Exploding The Phone -- Historical Documents

Some Historical Documents

Below are some of the more important historical documents that played a role in the development of phone phreaking. (If you're interested in digging deeper, you can also search the book's bibliographic database of about 1,000 documents on phone phreaking history, many of which are available in full-text form.)

Popular Press

Secrets of the Little Blue Box by Ron Rosenbaum, Esquire, October 1971 (9.8 Mbytes) -- the article that introduced phreaking to the masses. (Thanks to Number 6 for sending me a much better scan of the article.)
For Whom Ma Bell Tolls Not by Maureen Orth, Los Angeles Times (and others), October 1971 (500 kbytes) -- a syndicated newspaper article that appeared at about the same time as the Esquire article.
Blue Boxes Spread from Phone Freaks to the Well-Heeled by Sanford L. Jacobs, Wall St. Journal, January 29, 1976, p. 1 (100 kbytes) -- a front-page Wall Street Journal story on the increasing popularity of blue boxes in the mid-1970s.

Technical -- Notes on Distance Dialing and Its Predecessors and Successors

General Switching Plan for Telephone Service, 1930 (1 Mbyte)
Nationwide Operator Toll Dialing, 1945 (3 Mbytes)
Notes on Nationwide Dialing, 1955 (7 Mbytes)
Notes on Distance Dialing, 1956 (9 Mbytes)
Notes on Distance Dialing, 1968 (15 Mbytes)
Notes on Distance Dialing, 1975 (21 Mbytes)
Notes on The Network, 1980 (29 Mbytes)

Technical -- Bell System Network Documents

Technical -- Bell System Technical Journal articles

Signaling Systems for Control of Telephone Switching by Breen and Dahlbom, November 1960 (14 Mbytes) -- often cited as the article that gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Tone Ringing and Pushbutton Calling by Meacham, Power, and West, 1958 (2.4 Mbytes) -- an early description of a Touch-Tone telephone.
Crossbar Tandem as a Long Distance Switching System by Adam, 1956 (1.9 Mbyte).
In-Band Single-Frequency Signaling by Weaver and Newell, November 1954. (5 Mbytes)
Single-Frequency Signaling System for Supervision and Dialing over Long-Distance Telephone Trunks by Weaver and Newell, January 1951 (1.5 Mbytes) -- similar to the above but three years earlier.
Transistor Oscillator for Use in Multifrequency Pulsing Current Supply by Blount, November 1953 (1.6 Mbytes) -- a how-to for blue-box builders, straight from the horse's mouth.

Technical -- Other Articles

The New Nation-Wide Telephone Numbering Plan by Myers, AIEE Transactions, 1961 (0.6 Mbyte) -- we're running out of area codes! But don't worry, the new plan will last us until "well into the next century."
Application of Multifrequency Pulsing in Switching by Dahlbom, Horton, and Moody, AIEE Transactions, 1949 (1 Mbyte) -- the first public description of the multifrequency signaling system that I'm aware of.
Dial Switching of Connecticut Toll Calls by Robb, Millard, and McPhee, Electrical Engineering (A.I.E.E.), July 1936 (1.9 Mbytes) -- a detailed description of how things worked in the really old days.

FBI Files

Youth International Party Line (YIPL) / Technological American Party (TAP), New York FBI files 100-NY-179649 and 117-NY-2905 (3.2 Mbytes).
(See also: How to Read an FBI File).

Still hungry? Want more? Try searching the book's bibliographic database of about 1,000 documents on phone phreaking history, many of which are available in full-text form.

EXPLODING THE PHONE

The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma Bell

Now Available in Paperback