Part 2 - Related Items Of Interest

Abbreviations

SOME OF THE MORE COMMON ABBREVIATIONS IN CW WORK

ABT about NW now
AGN again OB old boy
ANT antenna OM old man
BCI broadcast interference OP operator
BCL broadcast listener OT old timer
BK break PSE please
C yes PWR power
CUD could R received as transmitted
CUL see you later RCD received
CUZ because RCVR receiver
CW continuous wave RFI radio freq interference
DX distance RIG station equipment
ES and RPT repeat
FB fine business SED said
GA good afternoon SIG signal
GE good evening SKED schedule
GM good morning SRI sorry
GN good night TMW tomorrow
GND ground TNX thanks
GUD good TVI television interference
HI high, laugh TT that
HR here TU thank you
HV have UR your
HW how VY very
LID poor operator WKD worked
MSG message WL well
N no WUD would
NR number WX weather
    XMTR transmitter
    XTAL crystal
    XYL wife
    YL young lady

 

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN TRAFFIC HANDLING

AA all after NIL nothing
AB all before PBL preamble
ADR address REF refer to
BN all between SINE op's personal initials
CFM confirm VC prefix to service msg
CK check TXT text
DLD delivered WA word after
GBA give better address WB word before
MSG prefix to radiogram WD word
       

 

EXAMPLES OF THE PHILLIPS CODE

The Phillips code was developed to bring the sending operator's skill up toward that of the receiving operator, who typically
could receive much faster than anyone could send by hand. Phillips code is a systematic, rigid system of abbreviations
used along with normal spelling of all other words, and cuts total transmission time about in half.  There were about 6000
abbreviations under this long-used system.  It was used in commercial press (news) transmissions.  A skilled operator could
easily keep up, typing out the words in full as fast as the sender could hand send, but he didn't dare let his mind wander.

Words were cut to their "backbone", leaving only the letters that carry the brunt of their pronunciation.  See the list below
for how this was done.  Abbreviated words were modified by, e.g., adding "d" for the past tense of verbs and  "g" for -ing;
"s" was added to nouns for their plural; some words added "b" for -able.  A couple of simple examples  of text are given here.

Example of 188 letters reduced to 116 (?) 61.7%:-

"T DCN CD MEAN T END F UNPRECEDENTED TWO Y CDY BTL, T FS D US X A SURROGATE MOTHER WS TKN TO TRL FO BACKING OUT O AN AGM TO TURN OV A CHILD SHE BORE UND CAK."

Translated into normal text, it says:-

"The decision could mean the end of the unprecedented two year custody battle, the first in the United States in which a
surrogate mother was taken to trial for backing out of an agreement to turn over a child she bore under contract."

AB about GG going S send
ABV above GTG getting SAF soon as feasible
ADZ advise GV give    
AF after GM gentleman SAP soon as possible
AG again        
AJ adjust H has SD should
ANR another HD had SED said
AR answer HM him SES says
AX ask HR hear, here SM some
AY any HS his SMG something
AYG anything HV have SM somewhere
AYM any more HW how SN soon
        SNC since
B be ICW in connection SPL special
BC because   with STN station
BD board IM immediately SVL several
BF before INVG investigate    
BH both IX it is T the
BK break     TGH telegraph
BN been KN know TGR together
BTN between     TI time
BTR better LV leave TK take
        TM them
C see M more TNK think
CCN conclusion MK make TRU through
CD could MSG missing TS this
CK check MSJ message TT that
CKT circuit MSR measure TTT that the
CL call     TW tomorrow
CLO close     TY they
CLR clear N not    
CMB combine NA name U you
CNG change NF notify UN until
CT connect NI night UR your
CU current NTG nothing    
CY copy NUM number VY very
    NR near    
D in the NV never W with
DD did NW now WD would
DT do not NX next WG wrong
DUX duplex     WH which
    OD order WI will
EMGY emergency OFS office WIN within
EQ equip OP operate WIT witness
EQPT equipment OTR other WK week
    OV over WN when
F of the     WO who
FD find PGH paragraph WR were
FJ found PLS please WS was
FM from     WT what
FR for Q on the WY why
FT for the QK quick    
FYI for your     YA yesterday
  information        
G from the        
GD good        

In addition to these there were a large number of very short special abbreviations for phrases common in news releases, such
as for "President of the United States," etc.  Usually these consisted of 3 - 5 letters, very brief.
 

A FEW USEFUL Z- SIGNALS

The Z-signals were developed and used for a time by some commercial operators.  A few of them which might be useful to
amateurs are:-

ZCG  local receiving conditions good
ZCP  local receiving conditions poor
ZLS  we are suffering from a lightning storm
ZSH  static is heavy here

ZOK  we are receiving OK
ZSR  your sigs strong readable
ZGS  your signals are getting stronger
ZWR  your sigs weak but readable
ZFS  your signals are fading slightly
ZVS  signals varying in intensity
ZFB  your signals are fading badly
ZGW  your signals are getting weaker
ZSU  your sigs are unreadable
ZAN  we can receive absolutely nothing
ZUB  we are unable to break you

ZVF  your signals are varying in frequency
ZDH  your dits are too heavy(long), please adjust
ZDL  your dits are too light(short), please adjust
 
ZMO  stand by a moment
ZMQ  stand by for...
ZLB  give long breaks
ZWO  send words once
ZWT  send words twice
ZSF  send faster
ZSS  send slower
ZTH  send by hand
ZCS  cease sending
ZAP  acknowledge please

ZHC  how are your receiving conditions?
ZRO  are you receiving OK?

You will notice that these signals are much easier to remember than the Q-signals.  The two letters following Z- are suggestive. (QST 1943 No p. 63)

In 1910 some wireless abbreviations were:
GA=  go ahead,  4= please start me, where...,  13= understand
25= am busy now,  30= no more,  77= message for you,  99= keep out!

 

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