Wait, you had an FX line!? That's AMAZING! Being a non-Special Service tech, I never really had the opportunity to work on these. I did find the FX lines in (most) of the CO's I'd stop by while working. Each CO had a FX line of the CO in the town next to that CO. In case the switch crashed and you needed to call out. Usually (in Northern Massachusetts) there was a red Touchtone phone on the wall by the switch that had the FX line. I, of course, would always use that line when I'd make a call. I loved the odd sound the line would make when it broke dial tone. Being a (now) Lineman with about two years left to retirement, these days are LONG gone. Packet switches. Boo!
Yes I DID have a series of FX (foreign exchange) lines in that apartment. Anything under 5 miles from the local C.O. was just regular phone line, thus my line from East 79 street sounded like a normal suburban line. When it was longer than 5 miles the line had a repeater (s) on it and sounded like a long wire trunk. During that time I was able to call directly to a department that worked with businesses (I forget what it was called.. "Sales department," perhaps) and request the number change to a specific FX office code. The number change was free; all I had to pay for was a monthly mileage charge which wasn't bad. By bypassing my regular telco business office I was able to avoid the hard time they would have given me.
I loved the operator who refused to hang up on you just because she was annoyed at you. Can't you see I'm messing around with the system's bells and whistles here? 😂
Recorded intercept messages are so fascinating. I am amazed how well they worked and how long they lasted during a completely analog age of data storage and access.
Most of the recordings used in the network were played by machines with a rotating metal drum, which had a much thicker layer of magnetic material than you'd see on audio tape. Those were quite robust; The recorded material didn't weaken with age.
@@evandoorbell4278 Thank you for the reply! Was it similar to the Audiochron? I have been trying to find a picture of the AIS machines but haven't found much.
@@christopher88719 I never saw the drum recorders that tandems and CENTRALIZED intercept used, but the more common "7A" type machines were everywhere and they did not look like the audichrons. I don't know where to go for pix, sorry. But I know the Connections Museum has at least one "7A" type machine in there somewhere...
@@evandoorbell4278 Thank you for the information! I have learned a lot from your videos. I hope to get a chance to visit the Connections Museum once everything opens back up again.
I'll never forget Williamsport because the ONLY baseball game I ever went to was a minor league game there, around 1968. I still remember the stadium and have looked for it on Google Maps. But it's been replaced; the stadium I remember was round and painted green. What's there now is U-shaped.
@@evandoorbell4278 Ill have to ask our Historical Society. Bowman field is the U shaped field you are referring to, but that field has been there since 1926. Ill have to see if it was ever round.
I may have mentioned this to you once in one of our private conversations, but that call to Columbus would have ended up somewhere on the west side of town ("the Hilltop" to be specific) based on the 279 exchange. I would love to hear again what my own neighborhood (614-26x and 614-29x) used to sound like; we might have also had step offices until the '80s.
The ta da ta sound on a crossbar tandem sounds like it might be a a “wink” or a reverse battery signal to signify that there are no more digits in the MF string. Not sue but that’s what it sounds like.
Thanks for your comments first of all :-) The "Ta DUT duh" is associated with the district junctor first cutting us through to the outgoing trunk and THEN dropping the register-sender out. The #1 crossbar end-office switch makes the exact same noise when it is MF'ing out. You'll hear a lot of it here: ua-cam.com/video/EWhMFuNofPc/v-deo.html and also in the "How I Became a Phreak" series when I'm calling "party lines" from MY #1 crossbar line. I know that the FINAL "duh" is the register-sender being disconnected, and that the cut-through to the trunk is simultaneous with the middle "DUT." NOW I'm going to have to ask someone who knows, whether there's an AUDIBLE "I'm done; Drop me" signal going from the register-sender to the junctor in that "Ta DUT" time frame.
I ran that theory by someone at the Connections Museum and she said, "Yes, quite possibly so." The first two clicks might actually BE a wink to say "I'm done." (The outgoing trunk becomes audible concurrent with the second click)
What does it mean when you dial 958 to hear your own telephone number, and when the number is read back to you, you hear a combination of a woman's voice speaking some of the digits and then a man's voice speaking some of the other digits?
Hmmmmm 959 was a code technicians could use to identify a line, frequently used by CO (frameman technicians) to test new installs - tested at the last point in the CO, a cable pair. 958 was used to ID second party (tip party)on a 2 pty line. I worked in CO as a #5 COEM technician for 10 years in So. California during the 1960-1970 time period.
That's real crosstalk from somewhere, probably from within my local #5 crossbar office. It's such a short segment that I can't really determine where it's likely coming from. BTW the reorder tone in the background is NOT actual crosstalk, It's a partially erased recording on the cassette. Sounded close enough to actual crosstalk that I didn't mention it in the narration.
![The Sounds of Long Distance pgm 8: DDD from Panel, 4M Dialpulsing, 1977 [re-upload corrects audio]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZhzlDLThFYM/mqdefault.jpg)
Wait, you had an FX line!? That's AMAZING! Being a non-Special Service tech, I never really had the opportunity to work on these. I did find the FX lines in (most) of the CO's I'd stop by while working. Each CO had a FX line of the CO in the town next to that CO. In case the switch crashed and you needed to call out. Usually (in Northern Massachusetts) there was a red Touchtone phone on the wall by the switch that had the FX line. I, of course, would always use that line when I'd make a call. I loved the odd sound the line would make when it broke dial tone. Being a (now) Lineman with about two years left to retirement, these days are LONG gone. Packet switches. Boo!
FX meaning foreign exchange, yes?
@@smncutler Yes, sir!
Yes I DID have a series of FX (foreign exchange) lines in that apartment. Anything under 5 miles from the local C.O. was just regular phone line, thus my line from East 79 street sounded like a normal suburban line. When it was longer than 5 miles the line had a repeater (s) on it and sounded like a long wire trunk. During that time I was able to call directly to a department that worked with businesses (I forget what it was called.. "Sales department," perhaps) and request the number change to a specific FX office code. The number change was free; all I had to pay for was a monthly mileage charge which wasn't bad. By bypassing my regular telco business office I was able to avoid the hard time they would have given me.
I loved the operator who refused to hang up on you just because she was annoyed at you. Can't you see I'm messing around with the system's bells and whistles here? 😂
Recorded intercept messages are so fascinating. I am amazed how well they worked and how long they lasted during a completely analog age of data storage and access.
Most of the recordings used in the network were played by machines with a rotating metal drum, which had a much thicker layer of magnetic material than you'd see on audio tape. Those were quite robust; The recorded material didn't weaken with age.
@@evandoorbell4278 Thank you for the reply! Was it similar to the Audiochron? I have been trying to find a picture of the AIS machines but haven't found much.
@@christopher88719 I never saw the drum recorders that tandems and CENTRALIZED intercept used, but the more common "7A" type machines were everywhere and they did not look like the audichrons. I don't know where to go for pix, sorry. But I know the Connections Museum has at least one "7A" type machine in there somewhere...
@@evandoorbell4278 Thank you for the information! I have learned a lot from your videos. I hope to get a chance to visit the Connections Museum once everything opens back up again.
Great talk about the classic bell system long distance network!
At 10:41 she mentions you're intercepted at Williamsport. I drive by what used to be that office everyday. Neat to hear my town in your programs!
I'll never forget Williamsport because the ONLY baseball game I ever went to was a minor league game there, around 1968. I still remember the stadium and have looked for it on Google Maps. But it's been replaced; the stadium I remember was round and painted green. What's there now is U-shaped.
@@evandoorbell4278 Ill have to ask our Historical Society. Bowman field is the U shaped field you are referring to, but that field has been there since 1926. Ill have to see if it was ever round.
I may have mentioned this to you once in one of our private conversations, but that call to Columbus would have ended up somewhere on the west side of town ("the Hilltop" to be specific) based on the 279 exchange. I would love to hear again what my own neighborhood (614-26x and 614-29x) used to sound like; we might have also had step offices until the '80s.
Our CO was at W Broad St. and Harris or Warren Sts., I think.
The ta da ta sound on a crossbar tandem sounds like it might be a a “wink” or a reverse battery signal to signify that there are no more digits in the MF string. Not sue but that’s what it sounds like.
Thanks for your comments first of all :-)
The "Ta DUT duh" is associated with the district junctor first cutting us through to the outgoing trunk and THEN dropping the register-sender out. The #1 crossbar end-office switch makes the exact same noise when it is MF'ing out. You'll hear a lot of it here: ua-cam.com/video/EWhMFuNofPc/v-deo.html and also in the "How I Became a Phreak" series when I'm calling "party lines" from MY #1 crossbar line.
I know that the FINAL "duh" is the register-sender being disconnected, and that the cut-through to the trunk is simultaneous with the middle "DUT." NOW I'm going to have to ask someone who knows, whether there's an AUDIBLE "I'm done; Drop me" signal going from the register-sender to the junctor in that "Ta DUT" time frame.
I ran that theory by someone at the Connections Museum and she said, "Yes, quite possibly so." The first two clicks might actually BE a wink to say "I'm done." (The outgoing trunk becomes audible concurrent with the second click)
What does it mean when you dial 958 to hear your own telephone number, and when the number is read back to you, you hear a combination of a woman's voice speaking some of the digits and then a man's voice speaking some of the other digits?
Hmmmmm 959 was a code technicians could use to identify a line, frequently used by CO (frameman technicians) to test new installs - tested at the last point in the CO, a cable pair. 958 was used to ID second party (tip party)on a 2 pty line. I worked in CO as a #5 COEM technician for 10 years in So. California during the 1960-1970 time period.
At 3:44 why does it sound like there is a kid talking during the MF digits?
That's real crosstalk from somewhere, probably from within my local #5 crossbar office. It's such a short segment that I can't really determine where it's likely coming from. BTW the reorder tone in the background is NOT actual crosstalk, It's a partially erased recording on the cassette. Sounded close enough to actual crosstalk that I didn't mention it in the narration.