73 in Morse code

Letter by letter

Read aloud: dash dash dot dot dot, dot dot dot dash dash.

73 means best regards. It comes from early telegraph codes and still ends most amateur radio contacts.

Tap it back

A short tap is a dot, a longer hold is a dash. Pause between letters.

How to send it

• By sound. A short beep for a dot, a beep three times as long for a dash.
• With a flashlight. Short flash, long flash. Keep the light off for the length of three dots between letters.
• By tapping. Taps cannot be long or short, so leave a short pause after a dot and a longer one after a dash, or tap once for a dot and twice quickly for a dash.
• On a bracelet. A round bead for each dot, a long bead for each dash, and a spacer between letters. 73 needs 6 round and 4 long beads.

How long it takes

73 is 29 timing units long. That is about 7 seconds at 5 words per minute, a beginner's pace, and 2.3 seconds at 15.

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