[HN Gopher] Still-active phreak numbers, all safe and free
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Still-active phreak numbers, all safe and free
 
Author : billwear
Score  : 98 points
Date   : 2022-02-12 19:40 UTC (3 hours ago)
 
web link (stormrider.io)
w3m dump (stormrider.io)
 
| doctorshady wrote:
| Someone set up a strange number with something like this a while
| ago, with a bunch of randomized recordings. Some of these appear
| to be inside jokes or otherwise have hidden meanings about
| unorthodox behavior from phone systems - +1-248-200-0008.
 
| wcfields wrote:
| Semi-related:
| 
| RING A BELL (213) 223-6101
 
| WalterGR wrote:
| Related and really cool:
| 
| I made 50k calls to explore the telephone network
| (shufflingbytes.com)
| 
| 333 points | ValtteriL | 7 months ago | 180 comments
| 
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27602383
 
| TazeTSchnitzel wrote:
| > (800) 444-4444: automated number announcement circuit
| 
| Is this meant to announce your own number back at you? I called
| from outside the US and got a very different number from my own,
| which is fascinating.
 
  | rahimnathwani wrote:
  | Did you call directly, or use a calling card or similar
  | discount call service?
 
    | TazeTSchnitzel wrote:
    | Directly from my mobile phone.
    | 
    | I wonder if the number I got is the notional phone number of
    | a virtual international trunk line or something like that.
 
      | cryptonector wrote:
      | NAT for phones?
 
| paulluuk wrote:
| In case anyone else wants to try this from outside the US: dial
| 001 (or +1) followed by the number, including the part between
| parentheses.
 
| throwawayHN378 wrote:
| Are you the author? You you can make them callable links
 
| hatware wrote:
| > 1000Hz @ 0dB (this only makes sense if you're a phone person)
| 
| Any phone people here?
 
  | LegitShady wrote:
  | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milliwatt_test
  | 
  | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_around
  | 
  | I'm not a phone person but I've heard of this before.
 
    | pimlottc wrote:
    | TIL 0 decibels [?] silence
 
      | pxx wrote:
      | Decibels are only ever a relative measurement on a
      | logarithmic scale. In this case, we aren't even talking
      | about sound (these are dB of power), but this is true
      | independent of base unit. For sound, to represent silence,
      | you actually need -[?] dB. The fact that this is a relative
      | scale is also why your mixer/home theatre receiver
      | represents full intensity as 0 dB and any volume
      | adjustments as some negative number of dB (some mixers may
      | allow you to go a little bit over 0 dB but of course this
      | risks clipping when a full-strength signal comes in).
      | 
      | Fun fact though: the sound scale is capped on the upper
      | extreme depending on your environment. You know how
      | recordings of launches of rockets sound like the sound is
      | clipping? It's not hardware limitations. The sound is
      | actually clipping as the pressure hits vacuum. See https://
      | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_pressure#Sound_pressure_... .
 
| Scoundreller wrote:
| Here's a fun one: a live feed of Fox News: 212-301-3799
 
  | doctorshady wrote:
  | 818-205-1622/1642/1662 are feeds of whatever is coming off the
  | satellite channels from Premiere Radio Networks.
 
| mmaunder wrote:
| This makes my heart smile. Rarely these days I'll connect with a
| phellow phreak and we chat about bridge parties and other fun
| stuff. One day the fone number will be a thing of the past and
| all this an ancient memory.
 
| mmaunder wrote:
| I find myself wondering if CCITT5 tones are still in use on
| international trunks. Anyone know? Any old BlueBeep users here?
 
| zxcvbn4038 wrote:
| I had a lot of fun with lists like these in the 70s/80s. To this
| day I give all of my creditors a phone number which I know has
| rung busy since 1983 thanks to lists like these. It would be very
| interesting to war-dial all of the US exchanges in 2022 to see
| what answers.
 
| hahamrfunnyguy wrote:
| If you like learning about telephone system, phone phreak Evan
| Doorbell has a very interesting series of podcasts about his time
| exploring the telephone system in the 1970's. The podcasts
| include his recordings from that time period.
| 
| It was neat to hear some of the old tones and recorded messages I
| grew up with, as well as ones that were well before my time:
| 
| http://www.evan-doorbell.com/production/group1.htm
 
| reaperducer wrote:
| It has the Hall and Oats recording number, but is missing the one
| for They Might Be Giants. Does anyone know if it's still active?
| 
| TMBG used to release all of their new music on an answering
| machine before you could buy it. Kind of a pre-internet version
| of artists releasing singles on YouTube before you can buy the
| album.
 
  | easton wrote:
  | (844) 387-6962 is still up
 
| sandreas wrote:
| I would suggest to put in a
| 
| (202) 762-1401
| 
| so that they maybe would be really click-dialable :-)
 
  | 0x0 wrote:
  | Should probably be "tel:+1...."
 
| greenyoda wrote:
| > (914) 232-9901: pleasant hills DMS 100
| 
| In the NYC vicinity, dialing the -9901 suffix on many phone
| exchanges will give you a recorded message identifying the
| central office you reached. For example, if you call (212)
| 736-9901, it tells you that the switch is on West 36th Street[1]
| and a list of area codes/prefixes it serves. Amusingly, the
| switch still identifies itself as "Bell Atlantic", which is what
| the local Regional Bell Operating Company was called before it
| became "Verizon" in 2000 (it was also briefly "NYNEX").[2]
| 
| [1] This building, apparently:
| https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=69989
| 
| [2]
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verizon_Communications#Bell_At...
 
  | [deleted]
 
  | tiernano wrote:
  | NYNEX: just clicked that's what Phantom Phreak from Hackers was
  | on about: "the Phantom Phreak, king of NYNEX". And looking at
  | the dates, seems to gel... took me that long to figure out what
  | was said there!
 
| walrus01 wrote:
| see also, historical Bell System and other recordings/error
| messages:
| 
| https://www.thisisarecording.com/Bell-System.html
| 
| https://telephoneworld.org/telephone-sounds/modern-north-ame...
| 
| Fairly easy to download and use on your own voip system if you
| want.
 
  | toast0 wrote:
  | This is a nice collection of recordings of and about the phone
  | systems of the 70s:
  | 
  | http://www.evan-doorbell.com/production/group1.htm
 
| gormandizer wrote:
| In addition to the USNO master clock there are also
| WWV Colorado: 303-499-7111       WWV Hawaii:   808-335-4363
 
| alisonkisk wrote:
 
| ButterWashed wrote:
| I always enjoy reading about this kind of stuff even though a lot
| of is only applicable in the US. On UK landlines you can dial
| 17070 to access BT line test functions. When you dial a very well
| spoken voice reads your phone number back to you. It's rarely
| been useful to me but I did once astonish someone by using it,
| they were convinced it was meant to be a secret number and that I
| was probably breaking the law!
 
| 13of40 wrote:
| I'm always astonished that after 30 years and the installation of
| two giant data centers, this little Oregon town hasn't upgraded
| its telephone exchange. Anyway, here's an automated ghost from
| the past: 541-447-0054
 
| morsch wrote:
| Not quite in the spirit, I suppose, but you can find out more
| about most of the numbers by googling them. One guy published
| youtube videos for a couple of them. Kind of fun.
 
| irrational wrote:
| > all safe
| 
| That's exactly what I'd expect a hacker to say ;-)
| 
| Now, where did I put my Captain Crunch whistle?
 
| kQq9oHeAz6wLLS wrote:
| There used to be (maybe still is) an 800 number you could call to
| get your ANI, basically the billing number for whatever phone you
| were calling from. Kinda fun.
 
  | ugl wrote:
  | The old mci number, died last year finally unless there's
  | another still up
 
    | doctorshady wrote:
    | There's a few: 800-437-7950
    | 
    | 800-223-1104 (passcode 910777)
 
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(page generated 2022-02-12 23:00 UTC)