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Path: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!CCA.UCSF.EDU!dick
From: dick@CCA.UCSF.EDU.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.telecom
Subject: Called by an answering machine!
Message-ID: <8701210632.AA18499@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Thu, 1-Jan-87 19:19:14 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8701210632.AA18499
Posted: Thu Jan  1 19:19:14 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 21-Jan-87 18:44:06 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
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Approved: telecom@xx.lcs.mit.edu

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.

Dick