THE BEIGE BOX
                                -------------

    A beige box is an easy way of tapping into phone lines. It is basically
    an adaptor for connecting a normal phone with a BT plug onto a pair of
    phone wires.

    You will need: one cheap phone, two crocodile clips, some wire and a
    telephone socket and wallbox. If you use a master (primary) socket your
    phone will be able to ring; if you just use a secondary (slave) socket,
    it will never ring. {but see below.}

                                HOW TO MAKE IT
                                --------------

    Solder the crocodile clips onto each end of half a metre of wire. Cut
    the wire and pass it through a convenient knockout in the socket
    wallbox, so that the clips are on the outside. Connect one wire to pin
    2 of the phone socket, and one to pin 5 of the phone socket. {it is
    easier if your socket has screw terminals rather than IDC terminals,
    especially if your wire is stranded.} Screw the socket onto the wallbox
    and plug in the phone. That's it.

                                HOW TO USE IT
                                -------------

    Clip the clips onto the two wires of a phone line, and dial away.
    That's all you have to do.

                            IDEAS FOR IMPROVEMENTS
                            ----------------------

    1. If you used a secondary socket but later decide you would rather
    have a primary socket, simply add a 1.8uF 100V capacitor in the
    position marked C1 on the PCB inside the socket. {1.5uF or 2.2uF will
    do the job, if you can't get 1.8uF, but it must NOT be an electrolytic
    capacitor, and it MUST be rated 100V or over.} If you are using a
    slimline socket without a PCB, the capacitor should be wired between
    pins 2 and 3.

    2. If you want a line status indicator: get a two-colour LED {the type
    with two leads, that glows red when the current is in one direction and
    green in the other} and a 6.8k resistor. Wire these, in series, across
    the position marked SP1 on the PCB. {don't connect the middle of the
    series pair to anywhere.} For PCB-less sockets, this is the equivalent
    of pins 2 and 5, ie the pair connected to the clips. It will indicate
    the line polarity {red or green} which is not particularly important,
    and the line status {dim = in use, bright = clear} which is.


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