[CW] Re: AR

[N2EY@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/23/2003 12:20:15 PM Eastern Standard Time, royanjoy@ncn.net writes:

> There must be exceptions for traffic handling
> because AR B and AR N seem to be used
> in that case. 

Yep. 

One of my fondest memories of traffic handling as a high-school kid @#$% years ago was sending or receiving a long string of messages with a really good op. 

Each message would end with "AR B" and the reply would be just "R"

And on to the next message, until finally:

"AR N"

"R"

A quick exchange of callsigns and back to the net freq.

>Maybe the B and N are not true prosigns?

Agreed! I think they are abbreviations - "N" for "no more" and "B" probably derives from American Morse in the same way that "ES" does. (dit dididit in American Morse means "&")

--

It occurred to me this morning while running that since hams are pretty much the most numerous users of Morse on radio, (or indeed at all), that the operational standards and practices are pretty much what we say they are. FCC used to include questions like the common Q signals and CW operational procedures in the written test, as well as testing both sending and receiving. The rules used to *require* things like "send your own call last". All that is gone except the most basic imaginable receiving test. And that receiving test may go soon too. 

So we have effectively become the bearers of the torch, as it were. 

73 de Jim, N2EY