*******BIOC Agent 003's course in******
* *
* ========================== *
* =BASIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS= *
* ========================== *
* PART II *
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Preface:
In part II, we will explore the various special Bell #'s, such as: CN/A, AT&T
Newslines, loops, 99XX #'s, ANI, ringback, and a few others.
AT&T NEWSLINES:
---------------
Newslines are recordings that Bell employees call up to find out the
latest info on stock, technology, etc. concerning the Bell System.
Here are the #'s that are currently known to phreaks (at least me, anyway):
201-483-3800 NJ 513-421-9060 OH
203-771-4920 CT 516-234-9914 NY
212-393-2151 NY 518-471-2272 NY
213-621-4141 CA 617-955-1111 MA
213-829-0111 CA (GTE) 702-789-6711 NV
213-449-8830 CA 713-224-6116 TX
312-368-8000 IL 714-238-1111 CA
313-223-7223 MI 717-255-5555 PA
314-247-5511 MO 717-787-1031 PA
408-493-5000 CA 802-955-1111 VT
412-633-3333 PA 808-533-4426 HI
414-678-3511 WI 813-223-5666 FL
416-929-4323 ONT. 914-948-8100 NY
503-228-6271 OR 916-480-8000 CA
=======
=LOOPS=
=======
First of all, you must understand the concept of loops. I think that the
best way that this is understood is the way that Phred Phreak explained it...
"No self-respecting Phone Phreak can go through life without knowing what a
loop is, how to use one, and the types that are available. The loop is a
great alternative communication medium that has many potential uses that
haven't even been tapped yet. In order to explain what a loop is, it
would be helpful to visualize two phone numbers (lines) just floating around in
the Telco central office (CO). Now, if you (and a friend perhaps) were to call
these two numbers at the same time, POOOOPFFF!!!, you are now connected
together. I hear what you're saying out there..., "Big deal" or "Why should
Ma Bell collect here two MSU'S (message units) for one lousy phone call!?"
Well... think again. Haven't you ever wanted someone to call you back but,
were reluctant to give out your home phone number (like the last time you
tried to get your friend's unlisted # from the business office)? Or how
about a collect call to your friend waiting on a loop, who will gladly
accept the charges? Or better yet, stumbling upon a loop that you discover
that has multi-user capability (for those late-night conferences). Best of
all is finding a non-supervised loop that doesn't charge any MSU's or tolls
to one or both parties. Example: many moons ago, a loop affectionately known
as 'the 332 Loop' was non-sup (ie, nonsupervised) on the tone side. I had my
friend in Calif/rgia dial the free (non-sup) side, (212) 332-9906 and I
dialed the side that charged, 332-9900. As you can see, I was charged one MSU,
and my friend was charged zilch, for as long as we wished to talk!!!"
*****
Ahhh...have I perked your interest yet? If so, here is how to find a loop of
you very own. First, do all of you loop searching at NIGHT! This is
because the loops serve a genuine test function which Telco uses during the
day. (We don't want to run into an irate lineman now, do we?) To find
a loop, having 2 #'s is a definite plus. If not, have a friend to dial
#'s at his location. Last resort, try dialing from two adjacent pay phones.
Now get your trusty white pages (*), and turn to the page where it lists
the # of MSU's from your exchange (or exchanges in your primary calling area)
The idea is to find a loop that is within your primary calling area or is
only 1 MSU in your area (call area A). This is so you don't go bankrupt trying
to find a loop. Write down all of these exchanges and do a 99XX scan of
those exchanges (99XX scanning will be discussed shortly).
Before we get up to 99XX scanning, we will look at some other loop info:
Loops are found pairs which are usually close to each other. For example, in
NPA 212, where the infamous loops are found, there is a standard loop format:
Manhattan & Bronx-------NNX-9977/9979
Brooklyn & Queens-------NNX-9900/9906
NNX is the exchange to be scanned. Here are some loops that have been found in
NYC. These are used mostly by Phreaks and call-in lines for pirate radio
stations:
212-220-9900/9906
212-283-9977/9979
212-352-9900/9906
212-365-9977/9979
212-529-9900/9906
212-562-9977/9979
212-982-9977/9979
212-986-9977/9979
The lower # is the tone side (singing switch). The higher # is always
silent. The tone disappears on the lower # when somebody dials in the
other side of the loop. If you are on the higher #, you'll have to listen to
the clicks to see if somebody dialed-in. The NYC 982 & 986 loops are
different from others. Usually when you park on a loop, you will hear who ever
calls in on the other half. When they're done, the next caller (if any)
will be queued in, one after another. On the NYC 982 & 986, you sometimes
can't get any more callers in after the first. Furthermore, if you park one of
these loops and there is nobody on the other end for more than 4 minutes, you
may be automatically disconnected. These loops are good for back-up
purposes when all other loops are busy.
99XX Scanning:
--------------
Most every exchange in the Bell System has a wide variety of test #'s and
other "goodies," such as loops.
These "goodies" are usually found between 9900 and 9999 in your local
exchange. If you have the time and initiative, scan your exchange and you
may become lucky!
Here are my findings in the 914-268:
9901 - Verification (recording of a/c and exchange)
9936 - Voice # to the Telco CO
9937 - Voice # to the Telco CO
9941 - Carrier
9960 - Osc. Tone (tone side loop)
9963 - Tone (stops: muted)
9966 - Carrier
9968 - Tone that disappears--responds to certain touch-tone keys
Most of the #'s between 9900 & 9999 will ring, be busy, go to a special
intercept operator ("what #, please?"), or will go to a "the # you have
reached..." recording. What you find depends upon the switching equipment in
the exchange and the Telco operating company.
When searching for loops, you may find one of the following possibilities when
you find one:
1. You can hear through the loop (not muted), but there is a 1/2 second
click every 10 seconds that interrupts the audio. This type is
good for back-up use but the %$#'&" click is super annoying.
2. One side of the loop is busy; try it again later.
3. The tone disappears, but you cannot hear through it (the loop is muted,
try again in a month or so)
4. You get "The # you have reached recording." No loop there!
Most loops are muted (#3), but their status does changes from time-to-time.
It all depends if the Telco maintenance personnel remember to "throw the
sw)tjh", ie, turn off the loop.
Since I have done the above 914-268 99XX scan, Congers (268) has installed
new switching equipment (DMS100). Some of the numbers are the same, but I have
noticed that on the DMS100, the recordings are also stored in this
area. 268-9903, 9906, 9909, & 9912 are all different recordings. Also, there
are 2 fortress fone recordings at 268-9911 (deposit 5 cents or else) and 268-
9913 (deposit 10 cents). None of these recordings supe and a lot of other 99XX
#'s don't supe either.
In some areas (like MD), 9906-7 is ringback. In Washington, there is a
sweep tone test at (202) 560-9944. In NYC (212), you'll find the infamous
loop lines (as mentioned above). It will be easier to scan your exchange
if you make up a chart like the one below:
NPA-NNX-99XX SCAN
--------------------------------------
!99X X>:0 :1 :2 :3 :4 :5 :6 :7 :8 :9 !
--------------------------------------
!990 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
!991 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
!992 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
!993 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
!994 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
!995 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
!996 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
!997 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
!998 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
!999 : : : : : : : : : : !
--------------------------------------
This leaves you with 100 boxes (1 for each # between 9900 & 9999). You
should make your boxes big enough so you can write some sort of shorthand in
them. For example:
B - busy (try again at another time)
R - rings (try again at another time)
O - intercept operator ("what # you calling?)
R1- recording 1 (make a margin note of the types of recordings you get)
T - tone } tone at a lower # + ignore
I - ignore } at a higher # = loop
V - voice # to Telco CO - they usually answer with the city name or area.
C - carrier
There will be others and you should use other characters that you can
understand.
Now, back to loops! As you may have noticed in my 914-268 scan, I found a
muted loop and a tone side. 914-268 failed to come up with the silent side
of a loop! Therefore, there is no loop in that exchange. I then scanned
another exchange in my primary calling area (914-634) and I found a loop!!
(914) 634-9923/9924
So, if at first you don't succeed, move onto another exchange.
If you use the box method that I have outlined above, you will see a T & I
next to each other for a loop. Some exchanges are special. For
example, 914-623 is a testing bureau. In this exchange, not only did I find a
loop, but I also found several interesting tones, noises, and other
test functions. Also, the more important the exchange is, the more you
will find. For example, in 914-623, I found well over 10 voice #'s!
Also, loops are usually, but not exclusively, found in the 99XX series.
For example: (713) 324-1799/1499 is a loop.
The perfect loop? Here is what I would look for:
1. Non-sup on one or both sides. To check for a non-sup loop, go to a
tone-first fortress fone and dial the #. If it asks for a dime, it
is supervised. If the call goes through, then it is non-suped!
2. 800 loops would be a plus. They are not necessarily found between
9900 & 9999 though. I would check the 1XXX series first.
3. Multi-user lo/pz are also a plus for those late night conferences.
Finally, remember it is only a local call to find out what you CO has in
store for you. If you find anything interesting, be sure to drop me a line.
NOTE: Your local white pages can be a valuable asset. You can also
order other fone books from your business office (usually free
for books within your operating company's district). A large
fone book, such as Manhattan, contains much more info in the
first few pages than other books.
=====
=ANI=
=====
Automatic Number Identification (ANI), is a number that you call up that will
tell you what # you are calling from. This has a few uses. First, were you
ever somewhere and the fone didn't have a # printed on it? Or perhaps you were
fooling around in some cans (those large boxes on fone poles that contain
terminals for lineman use--to be discusses in a future chapter.) and you
want to know what what the line # is.
In NPA 914, the ANI is 990. In NPA's 212 & 516, ANI is 958. This varies
from area to area.
Here are some other ANI's that I have seen:
890-751-5191
2022222222
1-XXX-1111 (in some 914 areas, esp. under step-by-step switching equipment,
you have to dial 1-990-1111)
To find ANI for other areas, check 3 digits #'s first, usually in the 9XX
series (excluding 911). In areas under step-by-step (to be discussed in the
next part), try 1-9XX-1111. ANI may also be in 99XX. Last resort,
try to get friendly with your neighbor who works for the fone company.
Ringback:
---------
Ringback, as its name implies, calls back the # you are at when you dial the
ringback number.
Ringback, in NPA 914, is 660. You dial 660 + the last 4 digits of the fone. You
will then get a tone, hang-up quickly and pick-up in about 2 seconds. You
will then get a second tone, hang-up again and the fone will ring.
In NYC, it is also 660, but you may have to press 6 or 7 before you hang up
for the first time (ie, at the first tone).
Other ringback #'s that I have seen are:
26011 - This 5 digit format is used primarily on step-by-step.
The last 2 digits (11) are dummy digits.
890-897-XXXX - XXXX are the last 4 digits of the fone #.
119911/11911/1199911 - GTE
NNX-9906/9907 - NPA 301, NNX is the exchange
The reason you get the tone when you pick-up after it rings is because in
some areas, people were using ringback as an in-house intercom. They would
dial ringback, and when it stopped ringing, they would pick-up & talk with
the person who picked up the other extension. Bell didn't like this since
there is usually only 1 piece of equipment in each exchange that does
the ringback. When people used this as an intercom, linemen & repairmen
couldn't get through! In some areas, especially those under step-by-step,
ringback can still be used as an intercom. Also, under step-by-step,
the ringback procedure it usually simple. For example, in one area you
would dial 26011 and hang-up; it would then ringback.
Touch-Tone Test:
----------------
In areas that have a Touch-Tone test, you dial the ringback #. At the first
tone, you touch-tone digits 1-0. If they are correct it will beep twice.
I have also seen a TT test in some areas at: 890-751-5191
Coming Soon:
------------
In the next part, we will look at various switching equipment and The
Network.
Break up of Bell:
-----------------
The operating companies are not going to change all the switching equipment
around. While there will be some changes, most of the information
provided here will remain pertinent after January 1, 1984. Just substitute
the word "fone network" for Bell System.
Au Revoir,
*****BIOC
*=$=*Agent
*****003
December 8, 1983
Acknowledgements: TAP, Phred Phreek, Judas Gerard, The Magician, Dark
Priest, & myself. I would also like to thank the Mulcher }{ for his assistance.
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