= Morse_code_abbreviations =

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= Morse_code_abbreviations =
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Introduction
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Morse code abbreviations are used to speed up Morse communications by
foreshortening textual words and phrases. Morse abbreviations are
short forms, representing normal textual words and phrases formed from
some (fewer) characters taken from the word or phrase being
abbreviated. Many are typical English abbreviations, or short acronyms
for often-used phrases.

Distinct from prosigns and commercial codes
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Morse code abbreviations are not the same as prosigns. Morse
abbreviations are composed of (normal) textual alpha-numeric character
symbols with normal Morse code inter-character spacing; the character
symbols in abbreviations, unlike the delineated character groups
representing Morse code prosigns, are not "run together" or
concatenated in the way most prosigns are formed.

Although a few abbreviations (such as for "dollar") are carried over
from former commercial telegraph codes, almost all Morse abbreviations
are 'not' commercial codes. From 1845 until well into the second half
of the 20th century, commercial telegraphic code books were used to
shorten telegrams, e.g. = "'Locals have plundered everything from the
wreck'." However, these cyphers are typically "fake" words six
characters long, or more, used for replacing commonly used whole
phrases, and are distinct from single-word abbreviations.

Word and phrase abbreviations
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The following Table of Morse code abbreviations and further references
to Brevity codes such as 92 Code, Q code, Z code, and R-S-T system
serve to facilitate fast and efficient Morse code communications.

: Table of selected Morse code abbreviations
Abbreviation Meaning Defined in Type of abbreviation
| **** ...
All after (used after question mark to request a repetition) ITU-R
M.1172 operating signal
| **** ...
All before (similarly) ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| ****
Address ITU-T Rec. F.1 operating signal
| ****
Address ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| ****
Again operating signal
| ****
Antenna
End of transmission. ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
Wait operating signal
| ****
Break (to pause transmission of a message, say) ITU-R M.1172
operating signal
| **** ... ...
All between ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| ****
Yes; correct; affirmative operating signal
| ****
Confirm ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| ****
Check
| ****
Closing (I am closing my station) ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| **** ... ...
| Calling several stations (followed by the call signs of two or more
stations, e.g. for "calling stations T4SRJ and C5ADK")
operating signal
| ****
| Calling (calling all stations / any station) (do not follow with
**** or ****; see ****)
ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| ****
| All stations distress (used prior to replacement by **** to let all
operators know of an impending distress signal)
operating signal
| **** ...
| Calling station (followed by the call sign of a particular station,
e.g. **** for "calling station F3TL")
ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| **?**
What call sign? (used with "?" to request a contact's call sign)
ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| **** ...
From (or "this is") ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| ****
Long distance, foreign countries (sometimes refers to long distance
contact)
| ****
| And / [ **&** ] / also / 'et'
American Morse code
| ****
Good (literal abbr. "fine business") Amateur radio slang; suspected
euphemism
| **** ...
| From (see ****)
operating signal
| ****
Forward
| ****
I say again; I repeat; ditto; alt. European: " out".
| ****
Invitation to transmit ITU-R M.1172, ITU-R M.1677-1 operating signal
| Over to you; only the previously named station should respond (e.g.
after {{nobr|**** }}; only station K6PCH should reply to W1AW)
ITU-R M.1677-1 operating signal
| ****
| Wire telegraph slang, same as ****
Poor operator (derogatory)
| ****
Prefix indicating a message to or from the master of a ship
concerning its operation or navigation ITU-R M.1172
| ****
No; nine
| ****
I have nothing to send you ITU-R M.1172
| **** ... ...
Number follows operating signal
| ****
Okay ITU-R M.1172, ITU-T Rec. F.1 operating signal
| ****
Old Man (any male radio operator or male spouse of radio operator,
both regardless of age) Amateur radio slang
| ****
| Please (not appropriate after ****; see ****)
ITU-T Rec. F.1
| ****
Paper ITU-T Rec. F.1
| ****
Please ITU-R M.1172
| ****
Prefix
| ****
Received as transmitted (origin of "Roger") ITU-T Rec. F.1 operating
signal
| ****
Receiver / Receive
| ****
Report / Repeat please / I repeat as follows ITU-R M.1172, ITU-T Rec.
F.1
|****
Readability (1-5) / Strength (1-9) / Noise (1-9) |Not yet in
widespread use
| **** ... ... ...
Signal report format (Readability / Signal Strength / Tone) |In
universal amateur radio use operating signal
| ****
So far (proword)
| ****
Signature ITU-T Rec. F.1
Out (prosign), end of contact operating signal
| ****
Silent Key (a deceased radio amateur) Amateur radio slang; from , the
last signal received from a radio contact
| ****
Please (French: '"S'il vous plaît"') ITU-T Rec. F.1
| ****
Dollars Phillips Code
| ****
Thanks, Thank You
| ****
Thank You
| ****
Transmitter / Transmit
| ****
Word / Words ITU-T Rec. F.1
| **** ...
Word after ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| **** ...
Word before ITU-R M.1172 operating signal
| ****
Wilco; "Will comply" operating signal
| ****
Word / Words ITU-R M.1172
| **** ... ... ...
Weather / Weather report follows ITU-R M.1172
| ****
Transceiver
| ****
Former Young Lady (female spouse of radio operator, regardless of
age) Amateur radio slang
| ****
Young Lady (any female radio operator, regardless of age) Amateur
radio slang
| **** ... ... ... ...
Zulu time i.e. UTC operating signal
| ****
| Best regards + Love and kisses; used on **** networks as a sign-off
sum of two 92 Codes
| ****
No more; this is the end; finished Not used in radiotelegraphy 92
Code
| ****
Best regards Amateur radio slang. While operating QRP / low power 92
Code
| ****
Best regards 92 Code
| ****
Derogatory term for a disliked operator (Referring to 75 meter ham
band) Amateur radio slang, USA only
| ****
Long Live CW (Morse Code), wishing you many happy CW contacts
| ****
Love and kisses 92 Code
| ****
Get lost!

An amateur radio Morse code conversation example
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To make Morse code communications faster and more efficient, there are
many internationally agreed patterns or conventions of communication
which include: extensive use of abbreviations, use of brevity codes
such as 92 Code, RST code, Q code, Z code as well as the use of Morse
prosigns. The skills required to have efficient fast conversations
with Morse comprise more than simply knowing the Morse code symbols
for the alphabet and numerals. Skilled telegraphists must also know
many traditional International Morse code communications conventions.

In the following example of a typical casual Morse code conversation
between two stations there is extensive use of such: Morse code
abbreviations, brevity codes, Morse procedural signs, and other such
conventions.

An example casual Morse code (CW) conversation between Station S1ABC
and Station S2YZ is illustrated in the following paragraphs. Here the
actual Morse code information stream sent by each station (S1ABC and
S2YZ) is shown in bold face small capitals type, and is followed below
each bold face transmission by an indented 'interpretation' of the
message sent, together with short explanations of the codes. These
translations and explanations are shown below each station's indicated
transmission data stream.

:: Calling anyone () from () station S1ABC.
:: End message (). Go ahead anyone ().

::To station S1ABC from station S2YZ. Over to you only.
::: = ""

:: To station S2YZ from station S1ABC.
::: = = = =
:: Good afternoon 'dear old man'
:: Your RST rating is 599 here (at my station)
::: 9. 5

:: I'm located () in Almería.
:: The station operator's () name is John.
:: How do you copy my signal? ()
:: To station S2YZ from station S1ABC:
:: Over to you only.

:: To station S1ABC from station S2YZ.
:: Thanks for the good report
:::
:: 'dear old man' John. You are [RST] 559.
::: 559

:: I am in () Barcelona.
:: My name () is Andy.
:: To station S1ABC from station S2YZ:
:: Over to you only.

:: To station S2YZ from station S1ABC.
:: Okay, thanks for this conversation (), 'dear' Andy.
:: Best regards (73) and () hope () to see you again ().
:: To station S2YZ from station S1ABC:
:: Over to you only.

:: To station S1ABC from station S2YZ.
:: Roger ()
:: Thank you () see you again ()
:: Best regards (73)
:: To station S1ABC from station S2YZ:
:: Signing off.
::: = "",
::: = "",

Aside on shared codes
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In International Morse code there is no 'distinct' dot-dash sequence
defined only for the mathematical equal sign [=]; rather the same code
( or 'dah di di di dah') is shared by 'double hyphen' [=] and the
procedural sign for 'section separator' notated as . It is fairly
common in the 'Recommended International Morse Code' for punctuation
codes to be shared with prosigns. For example, the code for plus or
cross ([+] = ) is the same as the prosign for 'end of telegram', and
the widely used but non-ITU "Over to you only" prosign is the
official code for open parentheses [(] or 'left bracket'.

The listener is required to distinguish the meaning by context. In the
example casual conversation between two station operators, above, the
Morse transmissions show the equal sign [=] in the same way that a
simple electronic automatic Morse code reader with a one- or two-line
display does: It can't distinguish context so it always displays the
math symbol. It would also display an open parenthesis [(] for the
'over to you only' prosign ( = ).

The use of the 'end of section' prosign in casual exchanges
essentially indicates a new paragraph in the text or a new sentence,
and is a little quicker to send than a 'full stop' ([.] = ) required
in telegrams.

Normally an operator copying Morse code by hand or typewriter would
decide whether the equal sign [=] or the "new section" prosign was
meant and start 'new paragraph' in the recorded text upon reception of
the code. This new paragraph copying convention is illustrated in the
example conversation in the prior section.

When decoding in one's head, instead of writing text on paper or into
a computer file, the receiving operator copying mentally will
interpret the prosign for either a mental pause, or to jot down for
later reference a short word or phrase from the information being
sent.

Informal language-independent conversations
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'Rag chewer' is a name applied to amateur radio Morse code operators
who engage in informal Morse code conversations (known as 'chewing the
rag') while discussing subjects such as: The weather, their location,
signal quality, and their equipment (especially the antennas being
used).

Meaningful rag chewing between fluent Morse code operators having
different native languages is possible because of a common language
provided by the prosigns for Morse code, the International Q code, Z
code, RST code, the telegraph era Phillips Code and 92 codes, and many
well known Morse code abbreviations including those discussed in this
article. Together all of these traditional conventions serve as a
somewhat cryptic but commonly understood language (Lingua Franca)
within the worldwide community of amateur radio Morse code operators.

These codes and protocols efficiently encode many well known
statements and questions from many languages into short simple
character groups which may be tapped out very quickly. The
international Q code for instance encodes literally hundreds of full
normal language sentences and questions in short three character codes
each beginning with the character . For example, the code word means
'My transmitting location is' ... , which radio operators typically
take instead to mean 'My home is' ... . If this code word is followed
by a question mark as it means 'What is your transmitting location?'

Typically very few full words will be spelled out in Morse code
conversations. Similar to phone texting, vowels are often left out to
shorten transmissions and turn overs. Other examples, of
internationally recognized uses of Morse code abbreviations and well
known code numbers, such as those of the Phillips Code from past eras
of telegraph technology, are abbreviations such as for weather and
for dollar, and from wire signal codes, the numbers for 'best
regards' and for 'love and kisses'.

These techniques are similar to, and often faster than, texting on
modern cellphones. Using this extensive lingua franca that is widely
understood across many languages and cultures, surprisingly meaningful
Morse code conversations can be efficiently conducted with short
transmissions independently of native languages, even between
operators who cannot actually communicate by voice because of language
barriers.

With heavy use of the Q code and Morse code abbreviations,
surprisingly meaningful conversations can readily occur. Note that in
the preceding example conversation very few full English words have
been used. In fact, in the above example S1 and S2 might not speak the
same native language.
Although lengthy or detailed conversations could not, of course, be
accomplished by radio operators with no common language.

Contesters often use a very specialized and even shorter format for
their contacts. Their purpose is to process as many contacts as
possible in a limited time (e.g. 100–150 contacts per hour).

See also
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* 92 Code
* ACP 131
* Brevity code
* [International] Morse code
* Prosigns for Morse code
* Phillips Code
* Q code
* R-S-T System
* Z code

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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code_abbreviations