Contact (amateur radio)

An amateur radio contact, more commonly referred to as simply a "contact", is an exchange of information between two amateur radio stations. The exchange usually consists of an initial call, a response by another amateur radio operator at an amateur radio station, and possibly a signal report. A contact is often referred to by the Q code QSO. It is often limited to just a minimal exchange of such station IDs. An extended conversation is referred to as a ragchew and the act of having a long informal conversation over amateur radio is referred to as ragchewing.