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It was automated. The coin drop sound (or at least what was generated for the wire by the phone) was what drove the switch. All signals on POTS lines were sound
by dhosek 4y ago
It was automated. The coin drop sound (or at least what was generated for the wire by the phone) was what drove the switch. All signals on POTS lines were sounds (thus the tones for pressing buttons or the numbers of clicks from dial phones).
- CaliforniaKarl 4y agoIn the beginning, it was a real bell! One bell for 5¢, rung twice for 10¢, and a separate gong sound for 25¢.
- jamal-kumar 4y agoIn my country it was 2200hz for a nickle, two for a dime, three for a quarter, and anything bigger just didn't fit
- wolfgang42 4y agoThere’s a (very old, by now) Henry Morgan sketch I remember about an expensive long distance call: after an interminable series of dings and bongs, the operator admits that she lost count and has to return the coins so he can try again. (Once they straighten out the funds, there’s a series of about six different operators needed to get the call across the country; all talking to, over, and past each other. “Hello, Hyannis, this is Truro. I have a call for Los Angeles! Westwood 5689.“ — “Hello Wellfleet, this is Hyannis. I have a call for Los Angeles. Westwood 5689.” — “Hello Boston, this is Wellfleet. I have a call for Los Angeles, Westwood 5698.” — ”No, Westwood 5689.” — “Who was that, Wellfleet?” — “That was Truro, Boston.” — “No, I’m Truro. That was Hyannis.” Meanwhile, the caller: “Are we still in Massachusetts??”)
- lstamour 4y agoTrack 11 at https://archive.org/details/lp_the-best-of-henry-morgan-excerpts-and-comm_henry-morgan/disc1/02.01.+Long+Distance.mp3 https://archive.org/details/lp_the-best-of-henry-morgan-exce... Quite funny! :)
- wolfgang42 4y agoThanks! I tried finding a link, but your search-fu is apparently better than mine :-)