http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/03/phone-designed-for-eavesdroppers/ Yesterday's tomorrow, today. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:10:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/03/phone-designed-for-eavesdroppers/#comment-5492 Charlie Thu, 03 Aug 2006 16:33:41 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/03/phone-designed-for-eavesdroppers/#comment-5492 Space: I think you're right. So what do you think they're doing? Just adding a power supply to recievers? Space: I think you’re right. So what do you think they’re doing? Just adding a power supply to recievers?

]]> http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/03/phone-designed-for-eavesdroppers/#comment-5489 SpaceMonkeyX Thu, 03 Aug 2006 15:39:21 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/03/phone-designed-for-eavesdroppers/#comment-5489 Actually, I don't think people "tapped" in quite like that. Party lines were for use in farming areas back when the phone companies didn't feel it was worth spending the money to get phone service to so few people spread so far out. So instead of running individual lines to all those farms, they'd run one big line that everyone used. They setup ring tones, essentially, so that you would know the incoming call on the line was for you (often it was a pattern of rings, sort of like morse code). The problem was, with everyone using the same phone line, if the phone rang for someone else along the line, you could still pick up and listen to their conversation. Which I think is what they're referring to here. Basically these "eavesdroppers" were probably old farm wives who wanted to hear the latest gossip to spread around the quilting bee. Actually, I don’t think people “tapped” in quite like that. Party lines were for use in farming areas back when the phone companies didn’t feel it was worth spending the money to get phone service to so few people spread so far out. So instead of running individual lines to all those farms, they’d run one big line that everyone used. They setup ring tones, essentially, so that you would know the incoming call on the line was for you (often it was a pattern of rings, sort of like morse code). The problem was, with everyone using the same phone line, if the phone rang for someone else along the line, you could still pick up and listen to their conversation. Which I think is what they’re referring to here. Basically these “eavesdroppers” were probably old farm wives who wanted to hear the latest gossip to spread around the quilting bee.

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