Origin of 73

[Glen Zook]

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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