632 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
632 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
The Midnight Computer Wiring Society presents................
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.............................................................................
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2/20/91
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COCOTS: What the hell are they anyway?
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by
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..oooOO Count Zero OOooo..
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-=*:MCWS:*=-
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BONUS!-> plans for the COMBO-BOX
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............................................................................
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So...you're walking down the street and you see a payphone...gotta make an
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important call, so you dig into your pocket to get a dime...picking up the
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handset, you suddenly notice that the payphone wants a QUARTER for a local
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call!...what the hell?....and WHERE did this synthesized voice come from?...
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Let's make this phile short and to the point..a COCOT is an acronym for
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Customer Owned Coin Operated Telefone...in other words, a COCOT is a fone
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OWNED or RENTED by a PAYING CUSTOMER (most likely, a hotel or donut shop)..a
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COCOT is NOT a normal payfone...the Telco doesn't own it, and the actual fone
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line is usually a normal customer loop (unlike payfones, where the fone line
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is a "special" payfone loop, allowing the use of "coin tones" to indicate
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money dropped in..more on this later)... SO!...A COCOT may LOOK and SMELL like
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a telco payphone, but it is NOT....
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* Why do COCOTs exist?
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Simple....$$$$$$$!...a customer owned payfone is money in the bank!..you pay
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MORE for local calls...and long distance is typically handled by sleazy
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carriers that offer poor/EXPENSIVE service..the owner/renter of the COCOT opens
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the coinbox and keeps the money him/herself!...Also, a particularly SLEAZY
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quality of a COCOT is the fact that it DOES NOT RECIEVE INCOMING CALLS..this,
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of course, is because of $$...if people are calling IN to a COCOT, the COCOT
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is not making money...and businesses always want to make as much $$ as
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possible...even if it hurts the consumer...(think about it..it REALLY sucks
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calling someone at home from a COCOT, then not be able to have him/her call
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you back to save $$..."Guess I'll have to keep feeding the COCOT quarters!")
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* Where is a good place to look for COCOTs?
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Outside Dunkin Donut shops, restaurants, clubs, bars, and outside/inside
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hotels...."convenient" locations
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* How do I figure out if I have found a COCOT?
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Simple..a COCOT will have NO TELCO LOGOS on it....no New England Telefone
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symbols....it may look just like a Telco fone...chrome, with blue stickers and
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all that...ALSO..a COCOT typically charges MORE for a local call than a regular
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Telco payfone (in Massachusetts, local calls are a dime, in places like NYC,
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they are 25 cents..)....a COCOT will most often have a synthesized voice that
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asks you to "please deposit 25 cents" or whatever...ALSO...some FaNcY COCOTS
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will not look like payfones at all...some in hotels have weird LCD displays
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and look totally different..but the ALWAYS charge you more than a normal
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payphone..
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* OK, I found this weird payphone in Boston that wants a quarter, and this
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synthesized voice is harassing me...when does the phun begin?
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Soon..first of all, you must understand that the COCOT is a MIMIC...
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essentially, it wants you to THINK that it is just a plain ol' payfone...pick
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up the handset..hear that dialtone?...HAH!...that dialtone is FAKE...
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synthesized by the innards of the COCOT....you are at the mercy of the COCOT..
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REMEMBER...a COCOT runs off of a normal customer loop..SO...unlike a Telco
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payfone where you MUST deposit money to generate coin tones that are read by
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the CO, the SECURITY of a COCOT depends SOLELY on the COCOT fone itself...its
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as if you took your own fone and put a sign on it saying "Please put 10 cents
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in this jar for every call you make."....COCOTS are not naiive...they won't let
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you NEAR the unrestricted dialtone until you fork over the cash-ola..heh heh..
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or so they THINK!
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See, the Achilles heel of the COCOT is the FACT that ALL PAYFONES MUST LET
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YOU MAKE 1-800 CALLS FOR FREE!...it's not just a fact, it's the LAW...so, now
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pick up the handset again and place a 1-800 call....any 1-800 number will do.
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When they answer at the other end, just sit there....do nothing...ignore them.
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wait for them to hang up the fone....here's an example..
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<DIAL 1-800-LOAN-YES>
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<Ring, Ring>.....<click> "Hello, you wanna buy some money? Hello? HELLO?!"
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<CLICK>
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<You will now hear some static and probably a strange "waffling" noise, like
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chh,chh,chh,chh,chh>
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<CLICK>......DIALTONE!
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NOW!..what have we got here?...a DIALTONE?...yes, you guessed it, the dialtone
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you now hear is the UNRESTRICED dialtone of the COCOT's customer loop...
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* So what?..So I got an "unrestricted dialtone"...big deal?
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Meathead!...with an UNRESTRICTED dialtone, all you need to do is place a call
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via DTMF tones (the tones a touch-tone keypad generates)...now, try dialing a
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number with the COCOTs keypad...WHOA!..waitasec, no sound!..heh heh..this is a
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typical lame attempt at protection by the COCOT..just WHIP out your Radio Shack
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pocket tone dialer, and try calling a number...ANY number...place it just as
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if you were calling from a home phone...call a 1-900 sex line...call Guam...you
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are FREE..and the COCOTs customer loop is being billed!
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***NOTE:..some COCOTS are more sophisticated at protecting themselves..some
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will RESET when they hear the dialtone...to get around this, make a loud
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hissing sound with your mouth into the mouthpiece after the 1-800 number hangs
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up...also, get your tone dialer ready near the mouthpiece..when u hear the
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dialtone, quickly dial the first digit of your number to call...if you hiss
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loudly enough, you MAY be able to mask the sound of the dialtone and prevent
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the COCOT from resetting...and once you dial the first digit of the number
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you are calling, the dialtone will disappear (naturally)...ok, you can stop
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hissing like an idiot now..finish dialing your PHREE fone call..
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Also, some COCOTs actually disable the handset after a call hangs up
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(in other words, you can't send DTMF tones thru the mouthpiece)....oh well,
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better luck next time..
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HOWEVER...MOST of the COCOTs I have run across ONLY disable the DTMF keypad..
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so all you need is a pocket dialer to circumvent this!
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OTHER THINGS TO KNOW:...Sure, you can't call a COCOT, but it DOES have a number
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..to find out the COCOT's number, call 1-800-933-3258..this automated ANI
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service will tell you the number you're dialing from...now, try calling the
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COCOT from another fone..you will hear one of 2 things:
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1) synthesized voice "Thank you"...CLICK..<hang up>
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2) weird carrier
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A COCOT's number is ONLY used by the company that BUILT the COCOT..by calling
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up a COCOT, a tech. can monitor its functioning, etc...in case (1), you must
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enter a 3 or 4 digit password and then you'll get into a voice menu driven
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program that'll let you do "maintenance" stuff with the COCOT...in case (2),
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you are hooked to the COCOT's 300 bps modem (YES, a MODEM in a PAYFONE)..
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likewise, if you can figure out the communication settings, you'll be into the
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COCOT's maintenance routines.....
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Personally, I haven't had much luck (or patience) with calling up and hacking
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COCOT maintenance functions..I just like making free fone calls from 'em!
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COCOT ETIQUETTE:
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Now, remember, you are making free fone calls....but SOMEONE has to pay for
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'em...and that is the OWNER...the COCOT's customer loop is billed the cost of
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the calls, and if the OWNER sees a big difference in the profits made on the
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COCOT (profit=coins from COCOT - bill from Telco for customer loop)..they'll
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know SOMETHING is up...so..moral is DON'T ABUSE THEM!..don't call a 1-900
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number and stay on the line for 12 hours!....if a COCOT is abused SEVERLY, an
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owner will eventually LOSE money on the damn thing!...and that means..BYE BYE
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COCOT...also, remember that a RECORD of ALL LONG DISTANCE calls is made to the
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COCOT's customer loop..and COCOT companies will sometimes investigate "billing
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discrepencies"....so don't call anyone you personally know unless you are
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sure they are "cool"..
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<RING RING> "Hello?"
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"Hello...this is Cointel, Inc....we'd like to ask you a few
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questions about a call you received from Boston on 2/12/91.
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Could you tell us the name and address of the person who
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placed the call?"
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COOL dude -> "What?...I don't remember...go to hell! <SLAM>"
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MEATHEAD -> "Uh, sure, his name is John Smith...you want his address too?"
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Get the picture? Good...
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COCOTs are a great resource if we use them wisely...like our environment, we
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gotta be careful not to PLUNDER them....make a few long distance calls...and
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then leave that particular COCOT alone for awhile...chances are, your bills
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will be "absorbed" by the profit margin of the owner..and probably ignored..
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but the smaller the owner's profit margin gets, the more likely suspicions will
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be aroused...'nuff said!
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I have found COCOTs EVERYWHERE...some of my personal favorites are on Route 1
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North of Boston...check out the Dunkin Donut shops and the Burger King..also,
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in front of the Rat in Kenmore...look around..they are lurking everywhere..
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(BUT..COCOT technology is relatively new..don't expect them EVERYWHERE..I know
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many towns that have NONE...check out big cities....) Here are some numbers of
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COCOTs:
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Kenmore Square, the Rat
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617/247-8195
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617/247-7913
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617/247-8208
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617/247-9437
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Random ones: 617/720-4430 617/233-9872
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Here are some companies that deal with COCOTs...try out your social
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engineering skill on them:
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Cointel, Inc. Int'l Telecharge, Inc.
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130 Broadway St. P.O. Box 50579
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Somerville, MA Dallas, TX
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02145 1800/999-5152
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1800/322-7741
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As for a Tone Dialer, don't leave home without one!...a true phreak always has
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a DTMF tone dialer at hand..along with a red box!....My personal favorite is
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the COMBO-BOX (red box plus DTMF)..take a Radio Shack 33-memory Pocket Dialer..
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open up the back...remove the little 3.579 MHz crystal (looks like a metal
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cylinder..unsolder it)...solder on a couple of thin, insulated wires where the
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crystal was attached...thread the wires thru one of the "vents" in the back of
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the tone dialer....get ahold of a 6.5536 MHz crystal (available thru Fry's
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Electronics, 89 cents a piece, phone number 415/770-3763)...go out and get some
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quick drying epoxy and a Radio Shack mini Toggle Switch, DPDT, cat. no 275-626
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Close the tone dialer, with the two wires sticking out one of the back vents..
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screw it up tight....now, attact the crystals and wires to the switch like this
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with solder:
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I^^^^^I
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I xx <3.579 crystal>small one
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I I
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toggle switch -> oooooo X xxxxs <two wires>
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I I
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I xx <6.5536 crystal>big one
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I I
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^^^^^^
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Each "xx" prong in the diagram is actually TWO prongs....hook up the two leads
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from the crystals to separate prongs (same with the wires).
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Now, epoxy this gizmo to the side of the tone dialer..use ALOT of epoxy, as you
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must make the switch/crystals essentially EMBEDDED in epoxy resin. like this:
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front view -> ----------------------
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I I T <-toggle switch
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I oo oo oo I---
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I I |
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I I---
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I 1 2 3 I B s <-two crystals(b=big,s=small)
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I I | in epoxy "blob"
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I 4 5 6 I _
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I I
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I 7 8 9 I ^two wires running to back of unit
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I I
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I * 0 # I
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I I
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----------------------
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----------------------
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back view -> I I
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T I o ---- o-----------------------vent (1 of 4)
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--- I / \ I
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| I | -----------------speaker
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--- I | | I
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s B I | | I
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2 wires -> \-----o ---- o I
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running into I I
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vent I I
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I I
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I I
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I I
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----------------------
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Make sure the epoxy is really gobbed on there..you want to be certaint the
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switch and crystals are firmly attached and secure in a matrix of epoxy (it
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doesn't conduct electricity, so don't worry about shorting out the connections
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to the toggle switch)...just don't gum up the action of the switch!
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Basically, you've altered the device so you can select between 2 crystals to
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generate the timing for the microprocessor in the tone dialer...
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Now...turn on the tone dialer..NOW, you can easily switch between the 2 crystal
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types...the small crystal will generate ordinary DTMF tones...but, by
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simply flicking the switch, you generate HIGHER tones...now, using the
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memory function of the tone dialer, save 5 "*" in the P1 location...now dial
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the P1 location using the BIG crystal...hmmm, sure sounds like the tones for
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a QUARTER, doesn't it! 8-)
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Carry this around with you always...will come in handy with both Telco
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payfones AND COCOTs!...no Phreak should be without one!
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Anyway, that about wraps it up for me.....references for this article include
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Noah Clayton's EXCELLENT article on COCOTs in 2600 Magazine, Autumn 1990..
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also, The Plague's article on Tone Dialer conversion to Red Box, 2600
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Magazine, Summer 1990 (Which inspired me to create the COMBO-BOX (red box PLUS
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DTMF dialer)...I strongly urge people to subscribe to 2600 Magazine...call
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their office line for more details ->516/751-2600...
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Remember..you can READ all you want, but if you don't get your ASS out
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there and try stuff out for yourself, you are nothing but a POSER!
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'Nuff said...oh, also, I heard that SOME COCOTs have handsets in them
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that can be accessed..in other words, you call the COCOT and if you hit
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"0" or something else, the earpiece of the handset is activated and you can
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listen in on what's goin on around the COCOT...I dunno...never worked for me,
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but try these 2 "suspected" numbers...212/268-7538, -6129...try hitting "0" and
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listen for any sounds...I could be wrong, I could be right..I could be black,
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I could be white....
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That's all folks...remember, the purpose of this phile is to ENLIGHTEN, and I
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in no way condone or encourage illegal activities...so don't blame me for
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ANY MESS you get into...this phile offered strictly as INFORMATIONAL ONLY! I
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am in no way responsible for your ass!...
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Also, I am not into wanton destruction, vandalism, or fraud..seek the truth,
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and leave nothing but footsteps...
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Remember...SHARE THE WEALTH...INFORMATION IS POWER...SHARE IT!
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And drink massive amounts of Jolt cola...trust me, it's good for you.
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Special Greetings to Magic Man, Darby, JT, Muppet, Madmike, Falcon, George Bush
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FBI Agent, Net Runner, Canine, Plutus, Midnite Mage, YellowJacket, Old Pink,
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the Knight, Spiritwalker, Yellow Jacket, and anyone else I forgot..
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Keep the faith, and never stop searching for new frontiers....
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..................................
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..oooOO Count Zero OOooo..
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-=*:MCWS:*=-
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..................................
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