With the introduction of personal computers such as the Apple II, phone phreaks started writing computer programs that could emit the proper 2600 Hz tone from their computer's speaker.īlue boxes worked as long as the telephone company relied on their old electromechanical switching systems. For those unable to obtain the original Cap'n Crunch toy whistle, entrepreneurs started selling devices, known as blue boxes, that simply emitted the 2600 Hz tone.
Other people soon discovered this secret, and some even developed the ability to whistle a perfect 2600 Hz tone. He found that blowing this toy whistle into his phone's mouthpiece emitted a 2600 Hz tone, which was the exact frequency used to instruct the telephone company's switching systems. Perhaps the most famous phone phreak was a man nicknamed Captain Crunch because of his accidental discovery of a unique use for a toy whistle found in a box of Cap'n Crunch cereal.
If you knew the right signals, the switching systems would blindly obey your orders.
#Cereal whistle phone free#
Trying to trick a human operator into letting you make a free phone call to Brazil was nearly impossible, but tricking a mindless machine into letting you make free phone calls only required sending signals identical to the phone company's. Such switching systems could handle more calls more efficiently than human operators, but they also opened the door to phone phreaking. When you dialed a number, your telephone sent a signal to the switching equipment, which routed your call to its destination.
As more people got phone lines, the phone company began to replace its operators with special switching equipment. In the early days of the phone system, you picked up a telephone and talked to an operator who put your call through.
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