Back in 1987, i was 12, I was leaving my local grocery store, the payphone was ringing, I answered, and it was a party line of like 8 ppl talking. I introduced myself, and the strangest thing happened, someone told me the number and what time to call and days of the week. For 4 years, I had like a portal, an early social network at a random pay phone like a window into fantasy. Sadly, the place closed down in 1991, and the phone was removed. The number wouldn't work anywhere else, sadly. It was like a fictional story come to life.
@ryanhilliard1620
2 жыл бұрын
Oh! My! Gosh! I have waited 40 years for an explanation! In the early 80s, I was 7 or 8, I was trying to call a friend and my mother was around the corner making dinner. I misdialed and my mother began speaking to me. I held the button down while she talked and my finger slipped a few times. I tried to get the dial tone back by hitting the button a few more times. I suddenly heard guys talking. I shouted, "Get off my line! I'm trying to make a call!" My shocked mother asked, "Who are you talking to?" And I said, "I don't know there are some guys on our phone." One of them, in a low, angry NY accent said, "Get off the phone, kid!" I was scared and hung up. This was in the Chicago suburbs, 81 or 82.
@bsadewitz
2 жыл бұрын
Hahaha. I've seen electronic switches that did this also. My memory is hazy but I think it might have involved payphones (?) It didn't last for 5 minutes, but definitely way longer than it usually does.
@aliensporebomb
Жыл бұрын
Back in 1979 there was a severe thunderstorm and afterwards I picked up the phone to call a friend and dialed the first digit and the dial tone went away and there were hundreds, perhaps thousands of people talking. I was getting crosstalk from all over the place. The strange thing is, it appeared that some of the people could hear me when I called out to them. It's been many years but I've never forgotten it.
@aliensporebomb
Жыл бұрын
I later found a replica of this event in one of the Evan Doorbell Q&A recordings that is at his site. Q&A for Brad I think it's called.
@ripj5301
4 жыл бұрын
I don’t understand what I stumbled on here but I’m gonna be listening to these “podcasts” for a while thank you haha
@philyork7347
4 жыл бұрын
Thank-you for capturing these precise memories and sharing them. I'm amazed that you have all those examples of recorded messages captured. Major props to you.
@Paramount531
Жыл бұрын
Having read Exploding the Phone, I will remain eternally grateful that I was not aware of all of this in the early 70s, I definitely would have been a Phone Phreak. I think I dodged a bullet!
@batlin
11 ай бұрын
I found something a bit like that 660 trick here in Ireland back in the 1990s... since I didn't have internet access, I had plenty of time to sit there and explore different phone numbers. I discovered that the prefix 199 gave access to some internal phone systems. Some were apparently telephone exchanges like "Crown Alley", even though they were likely fully automated by then. Maybe a security desk, because once or twice I was shouted at and told not to call any of those numbers. 199000 read back your own number, and 199017 was really weird -- it made a strange tone, then if you hung up and picked up the receiver, the dialtone sounded different, and after about 10 seconds if the receiver was on hook, it would call you back with a much longer ringing sound than usual. I hypothesised then that it temporarily increased the line voltage but... who knows.
@steve94044
5 жыл бұрын
Love your phone travels!
@evandoorbell4278
5 жыл бұрын
That's good to hear; Thanks!
@JimGrey
3 жыл бұрын
If I had been born 5 or 10 years earlier I would almost certainly have gone down this rabbit hole myself. I remember discovering that certain exchanges in my hometown of South Bend, Indiana, could do tricks. This was early 1980s. A friend had a 288 number. At his house, if you dialed his number from his phone, you'd get a busy signal. But if you then dialed a single number and hung up, the phone would ring. You got a different ring cadence depending on what number you dialed. Well, punched; this worked only on touch tone. This didn't work at all on my family's 291 number; dialing your own number led to another dial tone. We still had rotary phones so I couldn't try step 2. My mom said that 291 was a "new" exchange in town, and that 288 (and 234 and 232) were all "old" exchanges. Made sense; 291 numbers all had a different ring on the line from the 288/234/232 numbers. I tried other things, complete trial and error, on other friends phones and stumbled upon a couple other weird behaviors. But then one day, bam, it all went away. All phone numbers in town took on the 291 ring and stopped doing tricks. I assume they put in a new switch. My grandmother, however, still had a party line on GTE in her rural Michigan home. Everything was different about that system! But she was onto my phone-geeky ways and firmly prohibited me from exploring. I eventually grew up, got a degree in computer science, and got a job at a software company that served telephone companies. I got to take two switch tours in the years I worked there, one of a GTE switch in Fort Wayne and one of a RochesterTel switch in Rochester, NY. The guys who worked in those switches were incredibly proud of them. I wonder what happened to them all when the #5ESS's came in and replaced all of their prized older equipment. Anyway: I'm enjoying living vicariously through your recordings.
@bsadewitz
2 жыл бұрын
FWIW, I was born in 1980 and would blue box using 800 numbers that connected to foreign countries that used CCITT#5 in-band signalling. Oh, I also had this one toll-free number that used the regular domestic MF signalling with 2600hz and all that terminated in Ketchikan, AK. This was when I was in high school. I wrote some posts about it on a couple of the other videos if you are interested.
@bsadewitz
2 жыл бұрын
I think I remember finding some switches like one you describe (like getting a second dial tone). I used to screw with the phone system whenever we went on family vacation. 😂 I had no idea wtf that was!
@bsadewitz
2 жыл бұрын
Also, I once manually scanned blocks of 10xxx (carrier access prefixes) looking for something interesting. I got lucky early on and found 10096. See, a lot of people didn't know that the network supported sending only a # after that code. Usually, that would get you a fast busy or error message, but some of them used it for calling card access. Well, 10096 just let you DIAL ANY NUMBER ON THE PLANET without a code! No toll-free numbers, but that wasn't really a disadvantage, haha. Any number! It lasted for at least a full year! Eventually, as I'd told a few of my friends, more and more people started using it, and I think that's what killed it, eventually. It worked anywhere in the US I went.
@bsadewitz
2 жыл бұрын
Oh, I just remembered: that's a ringback number which they would use for tests. IIRC, in my area, you dialed some prefix and the last 4 digits of the phone you were on, you'd get a tone, then hang up. It would call you back, then there would be a constant tone on the line. By me it might have been 550, but I could be wrong.
@denelson83
3 жыл бұрын
Can you believe that it has now been 50 years since you made your first telephone network recording? My, how time has flown.
@poisonshroom64
5 жыл бұрын
Thank you for putting this playlist together, I've been trying listen to this series in its entirety but there were always gaps
@JVChamblee
3 жыл бұрын
Listening to these recordings s just amazing!! I feel like I've actually gone back in time and although I'm not from the US, this makes me feel like I actually lived a previous life there. Thank you Evan!
@flyer617
9 ай бұрын
This brings back memories! Yeah we ran into each other way back when. Ed, Steve and I were up in Westchester mapping out things and trying out all the circuits. Great you have the recordings!
@KaneRobot
3 жыл бұрын
Used to make tapes with my friend where we would just backtalk the recording lady voice. Still remember making fun of her saying "313-2T" at the end of her message. Kind of cool to see what that represented like 30+ years later!
@telesniper2
6 ай бұрын
20:49 LOL I love your sense of humor ( *Dixie playing in the background* )
@bsadewitz
2 жыл бұрын
"A little sultry" 😂
@melaniec1074
8 ай бұрын
Loving this soundtrack! I am relating to this so much!
@kvltvr6967
2 жыл бұрын
This is so awesome, thank you for putting this together to teach some of us young whippersnappers a thing or two.
@cowtippingrocks
3 жыл бұрын
I grew up in the 807 area code. Our recorded voice was a woman with a strong trans Atlantic accent. I sometimes would play around with the phone dial and make discoveries such as some you talk about. I never went indepth, it was something I did from time to time when I was a bored kid. I wondered what 8079 meant. I was puzzled as of why the pre recorded message would add 9 onto the end of the area code.
@2dfx
Жыл бұрын
We had the same transatlantic lady in what was then 416 (later converted to 905 in the 90's). I distinctly remember her giving a 5 digit recording number - in our case it was 41690.
@cowtippingrocks
Жыл бұрын
@@2dfx I wonder if it was the same voice?
@I-Libertine
3 жыл бұрын
This is fantastic. Truly epic underground pop history.
@RichardX0564
10 ай бұрын
Loop lines,busy signals,watts lines, prank calls to radio stations...All part of my teenage years
@melaniec1074
8 ай бұрын
4:00 I used to do this, too, when I was a kid. At my grandmother's house. Got in trouble dialing long distance numbers just to hear the tones! I didn't think she was being charged because I hung up right away! She lived in a one-traffic light town but their phone system sounded so much cooler than ours!
@supercattelephone
Жыл бұрын
Love that you have the 6034 from Manchester haha! Hits close to home being from New England
@charliedontsurf70
3 жыл бұрын
I feel like I'm listening to "Multiplication Rock"
@aliensporebomb
Жыл бұрын
But for Phone Phreaks. All we need is Evan's "I'm Just a Bill" cover with MF Tones.
@kennyglaze6429
Жыл бұрын
I love these videos. As a 22 year old, I have recently found the old phone system to be very interesting. Do you by chance have a link to this map?
@leroyjones6958
2 жыл бұрын
This is a timeless classic.
@I-Libertine
3 жыл бұрын
I noticed the insertion of NBC Monitor Beacon tones at 16:30 (thought you could get that one past, eh?) 😂
@AronBezzina
9 ай бұрын
I don’t know how I was recommended this but I love it, this is so interesting.
@JordanBahrPian-UkePlayer
4 жыл бұрын
Unfortunately, 660 is no longer a so-called "party-line" or test number, but it still serves as an area code in northern Missouri, from where I hail.
@theoneTMoney
4 жыл бұрын
party lines stopped existing somewhere around the 80s
@theoneTMoney
3 жыл бұрын
@@tieline1333 well then, prove me wrong
@theoneTMoney
3 жыл бұрын
@@tieline1333 I just got MF tones and someone who answered "Hello caller?"
@theoneTMoney
3 жыл бұрын
@@tieline1333 that does interest me a lot, do you have any info about these numbers? it seems they are running on old equipment from the 70s
@user-dq9gm7jy2k
2 ай бұрын
I love this ❤
@TubeAngel
3 жыл бұрын
very interesting series
@olduhfguy
4 ай бұрын
These maps were unavailable to the public but discovered and used by phreakers and their 'boxes'.....................
@user-dq9gm7jy2k
2 ай бұрын
Nice to meet you
@billybassman21
3 жыл бұрын
I noticed those rapid tones a lot on the show Recuse 911 from the late 80s and early 90s at the start of a 911recording. Was it the result of something internal in the 911 system or was it just an outdated phone system from the 70s?
@evandoorbell4278
3 жыл бұрын
This is after my time, but I have heard that the E911 systems of the 90s received the caller's phone number via MFs from the telco C.O. It is probably the actual tones of the number making the call, being sent from the telco to the 911 system
@billybassman21
3 жыл бұрын
Evan Doorbell aww, makes sense thanks!
@RudyValenciaDotCom
Жыл бұрын
@@evandoorbell4278 Yes, that's correct. MF tones are still occasionally found in the E911 system, often when calling fro a landline.
@SheneCP
11 ай бұрын
What is the name of the song at the beginning of this video? I want to add it to my tiki lounge playlist Great video Evan I am loving all of this and wish that I had been born back then to indulge in this unique subculture
@spodule6000
11 ай бұрын
You sir, are a musical genius. When's the album being released?
@80486sx
Жыл бұрын
oh man, vintage Michigan accent alert. 18:02
@ryanhilliard1620
2 жыл бұрын
Part 2: The next day, after school, I tried it again. I picked up the phone and clicked until I heard nothing. I waited and heard people talking. It was pretty boring stuff. I showed my friends this little trick and we started clicking in, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. We would unscrew the bottom of the receiver and take out the mic and listen in and laugh and laugh at the things we heard. Sometimes it was perverted and other times it sounded scary. I didn't know what these people were always talking about. Usually it was mundane. Sometime in 1984, I was no longer able to do it.
@REXXSEVEN
2 жыл бұрын
How interesting.
@johnpublic5572
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for a blast from the past. Northern NJ 958 read back your number, 550-xxxx would ring back your phone. In the 201-869 area code/npa the hiss on the long ring would be there. Ah the old phone network....what fun. Do you have a list of all the numbers you've dialed on the recordings? You might see some sort of pattern, Do you still try to find strange numbers?
@bsadewitz
2 жыл бұрын
I grew up in Randolph, Morris County and was into all of this stuff. I forgot about 550! I once manually scanned blocks of 10xxx (carrier access prefixes) looking for something interesting. I got lucky early on and found 10096. See, a lot of people didn't know that the network supported sending only a # after that code. Usually, that would get you a fast busy or error message, but some of them used it for calling card access. Well, 10096 just let you DIAL ANY NUMBER ON THE PLANET without a code! No toll-free numbers, but that wasn't really a disadvantage, haha. Any number! It lasted for at least a full year! Eventually, as I'd told a few of my friends, more and more people started using it, and I think that's what killed it, eventually. It worked anywhere in the US I went. I can't even imagine how much money this poor company lost because of this. I mean, I told all sorts of people online about it, and so did my friends. Kids I didn't even know were eventually using it at the payphones at school. I also blueboxed between about 1994-1998 and posted on some other videos about it.
@aliensporebomb
Жыл бұрын
@@bsadewitz I compiled "interesting" numbers into a 3 ring notebook many years ago. I later got to run the most interesting numbers past Joe Engressia when he had his "Highrise Joe's Zyzzerific Phunline" here in town. He was able to shed light on some that were very unusual. Then a friend of mine dialed every possible phone number in the Twin Cities metro area circa mid 1980s. Every exchange, every number. He was obsessed. Anyway, my friend found some REALLY interesting numbers. One appeared to be a live microphone in an elevator in an office building downtown that some manager was likely using to monitor elevator talk for people critical of him or the company. Another appeared to be a PBX for a local railroad. Another still appeared to have something to do with adjusting microwave or satellite dish angles for best reception (I told him not to mess with that one!) There were other weird ones too.
@zard494
4 жыл бұрын
That odd moment when you hear your area code name dropped. 517 is a small ruralish area still.
@bsadewitz
2 жыл бұрын
Do you know why I observed that behavior with payphones and keeping the line open with an electronic switch? I lived in NJ, and this was in the 1990s. It didn't last REALLY long, but I seem to recall it was different than with than normal lines. Not 100% positive, but this jogged a memory.
@raygee2489
2 жыл бұрын
If you dont mind me asking when did u record this series, was it recently?
@evandoorbell4278
2 жыл бұрын
Episode 1 was created between 1998 and 2002. Episode 10 in 2018.
@raygee2489
Жыл бұрын
@@evandoorbell4278 wow that's amazing you did a really great job. Remembering all of this and the order things were done must have been a tiny nightmare. Thanks for putting this together. Definitely one of the most interesting things I've ever heard on KZitem
@UXXV
Жыл бұрын
This is TV quality stuff - beats professional podcasts from 2023!
@McCatshot
3 жыл бұрын
What is the little LaLaLa song starting at :35? I kind of like it.
@evandoorbell4278
3 жыл бұрын
kzitem.info/news/bejne/zXqsmp2nnal5aWU
@RudyValenciaDotCom
Жыл бұрын
It's "The Dis-Advantages of You", by The Brass Ring. Also used in old Benson and Hedges ads to show how their then-new 100mm length cigarettes were at a (humorously-played) disadvantage to the typical 85mm king-size cigarette of the time.
@MrEkg98
4 жыл бұрын
Does it still work like this or does the ess wait til all numbers are dialed. Generic recording.
@evandoorbell4278
4 жыл бұрын
I don't know how it works now, but you could experiment yourself... Not that I think you'll find much interesting; I stopped paying attention to the phone network after 1987.
@theoneTMoney
4 жыл бұрын
it does not wait until all numbers are dialed, if you forget to pay your phone bill for, lets say 5 years, it will immediately ring after the first digit and give you an unknown number message, you could still even get calls from scammers in my case (i guess that made my phone company finally realize i never payed in so long, i stopped getting a dial tone a few days later) haha dialing that at 3 am freaked me out so much, it will also switch as you dial, you can hear the clicks if you really listen. sorry for the retarded structuring of this comment it's 8 am and im trying to stay awake
@bsadewitz
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah. Nothing happens until you dial something it recognizes as definitely valid or invalid.
@Electrokid03
3 жыл бұрын
Hey Evan which career field did you settle on? Ya sound a lot like a radio sportscaster on the E. Coast when I picked up the feed from the other end in Kumu FM Honolulu in 2000. Did ya spend ya free time while not on the phone rapping with the Radio Shack sales guy? I think I drove our guy nuts.
@evandoorbell4278
3 жыл бұрын
My career for my 30s was being a dance club DJ, but it was ended by my becoming disabled.
@smncutler
3 жыл бұрын
@@evandoorbell4278 So sorry to hear that. Have you been a voice actor since?
@evandoorbell4278
3 жыл бұрын
@@smncutler No, but I narrated "Exploding the Phone."
@aliensporebomb
Жыл бұрын
@@evandoorbell4278 Kudos for your work on that, it's such a great book.
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