Sound of the dialup modem explained
Why Hacker News recommends it
Shared in dial-up nostalgia threads as a way to both hear and understand the handshake.
What it is
A short animation that pairs the sound of a dialup modem handshake with a graphic explaining what each phase of the sound means.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2017 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Cites muxator · 2017-11 · on “The sound of the dialup, pictured (2012)”
3d spectrogram: [LINK] Animation of the picture illustrated in this article: [this video] If you live with someone >= 30, turn up the volume and wait for him/her to appear at the door for a nostalgia moment...
Cites gregsadetsky · 2025-08 · on “Dial-up Internet to be discontinued”
I like this explanatory graphic (after many many years of listening to the dialup sounds) - [LINK] And this version combining the graphic and the sound used to make the graphic: [this video] And this alternative version (h/t @Kye): [LINK]
Cites tcbawo · 2025-12 · on “Dialtone – AOL 3.0 Server”
The dial tone was prior to dialing. Upon connection, there was an audible sound from the modem handshake. Through some google searches, I came across this recording: [this video]