Is there any special reason to use Pulse dialing?

[Molly & Polly]

I know a couple of old people who have their phones set for Pulse dialing instead of touch tone.
In both cases the phone must be a decade old, and it's the kind with huge buttons.
When it was taking forever to dial home dit-dit-dit-dit-dit-dit-dit, dit-dit-dit-dit-dit-dit, . . . I thought of just flipping the switch to Tone dialing. But being a visitor I chickened out.
Would I have been doing them a favor, or is there some reason for the old setting?

[Molly & Polly]

This is a big city, so there is no question about ancient switches at the phone company equipment.

[Patty O'Furniture]

They may have elected not to pay the extra dollar or two that some telcos still charge for the "convenience" of touch tone service, so switching the handset over to tone dialing may have rendered their phone incompatible with the dialing network.

[Voyager]

They may have elected not to pay the extra dollar or two that some telcos still charge for the "convenience" of touch tone service, so switching the handset over to tone dialing may have rendered their phone incompatible with the dialing network.

Is pulse still cheaper? At one point I discovered that your phone still works switching it from pulse to touch tone. Touchtone is actually cheaper for TPC, since it occupies the switch for less time.

The OP should switch it to touch tone, just once, to check. Not that I'd advocate ripping off my former employer, of course. ;)

[gotpasswords]

Saving that buck a month would be my guess as well. Until the telco that serves my mother joined the 20th century and installed a 5ESS switch, they did charge extra for tone service.

[jasonh300]

My aunt had a few old rotary phones and never paid that extra dollar for touch tone. Her one electronic phone was always set to pulse. At some point, I noticed they no longer charged that dollar for touch tone, so when I went to her house and flipped the switch, it worked. Apparantly, there's no more switching equipiment in New Orleans for rotary dial phones, so anyone can use touch tone and they don't get charged extra (or everyone gets charged extra). The old rotaries still work and you can still use a phone on pulse, but there's no point anymore.

[danceswithcats]

My Dad still uses pulse dialing-he's a depression child. Pulse is also the fallback dialing mode if DTMF fails to communicate-that's how I program burglary and fire alarm panels.

[t-bonham@scc.net]

My mothers farm still has 4 rotary phones in use. These were installed in 1954, and are still working fine. A 5th one just broke last year.

Her company still had a phone out in the warehouse where the rotary dial was a separate box added a few years later, and wired into the phone. It was still in use up to a few years ago.

There are probably millions of such phones still in use across the country. (They were really built to last back then.) There is no reason to replace them as long as they work. So people will continue to use rotary dial pulse dialing for many years to come, because that is what these phones use.

[TheLoadedDog]

Slightly related story:

My dad is one of those old codgers who actually still rents a phone from the telco rather than using his own handset. Anyway, about five years ago, he still had a rotary phone (that's how long he'd been renting it). He discovered telephone banking and wanted to finally upgrade to a pushbutton phone. So he rang the Telco...

"Good morning. Telstra..."

"Yes hello. I'd like to upgrade my rotary phone to a pushbutton one."

"I'm sorry sir. We can't replace your handset unless it is faulty."

"Uh..... huh. Sooo.... what if I were to drop it onto a concrete floor?"

"Then we'd replace it for you, sir."

"Thank you very much. Bye."

[Seven]

Continued hijack below.....

Slightly related story:

My dad is one of those old codgers who actually still rents a phone from the telco rather than using his own handset. Anyway, about five years ago, he still had a rotary phone (that's how long he'd been renting it). He discovered telephone banking and wanted to finally upgrade to a pushbutton phone. So he rang the Telco...

"Good morning. Telstra..."

"Yes hello. I'd like to upgrade my rotary phone to a pushbutton one."

"I'm sorry sir. We can't replace your handset unless it is faulty."

"Uh..... huh. Sooo.... what if I were to drop it onto a concrete floor?"

"Then we'd replace it for you, sir."

"Thank you very much. Bye."

HA. I had almost the same conversation once with my mobile phone service. A month or so after I bought it the battery started having problems holding a charge. I called and they said their warrenty doesn't cover batteries. I asked about damage to the phone and they said my insurance would cover a full replacement - battery and all.

I said "so if in a few moments I were to run over the phone with my car,.. by mistake,.. you'd replace the phone and battery?"

"That's correct sir"

"Bye"

Vroooooom! Crunch!

Ring.

"Hello Mobile Phone Company. I just ran over my phone with my car."

"Oh, sorry to hear that. We'll send your replacement straight away"

[Mangetout]

Back in the mists of time when I was living on a much tighter budget, the keypad stopped working on our cheap phone handset. Until we could afford to shell out for a new one, we would dial numbers by briskly tapping the 'hook' button - (i.e. if you wanted to dial 3, you'd go tap-tap-tap) - it was a right pain in the arse, but it worked - pulse dialling was for quite some time very much easier to implement than tone dialling on things like burglar alarms.

[psychonaut]

I can think of two cases in which you would need to use pulse dialling: first, if your telephone buttons are broken, and second, if you have an injury or accident in your home which leaves you immobile, and within reach of the telephone's receiver but not its buttons. In those cases, you can press the hook repeatedly to simulate pulse dialling.

[TheLoadedDog]

This is the first I've ever heard of hook-based pulse dialing. Am I alone? Thanks SDMB. Igerrince, etc...

[psychonaut]

This is the first I've ever heard of hook-based pulse dialing. Am I alone? Thanks SDMB. Igerrince, etc...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_dialing#Tapping

[bordelond]

This is the first I've ever heard of hook-based pulse dialing. Am I alone? Thanks SDMB. Igerrince, etc...
Nope, you weren't alone. Veddy interesting.

[Mangetout]

pulse dialling was for quite some time very much easier to implement than tone dialling on things like burglar alarms.I should probably elaborate on this a bit then. Pulse dialling can be done with little reed relay ; DTMF requires tone generators.

[mks57]

This is the first I've ever heard of hook-based pulse dialing. Am I alone? Thanks SDMB. Igerrince, etc...

It was a useful skill to have when people "secured" telephones by removing or locking the dialing mechanism.

Another advantage of pulse dialing is that it works even if the phone is miswired. Some old touch-tone phones will not dial if the wires are reversed.

[Otto]

I can think of two cases in which you would need to use pulse dialling: first, if your telephone buttons are broken, and second, if you have an injury or accident in your home which leaves you immobile, and within reach of the telephone's receiver but not its buttons. In those cases, you can press the hook repeatedly to simulate pulse dialling.
So that's why in those old movies when people get cut off they tap tap tap the cradle and call "Operator! We've been cut off!"?

[Musicat]

So that's why in those old movies when people get cut off they tap tap tap the cradle and call "Operator! We've been cut off!"?No, that's just to get the operator's attention. Only works if there is a switchboard op monitoring a hundred lines on a board; she sees one flashing, and knows there is a problem that need personal attention. Otherwise, that's useless.

[psychonaut]

So that's why in those old movies when people get cut off they tap tap tap the cradle and call "Operator! We've been cut off!"?Well, if the movie was set in the US or Canada, and they tapped the cradle exactly ten times in one second, then yes, that would get you to an operator.

[Voyager]

I should probably elaborate on this a bit then. Pulse dialling can be done with little reed relay ; DTMF requires tone generators.
Or not so little relays. When I was in college, dorm rooms had phones connected to what was called a dorm line, that could only call other dorm rooms, not even MIT offices, let alone the outside world. The relays in those suckers were gigantic. I used to steal music the old fashioned way, by taping other people's records on my reel to reel deck. If the guy next door made a call while I was taping, the needle would pick it up and I'd record it. The last piano chord on "A Day in the Life" for me went along with

click-click-click
click-click-click-click
so I could tell the number dialed if I wished to. We would dial by depressing the button, but it was not all that amusing when done more than once in a while.

[Musicat]

Well, if the movie was set in the US or Canada, and they tapped the cradle exactly ten times in one second, then yes, that would get you to an operator.Not without a dial tone first. And if you have a dial tone, the taps don't have to be all that regular or fast. I've done it, and the system is quite forgiving.

[Drum God]

Continued hijack below.....



HA. I had almost the same conversation once with my mobile phone service. A month or so after I bought it the battery started having problems holding a charge. I called and they said their warrenty doesn't cover batteries. I asked about damage to the phone and they said my insurance would cover a full replacement - battery and all.

I said "so if in a few moments I were to run over the phone with my car,.. by mistake,.. you'd replace the phone and battery?"

"That's correct sir"

"Bye"

Vroooooom! Crunch!

Ring.

"Hello Mobile Phone Company. I just ran over my phone with my car."

"Oh, sorry to hear that. We'll send your replacement straight away"

Is anyone else imagining a wild-eyed Johnny Fever saying "Phone cops are everywhere!!!!"

[Bryan Ekers]

This is the first I've ever heard of hook-based pulse dialing. Am I alone? Thanks SDMB. Igerrince, etc...

There will come a time when the hook-dialing scene in Red Dragon will make absolutely no sense to a contemporary audience. I thought it was a cute bit, using a method which was obsolete but still workable, though I had my doubts that Hannibal Lecter could get past the nuthouse switchboard without anyone noticing.

[Mangetout]

Not without a dial tone first. And if you have a dial tone, the taps don't have to be all that regular or fast. I've done it, and the system is quite forgiving.
Concur - when I was hook dialling by necessity, I'm sure I was never achieving a rate of 10 taps per second - it would be really hard to be sure of getting the right number of taps that way. I just timed myself on what I think is about the rate I used (just tapping on the desk - I don't have a suitable phone to test actual dialling right here) - I'd say I was using between four and six taps a second.

[Hari Seldon]

Until about 6 years ago, I saved about $2.40 a month plus tax, so that was over $30 a year, enough for a good meal, by not subscribing to touch tone service. Actually, back in 1980, they said it was ok to try tones and if they worked, go ahead. So I didn't change phones, but when I got a modem that had a tone/pulse switch on it, I used tone on the modem only. Then in 1985 or so, I got a call from Bell Canada to say that they had detected tones on my line and were going to place a block in the line to prevent my using tones. I said "fine" and switched my modem to pulse. But mentally I said to myself that they were going to live to regret it some day.

Six years ago, I got DSL service and one of the minor things was that I now had to get tone service. Ok, so I did. But nearly three months ago, they left me without phone service for a week (they don't have enough repair crews) and I switched my phone and internet service to the local cable company. Works fine. When three months have passed (a week or so from now) they are going to call and try to get me back and I will mention the 1985 call. What got me was not that they did it, but the glee in her voice. Of course, it was really the leaving me without phone service for a week (couldn't they have offerred me a loaner cell phone?) that got me.

There was a Jules Pfeiffer cartoon decades whose first 7 panels consisted of a dispute someone was having with the telco. The eighth panel had the operator saying, "If you are not satisfied, you can always use one of our competitors." They don't seem to have realized that now we can.

[Musicat]

... I'd say I was using between four and six taps a second.I think the system has a wide tolerance and is designed to allow much individual variation between customer dialing mechanisms. I used to try to physically slow down or speed up the dial as it returned, and it didn't seem to make much difference.

Hari Seldon: I always thought the extra $1 (or more) for touch-tone service was the biggest telco ripoff ever and a good example of their arrogance. If the mechanism was already in place, it cost them exactly zero to offer it to all customers, yet they persisted for decades with that bogus charge. And in your case, it looks like they went overboard with DTMF detection devices.

The original reason for the DTMF* concept was to make it easier and faster for the telcos to communicate internally, not something to promote as a neat consumer add-on.

* = Dual Tone Multi Frequency, or Touch-Tone to the masses.

[Common Tater]

I seem to remember an interesting fellow nicknamed "Cap'n Crunch", who discovered that toy whistles distributed in boxes of the children's breakfast cereal would emit a 2600 Hz tone that would switch a phone line over to an operator mode, making for free long distance phone calls; in those days long distance was quite expensive. Ma Bell was presumably not amused, however.

[Musicat]

I seem to remember an interesting fellow nicknamed "Cap'n Crunch", who discovered that toy whistles distributed in boxes of the children's breakfast cereal would emit a 2600 Hz tone that would switch a phone line over to an operator mode, making for free long distance phone calls; in those days long distance was quite expensive. Ma Bell was presumably not amused, however.Which is the source of the name for 2600 Magazine (http://www.2600.com/). Wouldn't work today, as the single 2600hz tone has been superceded by other signalling schemes and pitches. I find it amazing that Ma Bell never thought that no one would ever use a tone generator for that; a common gadget in electronics shops.

[Hail Ants]

My mothers farm still has 4 rotary phones in use. These were installed in 1954, and are still working fine.I have a friend who did her kitchen as in an old country house, antique sink, fridge, stove etc. So I bought her a genuine 1903 Canadian Bell phone on eBay with the intention of ripping the guts out and installing the works from a modern phone.

After not having much success trying to make the new phone guts work I noticed that the original diagram on the inside of the old phone matched the pile of parts that came with it. So I put them together like it showed, plugged it into an RJ11 jack, and it worked!

A phone 100 years old rang, had dial tone, and worked when you answered it! It had no dial so that didn't matter. It didn't have a crank or battery (I'd read those can be a problem if hooked up) just an old capacitor (I think). A little static-ey from the carbon microphone but otherwise it worked fine.

To test it in her house I called her number from my then brand new StarTac® flip phone. Seemed such an odd thing to do...

[Musicat]

A phone 100 years old rang, had dial tone, and worked when you answered it! It had no dial so that didn't matter. It didn't have a crank or battery (I'd read those can be a problem if hooked up) just an old capacitor (I think). A little static-ey from the carbon microphone but otherwise it worked fine.Neat! But how do you plan to make outgoing calls? Using "manual" pulse dialing?

Just goes to show how little POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) has changed over 140 years. We'd probably be at the same level as 1876 if it wasn't for the Ma Bell breakup and competition.

[robardin]

This is the first I've ever heard of hook-based pulse dialing. Am I alone? Thanks SDMB. Igerrince, etc...
I'd heard of it, but thought it was an Urban Legend. But if someone here has actually personally done it, I guess it isn't!

What about the opposite story that I also have always thought of as an UL? That "somewhere out there" is a person who can mimic the touch tones for a phone with his voice, and can place calls by simply going "boop-boop-beep" into a mouthpiece without using his fingers.

[Mangetout]

What about the opposite story that I also have always thought of as an UL? That "somewhere out there" is a person who can mimic the touch tones for a phone with his voice, and can place calls by simply going "boop-boop-beep" into a mouthpiece without using his fingers.That would be quite a skill, although I suppose not entirely impossible; as the name DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency) suggests, touch tones are two-note chords - very difficult for the human voice to produce, but if you were able to whistle at, say, 1477 Hz at the same time as humming at 852 Hz, you would be able to dial 9 vocally.

Edited to add: Those are quite high notes, though.

[Musicat]

What about the opposite story that I also have always thought of as an UL? That "somewhere out there" is a person who can mimic the touch tones for a phone with his voice, and can place calls by simply going "boop-boop-beep" into a mouthpiece without using his fingers.That's something I'd like to see. DTMF (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTMF) is more complicated than you might think. First, you would have to simultaneously generate two specific pitches for each digit, and each would have to be within a narrow frequency range. There are a few other parameters that must be met like duration, loudness and minimum separation. (http://nemesis.lonestar.org/reference/telecom/signaling/dtmf.html)

So I call that claim an urban legend unless someone can prove otherwise.

[R. P. McMurphy]

What about the opposite story that I also have always thought of as an UL? That "somewhere out there" is a person who can mimic the touch tones for a phone with his voice, and can place calls by simply going "boop-boop-beep" into a mouthpiece without using his fingers.

If anyone can do it its probably Bobby McPherrin.

As for Cap'n Crunch, his legend grew when Esquire magazine did an article on the phone system. It was probably around 1971 when Ma Bell was still a monopoly. The article was fascinating. What happened is that the the tone frequencies innocently got published in a scientific paper. This was like giving a thief the keys to the bank. The phone hackers started to have a field day and would just play all day sending calls all over the world. Cap'n Crunch was a hacker who figured out that the free whistle in the cereal box exactly produce a key tone needed to access the network. The race was on and Ma Bell went into a frenzy trying to find the hackers and put some security into their network.

[Mangetout]

If anyone can do it its probably Bobby McPherrin.Bobby McPherrin the phamous phone phreaker? (As opposed to Bobby McFerrin, the musician?)