How to read a signal
Reading a signal, or determining what number to assign a signal report is made up of two parts, Readability and Signal Strength. Readability refers to how well you can hear the signal. This is how understandable (clear) the speech or tones (cw) are. For example, is the signal crystal clear or is the signal scratchy, or noisy. Signal Strength refers to how strong the signal is. Signal strength can sometimes be derived using the s-meter on the radio.
This is a chart that may help understand the readability values.
- Unreadable
- Barely Readable
- Readable With Difficulty
- Almost Perfectly Readable
- Perfectly Readable
This is a chart that may help understand the signal strength values.
- Faint
- Very Weak
- Weak
- Fair
- Fairly Good
- Good
- Moderately Strong
- Strong
- Very Strong