Beep Line

[Susan1]

Anybody alive back in the 60s (ha ha) remember the beep line? In a local discussion group on FB, we were talking about old letter telephone exchanges (before my time actually, but I remembered my mom's address book having UN6 for Miamisburg numbers) and the beep line popped into my head. You could call your own number and get a busy signal (what's a busy signal, you ask!!!) and talk to other people who also called a number to get a busy signal in between the beeps. I might have been 11 or 12 so we must have learned this from my friends' older sisters. I "met" this guy between the beeps (I still remember his name!) and we both said we were 14 or 15 or something. We exchanged real phone numbers and talked and made stuff up. But I found out that he lived next door to my friend in Catholic school and he was my age. We didn't know each other because he went to the public school. Hysterical. Anybody else use the "beep line"? I was reading articles and they called it different things in other places.

 

[Vagabond]

I remember trying it once or twice when I was in primary or elementary school because a friend had told me about it, but there was never anyone else on the line. Maybe it didn't exist any more by then.

I also remember being able to dial (yes, we really did dial numbers in the distant past) POP-CORN (or any number with a 767 prefix) to get the time and any number with a different prefix (987? 986?) to get the weather format. And there were telephone books, with white, green, and yellow pages all in the same directory.

And there were person-to-person calls, with an operator on the line to make check whether the person the caller wanted to speak with was there. And collect calls, usually made from phone booths to the caller's parents.

But why am I dating myself when I could be dating someone else?

 

[AxelAnnie]

I remember trying it once or twice when I was in primary or elementary school because a friend had told me about it, but there was never anyone else on the line. Maybe it didn't exist any more by then.

I also remember being able to dial (yes, we really did dial numbers in the distant past) POP-CORN (or any number with a 767 prefix) to get the time and any number with a different prefix (987? 986?) to get the weather format. And there were telephone books, with white, green, and yellow pages all in the same directory.

And there were person-to-person calls, with an operator on the line to make check whether the person the caller wanted to speak with was there. And collect calls, usually made from phone booths to the caller's parents.

But why am I dating myself when I could be dating someone else?

I remember all of that!

And phone numbers had an exchange prefix. This is 40 years ago at least


My Aunts was EX11630. Exmont 11630.

Funny the things one remembers.

 

[Japanfan]

I also remember being able to dial (yes, we really did dial numbers in the distant past) POP-CORN (or any number with a 767 prefix) to get the time and any number with a different prefix (987? 986?) to get the weather format. And there were telephone books, with white, green, and yellow pages all in the same directory.

Ah yes, the old rotary phones. We had the same two in our house for more than 30 years. I don't think they ever died, but my parents eventually graduated to cordless.

I lived in a small town and virtually everyone who lived in the town was listed in the phone book. I don't think an unlisted number was yet a notion that anyone entertained.

Ah, nostalgia for a simpler time.

I still use a landline actually. The reason is that DH pays the phone bill and doesn't want a cell because people are always calling him to fix their car or computer or television or whatever, and he doesn't want them to be able to get ahold of him anytime. He can just ignore the messages on the answering machine (still use one of those, as well anyone .

I actually love cell phones, but don't want to pay $500. a year for a plan - use pay as you go.

And among my very small circle of friends, I have three who still use phones with cords. One says she does so because the sound quality is better than the sound quality of cordless phones.

Yikes, I feel old. And think I might switch to cell and pay the bill. . . .I have a business and using a landline is increasingly make me look old to my clients, who are usually young. Don't think I like that much, or that is good for business.

 

[Susan1]

And phone numbers had an exchange prefix. This is 40 years ago at least

My Aunts was EX11630. Exmont 11630.

That's what started the conversation on FB. People in different towns figuring out what their initials stood for, back in the 50's. And someone posted a link to the corresponding numbers. I'll have to read it, but why would Miamisburg have the word Underwood (edited - I looked at the list - "Underhill". Mr. Underwood was my Journalism teacher. ha ha) When did they figure out that it was easier to use numbers?

Back in the 60's, we used to be able to just dial the 6 in 866 for Miamisburg numbers. I don't know how anyone figured that out. Saved the fingers a little.
p.s. we are getting another new area code in 2020 for new numbers only. We've only had 937 for about 20 years. It used to be 513, like Cincinnati's is still. More confusion!

And among my very small circle of friends, I have three who still use phones with cords. One says she does so because the sound quality is better than the sound quality of cordless phones.

That is true. I had a cordless phone that could only be used in certain parts of the house. The cell phone too. I don't know if it's living halfway down a valley or what. I had radio stations programmed into a stereo that won't come in here. I need one of those old antennas on the roof.

Plus, I was cleaning behind stuff one time and the cordless phone holder jack was really hot so I unplugged it - forever.

 

[Rogue]

Also dating myself. While we had the standard ###-###-#### phone number format, for local calls we needed to dial only #-####.