The Sound of a Dial-Up Modem Connecting?
June 14, 2015 10:32 AM Subscribe
I'm working on a chapter for my new book and I want to describe, quickly and concisely, the sound that old dial-up modems used to make while attempting to connect to the network.
Right now the closest I've come is:
..."an oscillating hiss, punctuated by echoey pings", but that's not quite hitting the mark for me.
Suggestions?
And thank you!
ZP
Right now the closest I've come is:
..."an oscillating hiss, punctuated by echoey pings", but that's not quite hitting the mark for me.
Suggestions?
And thank you!
ZP
Or, maybe easier, about what year and level of tech-savvy?
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:39 AM on June 14, 2015
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:39 AM on June 14, 2015
Response by poster: LOL! Good question LobsterMitten.
It would be like 1989, or right around there -- I think that's when having a modem had become fairly common.
Old school.
posted by zenpop at 10:42 AM on June 14, 2015
It would be like 1989, or right around there -- I think that's when having a modem had become fairly common.
Old school.
posted by zenpop at 10:42 AM on June 14, 2015
Have you heard the sound recently? It sounds like this. It's kind of an atonal musical piece until it settles into metallic white noise.
posted by w0mbat at 10:45 AM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by w0mbat at 10:45 AM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
It sounded like a Clanger being fed into a blender – startled squeaks and whistles at first, followed by a grinding whirr and then a blur of white noise
posted by MinPin at 10:49 AM on June 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by MinPin at 10:49 AM on June 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the vid, w0mbat. The "metallic white noise" description is spot on.
It's those initial whines or screeches that I recall from my modem that I want to evoke for the reader.
Jesus, listening to that YouTube clip triggered a mild anxiety attack, I remember all the times I'd sit with fingers crossed mumbling to the device, "Do it, do it, yes, you can do it, do it...Come on you fucker!"
posted by zenpop at 10:56 AM on June 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
It's those initial whines or screeches that I recall from my modem that I want to evoke for the reader.
Jesus, listening to that YouTube clip triggered a mild anxiety attack, I remember all the times I'd sit with fingers crossed mumbling to the device, "Do it, do it, yes, you can do it, do it...Come on you fucker!"
posted by zenpop at 10:56 AM on June 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
w0mbat: That sound is quite different from what you'd hear in 1989. That's a 14.4k or higher speed modem, going through a full handshake using v.32 (or later) protocols and QAM.
In 1989, we were mostly still on v.22 or v.22bis, using PSK. 1200 baud modems were common, 2400 baud modems were around (but generally in the realm of enthusiasts for another year or two), and while USRobotics HST and Telebit modems were available that would run 9600 or 19.2k -- they were extremely rare outside of Fidonet operators and dedicated links between Unix systems.
A 2400 baud PSK modem sounds like this. A 1200 sounds like this.
The biggest difference is the lack of "ping-pong" handshaking at the beginning... and the "depth" of the hash noise that's actually carrying the data.
"Bing Bing Bing.... Hmmmm, Kusssssssssssssssshhhh!!!"
posted by toxic at 11:00 AM on June 14, 2015 [10 favorites]
In 1989, we were mostly still on v.22 or v.22bis, using PSK. 1200 baud modems were common, 2400 baud modems were around (but generally in the realm of enthusiasts for another year or two), and while USRobotics HST and Telebit modems were available that would run 9600 or 19.2k -- they were extremely rare outside of Fidonet operators and dedicated links between Unix systems.
A 2400 baud PSK modem sounds like this. A 1200 sounds like this.
The biggest difference is the lack of "ping-pong" handshaking at the beginning... and the "depth" of the hash noise that's actually carrying the data.
"Bing Bing Bing.... Hmmmm, Kusssssssssssssssshhhh!!!"
posted by toxic at 11:00 AM on June 14, 2015 [10 favorites]
Magpies and Kookaburras in a windstorm on Purim
posted by morganw at 11:08 AM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by morganw at 11:08 AM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'd onomatopoeia it too.
posted by Jacen at 11:52 AM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Jacen at 11:52 AM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. Very helpful.
And yes Jacen! Onomatopoeia fo' sure!
posted by zenpop at 11:55 AM on June 14, 2015
And yes Jacen! Onomatopoeia fo' sure!
posted by zenpop at 11:55 AM on June 14, 2015
"Like two pulsing, clicking sine waves finding each other after long last, making love, and giving birth to white noise."
posted by eschatfische at 12:04 PM on June 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by eschatfische at 12:04 PM on June 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
The sounds that come before the white noise always made me think of the sounds that R2D2 makes.
So, basically, R2D2 dialing to make a phone call, then R2D2 "talking" on the phone, and then the service starts to go, so you just get white noise.
That may not really be what you're going for, though.
posted by litera scripta manet at 12:09 PM on June 14, 2015
So, basically, R2D2 dialing to make a phone call, then R2D2 "talking" on the phone, and then the service starts to go, so you just get white noise.
That may not really be what you're going for, though.
posted by litera scripta manet at 12:09 PM on June 14, 2015
First the pure carrier, then a series of pulsed negotiations culminating in the white-noise static of actual data.
posted by Bringer Tom at 2:05 PM on June 14, 2015
posted by Bringer Tom at 2:05 PM on June 14, 2015
Maybe People Making Dial Up Noise will help. It's not the real thing, but it's what a variety of people have interpreted, so this may suggest what elements you want to emphasize.
posted by maudlin at 3:03 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by maudlin at 3:03 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
This web comic has people playing charades with modem noises, if that helps.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 5:01 PM on June 14, 2015
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 5:01 PM on June 14, 2015
Seconding that you won't have those bouncy-pings in the era of modem you're thinking of. The 2400 starts off with pings that are almost like very flat sonar pings, but not the kind of bouncy-juicy "poing" that appears in later speeds.
Here's my shot at onomatopoeia:
1200: eeeeebeeeeebeeeeeebeeeee-biiiiiiii-pumshh-SSSssh
2400: bom - - - bom - - - bom - - - kuuuuuIIIII - [two sounds overlaid: IIIIIIIIII and bssssh] - ssssssshh
Other possibly useful links:
timeline of modem connection speeds
A couple of old Mefi posts that include some sound-descriptions, although yeah, a lot of these memories are of 14.4 or 56.6 etc:
Modem sounds explained - thread contains some folks' description of the sounds in words, and some chronology.
What modems sounded like
posted by LobsterMitten at 5:05 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Here's my shot at onomatopoeia:
1200: eeeeebeeeeebeeeeeebeeeee-biiiiiiii-pumshh-SSSssh
2400: bom - - - bom - - - bom - - - kuuuuuIIIII - [two sounds overlaid: IIIIIIIIII and bssssh] - ssssssshh
Other possibly useful links:
timeline of modem connection speeds
A couple of old Mefi posts that include some sound-descriptions, although yeah, a lot of these memories are of 14.4 or 56.6 etc:
Modem sounds explained - thread contains some folks' description of the sounds in words, and some chronology.
What modems sounded like
posted by LobsterMitten at 5:05 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ooh, and actually if you look at the "modem" tag on MeFi, a bunch of the post names are onomatopoetic spellings-out of modem noises.
posted by LobsterMitten at 5:27 PM on June 14, 2015
posted by LobsterMitten at 5:27 PM on June 14, 2015
sidenote: I really wouldn't say that in 1989 that it was fairly common to have a modem. Computers barely had hard-drives at that point (you'd boot up MS-DOS using floppy disks). If you're looking for a time when 'many people' were on the internet, and using dial-up, you need to fast forward to about 1997-1999.
posted by hydra77 at 5:36 PM on June 14, 2015
posted by hydra77 at 5:36 PM on June 14, 2015
One more resource that may be of use: The sound of the dialup, pictured. The annotated timeline is phenomenal. A key thing about more modern modems (ie, faster than 300 baud) was that they were layered so you'd have an underlying 300 baud connection first (the whistling) and then higher frequency stuff set up later (the static and chirps).
posted by Nelson at 6:12 PM on June 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 6:12 PM on June 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: maudlin, proof yet again that if anything exists in the universe it will have a tumblr in place to sustain it. INSANE. Thanks!
LobsterMitten, you're amazing!
Nelson, that is phenomenal!
posted by zenpop at 6:27 PM on June 14, 2015
LobsterMitten, you're amazing!
Nelson, that is phenomenal!
posted by zenpop at 6:27 PM on June 14, 2015
In the 80s plenty of people used modems to connect to CompuServe, Quantum Link, or BBS systems. I bought my first 300 baud VICmodem in 1982 or 3.
posted by rfs at 8:15 PM on June 14, 2015
posted by rfs at 8:15 PM on June 14, 2015
mRrrr
mRrrr
mRrrr
mRrrr
MREEeEeEeEeEeK
krgrgshshshshhshhshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
*pop*
posted by ostranenie at 9:20 PM on June 14, 2015
mRrrr
mRrrr
mRrrr
MREEeEeEeEeEeK
krgrgshshshshhshhshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
*pop*
posted by ostranenie at 9:20 PM on June 14, 2015
You can also see what it looked like if that helps to trigger a more appropriate verbal description.
Spectrogram Video
Explainer Image
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:50 AM on June 15, 2015
Spectrogram Video
Explainer Image
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:50 AM on June 15, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:33 AM on June 14, 2015 [5 favorites]