Talk:Dial tone

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[edit] Origin

The origin of the phrase dial tone lies in the original mechanical method of entering a telephone number that superseded speaking it to a live operator: a circular dial on the face of the phone, with small, finger-sized circular holes cut out around the periphery of the dial. Each hole was associated with a number or set of letters, in the same manner as on today's touch-tone buttons. To enter a number 4, for instance, the user would insert his or her finger in the hole over the numeral 4 and turn the dial until the finger encountered a metal stop, and then release. The dial generated electronic clicks that were transmitted, and the receiving equipment was able to interpret these clicks to decode the number that was "dialed." The "dial tone" was so named because it indicated that the phone service was ready to receive a dialed-in number.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by AllenWatson (talk • contribs).