Part of our Start Here: A New Ham’s Guide to Getting On The Air guide.
This is the reference page I keep bookmarked and have printed out next to the radio. Five quick-lookup tables: Q codes, the ARRL band plan broken out by license class, the phonetic alphabet, and wire lengths for both an EFHW and a random wire antenna. No fluff, just the numbers you actually need mid-QSO or mid-build.
Q Codes Cheat Sheet
These trace back to 1912 maritime radiotelegraph procedure, and hams still lean on a few dozen of them daily, on both CW and voice. If you only memorize five, make them QTH, QSO, QSL, QRM, and QRZ.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| QRG | My/your exact frequency |
| QRL | The frequency is in use / Are you busy? |
| QRM | Man-made interference (other stations) |
| QRN | Natural/static interference |
| QRO | Increase power |
| QRP | Low power (5W or less) |
| QRQ | Send faster |
| QRS | Send slower |
| QRT | Shutting down / stop transmitting |
| QRU | I have nothing more for you |
| QRV | Ready to operate |
| QRX | Stand by, I’ll call you back |
| QRZ | Who is calling me? |
| QSA | Signal strength report |
| QSB | Your signal is fading |
| QSD | Your keying is defective |
| QSK | Full break-in CW operation |
| QSL | I acknowledge / confirm receipt |
| QSO | A two-way contact or conversation |
| QSP | I will relay your message |
| QST | General call to all amateur stations |
| QSY | Change frequency |
| QTC | I have a message/traffic to send |
| QTH | My location |
| QTR | The correct time |
For more on how these actually get used on the air, see our Getting On The Air guide.
ARRL Band Plan by License Class
Straight from the current ARRL/FCC Part 97 allocations. Technician and Novice HF segments are capped at 200W PEP, as is all of 30m regardless of class; everything else tops out at 1500W PEP. 60m is five channelized frequencies (USB only) for General and above, not shown here.
| Band | Technician | General | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160m | No privileges | 1.800–2.000 MHz (CW/Phone/Data) | Same as General |
| 80m | 3.525–3.600 MHz, CW only | 3.525–3.600 CW/Data, 3.800–4.000 Phone | 3.500–3.600 CW/Data, 3.600–4.000 Phone |
| 40m | 7.025–7.125 MHz, CW only | 7.025–7.125 CW/Data, 7.175–7.300 Phone | 7.000–7.125 CW/Data, 7.125–7.300 Phone |
| 30m | No privileges | 10.100–10.150 MHz, CW/Data only (200W) | Same as General |
| 20m | No privileges | 14.025–14.150 CW/Data, 14.225–14.350 Phone | 14.000–14.150 CW/Data, 14.150–14.350 Phone |
| 17m | No privileges | 18.068–18.110 CW/Data, 18.110–18.168 Phone | Same as General |
| 15m | 21.025–21.200 MHz, CW only | 21.025–21.200 CW/Data, 21.275–21.450 Phone | 21.000–21.200 CW/Data, 21.200–21.450 Phone |
| 12m | No privileges | 24.890–24.930 CW/Data, 24.930–24.990 Phone | Same as General |
| 10m | 28.000–28.300 CW/Data, 28.300–28.500 Phone (200W) | 28.000–28.300 CW/Data, 28.300–29.700 Phone | Same as General |
| 6m / 2m / 70cm | Full privileges | Same as Technician | Same as Technician |
Worth watching: ARRL has petitioned the FCC to add limited phone privileges for Technicians on 75, 40, and 15 meters, plus new digital privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10. Nothing has been adopted yet as of this writing, but if you’re a Technician eyeing HF, it’s worth tracking. We covered it in more detail in The Petition That Could Finally Give Technicians a Reason to Explore HF.
Phonetic Alphabet
The standard NATO phonetic alphabet. Use it for callsigns, not just when band conditions are bad, it’s just good practice.
| A – Alpha | B – Bravo | C – Charlie | D – Delta |
| E – Echo | F – Foxtrot | G – Golf | H – Hotel |
| I – India | J – Juliett | K – Kilo | L – Lima |
| M – Mike | N – November | O – Oscar | P – Papa |
| Q – Quebec | R – Romeo | S – Sierra | T – Tango |
| U – Uniform | V – Victor | W – Whiskey | X – X-ray |
| Y – Yankee | Z – Zulu |
For numbers, most nets just use plain digits, but “niner” for 9 is common practice to keep it from getting confused with “five” over a noisy signal.
EFHW Antenna Lengths by Band
Half-wave length in feet works out to 468 divided by frequency in MHz. These are calculated at a typical mid-band design frequency for each band, cut it a couple feet long and trim from the far end while tuning. An 80m or 40m EFHW will also resonate reasonably well on its harmonics (40m covers 40/20/15/10m) without retuning; we walk through the build, including the 49:1 transformer, in Building a 49:1 Transformer for a 40m EFHW.
| Band | Approx. Length | Design Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 160m | ~246 ft | 1.900 MHz |
| 80m | ~125 ft | 3.750 MHz |
| 40m | ~66 ft | 7.150 MHz |
| 30m | ~46 ft | 10.125 MHz |
| 20m | ~33 ft | 14.175 MHz |
| 17m | ~26 ft | 18.118 MHz |
| 15m | ~22 ft | 21.225 MHz |
| 12m | ~19 ft | 24.940 MHz |
| 10m | ~16 ft | 28.850 MHz |
| 6m | ~9 ft | 52.000 MHz |
Random Wire Antenna Lengths
Unlike an EFHW, a random wire is deliberately non-resonant, but “random” doesn’t mean any length works equally well. These “magic lengths” avoid landing on a half-wave multiple for the HF bands, which is what makes a wire brutal to load no matter how good your tuner is. 29, 41, and 58 ft are the most practical for typical suburban lots; go longer if you have the room, since it improves low-band efficiency. The full breakdown, including exactly which lengths to avoid and why, is in The Random Wire Antenna: Magic Lengths, Lengths to Avoid, and the Right Transformer.
| Length (ft) | Notes |
|---|---|
| 29 | Fits tight yards/apartments, 40–10m with a tuner |
| 35.5 | Similar coverage to 29 ft |
| 41 | Good all-around compact length |
| 58 | Noticeably better on 40/80m |
| 71 | Larger yards, improved low-band efficiency |
| 84 | Strong low-band performance |
| 107 | Very effective on 80/40m, needs more room |
| 119 | Extended low-band coverage |
| 148 | Best low-band performance, needs significant space |
Either antenna needs a real counterpoise or ground radial to load and sound clean, and a common-mode choke at the feedpoint to keep RF off the coax. Both are covered in more depth in Building Your First Ham Radio Station.
Bookmark this one, or print it and tape it next to the radio. It’s the page I actually reach for.