''73 Magazine'' (also known as ''73 Amateur Radio Today'') () was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

-based

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

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

that was published from 1960 to 2003. It was known for its strong emphasis on technical articles and for the lengthy editorials in each issue by its founder and publisher, Wayne Green. The magazine title, ''73'', (Morse: −−••• •••−− ) means "best regards" in amateur radio lingo.

History

The first issue of ''73'' was published in October 1960 from Green's business offices in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. A major contributing editor was Ken Sessions, K6MVH, who wrote a column called "The Chronicles of 76", a reference to the FM transmitting frequency of 146.76 megahertz. Sessions also authored many books on the subject of amateur radio, and designed many of the how-to projects included in the magazine. Another contributing editor was

Jean Shepherd Jean Parker 'Shep' Shepherd Jr. (~July 21, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film ''A Christmas Story'' ...

, K2ORS. According to the

ARRL The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the largest membership association of amateur radio enthusiasts in the United States. ARRL is a non-profit organization, and was co-founded on April 6, 1914, by Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence D. Tuska o ...

Letter, "''73'' was a pioneer promoter of SSB, FM,

solid-state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their ...

, easy construction projects, and the marriage of

personal computing A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or techn ...

and amateur radio." ''73'' headquarters moved to

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in 1962. Average issues of ''73'' totaled more than 300 pages in the 1970s and 80s.The November 1978 issue has 324 pages. ''73'' was known for its editorial column, "Never Say Die", in which, along with Sessions, Green often criticized the

American Radio Relay League The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the largest membership association of amateur radio enthusiasts in the United States. ARRL is a non-profit organization, and was co-founded on April 6, 1914, by Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence D. Tuska o ...

. The title "Never Say Die" was a

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

for Green's

call sign, W2NSD. Green later founded microcomputing magazines such as "Desktop Computing", Kilobaud Microcomputing, and

80 Micro ''80 Micro'' was a computer magazine, published between 1980 and 1988, that featured program listings, products and reviews for the TRS-80. History Wayne Green, the creator of many magazines such as '' 73'', founded ''80 Microcomputing'' as a ...

, and was involved with the founding of ''

Byte Magazine ''Byte'' (stylized as ''BYTE'') was a microcomputer magazine, influential in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s because of its wide-ranging editorial coverage. "''Byte'' magazine, the leading publication serving the homebrew market ..." '' ...

''.

Closing

After completing 43 years of publication, ''73 Amateur Radio Today'' magazine ceased publication with the September 2003 issue (#514). A combined October/November 2003 issue was planned, but never appeared. Publisher Wayne Green cited financial pressure from reduced advertising revenue as the prime reason for shutting down publication of the magazine.Alt URL
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References

External links

*{{IA, 73-magazine, 73 Amateur Radio Today Collection
73 Magazine Archive Online
1960 establishments in New York City 2003 disestablishments in New Hampshire Monthly magazines published in the United States Amateur radio magazines Amateur radio in the United States Magazines established in 1960 Magazines disestablished in 2003 Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines published in New York City Magazines published in New Hampshire