BEST REGARDS

"Dennis" Howdy wrote in message
...
Serious question. What does "73" mean?
Dennis

In olden days when sending messages via Morse code (CW) there were many
messages that were the same. There were many greetings and endings which
were also the same. It saved time to have a standard list of message numbers
and just send the numbers.

88 = Love and Kisses

There are all kinds such as "I'm OK. Arrived safely" and the like. I have a
list @home. arrl.org probably has the whole list on their web pages
somewhere.

I don't know what 74 is, but my dad (W9EHS) always said "74, one better than
anybody else".
--
73, Steve N, K,9;d, c. i My email has no u's.

As others have mentioned, 73 means "best regards" in hamspeak.

It comes from the days of the telegraph, when a group of numbers were
used as a sort of shorthand for common phrases and functions. The number
73 meant that the signature immediately followed, sort of like:

73,
Roy Lewallen, W7EL

A lot of hams like to say "73's" which of course means "best regardses",
an endearing and Gollum-like affectation. These are, I suspect, the same
general group that go to ATM machines, use TTL logic, and watch LCD
displays. . .

On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 15:15:25 -0800, Roy Lewallen hath writ:
...
A lot of hams like to say "73's" which of course means "best regardses",
an endearing and Gollum-like affectation. These are, I suspect, the same
general group that go to ATM machines, use TTL logic, and watch LCD
displays. . .
. . . and are confounded by rotary telephones. HI!HI!

73
Jonesy
--
| Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | OS/2
| Gunnison, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | linux __
| 7,703' -- 2,345m | config.com | DM68mn SK

On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 15:15:25 -0800, Roy Lewallen hath writ:
...
A lot of hams like to say "73's" which of course means "best regardses",
an endearing and Gollum-like affectation. These are, I suspect, the same
general group that go to ATM machines, use TTL logic, and watch LCD
displays. . .
. . . and are confounded by rotary telephones. HI!HI!

73
Jonesy
--
| Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | OS/2
| Gunnison, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | linux __
| 7,703' -- 2,345m | config.com | DM68mn SK

As others have mentioned, 73 means "best regards" in hamspeak.

It comes from the days of the telegraph, when a group of numbers were
used as a sort of shorthand for common phrases and functions. The number
73 meant that the signature immediately followed, sort of like:

73,
Roy Lewallen, W7EL

A lot of hams like to say "73's" which of course means "best regardses",
an endearing and Gollum-like affectation. These are, I suspect, the same
general group that go to ATM machines, use TTL logic, and watch LCD
displays. . .