There are thousands of EchoLink nodes online around the world, but sometimes it can be hard to find another station seeking a QSO.
The Call CQ function is a quick way to be matched up with another station also seeking an EchoLink connection. Each node calling CQ chooses a set of preferences such as language spoken and node type, and then automatically connects with any other node that is also calling CQ at the same time with matching preferences. If no such station is already waiting when you call CQ, EchoLink will keep your callsign in the queue until a match is found.
Call CQ can be invoked from the Station menu. If you are running in Sysop mode, mobile and portable RF stations in range of your node can invoke Call CQ via a DTMF command. (The default command is 27, which is the letters C and Q on the dialpad). Use the pound-key (#) to cancel.
To keep the conversation interesting, you can choose to ignore CQ calls from any station you've already connected with recently.
CQ will not connect to Conference servers, nor to nodes that are not running EchoLink for Windows version 2.1 or above. CQ is supported on recent versions of EchoLink for iOS and Android.
If you have blocked certain countries or node types in your main Security preferencs, CQ will automatically apply those settings in addition to any choices you make in the CQ preferences, as long as at least one country is allowed. However, you cannot call CQ if you have restricted your node to a specific allow-list of callsigns.