117 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
117 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
<The Restaurant at the End of the Universe 609/921-1994 10Meg/BBS/AE/Catfur>
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)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(
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)( How To Listen In On Cordless Telephone Conversations )(
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)( )(
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)( An Original 'Phile' By: Beowulf )(
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)( )(
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)( Call The Outhouse BBS 201-756-9575 )(
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)( )(
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)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(
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Have you ever wanted to know what your brother/sister/parents/ friends/enemies
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were saying as they hid somewhere, cordless phone in hand? With this phile, now
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you can! Just follow the simple instructions outlined inside.
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First some information about cordless telephones:
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The original cordless telephones (1978-about late 1983) were made to be used
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on the 1.6 to 1.8 MHz band. If you will notice, 1.6 MHz is also the top end of
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the AM broadcast band. These phones operate on AM (just like the radio
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stations) and use the wiring in your house for an antenna. The power of these
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phones is 1/10 of a watt in most cases, or about 1/50th of the power that your
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average CB radio will put out. So, not having a lot of power, it is tough to
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hear these phones. You know how they say '500 foot range'? Sure, that's the
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range of the handset to the base, but not of the signals emitted by the base!
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Which means that on good nights you can hear them for many miles (I live in NJ
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an have heard telephones VERY loudly from NY City, 35 MILES away!).
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The newer phones, however, are not as easy to hear. They operate on FM on the
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49 MHz band, which is the same frequency which your little walkie-talkies that
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you loved as a ten year old operate on. These phones require a little bit more
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effort to be heard than do the old ones (and a little $$$). Never fear,
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however, because about 1 out of 10 phones is the old style, and they are still
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being made and sold today.
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How To Do It:
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For the old style phones, you will need to get a pocket size AM transistor
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radio. The one I used was an AM/FM Realistic (bought for $9 at Radio Shack).
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There should be a small plastic box inside the radio. This little 'box' is the
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VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator) which controlls the frequency of the radio.
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Now of course, you aren't going to have a digital frequency counter (they only
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cost $400, so everyone should have at least two of them) so before you do
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anything, turn on the radio and tune to the top of the band and find the station
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which is closest to the top of the broadcast band. Write down the frequency so
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you have something to compare to later.
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Now, turn off the radio, get a small size screwdriver, and adjust the small
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screw(s) on the back of the little plastic box. Don't turn them more than a
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quarter turn at a time. Now, when you have done your first 'tweak' of the
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screws, turn on the radio and see where that station at the top of the band is
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now on the frequency dial. When you have gotten the station 150-200 kHz down
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from where it was, (like if the frequency was 1600, get it down between 1400 and
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1450), you are all set to recieve cordless telephones at the top end of the
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radio! Note: this little 'trick' may not work as well on all radios, but it is
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worth a try. If worse comes to worse, you can turn them back.
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The ideal distance is a close to the base as you can get, but this sucker
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should pull in signals from up to 500 feet away with no problem. Simply go near
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someones house with this, and then have fun!
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Another way: Another way to do this, if the VFO adjustment trick doesn't
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work, is to adjust the small metal boxes that have little colored screws in
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them. These are the tuning coils for the reciever circuit, and they affect the
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frequency also. Another possibility is a combination of turning the VFO screws
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and the coils to try to get the desired effect. Good Luck!
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Now for the tough ones, the new phones. The new phones work on the 49 MHz
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band. You are going to need one of the 'new' walkie talkies that operate on 49
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MHz ===- FM -=== (the cheap shit ones are AM). If you decide to invest in one
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at Radio Shack or similar store, make damn sure you get FM walkie talkies. If
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you get AM, you're screwed, unless you have a friend who is killer into
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electronics or ham radio who has the knowledge to convert AM to FM. (Yes, it
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can be done. I have done it with CB's, and it is great for CB because no one
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can understand what you are saying unless they have a FM-converted
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CB.....Hmm.....that may be my next text phile...look for it!!) Anyway.....when
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you get your FM walkie talkie, you can do one of two things:
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A) You can play the adjust the coils trick as mentioned in the last article
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(there is no VFO because walkie talkies are crystal controlled).
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B) You can change the crystal. Popular frequencies for cordless phones are
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49.830, 49.860 and 49.890 MHz. These crystals can be obtained from electronic
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supply houses (like ones that sell chips for your Apple) for about $2 or less
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each.
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And that just about concludes this phile. There are two other shortcut
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methods that can be used to bypass this mess and get you listening in right
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away.
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1) Get a general coverage receiver. They cover all frequencies from 100 kHz
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to 30 MHz, and will provide you with 'armchair' reception because you can hook
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up a monster antenna. (I have a 1964 vintage model that I got for $10 sitting
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on my desk with a 600 foot long piece of wire for an antenna....boy, I know
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everything in my neighborhood before the ladies start gossiping!)
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2) If you play guitar or bass, and have a 'wireless' system for your guitar
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like the Nagy 49R, you can hook up a 12 volt lantern battery and go prowling
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around listening for the phones. (Bass rules!)
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Method 1 only works on the old phones because of the frequency limitations of
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the reciever, and method 2 is for new phones only because the 'wireless' systems
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only work on 49 MHz FM.
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Have phun with your new knowledge, and look for more philes from me in the
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future (that CB FM is a good idea.....hmmmm...)
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)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(
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)( This has been on original phile by: Beowulf )(
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)( Copyright June 1985 This file is for use on AE, Catsend, and )(
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)( AE/BBS's only. )(
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)( Call The Outhouse BBS 201-756-9575 24 hours a day! )(
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)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(
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Call The Works BBS - 1600+ Textfiles! - [914]/238-8195 - 300/1200 - Always Open
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