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From: andyp@treehouse.UUCP (Andy Peterman)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: free calls?
Message-ID: <339@treehouse.UUCP>
Date: 7 Aug 90 04:17:08 GMT
References: <26438@usc.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: /etc/organization
Lines: 33

In article <26438@usc.edu> robiner@oberon.usc.edu writes:
>In article <1990Aug6.124516.8051@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> sheasby@dgp.toronto.edu (Michael C. Sheasby) writes:
>>
>>The other day I was in a mall and noticed a few yahoos gathered
>>around a pay phone... they looked around for cops and then
>>unscrewed the receiver on the phone (the ear end, not the mouth
>>end).
>>
>>They took out the small speaker and touched the two wires
>>leading to it to the handset holder (the thing you put the
>>phone back on when you finish the call). Then they dialed
>>and quickly screwed the receiver cap back on. Apparently this
>>saved them a quarter.
>
>Matthew Broderick pulled this scam in the movie "War Games" but I don't 
>know if it works in the real world.  MOst pay phones have glued, or locked,
>or sealed mouth peices anyway, so it'd be very difficult (and illegal)
>to try tampering with them.

When I was a kid (I hate to admit it, but back in the early 60's) I use to
use that trick to make free phone calls.  We'd take a paper clip and 
unscrew the microphone and jump either contact to the phone's ground.  If the
mike didn't unscrew, we'd poke a hole through the diaphram and that would
usually work.  We'd hear clicking and then get a dial tone.  DON'T TRY THIS
METHOD NOW - IT WON'T WORK!!!!  The new phones (since the late 60's or so)
use a different signalling mechanism to indicate money is needed.

I had a fond flashback when I saw them use that method in "War Games".  I
had totally forgotten about it.  I suppose that's even better proof that
it doesn't work anymore - otherwise they wouldn't have shown it in the
movie.

	Andy