Quite right and good point

Posted by Lotg on September 17, 2004

In Reply to: Ah yes but... posted by R. Berg on September 17, 2004

: : : : This term is common enough and used in radio communications, and even now, more casually in email communications. eg. I'll be off the air for a while, but I'll email you later.

: : : : I assume this originated from the term 'air waves', but can anyone tell me when?

: : : : Also there seem to have been some transitions re communication rules as well.

: : : : eg. Once to acknowledge receipt of a radio communication people would say 'roger', 'over' - seems to be used to indicate that you've finished what you're saying but you're 'handing over' for a response, 'out' seems to finalise the communication. Dunno what 'Roger Wilco (sp?)' is supposed to signify. But I've heard variations such as 'roger that' - which seems to be yes, I acknowledge or understand, but then I also thought that 'roger' meant the same thing - so when was the word 'that' appended? And the very latest is 'copy that', which seems to mean the same thing.

: : : : Are there consistent international rules? Does anyone know them? What is the correct lingo now?

: : : We've had a number or good discussions about "Roger" (note the R) and "Wilco" (will comply) ... all available in the archives. try typing these words into the Search box.

: : Yes, I did search for something different hence I didn't find all that. ie. I was looking for on & off air.

: : But doing a Roger and Roger Wilco search still only answers one of my questions. So I'll list the remaining questions...

: : When and why was 'roger that' introduced and did it replace 'roger' or 'roger wilco'?

: : When and where would 'over' and/or 'out' be used instead and by whom?

: : As above for 'copy that'?

: : What is the current standard - or is there a current standard?

: : Who introduced the term on/off the air and when?

: "Over and out" is wrongedy-wrong, despite its popularity in badly fact-checked movie scripts. "Over" means "Over to you" - that is, I'm ending my transmission and awaiting your reply. "Out" means I'm ending my transmission and turning off my microphone. One can't logically combine "Your turn" and "Goodbye."

Yes - and that was sloppy and forgetful of me, because I have previously been trained so.