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Posted by on August 30, 2008, 12:31 am
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For a great many years, Verizon-PA (Bell Telephone Company of
Pennsylvania) and its predecessors have provided a recorded weather
forecast for Philadelphia; 215-WEather 6-1212.
The recording had a preface that it will be discontinued soon.
It once had hourly updates, now it is only a few times per day.
Back in science class in school we had to call it regularly to track
temperature and other figures as part of weather studies. (This posed
a problem as some kids had message rate service and frequent calls
would add up.)
Back in the 1960s Bell sponsored the local weather forecase on the
evening TV news, using a real college physicist (not a blowdry). At
the end of each broadcast he would flip over a little sign with the
phone number, reminder viewers they could call it at any time to get
the weather.
Verizon also offers a time of day service, 215-TIme 6-1212. I don't
know the status of that.
(Notice these services are so old that meaningful exchange names were
set up just for them. Can't do that today.
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Posted by tlvp on August 30, 2008, 11:20 am
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hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

> For a great many years, Verizon-PA (Bell Telephone Company of
> Pennsylvania) and its predecessors have provided a recorded weather
> forecast for Philadelphia; 215-WEather 6-1212.
>
> The recording had a preface that it will be discontinued soon.
>
> It once had hourly updates, now it is only a few times per day.
>
> Back in science class in school we had to call it regularly to track
> temperature and other figures as part of weather studies. (This posed
> a problem as some kids had message rate service and frequent calls
> would add up.)
>
> Back in the 1960s Bell sponsored the local weather forecase on the
> evening TV news, using a real college physicist (not a blowdry). At
> the end of each broadcast he would flip over a little sign with the
> phone number, reminder viewers they could call it at any time to get
> the weather.
>
> Verizon also offers a time of day service, 215-TIme 6-1212. I don't
> know the status of that.
>
> (Notice these services are so old that meaningful exchange names were
> set up just for them. Can't do that today.
In New Haven, CT, and perhaps elsewhere in the 203 area of the former
SNET, the number codenamed SPRINGS (777-4647) brings up a 15-second
AT&T promo, a 5-second time stamp, a 5-second temperature report
(in F.), and a polite 5-second "Thank you for calling".
Why SPRINGS? Beats me -- but it's been that way for at least 30 years.
Cheers, -- tlvp
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Posted by Steven Lichter on August 30, 2008, 5:58 pm
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tlvp wrote:

> hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>> For a great many years, Verizon-PA (Bell Telephone Company of
>> Pennsylvania) and its predecessors have provided a recorded weather
>> forecast for Philadelphia; 215-WEather 6-1212.
>>
>> The recording had a preface that it will be discontinued soon.
>>
>> It once had hourly updates, now it is only a few times per day.
>>
>> Back in science class in school we had to call it regularly to track
>> temperature and other figures as part of weather studies. (This posed
>> a problem as some kids had message rate service and frequent calls
>> would add up.)
>>
>> Back in the 1960s Bell sponsored the local weather forecase on the
>> evening TV news, using a real college physicist (not a blowdry). At
>> the end of each broadcast he would flip over a little sign with the
>> phone number, reminder viewers they could call it at any time to get
>> the weather.
>>
>> Verizon also offers a time of day service, 215-TIme 6-1212. I don't
>> know the status of that.
>>
>> (Notice these services are so old that meaningful exchange names were
>> set up just for them. Can't do that today.
>
> In New Haven, CT, and perhaps elsewhere in the 203 area of the former
> SNET, the number codenamed SPRINGS (777-4647) brings up a 15-second
> AT&T promo, a 5-second time stamp, a 5-second temperature report (in
> F.), and a polite 5-second "Thank you for calling".
>
> Why SPRINGS? Beats me -- but it's been that way for at least 30 years.
>
> Cheers, -- tlvp
>
I tried the number from my cell phone (951) and was surprised on getting
through, most services like that are restricted to within the local
exchange, I guess those rules don't hold in the deregulated world.
--
The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today?
(c) 2008 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co.
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Posted by John Levine on August 30, 2008, 11:44 pm
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>> In New Haven, CT, and perhaps elsewhere in the 203 area of the former
>> SNET, the number codenamed SPRINGS (777-4647) brings up a 15-second
>> AT&T promo, a 5-second time stamp, a 5-second temperature report (in
>> F.), and a polite 5-second "Thank you for calling".
>>
>> Why SPRINGS? Beats me -- but it's been that way for at least 30 years.
203-777 is a regular SNET New Haven exhange, and 203-SPRINGS is a
regular phone number that you can call from anywhere for the price of
a call to New Haven. When I arrived in New Haven in 1971 it had
already been time/weather for a long time.
R's,
John
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Posted by MC on August 31, 2008, 3:22 pm
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>>> In New Haven, CT, and perhaps elsewhere in the 203 area of the former
>>> SNET, the number codenamed SPRINGS (777-4647) brings up a 15-second
>>> AT&T promo, a 5-second time stamp, a 5-second temperature report (in
>>> F.), and a polite 5-second "Thank you for calling".
>>>
>>> Why SPRINGS? Beats me -- but it's been that way for at least 30 years.
>
> 203-777 is a regular SNET New Haven exhange, and 203-SPRINGS is a
> regular phone number that you can call from anywhere for the price of
> a call to New Haven. When I arrived in New Haven in 1971 it had
> already been time/weather for a long time.
Thanks for bringing back a memory! I was in New Haven from 1978 to
1982.
I wish I had kept my New Haven phone book, which was titled "The Book
of Names" in an allusion to the very early history of SNET. Do they
still do this?
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> Pennsylvania) and its predecessors have provided a recorded weather
> forecast for Philadelphia; 215-WEather 6-1212.
>
> The recording had a preface that it will be discontinued soon.
>
> It once had hourly updates, now it is only a few times per day.
>
> Back in science class in school we had to call it regularly to track
> temperature and other figures as part of weather studies. (This posed
> a problem as some kids had message rate service and frequent calls
> would add up.)
>
> Back in the 1960s Bell sponsored the local weather forecase on the
> evening TV news, using a real college physicist (not a blowdry). At
> the end of each broadcast he would flip over a little sign with the
> phone number, reminder viewers they could call it at any time to get
> the weather.
>
> Verizon also offers a time of day service, 215-TIme 6-1212. I don't
> know the status of that.
>
> (Notice these services are so old that meaningful exchange names were
> set up just for them. Can't do that today.