The ABC's of Payphones part 4.

                         The ABC's of Payphones part 4.

MAD!'s most popular series!

The Telephone lock.   Rotary payphones dial by having the number roll back to its original

position.  It breaks the signal the number of times indicated.

You can achieve the same effect by tapping rapidly on the little button

at the top of the phone (the one you use to hang up with).


   Let's say you wanted to call 123-4567.  You would tap on the number

once, pause half a second, tap rapidly twice, pause, tap three times

fast, pause, and so on.  It takes a little practice to get the numbers

right, but it does work.  So much for locked telephones.



OFF HOOK.



Everyone knows the old trick where you would call someone on a payphone,

then walk away and it would stay off the hook till someone hung it up,

or a ma bell repair crew came and hung it up.  Well, that doesn't work

anymore.  It resets itself within 4-5 minutes.  Well we were thinking

wouldn't it be nice if you could wire it so that the payphone wouldn't

hang up if the button was pressed.  What you would be doing is turning it

off.  Then the payphone couldn't be hung up.  And while we were at it,

we found out how to keep it from reseting.  Here's how...

Remove the top cover, and find the totalizer (for complete instructions

on how to do this see ABC's of payphones parts 1 and 2).  Now unscrew

the cover of the totalizer and locate the center position where 6-10

wires meet.  Clip all these wires.  Put both covers back on.  Now open

the front panel.  Find those main wires we're always using. Now cut the

3rd wire to the right.



Ok what all this does is stop the payphone from reseting, and it turns

off the hang up button.



How to use it.  Call someone up, and do the above instructions.



Getting money back.



If a payphone takes your money and won't give it back, but the money is

still in the hopper, here's what you can do.  Just dial a 950 number,

such as 950-1044, and it will clear it out.



Endless ringing



This will make a payphone ring and ring.  The only way to stop it will

be if a repairman comes out and fixes it.



Open the front of the phone.  Now the in the front row of wires go and

clip the first, third, and fourth.  Now touch them to each other until

two of them make the phone ring.  Now attach the two top ends and bottom

ends two each other.  Take the odd wire and reconnect it.  Now cut the third

wire to the right.  If the payphone isn't ringing right now, make sure the

receiver is hung up and touch those wires again.  It will now ring.  Put the

phone together and walk away.





Remember after every trick to put the phone back together for another day.