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In my younger days I used to like playing on the cb radio in New York City. I had a little walkie talkie type unit that didn't get much range, but how much do you need in a condensed area.
At the end of the night I would always end with over and out and go on with life. I always wondered what was over and what was out. My guess is that my participation was over and my power was out.
I always thought that was a fun way to end things
over and out.
Comments
Why over and out?
The phrase 'over and out' is probably an invention of movie and radio writers who thought they knew radio voice procedures. If two parties are conversing on the same frequency the listener can't key the microphone as he would be talking over the other sender. It's not like having a telephone conversation. The person transmitting says what he has to say, then turns the conversation over to the other speaker by saying 'over'. Then the other person says what he has to say before turning the transmitting back to the other speaker by saying 'over'. When the conversation is over, it is terminated by 'out', not 'over and out' because the latter says I'm turning the conversation back to you, but I am not listening. The correct way to end the transmission is to just say 'out'.
As a frequent user of short wave radios while in the military, we were evaluated on correct voice procedures. I was also an instructor teaching radio use. The use of 'over and out' was worth a 'minor error' during an evaluation.
Portia
Confusion
The phrase sounds like it is the result of some confusion somewhere along the line.
"Over" originally meant "It's your turn to speak." I think some people believe it means "I've finished speaking." Not the same thing at all! The end result is the same, since it means the other guy gets to talk.
However, in the minds of those who think, "over" means "I've done talking" is the thought that they have to give some way of ending the conversation, hence "over and out".
Penny
I think it's two different habits and intents
Someone finishes speaking and says "Over..." automatically, then realizes that the conversation is done and so adds, "...and out."
If you get used to saying over after everything you say, then at the end of the conversation you will naturally say "over... and out." It's not logical in terms of what they mean but it is perfectly logical in terms of how people actually behave. Radio instructors try to break people of doing it because it is confusing.
In my radio and radiotelephone days, when I would finish speaking, I would say, Over and the other person usually responded at the end of the dialog with their name or identifier and Out. I almost never was in the position of being the one ending the call.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Back to the days of SSB Radio
with a single sideband transmission only one person can speak at a time. So when one person finishes, they end their bit with the word 'over' meaning 'over to you'.
At the end the 'over and out' meand 'I'm done and signing off'. In RTTY speak this is when you get an 'ETX'.
sure Hollywood has a lot to answer for but as with many things they embellish, there is a modicum of truth in it.
If my memory serves me, CB radio was SSB.
The Drawback of SSB was that if a sender left their 'Transmit' on, no one else could speak on that band.
As a CB operator for many years...
I started my CB adventure with a "laugh-at-it" micro 23. (Lafayette Micro 23.) A small, 23 channel under the dash rig utilizing AM radio. (Amplitude Modulation) It broadcast a carrier wave and a double sideband. It is the sideband(s) that insert the intelligence.
When the FCC opened up the remaining channels (24-40) I upgraded to a single side band. The local dealer that sold it to me did what was known as "tweak and peak" it so that the output was a full 12 watts PEP (Peak Envelope Power) and tied the slider (used to "slid" the receiver off frequency by as much as 5 Khz to account for off frequency broadcasts) to the transmitter as well. Then because he was busy and confused the orders, he added "funny channels." By the flip of a switch my radio would transmit and receive on channels just a little above the 11 meter band. (Not at all legal I might add, since many of these frequencies are used by the military.)
In single sideband CB radio, the carrier and one or the other (upper or lower) sidebands are suppressed and the power usually spread at 4 watts per are concentrated in the single sideband allowing for the 12 watts PEP.
For a base station, I bought a White Face Tempo (still in my garage with blown finals) that was crystalled for the 10 meter (CB) band and broadcast SSB at 240 watts. Also illegal. Oh well I was young and dumb and liked beating "the man."
I kind of got out of the CB game when my house was burglarized and both my mobiles were stolen back in the 70s.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Storyline?
Could be story about someone who is caught "dressing" and has secret exposed. Life as they knew it is over, and they are outed.
dougstaxi
Over and out?
Signing off? :-(
Really?
Short term or long term?
IMHO, the shorter the better.
Red MacDonald