50-ohm or 50 ohm ?

["tmweditr -at- world -dot- std -dot- com" <tmweditr -at- WORLD -dot- STD -dot- COM>]

Dear Technical Writers,

My name is Martin Rowe. I'm a technical editor with _Test &
Measurement World_ magazine in Newton, MA. Today, there was
controversy among the editorial staff about hyphens. I'd like to
get your opinions.

The copy editors always add a hyphen in a place that we, the
technical editors, question. Here's the situation.

[ ]  Install a 50-[uom] resistor

or

[ ]  Install a 50 [uom] resistor.

[uom] is our code for uppercase omega.

Check off the box you'd use and e-mail it to me.

The copy editors argue that both 50 and [uom] are modifiers of
resistor and should be hyhenated. The technical editors argue
that "Proper English sometimes makes poor (or a least odd)
engineering notation." I must admit that in 12 years as an
engineer, I'd never seen the hyphen until coming to the magazine.
In fact, when I edit contributed articles, I usually put in the
hyphen just because I know the copy editors will anyway. When I
send edited manuscripts to their authors for review, they almost
always cross out the hyphens, only to have the copy editors put
them back in.

So, what you you do?
Thanks in advance.
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*  Technical Editor          *    /    \        /\
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