A wire signal is a

brevity code Brevity is concision or brevitas, the quality of being brief or concise, or: * Brevity (comic strip), ''Brevity'' (comic strip), a comic strip created by Guy Endore-Kaiser and Rodd Perry * Brevity code, a vocal word replacement system * Operation ...

used by telegraphers to save time and cost when sending long messages. The best-known code was the 92 Code adopted by Western Union in 1859. The code was designed to reduce bandwidth consumption over telegraph lines, thus speeding transmissions by utilizing a numerical code system for frequently used phrases.

92 Code

Several of the codes are taken from ''The Telegraph Instructor'' by G.M. Dodge. Dodge notes: :Other numerical signals are used by different railroads for different purposes, for instance, the signal “47” upon some railroads means “display signals”; while the signal “48” means “signals are displayed”. The numerals “9” and “12” are frequently used for “correct”. Other numerals are used for the different officials’ messages, agents’ messages, etc. Codes that are not listed in the 1901 edition of Dodge are marked with an asterisk (*). In the above list, the numbers 19 and 31 refer to train order operations whereby messages from the dispatcher about changes in railroad routing and scheduling were written on paper forms. Form 19 was designed to be passed to the train as it went through a station at speed. Form 31 required hand delivery for confirmation.

Contemporary usage

Today,

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

operators still use codes 73 and 88 regularly, and -30- is used in journalism, as it was shorthand for "No more - the end". The Young Ladies Radio League uses code 33 to mean "love sealed with friendship and mutual respect between one YL oung ladyand another YL" or simply "hugs." A once-used but unofficial code 99 meant "go to hell." The other codes have mostly fallen into disuse.

1873 Telegraph Rules from the Lakeshore and Tuscarawas Valley Railway Company

The following code was taken from 1873 telegraph rulebook of the Lakeshore and Tuscarawas Valley Railway Company of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

References

External links

Stuttgart Telegraph Convention 1857 between states of the Austro-Germanic Union.
official title "Revised Convention of the Austro-German Telegraph Union, Stuttgart, 3 October 1857, 118 CTS5"? ("Service Instructions" section)
Radiotelegraph and Radiotelephone Codes, Prowords And Abbreviations

Wood's Plan of Telegraphic Instruction

ORIGIN OF HAM SPEAK - FACT, LEGENDS AND MYTHS???

* ttp://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/telegraph2.htm Nonsecret Code: An Overview of Early Telegraph Codes Encodings Telegrams Western Union Brevity codes

92 Code

Contemporary usage

1873 Telegraph Rules from the Lakeshore and Tuscarawas Valley Railway Company

See also

References

Further reading

External links