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April 1, 2020 4:06 pm  #1


A "Star" Is Unborn. Whatever Happened To Cell Phone Calls On Radio?

I was listening to John Oakley on Wednesday when he started to give out the phone numbers to get callers on the line. He began to say “*640” but then interrupted himself, noting “we don’t have *640 anymore.”
 
That got me to thinking, always a dangerous pursuit. Now that I think about it, I don’t remember hearing CFRB using the “*1010” designation for cell phone calls in a while, either.
 
This used to be a huge thing, especially for talk radio stations during the various rush hours. And while COVID-19 means a lot of listeners are now working from home and not in their cars, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t reach out with their cells to comment on whatever is going on.
 
Is there some reason this has suddenly been abandoned? Is this a safety thing, despite Bluetooth? What happened to the “*Say-Your-Dial-Position-Here” thing? Is it just my imagination or has it just disappeared without most of us realizing it?

 

April 1, 2020 5:02 pm  #2


Re: A "Star" Is Unborn. Whatever Happened To Cell Phone Calls On Radio?

The * numbers were created when mobile calling (especially long distance) was very pricey. Now, most cell plans include unlimited local calling. And more and more plans include unlimited Canadian long distance.

 

April 1, 2020 5:06 pm  #3


Re: A "Star" Is Unborn. Whatever Happened To Cell Phone Calls On Radio?

CFRB used to use *talk. 
It should make me wonder why AM 640 never used *chat to compete, but then again, *640 is one less digit to enter into the phone. 


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

April 1, 2020 5:18 pm  #4


Re: A "Star" Is Unborn. Whatever Happened To Cell Phone Calls On Radio?

Radiowiz wrote:

CFRB used to use *talk. 

You're right. It's been so long since I've heard it, I'd completely forgotten. I think *1010 was for traffic updates. Do they still use that or is that gone, too?

     Thread Starter
 

April 1, 2020 5:25 pm  #5


Re: A "Star" Is Unborn. Whatever Happened To Cell Phone Calls On Radio?

RadioActive wrote:

I think *1010 was for traffic updates. Do they still use that or is that gone, too?

I always found it odd that a radio station would encourage motorists to use their cell to call in traffic reports. Talk about distracted driving. Let's face it: most of those callers weren't using Bluetooth or some other kind of handsfree headset.

 

April 1, 2020 6:07 pm  #6


Re: A "Star" Is Unborn. Whatever Happened To Cell Phone Calls On Radio?

RadioActive wrote:

Radiowiz wrote:

CFRB used to use *talk. 

You're right. It's been so long since I've heard it, I'd completely forgotten. I think *1010 was for traffic updates. Do they still use that or is that gone, too?

Now that I look back on it, I DO seem to recall AM 640 using both *640 and *2428 but vaguely...
(2428 spells out "chat")


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.