Phreaker's Finest Hour BBS audio show, 1983/84? reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- allenhuffman · 2023-02-20 05:34 I know it’s a long shot since I cannot find any references in the search engine, but… around. 1983 or 84, there was a BBS I called that had an audio program called something like "Phreaker's Finest Hour." You would select it from the menu, then it would switch off the modem and play the tape. You’d pick up the phone and listen to the show as audio. I don’t remember much about the content of the show except it opened with a theme song that sang the lyrics "my telephone is acting crazy" with touch tones on it. The whole concept of having this BBS switch to playing audio seems pretty unique, and it was the only time I ever saw that done. I recall once the tape started playing, the BBS would be down until it finished, so they told folks not to hang up on it. Ring any bells? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SqualorTrawler · 2023-02-20 09:43 I have no idea what you are talking about, but I am fascinated. While we are waiting for someone to know what you mean, I would definitely suggest to anyone interested in the subject, the following videos (3 parts), which appear to be some of the best videos on this subject: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nls9nZrIyh0 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM0JwN8phsM * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-i3gltP-V8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- YserviusPalacost · 2023-02-20 13:15 I need a phreak, I really do, I need a phreak, cuz phreaks are people too... Seriously, though, that is an amazing concept. Talk about a very unique way to sleuth illegal (and at the time, very illegal) content. I never knew that this existed, but I am glad that I learned about it today. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- codefenix · 2023-02-20 13:25 Knowing the location and/or the area code for the board could help. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- allenhuffman · 2023-02-20 13:43 I agree :) I can say "not Houston" since it was long distance. I kinda want to say it was in Florida, but I don’t think that was correct. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- codefenix · 2023-02-20 14:18 Did you already check [bbslist.textfiles.com](http://bbslist.textfiles.com)? If the board was ever listed on a Fido nodelist, then it may have found itself on one of the compiled lists. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- allenhuffman · 2023-02-20 15:25 I actually was there last night, but unrelated - I submitted more old BBS listings I found. I don’t know the name of the system or even where it was, and cannot find any references to a song with those lyrics. I’m going to see if I can find some Phreaker groups that might have someone who knows. If it was big enough for a kid in Houston to learn about it in 83, I surely can’t be the only one. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- allenhuffman · 2023-02-20 15:42 I seem to recall that the show was one hour of recorded calls… I don’t remember if they were prank calls, social engineering, or whatever, but it was interesting enough for me to listen to an hour of it back then. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lonseidman · 2023-02-22 01:06 There's also a great book called "Exploding the Phone" that chronicles the phone phreaking scene from the early beginnings through the 70's and 80's. A fascinating read! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SqualorTrawler · 2023-02-22 04:43 👍 [beep boop](https://i.imgur.com/DMsfaOC.png)