup — many stations calling one rare station at once, common in DX and contests.
  • PL — see CTCSS.
  • POTA (Parks on the Air) — program for portable operation from registered parks.
  • PSK31 — a keyboard-to-keyboard digital chat mode.
  • Q-signals — three-letter codes (QTH, QRM, QSL...) inherited from Morse and commercial radio.
  • QSL — confirmation of a contact; also the cards hams exchange to confirm them.
  • RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) — the FCC-defined emergency service activated by civil-defense authorities.
  • Ragchew — an informal extended chat on the air.
  • Repeater — a high, high-power station that retransmits signals to extend range.
  • RF exposure — FCC rules (§97.13(c)) limiting human exposure to radio-frequency energy near antennas.
  • Rubber duck — the short flexible whip antenna supplied with handhelds.
  • RTTY — radioteletype; an early digital text mode.
  • 73 / 88 — ham shorthand for "best regards" / "love and kisses."
  • Signal report — an assessment of how well you're being heard (strength, clarity).
  • Simplex — transmitting and receiving on the same frequency, radio to radio.
  • Skywarn — National Weather Service program training volunteer storm spotters (many are hams).
  • SOTA (Summits on the Air) — program for portable operation from registered summits.
  • SSB — Single Sideband; the efficient voice mode standard on HF.
  • SWR — Standing Wave Ratio; the match quality between radio and antenna (1:1 ideal).
  • Technician — the entry-level US amateur license class.
  • Transponder — satellite equipment that receives on one band and retransmits on another.
  • UHF — Ultra High Frequency (300–3000 MHz); includes the 70 cm band.
  • ULS — the FCC's Universal Licensing System database, where licenses and callsigns are recorded.
  • Vanity callsign — a callsign you choose (when available) instead of the sequentially assigned one.
  • VE — Volunteer Examiner; an accredited ham who administers license exams.
  • VEC — Volunteer Examiner Coordinator; the organization accrediting VEs.
  • VHF — Very High Frequency (30–300 MHz); includes the 6 m and 2 m bands.
  • Wavelength — the physical length of one radio-wave cycle; bands are named for it (2 m ≈ 144 MHz).
  • WSJT-X — free software implementing FT8 and other weak-signal digital modes.
  • WSPR — Weak Signal Propagation Reporter; beacon mode for testing propagation paths.