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-
- *******BIOC Agent 003's course in******
- * *
- * ========================== *
- * =BASIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS= *
- * ========================== *
- * PART V *
- ***************************************
- Brought to you by Zyolog ZCBBS
-
- Revised: 08-AUG-84
-
- PREFACE:
-
- Previous installments of this
- series here focused on telephony from a
- Network point-of-view. Part V will
- deal with telephone electronics
- focusing primarily on the subscriber's
- telephone. Hereinafter simply referred
- to as "fone."
-
- Wiring:
- -------
-
- Assuming a standard one-line fone,
- there are usually 4 wires that lead out
- of the fone set. These are standardly
- colored red, green, yellow, & black.
- The red & green wires are the two that
- are actually hooked up to your CO. The
- yellow wire is sometimes used to ring
- different fones on a party line (ie,
- one #, several families--found
- primarily in rural areas where they pay
- less for the service and they don't use
- the fone as much); otherwise, the
- yellow is usually just ignored. On some
- two-line fones, the red & green wires
- are used for the first fone # and the
- yellow & black are used for the second
- line. In this case there must be an
- internal or external device that
- switches between the two lines and
- provides a hold function. (Such as
- Radio Shack's outrageously priced 2
- line & hold module).
-
- In telephony, the green & red
- wires are often referred to as tip (T)
- & ring (R), respectively. The tip is
- the more positive of the two wires.
- This naming gere one of the wires was
- the tip of the plug and the other was
- the ring (of the barrel).
-
- A rotary fone (aka dial or pulse)
- will work fine regardless of whether
- the red (or green) wire is connected
- the tip(+) or ring(-). A touch-tone
- (TM) fone is a different story, though.
- It will not work except if the tip(+)
- is the green wire. [Although, some of
- the more expensive DTMF fones do have a
- bridge rectifier which compensates for
- polarity reversal.] This is why under
- certain (non-digital) switching
- equipment you can reverse the red &
- green wires on a touch-tone fone and
- receive free DTMF service. Even though
- it won't break dial tone, reversing the
- wires on a rotary line on a digital
- switch will cause the tones to be
- generarted.
-
- Voltages, Etc.
- --------------
-
- When your telephone is on-hook
- (ie, hung up) there is approximately 48
- volts of DC potential across the tip &
- ring. When the handset of a fone is
- lifted a few switches close which cause
- a loop to be connected (known as the
- "local loop") between your fone & the
- CO. Once this happens DC current is
- able to flow through the fone with less
- resistance. This causes a relay to
- energize which causes other CO
- equipment to realize that you want
- service. Eventually, you should end up
- with a dial tone. This also causes the
- 48 VDC to drop down into the vicinity
- of 12 volts. The resistance of the
- loop also drops below the 2500 ohm
- level, though FCC licensed telephone
- equipment must have an off-hook
- impedance of 600 ohms. As of now, you
- ahands of our "friends" at D&B. To say
- the least, they weren't exactly
- thrilled about it. In fact, they did
- not even believe that they had a
- security problem! (Well, that just goes
- to prove that if you are good, no one
- knows that you are there!)
-
- In a big effort to defeat us, they
- called in an outside service to spruce
- up their "security." Well, fortunately
- for us, we were able to find out about
- the new system! (Which wasn't really a
- problem. First, they had the new
- dial-ups when you logged on, and as
- always they have a nice little place on
- Telenet! (Where we do most of our work:
- C 20188).
-
- Now, they have set up a new system
- they like to call DunsNet. They are
- trying to pass it off as a ectionately
- call this mute a black box.
-
- The following are instructions on
- how to build a simple black box. Of
- course, anything that prevents the
- voltage from dropping would work.
-
- You only need two parts: A SPST
- toggle switch and a 10,000 ohm (10 K),
- 1/2 watt resistor. Any electronics
- store should stock these parts.
-
- Now, cut 2 pieces of wire (about 6
- inches long) and attach one end of each
- wire to one of the terminals on the
- switch. Now turn your K500 (standard
- desk fone) upside down and take off the
- cover. Locate wire (disconnect it from
- its terminal). Now bring the switch
- out the rear of the fone and replace
- the cover.
-
- Put the switch in a position where
- you receive a dial tone. Mark this
- position NORMAL. Mark the other side
- FREE.
-
- When your phriends call (at a
- prearranged time), quickly lift & drop
- the receiver as fast a possible. This
- will stop the ringing (do it again if
- it doesn't) with out starting the
- billing. It is important that you do
- it quickly (less than 1 second). Then
- put the switch in the FREE position and
- preferrably under 15 minutes.
-
- NOTE: If someone picks up an
- extension in the called parties
- house and that fone is not set
- for FREE then billing will
- start.
-
- NOTE: An old way of signalling a
- phriend that you are about to
- call is making a collect call to
- a non-existant person in the
- house. Since your friend will
- not accept the charges, he will
- know that you are about to call
- and thus prepare the black box
- (or visa versa).
-
- WARNING: The Telco can detect
- black boxes if they suspect one
- on your line. This is done due
- to the presence of AC voice
- signal at the wrong DC level!
-
- Pictoral Diagram:
-
- (Standard Rotary K500 fone)
-
- ---------------------------------------
- ! !
- ***BLUE WIRE**>>F< !
- ! * * !
- **WHITE WIRE** * !
- ! * !
- ! RESISTOR !
- ! * !
- ! * !
- ! >RR<*******SWITCH**** !
- ! * !
- ****GREEN WIRE********************** !
- ! !
- ---------------------------------------
-
- NOTE: The Black Box will not work under
- ESS or other similar digital
- switches since ESS does not
- connect the voice circuits until
- the fone is picked up (& billing
- starts). Instead, ESS uses an
- "artificial" computer generated
- ring.
-
- Ringing:
- --------
-
- To inform a subscriber of an
- incoming call, the Telco sends 90 volts
- (PK) of pulsing DC down the line (at
- around 15 to 60 Hz; usually 20 Hz). In
- most fones this causes a metal armature
- to be attracted alternately between two
- electro-magnets thus striking 2 bells.
- of course, the standard bell (patented
- in 1878 by Tom A. Watson) can be
- replaced by a more modern electronic
- bell or signaling device.
-
- Also, you can have lights and
- other similar devices in lieu of (or in
- conjunction with) the bell. A simple
- neon light (with its corresponding
- resistor) can simply be connected
- between the red & green wires (usually
- L1 & L2 on the network box) so that it
- lights up on incoming calls.
-
-
- WARNING: 90 VDC can give quite a shock
- Exercise extreme caution if
- you wish to further persue
- these topics.
-
-
- Also included in the ringing
- circuit is a capacitor tbig savings of
- time since the hassle of using a a time
- shared public network does not exist.
- We're sure that Mr. J.W.P. of DUNSPRINT
- had more on his mind when he wrote the
- letter (on the system)! DunsNet is
- accessible from a regular dial-up. We
- have not been able to get a number yet
- for this system, but once on it
- allegedly works just like Telenet! Two
- carriage returns and you will see
- "DunsNet" then the familiar "@" symbol.
- To use the system like we showed you,
- type "RPTS" at thiup to drop a trouble
- card for long periods of ringing then a
- "no-no" detection device may be placed
- on the line.
-
- Incidentally, the term "ring trip"
- refers to the CO process involved to
- stop the AC ringing signal when the
- calling fone goes off hook.
-
- NOTE: It is suggested that you
- actually dissect fones to help
- you better understand them. It
- will also help you to better
- understand the concepts here if
- you actually prove them to
- yourself. For example, actually
- the line [any simple
- multi-tester (a must) will do.]
- Phreaking is an interactive
- process not a passive one!
-
- Dialing:
- --------
-
- On a standard fone, there are two
- common types of dialing: pulse & DTMF.
- Of course, some people insist upon
- being different and don't use the DT
- thus leaving them with MF (Multi
- Frequncy, aka operator, blue box)
- tones. This is another "no-no" and the
- Telco Security gentelmen have a special
- knack for dealing with such "phreaks"
- on the network.
-
- When you dial rotary, you are
- actually rapidly breaking &
- reconnecting (breaking & making) the
- local loop once for each digit dialed.
- Since the physical connection must be
- broken, you cannot dial if another
- extension (of that #) is off-hook.
- Neither of the fones will be able to
- dial pulse unless the other hangs up.
-
- Another term often referred to in
- telephone electronics is the break
- ratio. In the US, the standard is 10
- pulses per second. When the circuit is
- opened it is called the break interval.
- When it is closed it is called the make
- interval. In the US, there is a 60
- millisecond (ms) make period and a 40
- ms break period. (60+40=100 ms = 1/10
- second). This is referred to as a 60%
- make interval. Some of the more
- sophisticated electronic fones can
- switch between a 60% & a 67% make
- interval. This is due to the fact that
- many foreign nations use a 67% break
- interval.
-
- Have you ever been in an office or
- a similar facility and saw a fone
- waiting to be used for a free call but
- some asshole put a lock on it to
- prevent outgoing calls?
-
- Well, don't fret phellow phreaks,
- you can simulate pulse dialing by
- rapidly depressing the switchook. (If
- you depress it for longer than a second
- it will be construed as a disconnect.)
- By rapidly switchooking you are causing
- the local loop to be broken & made
- similar to rotary dialing! Thus if you
- can manage to switchook rapidly 10
- times you can reach an operator to
- place any call you want! This takes
- alot of practice, though. You might
- want to practice on your own fone
- dialing a friend's # or something else.
- Incidentally, this method will also
- work with DTMF fones since all DTMF
- lines can also handle rotary.
-
- Another problem with pulse dialing
- is that it produces high-voltage spikes
- that make loud clicks in the earpiece
- and cause the bell to "tinkle." If you
- never noticed this then your fone has a
- special "anti-tinkle" & earpiece
- shorting circuit (most do). If you
- have ever dissected a rotary fone (a
- must for any serious phreak) you would
- have noticed that there are 2 sets of
- contact that open and close during
- pulsing (on the back of the rotary dial
- under the plastic cover). One of these
- actually opens and closes the loop
- while the other mutes the earpiece by
- shorting it out. The second contacts
- also activates a special anti-tinkle
- circuit that puts a 340 ohm resistor
- across the ringing circuit which
- prevents the high voltage spikes from
- interferring with the bell.
-
- Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF)
- is a modern day improvement on pulse
- dialing in several ways. First of all,
- it is more convenient for the user
- since it is faster and can be used for
- signaling after the call is completed
- (ie, SCC's, computers, etc.). Also, it
- is more up to par with modern day
- switching equipment (such as ESS) since
- pulse dialing was designed to actually
- move ESS offices).
-
- Each key on a DTMF keypad produces
- 2 frequencies simultaneously (one from
- the high group and another from the low
- group).
-
- -------------------------
- Low Group ! Q ! ABC ! DEF ! !
- 697 Hz-! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! A !
- ! ! ! ! !
- !-----!-----!-----!-----!
- ! GHI ! JKL ! MNO ! !
- 770 Hz-! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! B !
- ! ! ! ! !
- !-----!-----!-----!-----!
- ! PRS ! TUV ! WXY ! !
- 852 Hz-! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! C !
- ! ! ! ! !
- !-----!-----!-----!-----!
- ! ! OPER! ! !
- 941 Hz-! * ! 0 ! # ! D !
- ! ! Z ! ! !
- !-----!-----!-----!-----!
- 1209 1336 1477 1633
- (High Group--in Hz)
-
- A portable DTMF keypad is known as
- a white box.
-
- The fourth column (1633 Hz) is not
- normally found on regular fones but it
- does have several special uses. For
- one, it is used to designate the
- priority of calls on AUTOVON, the
- military fone network. These key are
- called: Flash, Immediate, Priority, &
- Routine (with variations) instead of
- ABCD. Secondly, these keys are used
- for testing purposes by the Telco. In
- some area you can find loops as well as
- other neat tests (see Part II) on the
- 555-1212 directory assistance exchange.
- For this, you would call up an DA in
- certain areas [that have an Automatic
- Call Distributor (ACD)] and hold down
- the "D" key which should blow the
- operator off. You will then hear a
- pulsing dial tone which indicates that
- you are in the ACD internal testing
- mode. You can get on one side of a
- loop by dialing a 6. The other side is
- 7. Some phreaks claim that if the
- person on side 6 hangs up, occasionally
- the equipment will screw up and start
- directing directory assistance calls to
- the other side of the loop. Another
- alleged test is called REMOB which
- allows you to tap into lines by
- entering a special code followed by the
- 7 digit number you want to monitor.
- Then there is the possibility of mass
- conferencing.
-
- ACD's are become rare though. You
- will probably have to make several
- NPA-555-1212 calls before you find
- one.
-
- You can modify regular fones quite
- readily so that they have a switch to
- change between the 3rd and 4th columns.
- This is called a silver box (aka grey
- box) and plans can be found in Tap as
- well as on many BBS's.
-
- Transmitter/Receiver:
- ---------------------
-
- When you talk into the
- transmitter, the sound waves from your
- voice cause a diaphragm to vibrate and
- press against the carbon granules (or
- another similar substance). This
- causes the carbon granules to compress
- and contract thus changing the
- resistance of the DC coupled path
- through it. Therefore, your AC voice
- signal is superimposed over the DC
- current of the local loop. The receiver
- works in a similar fashion where the
- simple types utilize a magnet,
- armature, & diaphragm.
-
- Hybrid/Induction Coil:
- ----------------------
-
- As you may have noticed, there are
- two wires for the receiver and two for
- the transmitter in the fone, yet the
- local loop consists of 2 wires instead
- of 4. This 4-wire to 2-wire conversion
- is done inside the fone by a device
- known as an induction coil which uses
- coupling transformers. All of the
- internal Telco trunks also use 4 wires.
- It is only the local loop that uses 2
- since it is c converts between 4 and 2
- wire set-ups similar to the induction
- coil inside the fone. Special data
- transmission lines require extremely
- low signal to noise ratios, they
- require the full four wires--two for
- transmission and two for receiving
- (even on the local loop).
-
- Miscellaneous:
- --------------
-
- In the telephone, there is also a
- balancing network consisting of a few
- capacitors & resistors which provide
- sidetone. Sidetone allows the caller
- to hear his own volume in the receiver.
- He can then adjust his voice
- accordingly. This prevents people from
- shouting or speaking too softly without
- noticing it.
-
- Hold:
- -----
-
- When a telephone goes off hook,
- the resistance drops below 200 ohms.
- At this point, the Telco will send a
- dial tone. To put someone on hold you
- must put a 1000 ohm resistor (1 watt)
- across the Tip & Ring before it reaches
- the switchook. In this way, when the
- fone is hung up (for hold) the
- resistance remains below 2500 ohms
- which causes the CO to believe that you
- are still off-hook. You can build a
- simple hold device using the following
- pictoral diagram:
- /
- (RED) O-------------------------/
- [L1] ! ! !
- ! ! !
- 1000 Ohm ! !
- Resistor Ringing !
- ! Circuit !
- ! ! !
- / ! Switch-
- / SPST Switch ! Hook
- ! ! !
- ! ! !
- ! ! !/
- (GREEN) O------------------------/
- [L2]
- --> To Rest of
- Fone
-
- This hold device is only effective
- if you also hang up the fone. To make
- a hold/mute switch, simple connect a
- wire in place of the 1K resistor to
- effect a short circuit (who cares if
- you damage CO equipment?).
-
- Conclusion:
- -----------
-
- NOTE: Many of the electronics
- components of normal fones
- (K500) are enclosed in the
- network box (which shouldn't be
- opened).
-
- I have assumed that the reader has
- a basic knowledge of electronics.
- Also, I have assumed that you have read
- the 4 previous installments of this
- series (and hopefully enjoyed them).
-
- In part VI, we will take a look at
- fortress fones.
-
- Suggested Further Reading:
- --------------------------
-
- Electronics Courses A-D, TAP, @
- $.75 each.
-
- Electronic Telephone Projects,
- A.J. Caristi, Howard Sams Books.
-
- Everything you Always Wanted to
- Know About 1633 Hz Tones but Were
- Afraid to Ask, The Magician, TAP, issue
- #62.
-
- Free BELL phone calls, TAP, Fact
- sheet #2, @ $.50.
-
- Free GTE phone calls, TAP, Fact
- sheet #3, @ $.50.
-
- How to modify your Bell Touch Tone
- Fone to..
-
- TAP/Room 603/147 W 42 St./New
- York, NY 10036. Please specify by
- backissue #'s (not article names). All
- back-issues are $1 each. Subscriptions
- are $10/year (10 issues). Say that BIOC
- Agent 003 sent you.
-
- Another good phreak publication:
-
- 2600/Box 752/Middle Island, NY
- 11953. Subscriptions are $10/year.
- Backissues are $1 each.
-
- Excelsior,
-
- *****BIOC (P) 1984 BIOC
- *=$=*Agent International
- *****003
-
- July 18, 1984
-
- <<=-FARGO 4A-=>>
-
- The Bunker -=:>303-466-2672<:=-
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