Exploding the Phone

[cfpyne]

Last night I went to a presentation by author Phil Lapsley about his new book "Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws who Hacked Ma Bell". He did a great job in documenting the automation of the phone network in the mid-20th century and the vulnerabilities that were discovered along the way.

Here's one of the excerpts he read:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/02/exploding-the-phone/.
and here's the book's website:
http://explodingthephone.com/

While more about the phone network than about phones, I thought this might be of interest to some of the forum members.

[Nick in Manitou]

Great story!

[ESalter]

I agree, that excerpt was a very interesting read!

---Eric

[Greg G.]

I ordered a copy from Amazon.

[DoctorZ]

I have just completed reading this most excellent book!  It chronicles the entire history of Phone Phreaking, from it's beginnings of a single Phone Phreak in 1955, to modern day computer hackers.  I am in the process of typing up a lengthy letter to the author Phil Lapsley, with some of my telephone antics of my youth.  Perhaps he will include some of my letter in any sequels to his book!

[Greg G.]

... I am in the process of typing up a lengthy letter to the author Phil Lapsley, with some of my telephone antics of my youth.

I hope they were more sophisticated than my youthful pranks, e.g. "Prince Albert in a can?",  "Refrigerator running?", "Pig's feet?"

[DavePEI]

Here's one of the excerpts he read:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/02/exploding-the-phone/.
and here's the book's website:
http://explodingthephone.com/

Absolutely fascinating. The extent of phreaking was dialing up numbers on a dial-less 211 mounted by my bed at home using the switchhook for dialing, and playing with beep-beep lines, but it left me with a fascination with phreaking!

I have read everything I could on the subject since. Those were the good old days!

What genious!

Dave

[DoctorZ]

... I am in the process of typing up a lengthy letter to the author Phil Lapsley, with some of my telephone antics of my youth.

I hope they were more sophisticated than my youthful pranks, e.g. "Prince Albert in a can?",  "Refrigerator running?", "Pig's feet?"

Actually we mainly did two kinds of pranks; the first was simply calling people at random and either pretending we were the local radio station saying they had won something, or just seeing if we could get them to think we were someone they knew and see how long before they figured out we were not.

The other type of prank was 3-way pranks, where one or two of us would be listening, while a third party dialed out on their conference line, hook it up, and we listened as the prank progressed.

The final detail is I tape recorded all my prank calls because my tape recorder had a speaker in it that allowed everyone in the room to monitor the conversation, thus pranking was a group activity.  I have since transferred most of my prank calls to MP3 format.  Should I upload them here?

[twocvbloke]

One phone prank I recall from my youth was the Wall prank, asking the victim if there are several people with whatever name (David Wall, Brenda Wall, Mike Wall, etc.)  with the surname of Wall, then asking if there are "any walls" in their house, they answer "No!!" frustrated at the call, and then you ask "Well what's holding up your roof?" and hang up....

[rtp129495]

A time I wish I could have experienced, I was born too late and only experienced the #1ESS and #1AESS. Sadly my parents moved to a house made in a newer neighborhood of the 70s. I was born in 1976 so by the time i was a teen the ESS was on its way out. All I can do is listen to the recordings I find on youtube. I bet it was an exciting time. I have always thought I was born late for all the cool phone stuff. The digital(cell) phones arent "fun" listen to. Nither is the 5ESS and so on all digital switches. everything is standard ESS sounds now. No variety or uniqueness. This makes me sad  

I'm glad someone is documenting this in books as its an important part of history!

[Greg G.]

The book arrived a couple of days ago.  Over 300 pages of reading and another 100 pages of documentation.

[Greg G.]

The book arrived a couple of days ago.  Over 300 pages of reading and another 100 pages of documentation.

This is a great book!  Very well written, with subtle humor injected here and there.  Plus it's filling in the blanks of how the phone system worked that I never really needed to know for phone collecting, e.g. I didn't know what a "trunk line" was, the origin and functionality of a Strowger switch, other things.

I'll have to make a trip to Duvall to see if I can find that phone booth in the picture, it's only 18 miles east of me.

[rp2813]

I just bought a copy on Amazon. 

A fitting purchase on the heels of an article a few days ago in the paper about AT&T and Verizon petitioning the FCC to end land line service.

[Greg G.]

I just bought a copy on Amazon. 

A fitting purchase on the heels of an article a few days ago in the paper about AT&T and Verizon petitioning the FCC to end land line service.

Where did you see that article?

[Greg G.]

Perhaps there should be a thread dedicated to good phone system reading, stuff that's not technical manuals, such as this one and also "The Rape of Ma Bell".  The latter you can find good used ones on Amazon for pretty much the cost of shipping.