225 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
225 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
![]() |
BUILDING A RED BOX
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by JR "Bob" Dobbs
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Essentially,the red box is a device used to fool the phone company into thinking
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you are depositing coins into a payphone. Every time you drop a coin into a
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payphone, the phone signals the type of coin inserted with one or more bursts of
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a combination of 1700hz and 2200hz. The tone bursts are coded as follows:
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Nickel:One 60 millisecond pulse
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Dime :Two 60 millisecond pulses separated by 60 milliseconds
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Quarter:Five 35 millisecond pulses separated by 35 milliseconds
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HOW TO USE IT
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-------------
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Operation is simple. Simply dial a long distance number (some areas require you
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to stick in a genuine nickel first), wait for the ACTS computer to demand your
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cash, and press the "deposit" button on the red box for each coin you want to
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simulate. The coin signals are coupled from the red box into the phone with a
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small speaker held to the mouthpiece. For local calls, either you must first
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deposit a genuine nickel before "simulating" more coins or place your call
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through the operator with 0 + 7d. Use some care when the operator is on the
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line--sometimes they catch on to your beeper ploy.
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CIRCUIT OPERATION
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-----------------
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Each time the pushbutton is pressed, it triggers half of IC1, configured as a
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monostable multivibrator to energize the rest of the circuit for a length of
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time determined by the setting of the coin selector switch. This in turn starts
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the other half of IC1, configured as an astable multivibrator, pulsing on and
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off at regular intervals at a rate determined by the 50k pot between pins 12 and
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13. The output of the astable thus alternately powers of IC2, configured as a
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square wave oscillator, providing the required 1700hz and 2200hz to the op amp
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which acts as a buffer to drive the speaker.
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CONSTRUCTION
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------------
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Assemble the circuit as you wish. Component placement is not critical. I found
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the easiest method was to use point-to-point wiring on a "universal" PC grid
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board with solder ringed holes. Use sockets if you aren't a whiz with a
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soldering iron. Be sure to leave easy access to the potentiometers for alignment
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ALIGNMENT AND TESTING
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---------------------
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For alignment, a frequency counter and tiggered sweep oscilloscope are extremely
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handy (but not absolutely necessary.) Install a temporary jumper from +9v
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supply to pin 14 of IC2 and temporarily disconnect the 0.01uF capacitors from
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pins 5 and 9 of IC2. Power up the circuit. Measuring the output from pin 5 of
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IC2 with the frequency counter, adjust the 20k pot between pins 1 and 6 for an
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output of 1700hz. Now adjust the 20k pot between pins 8 and 13 for an output of
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2200hz from pin 9 of IC2. Remove the temporary jumper and re-attach the
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capacitors to pins 5 and 9. (Note: if no frequency counter is available, the
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outputs can be adjusted by ear one at a time by zero-beating the output tone
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with a computer generated tone of known precision.) Next, temporarily disconnect
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the wire between pins 5 and 10 of IC1. Set coin selector switch in the "N"
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(nickel) position. With the oscilloscope measuring the output from pin 9 of IC1,
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adjust the 50k pot between pins 12 and 13 of IC1 for output pulses of 60
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millisecond duration. Reconnect the wire between pins 5 and 10. (Note: If no
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scope is available, adjust the pulse rate by ear using computer generated tones
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for comparison.) The remaining adjustments are made by ear. Leave the selector
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switch in the "N" position. Adjust the 50k pot labelled "Dime" for a quick
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double beep each time the pushbutton is pressed. Finally, set the selector to
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"Quarter". Adjust the 50k pot labelled "Quarter" until exactly 5 very quick
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beeps are heard for each button press. Don't worry if the quarter beeps sound
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shorter and faster than the nickel and dime ones. They should be.
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CONCLUSION
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----------
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If all went well to this point, your red box should be completely aligned and
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functional. A final test should now be conducted from a payphone using the DATL
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(dial access test line) coin test. Dial 09591230 and follow the computer
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instructions using the red box at the proper prompts. The computer should
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correctly identify all coins "simulated" and flag any anomalies. With a little
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discretion, your red box should bring you many years of use. Remember, there's
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no such thing as spare change.!
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Parts list for Red Box
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----------------------
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Semiconductors
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--------------
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(2)556 dual timer
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(1)741 Op Amp
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(1)1N914 Switching Diode
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Resistors
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---------
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(6)10k
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(1)4.7k
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(2)100k
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(4)50k PC Mount Potentiometer
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(2)20k Multi-Turn Potentiometer
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Capacitors
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(10)0.01uF
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(1)1.0uF
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(2)10.0uF Electrolytic
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Miscellaneous
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-------------
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(2)14 Pin Dip Socket
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(1)8 Pin Dip Socket
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(1)3-position Rotary Switch
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(1)Momentary Push-Button Switch(normally open)
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(1)SPST Toggle Switch
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(1)Speaker or Telephone Earpiece Circuit Board
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(1) Box
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(1) 9v Battery Clip Mounting Hardware
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SCHEMATIC DRAWING
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-----------------
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Speaker
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g
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Schematic part variables list.
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------------------------------
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Resistors
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---------
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R1 - 10k
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R2 - 10k
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R3 - 4.7k
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R4 - 10k
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R5 - 10k
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R6 - 50k
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R7 - 50k
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R8 - 50k
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R9 - 50k
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R10- 20k
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R11- 10k
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R12- 10k
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R13- 20k
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R14-100k
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R15-100k
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Capacitors
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----------
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C1 - 0.01uf
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C2 - 1N914 switching Diode
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C3 - 1.0uf
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C4 - 0.01uf
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C5 - 0.01uf
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C6 - 10uf
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C7 - 0.01uf
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C8 - 0.01uf
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C9 - 0.01uf
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C10 - 0.01uf
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C11 - 0.01uf
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C12 - 0.01uf
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C13 - 0.01uf
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C14 - 10uf
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Switches
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--------
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S1 - SPST toggle
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S2 - Momentary push button N.O. labeled "Deposit"
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S3 - 3-position rotary switch
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Miscellaneous
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-------------
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g - Ground @q -
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Label "quarter" @d -
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Label "dime" @n -
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Label "nickel"
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Typed up by Sine Wave from an article which originally appeared in 2600 magazine.
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The original contained several mistakes in the schematic drawing which I've
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corrected. Hope this information enlightens you to new and exciting possibilities
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via your local phone booth.
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