Converting a Tone Dialer into a Red Box
Noah Clayton
You will need:
- Radio Shack pocket tone dialer model #43-141 ($24.95 each)
- Three AAA batteries
- Soldering Iron
- Small regular and phillips screwdriver
- Wire clippers
- A 6.5536 MHz crystal
Be sure to get Radio Shack's newest type of tone dialer. The old ones were
gold and brown and looked pretty ugly. The new ones are black and the corners
are rounded off a little more. They also seem to be more water-resistant and
it seems to be easier to fit the new crystal into these models.
You can either order the crystal through Radio Shack or buy it from an
electronic's store. Buying it through Radio Shack is a real bitch because you
have to wait two weeks for them to order it and most employees don't know
what you're talking about when you ask for it. I've had them INSIST that they
can't order that crystal for me because they don't carry it. If you live in
the St. Louis area as I do, I suggest GateWay Electronics on Page Av in
Missouri. They have a knowledgable staff and their crystals are only about
three bucks a piece. (Compared to Radio Shack's $4.99 each!)
Place the dialer on the table keypad side down and speaker side up. Remove
the battery cover and all batteries. Use the phillips screwdriver to remove
all four screws on the back of the dialer. Now slide the flathead screw-
driver along the side to separate the two halves of the dialer. Slide the
speaker half underneath the keypad so you don't break off the wires.
On the left hand side down near the battery compartment, you'll see a silver
cylinder looking component. This is the crystal you want to remove. Pull it
up with your fingers and break away all the glue that's holding it down. Use
your soldering iron and un-solder it from the circuit board. You can throw
this crystal away as it has no real use in life.
Now the hard part. The new crystal you're putting in is twice as big as the
old one so it's kinda hard to get it in there. There's a few capacitors that
you can bend over to make some more room. You'll also have to bend the leads
to your new crystal inward a little. Solder the new crystal in place of the
old one and you're all set. Snap the two casing halves back together being
careful not to pinch any wires. Put the screws back in and insert your three
AAA batteries.
A good idea is to wrap the crystal with scotch tape or electrical tape. This
will prevent contact with other components since the crystal is so big. You
could also simply put a piece of paper under the crystal.
One additional thing you can do it totally remove the LED light. The only
thing this light is good for is running down your batteries really quick. If
you use the unit without the light connected, you NEVER have to turn the
unit's power off and the batteries will last for a few years before you need
to replace them.
Programming Your Red Box
First you'll have to program your box's memory to make the right tones. You'll
be using the three priority buttons on the top of your unit. P1 will be your
quarter, P2 your dime and P3 will be the nickel. So here's how to do it:
(1) Switch the unit on. The red light in the corner should come on unless
you've disconnected it.
(2) Slide the DIAL/STORE switch to the STORE mode.
(3) Press MEMORY, *, *, *, *, *, MEMORY, P1. That programs your quarter.
(4) Press MEMORY, *, *, MEMORY, P2. That programs your dime.
(5) Press MEMORY, *, MEMORY, P3. And that's the nickel.
(6) Slide the DIAL/STORE switch back into the DIAL mode and you're ready to
start phreakin'!
Try pushing the priority buttons now. Each one will emit a different high-
pitched chirping noise. This is what the phone hears when you deposit money
into a pay phone. If you've ever red boxed with a taperecorder or heard the
actual pay phone tones before, you'll notice that these tones are slightly
slower than the real ones. Don't worry, the pay phone can't ever tell the
difference and you rarely find an operator that can.
If you want to program in $1.00, it's best to use this programming string:
MEMORY, *, *, *, *, *, 0, *, *, *, *, *, 0, *, *, *, *, *, 0, *, *, *, *, *,
MEMORY, P1.
This will make $1.00 go in a lot faster than if you'd used the PAUSE feature
because "0" is being used as a substitute for PAUSE. (The phone just ignores
the 0.) Don't use this string on a live operator, though! Thanks to Even in
California for giving me that idea.
Troubleshooting
One of the most common problems I've had with my red boxes over the years, is
that the tones will stop working in the middle of trying to put in your money
or they'll break up, giving you a live operator. This could be because you did
a bad job soldering the new crystal in. More commonly, the contacts on the
power (or the DIAL/STORE switch) have bent the wrong way, causing them not to
touch the circuit board anymore.
To fix that, open the unit and bend the contact in the switches out a little.
Not too much or they'll break when you use the switch. If you've removed the
light in your unit, there's really no reason to ever turn it off so you could
glue the power switch into the "ON" position.
2600 Magazine, Volume 7, Number 3, Fall 1990