dick@CCA.UCSF.EDU.UUCP (01/02/87)
The other day I answered the phone and heard nothing, so I
said, "Hello? ... Hello? ... I can't hear you. ... Goodbye."
and hung up. Later in the day I got a call from my brother-in-
law about the call. It was recorded, including the ringing of
the phone, on his answering machine!
We chatted about it for some time. It seemed highly unlikely
that his machine would call me until he recalled that he had
my number on his speed-dial-8 service. With this fact, it took
only the recognition of the speed-dial prefix ("*"?, "#"?) and
a single digit. Even then, perhaps the digit came from cross-
talk rather than his message....
We concluded that someone had called him, heard the machine and
hung up. But the message continued until the phone line had
presented dial tone. Two or so keypresses were detected by the
central office equipment and I got the call. I've encountered
dead lines calling me a dozen times or so but this is the first
that got an explanation like that.
Dickdeej@IUS2.CS.CMU.EDU.UUCP (01/25/87)
Newsgroups: mod.telecom Subject: Re: Called by an answering machine! Keywords: Distribution: References: <8701210632.AA18499@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Organization: CMU Electrical Engineering Etc. That's even more amusing than the time I got a phone call from an autocalling machine, soliciting something-or-other. I wasn't home, so my answering machine took the call. I got home, saw the message waiting light, and got a nice recorded recorded message on my answering machine from their calling machine. I think the machines are having an affair behind my back. deej
SGK.TYM@OFFICE-1.ARPA.UUCP (01/27/87)
Dick: I too have had that experience, but between two answering machines! - I also suspect speed dialing. While playing back my messages, I heard a ring (maybe not much else ...) - and found later that a friend with the same brand (G.E.) answering machine had a weird message that we matched up to my own. BTW, her number is slot "4" on my speed dialing. And I'm not positive but that it hasn't happened in reverse - from her machine to me - I'm slot "2" on her speed dialing ... It could be even easier then recognizing the one digit and a pound sign - speed dialing will timeout (just the digit and a few seconds wait, no #), so all it needs really is the single digit, which can even be pulse dialed, and enough time to timeout and place the call! Geez, I'd LOVE to here how this actually does happen! -steve- <sgk.tym@office-1.arpa>