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. Technology has influenced all facets of life today— '^eluding our language. American Telegraph & Telephone ,vr&T) and telephone company technicians, and groups gov- efned by the International Consultive Committee for Telephones and Telegraph coined many of the words listed here 0r gave existing words new meanings. But many of the w°rds were created by communications groups within the Military. In fact, the military influence on this listing is sig- dicant because many telecommunication industry employees ?rc ex-military. Here are just a few of today’s high-tech uzzwords and slang:
isvverback: A response from a terminal or device to a re- h'otely transmitted control character, usually to verify a conation, as in telex and teletype exchange services ackboard: Portion of station where terminal blocks exist, SuaUy the demarcation point between carrier and customer ^hipment
. ackbone: Major portion of a transmission facility connect- 'h§ various channels or devices ack end: A separate processor residing on the back of a ^ntral processing unit (CPU)
lrd: A satellite or aircraft, usually with a reconnaissance or ^munications function
feeding: Presence of an unwanted signal from an adjacent
fra
the
^uency or channel, caused by excessive power driving of
original signal
h. ■ _
JUe book: Term for AT&T’s compilation of Network notes ^ORD: Beginning of radio day; beginning of Julian date 0,t: Many computer-driven devices are referred to as a box,
such
- as a communications processor ri-jakout box: A test device used to check the leads of a gital interface; also used to manipulate the state of leads
di
•hri
li
°ugh a series of switches and cross-connects _utt set: A handset used for line testing and temporary com-
5nication
j. hangeover: Term used when preparing a device or records .°r daily change, as in the beginning of the radio day; may jAlude the filing of logs, printouts, and magnetic tapes hasing ditties: The copying of Morse code characters v |PPing: The loss of the beginning or last part of words in q lce transmission °ne: A cone-shaped antenna £Fash: The abnormal halt of a computer-driven device ^Jhover: A switch from one circuit or system to another "tosaur cage: A giant circular display of array antennas jytrounding a government communications facility jjlstant end: Far end of a point-to-point circuit auri>p: The transferring or storing of data from one source to Pkt’, suc^ as fr°m a disk drive to a mag tape
Error, disregard; used when freehand typing on a com- an'cati°ns device such as a teletype on which deletion of an fox°r 'S not Poss'^c- P°r example, The quick brown froEEE
End of radio day; end of current Julian date tii) ,l^: Disruption of radio signals caused by path propaga- p.n change caused by atmospheric conditions Ej ed station: A land-based communications facility a8ging; Purposely dropping and restoring a signal in rapid
succession to create an alternating “mark-space” condition; used by field technicians to signal each other Flash: A “hot” or urgent message requiring immediate action; a momentary on-hook from off-hook position of the telephone cradle buttons, which allows another number to be dialed without losing the original connection Footprint: Refers to area of communication satellite where ample transmission can be made
Front end: A processer residing in front of a CPU, such as a communications controller
Foxtest: Test sentence using every letter of the alphabet— “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’s back”
Hoot and holler circuit: Private line circuit (usually a ringdown) used for voice communication among several sites Hop: The link between two specific points, usually between radio repeater sites
Hot cut: A rapid switch from one circuit to another
Hot tone: A high-level tone sent by a tone generator, usually
to clear or “wake up” a circuit
Howling: Undesired howling-like tone on the circuit, caused by radio frequency interference or defective equipment Hum: Circuit interference usually caused by an alternating current power supply
Jeopardy: A scheduled outage impairment or possible service interruption to allow for preventive or required maintenance Loss: Decrease in transmission signal because of the normal resistance of a circuit or communication device Phaser: A homing carrier sent by a ship, aircraft, or station to enable synchronization on its frequency Quick van: A portable communications site housed in a van that can be readily transported via land, sea, or air Raday: Radio day; denotes Julian date in use Repeater: Device within a transmission medium that receives, amplifies, and retransmits a signal Ringdown: A direct line with a ringing signal applied, as soon as the handset is taken off-hook Sanitize: Clearing of classified information from plain view to allow for noncleared personnel to gain access to a restricted area
Spike: A sudden surge of electrical interference or noise on a circuit
Stunt box: A remotely accessed device that controls certain functions of a terminal
Tail circuit: A line attached directly to a specific site Tie line: A circuit linking two or more private branch exchanges or switches
Turnaround: Denotes echo or feedback on a circuit Window: A scheduled timeframe for preventive maintenance or hardware or software changes on a system (See Jeopardy) Wink: Signal that tells the distant end of connection to send digits
Zap: The resetting of a device via circuit intervention
Mr. Guevara is a network communications analyst at Chevron Information Technology Company in San Ramon, California. He also held similar positions at GTE Sprint Communications Corporation and ITT World Communications, Inc. Mr. Guevara served as a cryptologic communications technician for the U. S. Naval Security Group in 1975-1979. He also served in the U. S. Naval Reserve in 1979-1981.
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