Origin of 73

[J. Forster]

I sent the original to a friend (off-list) and here is his reply:

The wire code list as remembered in 1925 is pretty complete. It is different from
the Phillips Code, which was a system of
vowel-dropping compression similar to that used in Hebrew and Arabic.

See the code list at the end of:

http://www.qsl.net/ae0q/phillip3.htm

I remember someone guessing that -30- was an abbreviation of -XXX-,  used to
indicate the end of a typewritten text. But that now seems  apocryphal to me.

Note that the 1925 list has 88 and not 22.  These are, in Morse Code, bitwise
inverts.

The rest of the Phillips Code is at

http://www.qsl.net/ae0q/phillip1.htm
http://www.qsl.net/ae0q/phillip2.htm and
http://www.qsl.net/ae0q/phillip4.htm

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Glen E. Zook wrote:

> Many amateurs already know that "73" is from what is known as the
> "Phillips Code", a series of numeric messages conceived for the purpose
> of cutting down transmission time on the old land telegraph systems when
> sending text that is basically the same.
>
> In the April 1935 issue of QST on page 60 there is a short article on
> the origin of 73.  This article was a summation of another article that
> appeared in the "December Bulletin from the Navy Department Office of
> the Chief of Naval Operations".  That would be December of 1934.
>
> The quotation from the Navy is as follows:  "It appears from a research
> of telegraph histories that in 1859 the telegraph people held a
> convention, and one of its features was a discussion as to the saving of
> 'line time'.  A committee was appointed to devise a code to reduce
> standard expressions to symbols or figures.  This committee worked out a
> figure code, from figure 1 to 92.  Most of these figure symbols became
> obsolescent, but a few remain to this date, such as 4, which means
> "Where shall I go ahead?'.  Figure 9 means 'wire', the wire chief being
> on the wire and that everyone should close their keys.  Symbol 13 means
> 'I don't understand'; 22 is 'love and a kiss'; 30 means 'good night' or
> 'the end'.  The symbol most often used now is 73, which means 'my
> compliments' and 92 is for the word 'deliver.'  The other figures in
> between the forgoing have fallen into almost complete disuse."
>
> One of the chief telegraphers of the Navy Department of Communications,
> a J. L. Bishop, quoted from memory the signals that were in effect in
> 1905:
>
> 1  Wait a minute
> 4  Where shall I start in message?
> 5  Have you anything for me?
> 9  Attention or clear the wire
> 13 I do not understand
> 22 Love and kisses
> 25 Busy on another circuit
> 30 Finsihed, the end-used mainly by press telegraphers
> 73 My compliments, or Best Regards
> 92 Deliver
>
> Now days, 22 has become 88 (love and kisses).  I don't know when this
> came about.  30 is still used in the newspaper and magazine business to
> indicate the end of a feature, story, or column.  And, of course, 73 is
> still used by amateur radio operators to mean "best regards".
>
> Making any of these numbers plural (73s, 88s, etc.) is incorrect since
> they are alread plural.  73s would mean best regardses and 88s would
> mean love and kisseses.  Those make no sense.
>
> Anyway, the subject of where 73 came from comes up periodically and this
> article reinforces the "Phillips Code" origin.
>
> Glen, K9STH
>
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