TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 463.fidonet-ls_arrl@1:2320/33 28cc3b5b   
   PID: Synchronet 3.20a-Win32 master/4985797d2 May  9 2023 MSC 1929   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.20-Win32 master/4985797d2 May  9 2023 MSC 1929   
   BBSID: TBOLT   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   The Amateur Message Form   
      
   The amateur message form comes to us from a long tradition. The earliest   
   telegrams were very formal, in the florid style of the last half of the   
   19th century. Even the train orders of that time began with Dear Sir, and   
   ended with yours truly. However, since telegraph companies charged by the   
   word, the text soon changed to the present style.   
      
   The preamble, however, has changed greatly. At first, the date and the   
   number of words were the only two items listed in this country. The   
   European telegram included the time and the office call, but it was not   
   until after the Civil War that Americans began using these as well. The   
   main reason for using the group count was to be able to calculate charges   
   for the messages, as well as to insure accuracy. Western Union still   
   prints on its message form certain requirements for making sure that the   
   message is transmitted accurately: that there is no guarantee for the   
   accuracy of the message unless it is requested that the receiving operator   
   repeat it as a check. There is still an extra charge for this service.   
   This provision was printed on the earliest Western Union blanks as well   
   as those of the Electric Telegraph Company in England, but the idea is   
   far earlier than either of these. It was used by the French semaphore   
   system before the wire telegraph.   
      
   The amateur preamble, of course, is derived from the early wireless forms.   
   The printed Marconigram blanks have much the same information which is   
   required for the heading of amateur messages, including the service   
   information at the bottom of the blanks.   
      
   Those ARL numbered texts have an interesting and even longer history. In   
   1844 Alfred Vail was concerned about preserving the secrecy of the message,   
   and therefore prepared a series of numbered messages which could be   
   selected for use by the public. Numbered texts are no longer used for   
   secrecy, they facilitate the rapid transmission of messages.   
      
   Two of our most commonly used service abbreviations --ASAP and GBA-- date   
   back to the 1840s when the early press telegraphers cut everything to the   
   most abbreviated form in order to bypass the exceedingly high rates   
   imposed by the telegraph companies.   
      
   ***   
      
   The International Code   
      
   Although Samuel F. B. Morse's code achieved nearly universal use on the   
   landline telegraph systems of America, the Europeans never did like it.   
   They felt that the "space" characters were likely to cause errors in   
   receiving. (The letter "O," for example, was sent "dit dit" and the "I"   
   was sent as in the now familiar International Code: "didit.") The   
   Europeans developed a number of binary dot-dash codes to suit their own   
   needs. The code in use on the wires of the Prussian Empire in 1852 bore   
   a strong resemblance to the present International Code, but it used the   
   American Morse numerals. Seven years later the "European Code" was   
   formulated, using the Austro-Prussian alphabet, and adapting the numerals   
   we now use. This was adopted for use by all European countries, and the   
   name was changed in 1912 to "International Code," although it is also   
   known, even today, as the "Continental Code."   
      
   The numerals themselves are interesting. No known code of the European   
   continent shows anything which resembles them. They just showed up in   
   the European Code. However, the Bain Code, used on many lines in the   
   U.S. circa 1846, had numerals which closely match those of the   
   International Code. From one through five, Bain and International are   
   identical. Reversing the Bain Code numerals six through zero produces   
   the International numerals. There is nothing to prove that the Bain Code   
   was the basis for the International numerals, but the conclusion is   
   almost inescapable that someone at the Vienna conference at which   
   International was adopted, was familiar with Bain's numerals. Bain's code   
   was a modification of the Davy code of 1839, so it is possible that the   
   numerals we now use are older than any of the alphabets.   
   --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32   
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:2320/33)   
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