--------- CLEAR BOX --------- ------------ Introduction ------------ A new device has just been invented. It's called the "clear box". It can be used throughout Canada and through rural United States. This interesting gadget works on "post-pay" payphones, in other words, those phones that don't require payment until after the connection has been established. You pick up the phone, get a dial tone, and then put in your coins after the person answers. If you don't deposit money, you can't speak to the person at the other end, because your mouthpiece is cut off--but not your ear- piece. (Yes, you can make free calls to weather, etc. from such fones) ------------ How to do it ------------ In order to bypass this, all one has to do is visit a nearby electronics store, get a 4-transistor amplifier and a telephone suction cup induction pick-up. The induction pick-up would be hooked up as it normally would to record a conversation, except that it would be plugged into the OUTPUT of the amplifier and a microphone would be hooked to the input. So when the party answers, the caller could speak through the little microphone in- stead. His voice would then go through the amplifier, out the induction coil, and into the back of the receiver where it would then be broadcast through the phone lines and the other party would be able to hear the caller. The clear box thus "clears" up the problem of not being heard. The line will not cut off after a certain amount of time--it will wait forever for the coins to drop in. Many independents are moving towards this kind of stupid payphone system. For one thing, it is a cheap way of getting DTF (Dial Tone First) service. It doesn't require any special equipment. That type of payphone will work on any kind of a phone line. Normally a payphone line is different, but this is just a regular phone line and it's set up so that the payphone does all of the charging, not the CO. With the recent deregulation of payphones, this kind of a system could become very popular. +++EOF