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-
-
- *******BIOC Agent 003's course in******
- * *
- * ========================== *
- * =BASIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS= *
- * ========================== *
- * PART II *
- ***************************************
-
- 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.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-