How Telephone Phreaking Worked
The 8-Bit Guy・29 minutes read
The Portland Retro Gaming Expo features vintage games, gaming consoles, competitions, and arcade machines, attracting retro gaming enthusiasts annually. The event also showcases a presentation on telephone phreaking, exploring the history, methods, including hacking techniques using 2600 Hertz tones, and the significance of phone numbers and area codes.
Insights
- The Portland Retro Gaming Expo is an annual event at the Oregon Convention Center, offering vintage games, gaming competitions, and a vast collection of pinball machines and arcade setups, attracting enthusiasts worldwide.
- A presentation at the expo explores the history of telephone phreaking, detailing methods like 2600 Hertz tones and war dialing, showcasing how hacking was not just about saving money but also about the challenge and fun it provided, especially for teenagers seeking cost-effective ways to communicate and access resources.
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Recent questions
What is the Portland Retro Gaming Expo?
The Portland Retro Gaming Expo is an annual event held in October at the Oregon Convention Center, attracting retro gaming enthusiasts from various locations. It features a vast vendor area with vintage games, computers, and gaming consoles, gaming competitions, multiplayer games, stand-up arcade machines, pinball machines, and traditional 1980s living room setups with Atari and Nintendo consoles. Attendees can also enjoy tabletop systems, beanbag relaxation areas, witness cosplay activities, and participate in notable events like the Tetris World Championships and a video game history museum.
Who are some celebrities that attend the Portland Retro Gaming Expo?
The Portland Retro Gaming Expo hosts celebrities like Pat NES Punk and Metal Jesus, offering opportunities for autographs and unique item signings. These celebrities are well-known figures in the retro gaming community and add to the excitement of the event for attendees.
What is telephone phreaking and its history?
Telephone phreaking is a method of hacking the telephone system for free long-distance calls. The history of phone phreaking involves early methods using 2600 Hertz tones and pioneers like John Draper, known as Captain Crunch. The presentation at the expo delves into the anatomy of telephone numbers, the significance of area codes and prefixes, and techniques like war dialing to locate specific phone lines for hacking purposes.
Why did teenagers in the 80s engage in hacking activities?
Teenagers in the 80s engaged in hacking activities for practical reasons like transferring files between computers, as long-distance calls were expensive and mailing or driving was often cheaper. Hacking was seen as a cost-effective solution for broke teenagers to communicate with friends globally, especially for file transfers, showcasing the innovative and resourceful nature of young hackers during that era.
How did piracy and telephone freaking relate to financial constraints for teenagers?
Piracy in the past involved copying games due to financial constraints, with teenagers unable to afford them. Similarly, telephone freaking was done to make long-distance calls without incurring high charges on phone bills, as teenagers couldn't afford them. Both practices stemmed from the financial limitations faced by teenagers, highlighting the creative ways they found to overcome these challenges in the realm of gaming and communication.
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Summary
00:00
Portland Retro Gaming Expo: Vintage Games Galore
- The Portland Retro Gaming Expo occurs annually in October at the Oregon Convention Center, drawing retro gaming enthusiasts from various locations.
- The event features a vast vendor area where attendees can shop for vintage games, computers, and gaming consoles.
- Gaming competitions, multiplayer games, and numerous stand-up arcade machines set to free play are highlights of the convention.
- The expo also boasts a significant collection of pinball machines and traditional 1980s living room setups with Atari and Nintendo consoles.
- Attendees can enjoy tabletop systems, beanbag relaxation areas, and witness cosplay activities.
- Notable events at the expo include the Tetris World Championships and a video game history museum displaying complete sets of Game Boy and Genesis games.
- The expo hosts celebrities like Pat NES Punk and Metal Jesus, offering opportunities for autographs and unique item signings.
- A presentation on telephone phreaking, a method of hacking the telephone system for free long-distance calls, is a key feature of the expo.
- The presentation delves into the history of phone phreaking, including early methods using 2600 Hertz tones and the involvement of pioneers like John Draper, known as Captain Crunch.
- The presentation explains the anatomy of telephone numbers, the significance of area codes and prefixes, and techniques like war dialing to locate specific phone lines for hacking purposes.
14:52
Phone Hacking in the 80s
- Computers would make calls in the middle of the night, often waking people up without anyone on the line.
- Computers couldn't detect if a human answered the call, leading to repeated calls until a computer answered.
- When a computer answered, it marked the number as significant, saving it for further use.
- Various boxes like blue, black, red, and silver were used for different hacking purposes, such as making free long-distance calls or tricking payphones.
- The Blotto Box was a mythical concept believed by hackers to paralyze a city's phone lines, but it was not feasible due to technical limitations.
- Calling cards with access codes were used to make long-distance calls billed to a company's account, and hacking them involved finding access codes through computer programs.
- The program "Tell-a-Clone" by Sergeant Pepper allowed for various hacking activities like blue boxing, red boxing, and cracking calling cards using a computer.
- Hacking was done not just for cost-saving but also for the challenge and fun it provided, with some hackers like Steve Wozniak paying for personal calls.
- Teenagers in the 80s hacked for practical reasons like transferring files between computers, as long-distance calls were expensive and mailing or driving was often cheaper.
- Hacking was seen as a cost-effective solution for broke teenagers to communicate with friends globally, especially for file transfers.
27:49
Teenagers resort to piracy and phone freaking.
- Piracy in the past involved copying games due to financial constraints, with teenagers unable to afford them. While seen as cheating game companies, the reality was that without copying, they wouldn't have access to the games. Similarly, telephone freaking was done to make long-distance calls without incurring high charges on phone bills, as teenagers couldn't afford them, leading to the practice.
