A A 660kB ZIP file containing about 25 courtesy tones Includes.WAV file examples of each.     Compiled by Scott Zimmerman N3XCC

Bumble Bee     This is the same as ACC default courtesy tone #1
Program a 640ms delay from squelch closure to 1st tone
Freq 330Hz Duration 100mSec
Freq 495Hz Duration 100mSec (one book had this at 500hz)
Freq 660Hz Duration 100mSec

ACC default courtesy tone #2 is the same as above except the tone duration is 75ms

Piano Chord     This is the same as ACC default courtesy tone #3
640ms delay from squelch closure to 1st tone
Freq 660Hz and 880 Duration 100mSec

ACCs other default courtesy beeps were:
#4 was the "Explosion" sound effect that was built into the TI speech synthesizer chip
#5 was the "Tick-tock" sound effect (also in the synthesizer)
#6 was a Morse letter "K"
#7 was a Morse "N"
#8 was a Morse "B"

ACC default courtesy tone #8
640ms delay from squelch closure to 1st tone
Freq 660Hz Duration 580mSec

ACC default courtesy tone #9
640ms delay from squelch closure to 1st tone
Freq 660Hz Duration 120mSec

ACC default courtesy tone #10
640ms delay from squelch closure to 1st tone
Freq 660Hz and 250Hz Duration 100mSec

Yellow Jacket (a half-as-long Bumble Bee)
Freq 330Hz Duration 50mSec
Freq 495Hz Duration 50mSec (one book had this at 500hz)
Freq 660Hz Duration 50mSec

Shooting Star
Freq 800Hz Duration 100mSec
Freq 800Hz Duration 100mSec
Freq 540Hz Duration 100mSec

Comet
Freq 500Hz Duration 100mSec
Freq 500Hz Duration 100mSec
Freq 750Hz Duration 100mSec

Stardust
Freq 750Hz Duration 125mSec
Freq 880Hz Duration 80mSec
880Hz and 1200Hz Duration 80mSec

Hornet   (just a Yellow Jacket with the tone sequence reversed)
Freq 660Hz Duration 50mSec
Freq 500Hz Duration 50mSec
Freq 385Hz Duration 50mSec

Wasp   (just a Bumble Bee with the tone sequence reversed)
Same as Hornet but double the duration of each tone

Tumbleweed
Freq 1000Hz Duration 20mSec
Freq 800Hz Duration 20mSec
Freq 600Hz Duration 20mSec

Fire Fly
Freq 1000Hz and 1200Hz 120mSec
Freq 1200Hz and 1400Hz 80 mSec
Freq 600Hz and 800Hz 100mSec

Chirp-Chomp
Freq 1500Hz 20mSec
Freq 1250Hz 20mSec
Freq 1000Hz 20mSec
Freq 750Hz 20mSec
Freq 500Hz 20mSec
Freq 2550Hz 20mSec

Moonbounce
Freq 1000Hz and 800Hz 50mSec
Freq 800Hz 50mSec
Freq 600Hz 50mSec
Freq 1500Hz 50mSec

Dunce Cap
Freq 440Hz and 500Hz Duration 200mSec
Freq 440Hz and 350Hz Duration 200mSec

Uonk (pronounced like "honk" less the "h" sound)
Freq 500Hz and 700 Duration 100mSec

Beep
Freq 880Hz Duration 100mSec

Boop
Freq 440Hz Duration 100mSec

Bloop
Freq 840Hz and 500Hz Duration 100mSec

Doorbell   (tone sequence from an old Popular Electronics construction article for an electronic doorbell, but with shorter durations
Freq 800Hz Duration 75mSec
Freq 400Hz Duration 50mSec

Doorbell Chord
Freq 1450Hz and 725Hz Duration 75mSec
Freq 725Hz and 360Hz Duration 50mSec

Descending
Freq 1000Hz 50mSec
Freq 750Hz 50mSec
Freq 500Hz 50mSec

Ascending
Freq 500Hz 50mSec
Freq 750Hz 50mSec
Freq 1000Hz 50mSec

Other Beeps:

Nextel beep
Freq 1760Hz Duration 30mSec
30ms gap
Freq 1760Hz Duration 30mSec
30ms gap
Freq 1760Hz Duration 30mSec

Function Complete
Freq 480 and 1200Hz for 40ms
40ms gap
Freq 480 and 1200Hz for 40ms

Another function complete
Freq 900 for 60ms
60ms gap
Freq 900 for 60ms

NASA "Over" beep
Freq 2450Hz for 200ms
Note that the beep used in the movie "Apollo 13" was 2500 Hz just to be different, and for 100ms just to speed the movie up.

If you want the autopatch functions to sound like a phone system, here's the official specifications:

USA TELEPHONE NETWORK CALL PROGRESS TONE SIGNALLING Tone Function Frequency in Hz ± 0.5% Cadence (Seconds) Power (see note 1) Notes On Off Dial Tone 350 + 440 Steady Steady -24   Station Busy 480 + 620 0.5 0.5 -24 See note 2 Toll Congestion 480 + 620 0.2 0.3 -24 See note 3 Reorder (local) 480 + 620 0.3 0.2 -24 See note 4 Ring Back (telco) 440 + 480 2.0 4.0 -16 This is what you hear when the far-end central office is ringing the station - i.e. sending 90-100v at 20hz to the ringer. Ring Back (PBX) 440 + 480 1 3 -16 This is what you hear when a PBX at the far-end is ringing the station. Howler 1400 + 2060 + 2450 + 2600 0.1 0.1 0 This is what you hear when you leave the receiver off hook. It's designed to be obnoxious, and it's set at a annoyingly loud level. Call Waiting 440 One 500ms burst -13   High Tone 480 See notes -16 Usage depends on the manufacturer of the phone system. And despite the fact the 620 Hz is higher in frequency, this is called the "high tone". Pre-Emption Tone 440 + 620 See notes -18 This is a tone burst with unequal lengths of tones: the 440 Hz tone is 200ms, the 620 Hz tone is 500ms. Usage depends on the manufacturer of the phone system. Confirmation 350 + 440 Three 100ms bursts ? Usage depends on the manufacturer of the phone system. Override 440 One 3-second burst -13 Usage depends on the manufacturer of the phone system. Recall 350 + 440 Three 100ms bursts then dial tone -24 Usage depends on the manufacturer of the phone system.

Notes: 1) This is the audio power per frequency measured (in dB mo) at the Exchange Frame (the last connection point where the cabling leave the building). 2) A "station" in telephone parlance is a telephone instrument - be it a telephone, a fax machine, the autopatch board in your repeater controller, whatever. 3) This signal is the so-called "fast busy". Several central offices in a geographical area talk to a single toll office. Toll offices talk to each other. This method saves diging trenches between every combination of central offices. When you hear this it indicates that all the circuits between the two toll offices involved in your phone call are in use. 4) Most folks can't tell the difference between a Toll Congestion and a Reorder signal - they are both a fast cadence busy signal, but the on/off times are reversed. A reorder is an indication that there is a error in setting up the connection, rather than an indication of too much traffic.

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This page originally posted on 13-April-2005