# "False" noises like the camera noise that cell phones make **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183 "2019-07-16T21:15:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2019, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/21 "2019-07-16T23:54:30Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > The AI attendent can be heard ‘typing’ while looking up my account when I call Comcast. > > … Usually preceded by “All right, let me look up your account.” Which makes me want to scream, “You’re not a person, you’re a bunch of electrons bouncing along a silicon highway!” But it would probably be offended and cut me off. (I used to program interactive phone applications, and I would no more have added these gimmicks than flap my arms and fly to the moon. People are people and computers are computers, and I have no desire to blur the divide.) One that struck me a while ago is that when an Amtrak train pulls into a station one can hear a steam-engine clanging bell even though there’s no physical bell in sight. Obviously done for nostalgia value, and I expect at some time they’ll introduce the “chuff-chuff-chuff” sound when it starts up. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/22 "2019-07-17T00:08:27Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > One that struck me a while ago is that when an Amtrak train pulls into a station one can hear a steam-engine clanging bell even though there’s no physical bell in sight. Obviously done for nostalgia value, and I expect at some time they’ll introduce the “chuff-chuff-chuff” sound when it starts up. I don’t think that’s just for nostalgia; I’m pretty sure there’s a federal safety requirement that trains sound a bell at certain times when there’s likely to be people nearby, like when they are pulling into a station. Freight locomotives have them, too (Edit: See the freight train that passed through at around 2:30 [in this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEMNt3C5m0U), for example. I doubt freight companies care about nostalgia). Although I don’t know if it specifically has to be a bell sound, possibly something like an electronic beep might meet the requirement, but it always seems to be a bell. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/23 "2019-07-17T00:23:36Z")
The keyboard on my phone makes clacking noises as I type. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/24 "2019-07-17T00:56:58Z")
When the first electronic display pinball machines made the scene in the 1970s, they figured folks would miss the sound of the counter reels clicking away as the players scored, so they resorted to adding mechanical noise to the rest of the machine sounds. Here’s video of a [Williams “Hot Tip” machine from 1977](https://youtu.be/hxIU23O_DG8?t=1091), with a blank counter wheel embedded in the bowels of the machine (link goes to the place where the guy opens it up and explains it), just to ensure players heard real mechanical counter sounds. They also had a mechanical knocker thing that would make a sound when a free ball or free game was earned. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/25 "2019-07-17T01:04:13Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > When the first electronic display pinball machines made the scene in the 1970s, they figured folks would miss the sound of the counter reels clicking away as the players scored, so they resorted to adding mechanical noise to the rest of the machine sounds. > > Here’s video of a [Williams “Hot Tip” machine from 1977](https://youtu.be/hxIU23O_DG8?t=1091), with a blank counter wheel embedded in the bowels of the machine (link goes to the place where the guy opens it up and explains it), just to ensure players heard real mechanical counter sounds. > > They also had a mechanical knocker thing that would make a sound when a free ball or free game was earned. Missed the edit window… The guy demonstrates the fake score reel in action [here](https://youtu.be/hxIU23O_DG8?t=1274). ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/26 "2019-07-17T02:13:23Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I believe in the past when you called someone and heard the brrrrrr (pause) brrrrr (pause)it was actually the on/off signal activating the bell or ringer on the physical phone of the person you were calling. > Today you still hear the brrrr (pause) brrrr (pause) but for all you know the person has a ring tone of Stairway to Heaven. I think it might have been “False” from the very start. With early telephones the operator did not connect you until after the other party had answered: there would have been no connection while she was ringing the other party. Dial tones were introduced with automatic dialling: the dial tone is generated at the exchange. It seems reasonable to believe that the “ringing” tone was introduced at the same time and in the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/27 "2019-07-17T02:22:55Z")
A Ring wireless doorbell makes a door chime sound. It’s not very good, but you can tell what it’s supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/28 "2019-07-17T02:33:27Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I think it might have been “False” from the very start. > > With early telephones the operator did not connect you until after the other party had answered: there would have been no connection while she was ringing the other party. Dial tones were introduced with automatic dialling: the dial tone is generated at the exchange. It seems reasonable to believe that the “ringing” tone was introduced at the same time and in the same way. How did the party being called know that someone was calling them? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/29 "2019-07-17T02:43:22Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > How did the party being called know that someone was calling them? The operator would ring their phone. There were a variety off rings - for party lines, each customer had their own ring. There was also a “fast ring” for emergencies. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/30 "2019-07-17T02:46:48Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > The operator would ring their phone. > There were a variety off rings - for party lines, each customer had their own ring. > There was also a “fast ring” for emergencies. But **Melbourne** claimed that ringing was introduced only when dial tones were invented. What was used before then? ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/31 "2019-07-17T02:57:42Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I believe in the past when you called someone and heard the brrrrrr (pause) brrrrr (pause)it was actually the on/off signal activating the bell or ringer on the physical phone of the person you were calling. > Today you still hear the brrrr (pause) brrrr (pause) but for all you know the person has a ring tone of Stairway to Heaven. That made me remember something – if you’re calling a cell phone that tone may not even indicate the other party’s phone is ringing in some cases. It’s more like something to listen to so you know something is happening while the network locates their phone and figures out what tower to route your call to. Unfortunately I learned that from a rather sad story of a missing person’s family getting false hope because her phone still “rang” when they tried to call it, so someone must be charging it but not answering. But that wasn’t actually the case; her phone was dead and off and the network was just playing the “ringing” sound when it was trying to find what tower it was on, and then sending the calls to voicemail when it couldn’t locate it. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/32 "2019-07-17T03:02:24Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > But **Melbourne** claimed that ringing was introduced only when dial tones were invented. What was used before then? I think Melbourne was talking about the ring noise that the caller heard to indicate that the there was a phone ringing at the other end. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/33 "2019-07-17T03:02:59Z")
Yes, when the Air Malaysia flight disappeared, relatives didn’t believe that it had crashed because if they tried calling the passengers’ cells, they heard the ringing tone, and assumed that meant the phone was still live, just not being answered. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/34 "2019-07-17T03:07:14Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Yes, when the Air Malaysia flight disappeared, relatives didn’t believe that it had crashed because if they tried calling the passengers’ cells, they heard the ringing tone, and assumed that meant the phone was still live, just not being answered. Ah yes, that was where I learned that. I knew it was something like that but I couldn’t remember what the person (or people I guess) were victims of, just that when people tried to call them they thought they must be still alive because their phones still “rang” when they called. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/35 "2019-07-17T03:23:33Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > I think Melbourne was talking about the ring noise that the caller heard to indicate that the there was a phone ringing at the other end. Oh! The tone that the _caller_ heard on their receiver. Yeah, wasn’t even synchronized to the ringing of the phone on the other end. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/36 "2019-07-17T03:25:49Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > But **Melbourne** claimed that ringing was introduced only when dial tones were invented. What was used before then? \*Ringing Tones \* or “ringback” are part of the Call Progress Tones. They have been more-or-less standardized since the 1960’s or 70’s, but I couldn’t find out their history. I think it would take going to a library, or an Alta Vista search - Google is far too lax with it’s search results. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/37 "2019-07-17T03:49:42Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > \*Ringing Tones \* or “ringback” are part of the Call Progress Tones. They have been more-or-less standardized since the 1960’s or 70’s, but I couldn’t find out their history. I think it would take going to a library, or an Alta Vista search - Google is far too lax with it’s search results. Going down the Wikipedia rabbit hole for Call Progress Tones, I was lead to the page for [Comfort tone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_noise), which is an artificial background noise used to reassure the listener that a transmission is still being received when otherwise there might be dead silence on the line. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/38 "2019-07-17T03:57:59Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > By any chance can you download custom turn signal sounds? > > 😃 > [@WildaBeast](#): > > No, but that would be awesome! Although you know some immature jokers would just set their turn signals to fart noises if they could. Oh, yes you can! > **[Free Turn Signal Sound Effects Download | SFX MP3 Library | Soundsnap](https://www.soundsnap.com/tags/turn_signal)** > > Free turn signal sound effects. Download royalty-free turn signal sounds from our library of 450000+ SFX for TV, film and video games. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/39 "2019-07-17T09:15:46Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > But **Melbourne** claimed that ringing was introduced only when dial tones were invented. What was used before then? The operator would say something lie “ringing”. and “connecting you now”. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183/40 "2019-07-17T09:26:45Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Going down the Wikipedia rabbit hole for Call Progress Tones, I was lead to the page for [Comfort tone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_noise), which is an artificial background noise used to reassure the listener that a transmission is still being received when otherwise there might be dead silence on the line. There is also – I don’t know what it is called – the sound they feed back from your microphone to your ear, to assure you that you are talking and that other people can hear you. In an old rotary phone, where you pushed the earpiece against your ear, tha handset was designed to channel anough sound up the handpiece from the mouth to the ear, so that you could hear yourself talking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-noises-like-the-camera-noise-that-cell-phones-make/837183.md?page=3)