The Paper Clip Method
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By: Master Mind
Many of people of the phreak community has asked the same question:
Why? Why does this thing work? I doesn't work for me, Why?. Well, hopefully
this article will put to rest many misconceptions about the procedure. This
procedure has become very popular, even in the movie wargames. In the movie,
the hacker twists open the microphone on the phone and connects one of the
two wires to the coin box. Then continues to make a long distance phone call
to his girlfriend. While the idea is correct, one can only make local calls
and are limited to one quarter's time. This scene is so close to the actual
truth that the "Made for TV version" has cut that specific scene. Imagine
what would happen if every youngster and some adults saw this and proceeded
to rip apart pay phones, not a pretty sight. This also demostrates how much
power the phone company had.
Nynex, in creating their fortress fones, has made an engineering
blunder. The whole concept of the method, is based on their short-sightness
and because of this are paying the price. The theory of the operation of the
phone works like this on paper: The first quarter that is deposited seems to
be based on an electrical impulse, but any addition coins will be audio
signals. Due to short cuts in engineering designs has left themselves open
to attack. By simply grounding the positive end of the microphone, enough
current and voltage is deferred to the ground to simulate the first quarter
in the coin box. An easy way to accomplish this is to connect the center of
the mouthpiece to the coin box, touch tone pad, or any thing that looks like
metal with a piece of wire. A most convenient piece of wire is a bend out
paper clip. That is how the method got it's name.
It has been my experience (and not only me) that there is no reliable
method for spoting a pay phone that will work. Naturally, if I did not
stress this earier, the method only works on NYNEX phones. The,other cheap,
third party phones, does not use the same method of calling as NYNEX.
Actually, if one had a choice between using a NYNEX phone and a third party
one, you should always use the NYNEX one. Most third party phones take your
money after the second ring, but the NYNEX phone senses when you are
connected to your party. Many people believe only certain phones with
certain prefixes work. Again I have found this to be unsubstantiated. I have
sent scouts out in all the five boros (of NY) and I myself have tried phones
in New Jersey. Based on my research (random test sites) 7 out of ten phones
worked, based on a hundred phones tested (plus or minus 10).
To eliminate alot of the guessing, I suggest you do the following. When
you connect the paper clip, wire or whatever you are using, try to listen to
the dial tone. If the dial tone changes somehow, like the tone get softer,
sounds more staticy, or sounds like there is more than one tone there then
you have a working phone. If none of these things happen try relocating the
end of paper clip. Try the tone pad, the side of the booth, that little hole
below the 0, the coin return slot, the coin slot or anything that looks like
metal.
Many people have been speculating that if they would rip off a headset
from a pay phone and then connect it at home they can make free calls. Well,
this idea is completely wrong. The headset is not making the call, the fone
is. There is no need go ripping off pay phone receivers to get free calls.
If you feel destructive, take the whole phone. <-- More of a challenge!
For all electronic enthusiasts, there is a potential of 20 volts
between the center of the mouthpiece to the ground and 120 milliamps flowing
through the two.
News update 9-29-88
I have personally seen five fortress fones being corrected. The
repairman just changed the receiver. Three different scenarios apply.
One:Just changing the headset corrects the problem. Unlikely because it the
method relies on a more fundamental level.
Two:The repairman changed something else besides the headset. This too,
seems unlikely because all of the phones' headsets in this specific area
were changed.
Three:I have noticed that there is a thin layer of plastic covering the
microphone. On the new headsets , this plastic has not been punctured.
So, if you find a phone that the method does not work, try to push real
hard into the mouthpiece and it might work.
Out of these three methods, the third seems the most likely.
I have not had time to phuck around with these modified phones since
this article will becoming out only two days after the phones have been
modified. I am expecting to continue this subject in my next article to keep
the reader up-to-date. I am also working on elongating the time that one can
call on the pay phone. Again, time has been my problem, but I will continue
my experiments to their logical conclusions. Any further information about
the content may be directed to me via P/HUN.
Somethings to experiment with:
1)If you find a fortress fone that the method does not work on, try to
connect the center of the mouthpiece to the center of the earpiece.
2)try to dismantle the base of the stand of the fortress fone and connect
your clips directly to the negative terminal.
3)Try to steal one and dissect it. Then leave me a message with your
findings to include in my next article.
This article was put together by MASTER MIND. Thanx is given to DIGITAL DREG
for helping me with alot of the leg work and support. Also I would like to
thank my elite crew of I.M.F. for supporting their leader. I.M.F. for ever.
Disclaimer: Any and all information provided in this article is for
scientific purposes only. In no way is the author nor the publisher is
responsible for the content or the liablity of the content. The information
provided in this article may vary from place to place.
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