Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Macy M. Hallock, Jr. Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: 666 and Ignorant People Message-ID: <10744@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 11 Aug 90 00:00:00 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: F M Systems, Inc. Medina, Ohio USA +1 216 723-3000 Lines: 75 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 562, Message 6 of 6 OK since we are on the 666 subject again, here's a bit of info and a comment I never got around to last time: 216-666 is the Montrose, Ohio exchange. There are several reasons to believe there may be some hellish connotation here: - It is a GTE Ohio exchange (That ought to prove it as far as John Higdon is concerned) - It is a GTE Automatic Electric No. 2 EAX office. (OK, maybe its just telepone purgatory, then) - Montrose is a suburb of Akron, Ohio (almost hell to New York types) - My in-laws live in this exchange (and have for 30 years....I will risk no other personal comment) Another item: - The Montrose CO was knocked out of service for half a day by a direct lightning strike on the power pole beside the building. The generator in the CO could not help because the breakers for the battery chargers were all tripped. When the CO batteries discharged, things just ground to a halt. The CO was unmanned for the weekend, and GTE did not dispatch because the alarms showed a power failure with the generator running OK. Help was send only when the office went "no tone"...with three different municipalities police dispatch centers in it. Repair was slowed by the need to replace the damamged breakers, and no supply houses were open on Sunday. Needless to say, GTE was called on the carpet for this one... (The PUCO never was told the whole story, BTW) A few other comments: Montrose 1000 cycle test tone is 216-666-1212 ... and many people often dial it by mistake for 216-555-1212 ... I remember some AT&T toll reports we got when I worked for GTE back in '70 that noted this..and suggested GTE change the number (which they would never do). My in-laws number is one digit different from the 1000 cycle number, and they have gotten a few odd phone calls due to this. My father in law is a retired police chief, and when I worked for GTE he was active. I traced a few of these bad calls for him and traced some to an Ohio Bell test desk in Akron Blackstone exchange. An automatic trunk routiner had been programmed with the 666-1212 number, but a bad thumbwheel had caused one digit to work erratically ... thus causing the problem. My father-in-law suggested he could personally impound the test board supervisor's car if the problem was not promptly repaired ... an interesting solution to telephone equipment repair delays, IMHO. It never came to that. Ohio Bell repaired their unit promptly once the problem was explained to them (and they decided they could believe a lowly GTE person ... I had to tell them I was ex-Bell to get them to listen). Anyhow, we have our share of fundmentalist churches and preachers here, perhaps they should all move to the 216-666 exchange to try and help solve these problems ... The PUCO can't make GTE work right, maybe divine intervention would help ;-) Macy M. Hallock, Jr. macy@NCoast.ORG uunet!aablue!fmsystm!macy F M Systems, Inc. {uunet|backbone|usenet.ins.cwru.edu}ncoast!fmsystm!macy 150 Highland Drive Voice: +1 216 723-3000 Ext 251 Fax: +1 216 723-3223 Medina, Ohio 44256 USA Cleveland:273-3000 Akron:239-4994 (Dial 251 @ tone) [Moderator's Note: Based on all the complaints we get here about GTE, I'm beginning to think divine intervention is the only thing which might help improve their service. PT]