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                         An anti-mute device

             Another weapon against Ma Bell's defenses!


What is the Battery Box?

 The Battery Box is a device that will defeat the muted mouthpiece on most
pay phones. In some cities the local telco will disable the mouthpiece on
their phones to prevent Red Box fraud. Until recently this was an incurable 
problem, but now thanks to batteries this problem has been solved!

Construction

  The Battery Box is a simple modification that can be made to any 9 volt
connector. Here are the materials we'll need...

(1) 9 volt Battery (Rat Shack Cat # 23-583)
(1) 9 volt Connector (Rat Shack Cat # 270-324)
(2) Alligator Clips with Needles. Preferably Red and Black.

 All totaled the Battery Box costs around $5.30 (excluding tax).

Schematic


 
   9 volt Connector   ------- \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\------{
                    /       /  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\-----{ Gator Clips
                     ------        Wires
                     \/  \/ 
                    _/\__/\__
                   |         |
                   |         |
                   | BATTERY |
                   |         |
                   |_________|


Instructions

 First, you'll have to strip the free ends of the 9 volt connector. Now, 
carefully solder the two alligator clips onto the wires and you are 
finished.

 
How to Use the Battery Box

 You'll have to find a pay phone that is muted, and make a few minor 
modifications before you can use the box. You will need a pair of tin snips,
a pocket knife, and needle nose pliers for this procedure. 

 Lift the handset and look underneath the mouthpiece. Look for the blue cord
protector directly under it. This tube covers the hole where the sheath runs 
into the handset. Take your pocket knife and cut the top of the tube off so 
it becomes free. You should now be able to slide the tube up and down the 
sheath easily. Now take your tin snips and make a cut where the blue tube 
was located. Do not cut too far into the sheath because you may damage the 
wires inside. Once you have made the cut, use the needle nose pliers to pull 
out the wires inside. There should be five wires. One of the wires is air 
craft cable which is difficult to cut. Obviously this is done to deter theft. 
Ignore this wire and turn your attention to the other four wires. Two of them
should be white. These wires lead to the ear piece of the handset and are of 
no use to you. The remaining two wires should be colored RED and BLACK. 
These wires run to the mouthpiece. Pull out the Red and Black wires and 
attach your alligator clips to them. Be sure the needles penetrate the wires. 
If your alligator clips don't have needles, you'll have to strip the wires
with your pocket knife and attach the clips to the core. In case you haven't 
noticed the wires are the same color as those on the 9 volt connector. Attach 
the Red gator clip to the red wire and the black clip to the black wire. 
Now plug in the battery and lift the handset. If all went well the mouthpiece 
will be clear! If the piece is still muted, adjust the clips until you hear 
a quiet crackling noise in the ear piece. Blow into the mouthpiece, and you 
should be able to hear the side tone. If not, keep adjusting the clips. 
Making a clear connection is probably the hardest part of the procedure.
 
 I'm not going to go into detail about what to do once you have the handset 
un-muted, hell, you should know that by now!

 When you are finished using the battery, remember to push the blue cord
protector tube back into it's original spot to hide the damage.

Note:

* On some pay phones I've been to, the mouthpiece will mute while you dial
  with the keypad, even if the Battery Box is connected. To get around this, 
  dial the desired number first, and then connect the battery. You could 
  also un-mute the piece and use a tone dialer.

Theory of Operation

 The mute inside the pay phone is controlled by voltages. When the handset
is lifted, current is allowed to flow freely from the phone to the ear piece.
However, the current running to the mouthpiece is stopped most likely by
a resistor. This creates the "mute" so commonly described by phreaks. When 
a ring tone is detected by equipment in the phone, the voltage is increased 
making conversation possible. 
 
 The Battery Box works by increasing the voltage in the mouthpiece so it can
transmit sound. When a phone is in the off hook position only six volts are
present. The volts are evenly distributed leaving only three volts to power
the mouthpiece. When a pay phone handset is off hook only three volts are
present. The Battery Box adds the extra voltage to the mouthpiece which 
enables it to work. You are now free to use your Red Box on any phone you 
choose!

Enjoy your new toy!


DISCLAIMER:

 This file is presented for educational and informational purposes only. 
The author does not take responsibility for your actions if this material 
is used in any other fashion.