In
amateur radio parlance: to
converse on the air for an
extended period of time. When contacting stations that are far away and are being called by many people, the
QSO should be stripped down to a brief technical report, and talking about nothing in particular is considered very
impolite towards the other
hams that are trying to gain contact.
For many radio amateurs, however, rag chewing is the part of the hobby that they enjoy the most, and they can be on the air talking (or sending morse code) with perfect strangers for hours on end.