61 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
61 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
THE BEIGE BOX
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A beige box is an easy way of tapping into phone lines. It is basically
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an adaptor for connecting a normal phone with a BT plug onto a pair of
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phone wires.
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You will need: one cheap phone, two crocodile clips, some wire and a
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telephone socket and wallbox. If you use a master (primary) socket your
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phone will be able to ring; if you just use a secondary (slave) socket,
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it will never ring. {but see below.}
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HOW TO MAKE IT
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Solder the crocodile clips onto each end of half a metre of wire. Cut
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the wire and pass it through a convenient knockout in the socket
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wallbox, so that the clips are on the outside. Connect one wire to pin
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2 of the phone socket, and one to pin 5 of the phone socket. {it is
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easier if your socket has screw terminals rather than IDC terminals,
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especially if your wire is stranded.} Screw the socket onto the wallbox
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and plug in the phone. That's it.
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HOW TO USE IT
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Clip the clips onto the two wires of a phone line, and dial away.
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That's all you have to do.
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IDEAS FOR IMPROVEMENTS
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----------------------
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1. If you used a secondary socket but later decide you would rather
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have a primary socket, simply add a 1.8uF 100V capacitor in the
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position marked C1 on the PCB inside the socket. {1.5uF or 2.2uF will
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do the job, if you can't get 1.8uF, but it must NOT be an electrolytic
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capacitor, and it MUST be rated 100V or over.} If you are using a
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slimline socket without a PCB, the capacitor should be wired between
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pins 2 and 3.
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2. If you want a line status indicator: get a two-colour LED {the type
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with two leads, that glows red when the current is in one direction and
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green in the other} and a 6.8k resistor. Wire these, in series, across
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the position marked SP1 on the PCB. {don't connect the middle of the
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series pair to anywhere.} For PCB-less sockets, this is the equivalent
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of pins 2 and 5, ie the pair connected to the clips. It will indicate
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the line polarity {red or green} which is not particularly important,
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and the line status {dim = in use, bright = clear} which is.
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Brought to you by ...... . .... . . ... .....
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: :..: :.. :.' .:.......:.
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: : : :... : `. `... .:...
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Original idea by Jolly Roger, modified by THE KEZ for the UK.
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disclaimer: this is for informational purposes only. no responsibility
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is accepted for any consequences of use or misuse of any information
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contained herein. any material whose source i have not acknowledged is
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believed to be my own - if it sounds like something you invented, just
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remember great minds think alike.
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K |