THIRTY, or just 30, is the historic and traditional way to signify the end of a message via via telegraphy, teletype, electronic transmission. A brief discussion and history can be found in the Wikipedia . The Wikipedia seems to focus on the journalistic history and use of "30", but during my life, I came to realize that the practice was wide spread among the early telegraphers in general. This use persisted up to WWII and the decline of telegraphy in general. The term may still be in use in some journalistic venues, that I do not know.

Amatuer Radio came along late in the History of Communication. Amatuer Rado, popularly known as "Ham Radio", developed their own communications shorthand known as the Q signals. They also adopted a few numeric railroad codes such as 70, 73, and 88. But Hams, as Licensed Amatuer Radio Operators are popularly known, never adopted the "30" numeric code.

As a Licensed Amatuer Radio Operator, I operated mostly on morse code or CW, the modern day icon for radio telegraphy. I also belonged to AFCS MARS as the CW Central US Gateway. This means when I was on duty, I received all AFCS cw radio traffic inbound to AFCS stations located between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains sent from AFCS stations outside the contiental United States. After logging and sorting, this traffic was delivered via CW.

I made the decision to close each eMail with "-30-" as a tribute to the early telegraphers. A stylized "30" was designed and placed in my eMail signature. Thanks for being a part of history.