# Very odd phone calls: shortwave number-station style

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-odd-phone-calls-shortwave-number-station-style/397812>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 28, 2007, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-odd-phone-calls-shortwave-number-station-style/397812 "2007-03-28T11:25:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-odd-phone-calls-shortwave-number-station-style/397812/41 "2007-04-04T16:10:10Z")

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[QUOTE=davidm]  
There’s an old column about something like this. It’s from 1988 so I’m not sure how relevant it is. [What causes “ghost rings” on the telephone?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_285.html)  
[/QUOTE]

But if the phones the OP has are really old Western Electric models with an actual bell, it would a pretty big voltage spike to make it ring.

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**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-odd-phone-calls-shortwave-number-station-style/397812/42 "2007-04-04T17:11:13Z")

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[QUOTE=Maus Magill]  
But if the phones the OP has are really old Western Electric models with an actual bell, it would a pretty big voltage spike to make it ring.  
[/QUOTE]

Good point.

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