Oh my goodness. I think this is the only place on the internet nerdy enough to help me locate this info.

My parents met on a what was effectively an unofficial chat room hosted by capital radio (London). In the 1980s, Capital Radio used to leave their switchboard open at night (unintentionally, they didn’t realise it was happening) and people would call the regular radio phone and just end up in what was effectively a giant group call for Londoners late at night. (I say Londoners due to the reach of the radio rather than the phone line itself, people wouldn’t know the number unless they listened in).

I understand they changed how the phone system worked later in the 80s and closed this loophole off.

So what I’m after is…
- the nature of the switchboard that allowed this to happen
- what change would have blocked this later on
- any historic info on the period it was left open, or personal accounts.

#radio #capitalradio #phreaking #VintagePhoning #1980s #retrochatroom