When disaster strikes, and conventional communication systems fail, amateur ham radio operators step in to bridge the gap, providing a crucial link between those in affected areas and the outside world.

  • ruckblack@sh.itjust.works
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    21 days ago

    Doesn’t 73 mean “best regards” and SK just mean “end of contact”? I see that SK can also colloquially mean that an operator is deceased, though. Genuinely curious, not familiar with the hobby.

    • BenDoubleU@lemmy.radioOP
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      21 days ago

      It’s both. SK, Stop Keying, is used in CW (morse) whenever a station is done transmitting. SK is also Silent Key, but you’ll rarely hear the abbreviation over voice or CW.

    • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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      21 days ago

      I don’t know anybody who uses SK as end of contact. I’ve always heard it referred to as the operator being deceased.