Our official SolderSmoke etymologist and lexicographer Steve Silverman explains:
Bill
Here is some ham radio/electronics trivia
In the days when amateur radio used short range spark transmitters, multi-station relays were used to move a message across longer distances. At the end of each transmission, a “K” was sent, which told the receiving operator to commence his relay to the next station. Hence the use of ‘K” to designate a relay in a schematic diagram, and “end-of-transmission” for CW operators. And hence the American Radio RELAY League
73
Steve Silverman KB3SII … .. ..
Our book: “SolderSmoke — Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics” http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20