The alt.2600/#hack FAQ (Section B: Telephony)

# Section B: Telephony

## Table of Contents

1. What is a Red Box?
2. How do I build a Red Box?
3. Where can I get a 6.5536Mhz crystal?
4. Which payphones will a Red Box work on?
5. How do I make local calls with a Red Box?
6. What is a Blue Box?
7. Do Blue Boxes still work?
8. What is a Black Box?
9. What do all the colored boxes do?
10. What is an ANAC number?
11. What is the ANAC number for my area?
12. What is a ringback number?
13. What is the ringback number for my area?
14. What is a loop?
15. What is a loop in my area?
16. What is a CNA number?
17. What is the telephone company CNA number for my area?
18. What are some numbers that always ring busy?
19. What are some numbers that temporarily disconnect phone service?
20. What is a Proctor Test Set?
21. What is a Proctor Test Set in my area?
22. What is scanning?
23. Is scanning illegal?
24. Where can I purchase a lineman's handset?
25. What are the DTMF frequencies?
26. What are the frequencies of the telephone tones?
27. What are all of the * codes?
28. What frequencies do cordless phones operate on?
29. What is Caller-ID?
30. How do I block Caller-ID?
31. What is a PBX?
32. What is a VMB?
33. What are the ABCD tones for?
34. What are the International Direct Numbers?

(Italic indicates updated questions, while bold indicates new questions.)

1. What is a Red Box?

When a coin is inserted into a payphone, the payphone emits a set of tones to ACTS (Automated Coin Toll System). Red boxes work by fooling ACTS into believing you have actually put money into the phone. The red box simply plays the ACTS tones into the telephone microphone. ACTS hears those tones, and allows you to place your call. The actual tones are:

    Nickel Signal      1700+2200  0.060s on
    Dime Signal        1700+2200  0.060s on, 0.060s off, twice repeating
    Quarter Signal     1700+2200  33ms on, 33ms off, 5 times repeating

Canada uses a variant of ACTSD called N-ACTS. N-ACTS uses different tones than ACTS. In Canada, the tones to use are:

    Nickel Signal      2200hz       0.060s on
    Dime Signal        2200hz       0.060s on, 0.060s off, twice repeating
    Quarter Signal     2200hz       33ms on, 33ms off, 5 times repeating

2. How do I build a Red Box?

Red boxes are commonly manufactured from modified Radio Shack tone dialers, Hallmark greeting cards, or made from scratch from readily available electronic components.

To make a Red Box from a Radio Shack 43-141 or 43-146 tone dialer, open the dialer and replace the crystal with a new one. The purpose of the new crystal is to cause the * button on your tone dialer to create a 1700Mhz and 2200Mhz tone instead of the original 941Mhz and 1209Mhz tones. The exact value of the replacement crystal should be 6.466806 to create a perfect 1700Mhz tone and 6.513698 to create a perfect 2200mhz tone. A crystal close to those values will create a tone that easily falls within the loose tolerances of ACTS. The most popular choice is the 6.5536Mhz crystal, because it is the easiest to procure. The old crystal is the large shiny metal component labeled "3.579545Mhz." When you are finished replacing the crystal, program the P1 button with five *'s. That will simulate a quarter tone each time you press P1.

3. Where can I get a 6.5536Mhz crystal?

Your best bet is a local electronics store. Radio Shack sells them, but they are overpriced and the store must order them in. This takes approximately two weeks. In addition, many Radio Shack employees do not know that this can be done.

Or, you could order the crystal mail order. This introduces Shipping and Handling charges, which are usually much greater than the price of the crystal. It's best to get several people together to share the S&H cost. Or, buy five or six yourself and sell them later. Some of the places you can order crystals are:

    Digi-Key
    701 Brooks Avenue South
    P.O. Box 677
    Thief River Falls, MN 56701-0677
    (800)344-4539
    Part Number:X415-ND    /* Note: 6.500Mhz and only .197 x .433 x .149! */
    Part Number:X018-ND

    JDR Microdevices:
    2233 Branham Lane
    San Jose, CA 95124
    (800)538-5000
    Part Number: 6.5536MHZ

    Tandy Express Order Marketing
    401 NE 38th Street
    Fort Worth, TX 76106
    (800)241-8742
    Part Number: 10068625

    Alltronics
    2300 Zanker Road
    San Jose CA 95131
    (408)943-9774 Voice
    (408)943-9776 Fax
    (408)943-0622 BBS
    Part Number: 92A057

    Mouser
    (800)346-6873
    Part Number: 332-1066

    Blue Saguaro
    P.O. Box 37061
    Tucson, AZ 85740
    Part Number: 1458b

    Unicorn Electronics
    10000 Canoga Ave, Unit c-2
    Chatsworth, Ca 91311
    Phone: 1-800-824-3432
    Part Number: CR6.5

4. Which payphones will a Red Box work on?

Red Boxes will work on telco owned payphones, but not on COCOT's (Customer Owned Coin Operated Telephones).

Red boxes work by fooling ACTS (Automated Coin Toll System) into believing you have put money into the pay phone. ACTS is the telephone company software responsible for saying "Please deposit XX cents" and listening for the coins being deposited.

COCOT's do not use ACTS. On a COCOT, the pay phone itself is responsible for determining what coins have been inserted.

5. How do I make local calls with a Red Box?

Payphones do not use ACTS for local calls. To use your red box for local calls, you have to fool ACTS into getting involved in the call.

One way to do this, in some areas, is by dialing 10288-xxx-xxxx. This makes your call a long distance call, and brings ACTS into the picture.

In other areas, you can call Directory Assistance and ask for the number of the person you are trying to reach. The operator will give you the number and then you will hear a message similar to "Your call can be completed automatically for an additional 35 cents." When this happens, you can then use ACTS tones.

6. What is a Blue Box?

Blue boxes use a 2600hz tone to size control of telephone switches that use in-band signalling. The caller may then access special switch functions, with the usual purpose of making free long distance phone calls, using the tones provided by the Blue Box.

7. Do Blue Boxes still work?

This FAQ answer is excerpted from a message posted to Usenet by Marauder of the Legion of Doom.

    Somewhere along the line I have seen reference to something
    similar to "Because of ESS Blue boxing is impossible".  This is
    incorrect.  When I lived in Connecticut I was able to blue box
    under Step by Step, #1AESS, and DMS-100.  The reason is simple,
    even though I was initiating my call to an 800 number from a
    different exchange (Class 5 office, aka Central Office) in each
    case, when the 800 call was routed to the toll network it would
    route through the New Haven #5 Crossbar toll Tandem office.  It
    just so happens that the trunks between the class 5 (CO's) and
    the class 4 (toll office, in this case New Haven #5 Xbar),
    utilized in-band (MF) signalling, so regardless of what I
    dialed, as long as it was an Inter-Lata call, my call would
    route through this particular set of trunks, and I could Blue
    box until I was blue in the face.  The originating Central
    Offices switch (SXS/ESS/Etc..) had little effect on my ability
    to box at all.  While the advent of ESS (and other electronic
    switches) has made the blue boxers task a bit more difficult,
    ESS is not the reason most of you are unable to blue box.  The
    main culprit is the "forward audio mute" feature of CCIS (out of
    band signalling).  Unfortunately for the boxer 99% of the Toll
    Completion centers communicate using CCIS links, This spells
    disaster for the blue boxer since most of you must dial out of
    your local area to find trunks that utilize MF signalling, you
    inevitably cross a portion of the network that is CCIS equipped,
    you find an exchange that you blow 2600hz at, you are rewarded
    with a nice "winkstart", and no matter what MF tones you send at
    it, you meet with a re-order.  This is because as soon as you
    seized the trunk (your application of 2600hz), your Originating
    Toll Office sees this as a loss of supervision at the
    destination, and Mutes any further audio from being passed to
    the destination (ie: your waiting trunk!).  You meet with a
    reorder because the waiting trunk never "hears" any of the MF
    tones you are sending, and it times out.  So for the clever
    amongst you, you must somehow get yourself to the 1000's of
    trunks out there that still utilize MF signalling but
    bypass/disable the CCIS audio mute problem.  (Hint: Take a close
    look at WATS extenders).

8. What is a Black Box?

A Black Box is a resistor (and often capacitor in parallel) placed in series across your phone line to cause the phone company equipment to be unable to detect that you have answered your telephone. People who call you will then not be billed for the telephone call. Black boxes do not work under ESS.

9. What do all the colored boxes do?

    Acrylic      Steal Three-Way-Calling, Call Waiting and programmable
                 Call Forwarding on old 4-wire phone systems
    Aqua         Drain the voltage of the FBI lock-in-trace/trap-trace
    Beige        Lineman's hand set
    Black        Allows the calling party to not be billed for the call
                 placed
    Blast        Phone microphone amplifier
    Blotto       Supposedly shorts every phone out in the immediate area
    Blue         Emulate a true operator by seizing a trunk with a 2600hz
                 tone
    Brown        Create a party line from 2 phone lines
    Bud          Tap into your neighbors phone line
    Chartreuse   Use the electricity from your phone line
    Cheese       Connect two phones to create a diverter
    Chrome       Manipulate Traffic Signals by Remote Control
    Clear        A telephone pickup coil and a small amp used to make free
                 calls on Fortress Phones
    Color        Line activated telephone recorder
    Copper       Cause crosstalk interference on an extender
    Crimson      Hold button
    Dark         Re-route outgoing or incoming calls to another phone
    Dayglo       Connect to your neighbors phone line
    Diverter     Re-route outgoing or incoming calls to another phone
    DLOC         Create a party line from 2 phone lines
    Gold         Dialout router
    Green        Emulate the Coin Collect, Coin Return, and Ringback tones
    Infinity     Remotely activated phone tap
    Jack         Touch-Tone key pad
    Light        In-use light
    Lunch        AM transmitter
    Magenta      Connect a remote phone line to another remote phone line
    Mauve        Phone tap without cutting into a line
    Neon         External microphone
    Noise        Create line noise
    Olive        External ringer
    Party        Create a party line from 2 phone lines
    Pearl        Tone generator
    Pink         Create a party line from 2 phone lines
    Purple       Telephone hold button
    Rainbow      Kill a trace by putting 120v into the phone line (joke)
    Razz         Tap into your neighbors phone
    Red          Make free phone calls from pay phones by generating
                 quarter tones
    Rock         Add music to your phone line
    Scarlet      Cause a neighbors phone line to have poor reception
    Silver       Create the DTMF tones for A, B, C and D
    Static       Keep the voltage on a phone line high
    Switch       Add hold, indicator lights, conferencing, etc..
    Tan          Line activated telephone recorder
    Tron         Reverse the phase of power to your house, causing your
                 electric meter to run slower
    TV Cable     "See" sound waves on your TV
    Urine        Create a capacitative disturbance between the ring and
                 tip wires in another's telephone headset
    Violet       Keep a payphone from hanging up
    White        Portable DTMF keypad
    Yellow       Add an extension phone

Box schematics may be retrieved from this site:

    www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~jgotts/underground/boxes.html

10. What is an ANAC number?

An ANAC (Automatic Number Announcement Circuit) number is a telephone number that plays back the number of the telephone that called it. ANAC numbers are convenient if you want to know the telephone number of a pair of wires.

11. What is the ANAC number for my area?

How to find your ANAC number:

Look up your NPA (Area Code) and try the number listed for it. If that fails, try 1 plus the number listed for it. If that fails, try the common numbers like 311, 958 and 200-222-2222. If you find the ANAC number for your area, please let us know.

Note that many times the ANAC number will vary for different switches in the same city. The geographic naming on the list is not intended to be an accurate reference for coverage patterns, it is for convenience only.

Many companies operate 800 number services which will read back to you the number from which you are calling. Many of these require navigating a series of menus to get the phone number you are looking for. Please use local ANAC numbers if you can, as overuse or abuse can kill 800 ANAC numbers.

    (800)425-6256   VRS Billing Systems/Integretel (800)4BLOCKME
    (800)568-3197   Info Access Telephone Company's Automated Blocking Line
    (800)692-6447   (800)MY-ANI-IS
    (800)858-9857   AT&T True Rewards

An non-800 ANAC that works nationwide is 404-988-9664. The one catch with this number is that it must be dialed with the AT&T Carrier Access Code 10732. Use of this number does not appear to be billed.

Note: These geographic areas are for reference purposes only. ANAC numbers may vary from switch to switch within the same city.

    NPA  ANAC number      Approximate Geographic area
    ---  ---------------  ---------------------------------------------
    201  958              Hackensack/Jersey City/Newark/Paterson, NJ
    202  811              District of Columbia
    203  970              CT
    205  300-222-2222     Birmingham, AL
    205  300-555-5555     Many small towns in AL
    205  300-648-1111     Dora, AL
    205  300-765-4321     Bessemer, AL
    205  300-798-1111     Forestdale, AL
    205  300-833-3333     Birmingham
    205  557-2311         Birmingham, AL
    205  811              Pell City/Cropwell/Lincoln, AL
    205  841-1111         Tarrant, AL
    205  908-222-2222     Birmingham, AL
    206  411              WA (Not US West)
    207  958              ME
    209  830-2121         Stockton, CA
    209  211-9779         Stockton, CA
    210  830              Brownsville/Laredo/San Antonio, TX
    210  951              Brownsville/Laredo/San Antonio, TX (GTE)
    212  958              Manhattan, NY
    213  114              Los Angeles, CA (GTE)
    213  1223             Los Angeles, CA (Some 1AESS switches)
    213  211-2345         Los Angeles, CA (English response)
    213  211-2346         Los Angeles, CA (DTMF response)
    213  760-2???         Los Angeles, CA (DMS switches)
    213  61056            Los Angeles, CA
    214  570              Dallas, TX
    214  790              Dallas, TX (GTE)
    214  970-222-2222     Dallas, TX
    214  970-611-1111     Dallas, TX (Southwestern Bell)
    215  410-xxxx         Philadelphia, PA
    215  511              Philadelphia, PA
    215  958              Philadelphia, PA
    216  200-XXXX         Akron/Canton/Cleveland/Lorain/Youngstown, OH
    216  331              Akron/Canton/Cleveland/Lorain/Youngstown, OH
    216  959-9892         Akron/Canton/Cleveland/Lorain/Youngstown, OH
    217  200-xxx-xxxx     Champaign-Urbana/Springfield, IL
    219  550              Gary/Hammond/Michigan City/Southbend, IN
    219  559              Gary/Hammond/Michigan City/Southbend, IN
    301  2002006969       Hagerstown/Rockville, MD
    301  958-9968         Hagerstown/Rockville, MD
    303  958              Aspen/Boulder/Denver/Durango/Grand Junction
                          /Steamboat Springs, CO
    305  200-555-1212     Ft. Lauderdale/Key West/Miami, FL
    305  200200200200200  Ft. Lauderdale/Key West/Miami, FL
    305  780-2411         Ft. Lauderdale/Key West/Miami, FL
    310  114              Long Beach, CA (On many GTE switches)
    310  1223             Long Beach, CA (Some 1AESS switches)
    310  211-2345         Long Beach, CA (English response)
    310  211-2346         Long Beach, CA (DTMF response)
    312  200              Chicago, IL
    312  290              Chicago, IL
    312  1-200-8825       Chicago, IL (Last four change rapidly)
    312  1-200-555-1212   Chicago, IL
    313  200-200-2002     Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, MI
    313  200-222-2222     Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, MI
    313  200-xxx-xxxx     Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, MI
    313  200200200200200  Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, MI
    314  410-xxxx#        Columbia/Jefferson City/St.Louis, MO
    315  953              Syracuse/Utica, NY
    315  958              Syracuse/Utica, NY
    315  998              Syracuse/Utica, NY
    317  310-222-2222     Indianapolis/Kokomo, IN
    317  559-222-2222     Indianapolis/Kokomo, IN
    317  743-1218         Indianapolis/Kokomo, IN
    334  5572411          Montgomery, AL
    334 5572311           Montgomery, AL
    401  200-200-4444     RI
    401  222-2222         RI
    402  311              Lincoln, NE
    404  311              Atlanta, GA
    770  780-2311         Atlanta, GA
    404  940-xxx-xxxx     Atlanta, GA
    404  990              Atlanta, GA
    405  890-7777777      Enid/Oklahoma City, OK
    405  897              Enid/Oklahoma City, OK
    407  200-222-2222     Orlando/West Palm Beach, FL (Bell South)
    407  520-3111         Orlando/West Palm Beach, FL (United)
    408  300-xxx-xxxx     San Jose, CA
    408  760              San Jose, CA
    408  940              San Jose, CA
    409  951              Beaumont/Galveston, TX
    409  970-xxxx         Beaumont/Galveston, TX
    410  200-6969         Annapolis/Baltimore, MD
    410  200-200-6969     Annapolis/Baltimore, MD
    410  200-555-1212     Annapolis/Baltimore, MD
    410  811              Annapolis/Baltimore, MD
    412  711-6633         Pittsburgh, PA
    412  711-4411         Pittsburgh, PA
    412  999-xxxx         Pittsburgh, PA
    413  958              Pittsfield/Springfield, MA
    413  200-555-5555     Pittsfield/Springfield, MA
    414  330-2234         Fond du Lac/Green Bay/Milwaukee/Racine, WI
    415  200-555-1212     San Francisco, CA
    415  211-2111         San Francisco, CA
    415  2222             San Francisco, CA
    415  640              San Francisco, CA
    415  760-2878         San Francisco, CA
    415  7600-2222        San Francisco, CA
    419  311              Toledo, OH
    423  200-200-200      Chatanooga, Johnson City, Knoxville , TN
    501  511              AR
    502  2002222222       Frankfort/Louisville/Paducah/Shelbyville, KY
    502  997-555-1212     Frankfort/Louisville/Paducah/Shelbyville, KY
    503  611              Portland, OR
    503  999              Portland, OR (GTE)
    504  99882233         Baton Rouge/New Orleans, LA
    504  201-269-1111     Baton Rouge/New Orleans, LA
    504  998              Baton Rouge/New Orleans, LA
    504  99851-0000000000 Baton Rouge/New Orleans, LA
    508  958              Fall River/New Bedford/Worchester, MA
    508  200-222-1234     Fall River/New Bedford/Worchester, MA
    508  200-222-2222     Fall River/New Bedford/Worchester, MA
    508  26011            Fall River/New Bedford/Worchester, MA
    509  560              Spokane/Walla Walla/Yakima, WA
    510  760-1111         Oakland, CA
    512  830              Austin/Corpus Christi, TX
    512  970-xxxx         Austin/Corpus Christi, TX
    513  380-55555555     Cincinnati/Dayton, OH
    515  5463             Des Moines, IA
    515  811              Des Moines, IA
    516  958              Hempstead/Long Island, NY
    516  968              Hempstead/Long Island, NY
    517  200-222-2222     Bay City/Jackson/Lansing, MI
    517  200200200200200  Bay City/Jackson/Lansing, MI
    518  511              Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY
    518  997              Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY
    518  998              Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY
    540  211              Roanoke, VA (GTE)
    540  311              Roanoke, VA (GTE)
    541  200              Bend, OR
    603  200-222-2222     NH
    606  997-555-1212     Ashland/Winchester, KY
    606  711              Ashland/Winchester, KY
    607  993              Binghamton/Elmira, NY
    609  958              Atlantic City/Camden/Trenton/Vineland, NJ
    610  958              Allentown/Reading, PA
    610  958-4100         Allentown/Reading, PA
    612  511              Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN
    614  200              Columbus/Steubenville, OH
    614  571              Columbus/Steubenville, OH
    615  200200200200200  Chatanooga/Knoxville/Nashville, TN
    615  2002222222       Chatanooga/Knoxville/Nashville, TN
    615  830              Nashville, TN
    616  200-222-2222     Battle Creek/Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, MI
    617  200-222-1234     Boston, MA
    617  200-222-2222     Boston, MA
    617  200-444-4444     Boston, MA (Woburn, MA)
    617  220-2622         Boston, MA
    617  958              Boston, MA
    618  200-xxx-xxxx     Alton/Cairo/Mt.Vernon, IL
    618  930              Alton/Cairo/Mt.Vernon, IL
    619  211-2001         San Diego, CA
    619  211-2121         San Diego, CA
    659  220-2622         Newmarket, NH
    703  211              VA
    703  511-3636         Culpeper/Orange/Fredericksburg, VA
    703  811              Alexandria/Arlington/Roanoke, VA
    704  311              Asheville/Charlotte, NC
    706  940-xxxx         Augusta, GA
    707  211-2222         Eureka, CA
    708  1-200-555-1212   Chicago/Elgin, IL
    708  1-200-8825       Chicago/Elgin, IL (Last four change rapidly)
    708  200-6153         Chicago/Elgin, IL
    708  724-9951         Chicago/Elgin, IL
    713  380              Houston, TX
    713  970-xxxx         Houston, TX
    713  811              Humble, TX
    713  380-5555-5555    Houston, TX
    714  114              Anaheim, CA (GTE)
    714  211-2121         Anaheim, CA (PacBell)
    714  211-2222         Anaheim, CA (Pacbell)
    714  211-7777         Anaheim, CA (Pacbell)
    716  511              Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Rochester, NY (Rochester Tel)
    716  990              Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Rochester, NY (Rochester Tel)
    717  958              Harrisburg/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA
    718  958              Bronx/Brooklyn/Queens/Staten Island, NY
    770  940-xxx-xxxx     Marietta/Norcross, GA
    770  780-2311         Marietta/Norcross, GA
    802  2-222-222-2222   Vermont
    802  200-222-2222     Vermont
    802  1-700-222-2222   Vermont
    802  111-2222         Vermont
    804 990               Virginia Beach, VA
    805  114              Bakersfield/Santa Barbara, CA
    805  211-2345         Bakersfield/Santa Barbara, CA
    805  211-2346         Bakersfield/Santa Barbara, CA (Returns DTMF)
    805  830              Bakersfield/Santa Barbara, CA
    806  970-xxxx         Amarillo/Lubbock, TX
    810  200200200200200  Flint/Pontiac/Southfield/Troy, MI
    810  311              Pontiac/Southfield/Troy, MI
    812  410-555-1212     Evansville, IN
    813  311              Ft. Meyers/St. Petersburg/Tampa, FL
    815  200-3374         Crystal Lake, IL
    815  270-3374         Crystal Lake, IL
    815  770-3374         Crystal Lake, IL
    815  200-xxx-xxxx     La Salle/Rockford, IL
    815  290              La Salle/Rockford, IL
    817  211              Ft. Worth/Waco, TX
    817  970-611-1111     Ft. Worth/Waco, TX  (Southwestern Bell)
    818  1223             Pasadena, CA (Some 1AESS switches)
    818  211-2345         Pasadena, CA (English response)
    818  211-2346         Pasadena, CA (DTMF response)
    860  970              CT
    903  970-611-1111     Tyler, TX
    904  200-222-222      Jackonsville/Pensacola/Tallahasee, FL
    906  1-200-222-2222   Marquette/Sault Ste. Marie, MI
    907  811              AK
    908  958              New Brunswick, NJ
    909  111              Riverside/San Bernardino, CA (GTE)
    910  200              Fayetteville/Greensboro/Raleigh/Winston-Salem, NC
    910  311              Fayetteville/Greensboro/Raleigh/Winston-Salem, NC
    910  988              Fayetteville/Greensboro/Raleigh/Winston-Salem, NC
    914  990-1111         Peekskill/Poughkeepsie/White Plains/Yonkers, NY
    915  970-xxxx         Abilene/El Paso, TX
    916  211-0007         Sacramento, CA (Pac Bell)
    916  461              Sacramento, CA (Roseville Telephone)
    919  200              Durham, NC
    919  711              Durham, NC
    954  200-555-1212     Ft. Lauderdale, FL
    954  200200200200200  Ft. Lauderdale, FL
    954  780-2411         Ft. Lauderdale, FL

    Canada:
    204  644-4444         Manitoba
    306  115              Saskatchewan
    403  311              Alberta, Yukon and N.W. Territory
    403  908-222-2222     Alberta, Yukon and N.W. Territory
    403  999              Alberta, Yukon and N.W. Territory
    416  997-xxxx         Toronto, Ontario
    506  1-555-1313       New Brunswick
    514  320-xxxx         Montreal, Quebec
    514  320-1232         Montreal, Quebec
    514  320-1223         Montreal, Quebec
    514  320-1233         Montreal, Quebec
    519  320-xxxx         London, Ontario
    604  1116             British Columbia
    604  1211             British Columbia
    604  211              British Columbia
    613  320-2232         Ottawa, Ontario
    705  320-4567         North Bay/Saulte Ste. Marie, Ontario
    819  320-1112         Quebec

    Australia:
    +61  03-552-4111      Victoria 03 area
    +612 19123            All major capital cities
    +612 11544

    United Kingdom:
    175

    Israel:
    110

(Italic indicates updated ANAC's, while bold indicates new ANAC's.)

12. What is a ringback number?

A ringback number is a number that you call that will immediately ring the telephone from which it was called.

In most instances you must call the ringback number, quickly hang up the phone for just a short moment and then let up on the switch, you will then go back off hook and hear a different tone. You may then hang up. You will be called back seconds later.

13. What is the ringback number for my area?

An 'x' means insert those numbers from the phone number from which you are calling. A '?' means that the number varies from switch to switch in the area, or changes from time to time. Try all possible combinations.

If the ringback for your NPA is not listed, try common ones such as 951-xxx-xxxx, 954, 957 and 958. Also, try using the numbers listed for other NPA's served by your telephone company.

Note: These geographic areas are for reference purposes only. Ringback numbers may vary from switch to switch within the same city.

    NPA  Ringback number  Approximate Geographic area
    ---  ---------------  ---------------------------------------------
    201  55?-xxxx         Hackensack/Jersey City/Newark/Paterson, NJ
    202  958-xxxx         District of Columbia
    203  99?-xxxx         CT
    206  571-xxxx         WA
    208  59X-xxxx         ID
    208  99xxx-xxxx       ID
    210  211-8849-xxxx    Brownsville/Laredo/San Antonio, TX (GTE)
    213  1-95x-xxxx       Los Angeles, CA
    214  971-xxxx         Dallas, TX
    215  811-xxxx         Philadelphia, PA
    216  551-xxxx         Akron/Canton/Cleveland/Lorain/Youngstown, OH
    219  571-xxx-xxxx     Gary/Hammond/Michigan City/Southbend, IN
    219  777-xxx-xxxx     Gary/Hammond/Michigan City/Southbend, IN
    301  579-xxxx         Hagerstown/Rockville, MD
    301  958-xxxx         Hagerstown/Rockville, MD
    303  99X-xxxx         Grand Junction, CO
    304  998-xxxx         WV
    305  999-xxxx         Ft. Lauderdale/Key West/Miami, FL
    312  511-xxxx         Chicago, IL
    312  511-xxx-xxxx     Chicago, IL
    312  57?-xxxx         Chicago, IL
    315  98x-xxxx         Syracuse/Utica, NY
    317  777-xxxx         Indianapolis/Kokomo, IN
    317  yyy-xxxx         Indianapolis/Kokomo, IN (y=3rd digit of phone number)
    319  79x-xxxx         Davenport/Dubuque, Iowa
    334  901-xxxx         Montgomery, AL
    401  98?-xxxx         RI
    404  450-xxxx         Atlanta, GA
    407  988-xxxx         Orlando/West Palm Beach, FL
    408  470-xxxx         San Jose, CA
    408  580-xxxx         San Jose, CA
    412  985-xxxx         Pittsburgh, PA
    414  977-xxxx         Fond du Lac/Green Bay/Milwaukee/Racine, WI
    414  978-xxxx         Fond du Lac/Green Bay/Milwaukee/Racine, WI
    415  350-xxxx         San Francisco, CA
    417  551-xxxx         Joplin/Springfield, MO
    501  221-xxx-xxxx     AR
    501  721-xxx-xxxx     AR
    502  988              Frankfort/Louisville/Paducah/Shelbyville, KY
    503  541-XXXX         OR
    504  99x-xxxx         Baton Rouge/New Orleans, LA
    504  9988776655       Baton Rouge/New Orleans, LA
    505  59?-xxxx         New Mexico
    512  95X-xxxx         Austin, TX
    513  951-xxxx         Cincinnati/Dayton, OH
    513  955-xxxx         Cincinnati/Dayton, OH
    513  99?-xxxx         Cincinnati/Dayton, OH (X=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 or 9)
    515  559-XXXX         Des Moines, IA
    516  660-xxx-xxxx     Hempstead/Long Island, NY
    601  777-xxxx         MS
    609  55?-xxxx         Atlantic City/Camden/Trenton/Vineland, NJ
    610  811-xxxx         Allentown/Reading, PA
    612  511              Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN
    612  999-xxx-xxxx     Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN
    613  999-xxx-xxxx     Ottawa, Ontario
    614  998-xxxx         Columbus/Steubenville, OH
    615  920-XXXX         Chatanooga/Knoxville/Nashville, TN
    615  930-xxxx         Chatanooga/Knoxville/Nashville, TN
    616  946-xxxx         Battle Creek/Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, MI
    619  331-xxxx         San Diego, CA
    619  332-xxxx         San Diego, CA
    659  981-XXXX         Newmarket, NH
    703  511-xxx-xxxx     VA
    703  958-xxxx         Alexandria/Arlington/Roanoke, VA
    708  511-xxxx         Chicago/Elgin, IL
    713  231-xxxx         Los Angeles, CA
    714  330?             Anaheim, CA (GTE)
    714  33?-xxxx         Anaheim, CA (PacBell)
    716  981-xxxx         Rochester, NY (Rochester Tel)
    718  660-xxxx         Bronx/Brooklyn/Queens/Staten Island, NY
    719  99x-xxxx         Colorado Springs/Leadville/Pueblo, CO
    801  938-xxxx         Utah
    801  939-xxxx         Utah
    802  987-xxxx         Vermont
    804  260              Charlottesville/Newport News/Norfolk/Richmond, VA
    805  114              Bakersfield/Santa Barbara, CA
    805  980-xxxx         Bakersfield/Santa Barbara, CA
    810  951-xxx-xxxx     Pontiac/Southfield/Troy, MI
    813  711              Ft. Meyers/St. Petersburg/Tampa, FL
    817  971              Ft. Worth/Waco, TX (Flashhook, then 2#)
    906  951-xxx-xxxx     Marquette/Sault Ste. Marie, MI
    908  55?-xxxx         New Brunswick, NJ
    908  953              New Brunswick, NJ
    913  951-xxxx         Lawrence/Salina/Topeka, KS
    914  660-xxxx-xxxx    Peekskill/Poughkeepsie/White Plains/Yonkers, NY

    Canada:
    204  590-xxx-xxxx     Manitoba
    416  57x-xxxx         Toronto, Ontario
    416  99x-xxxx         Toronto, Ontario
    416  999-xxx-xxxx     Toronto, Ontario
    506  572+xxx-xxxx     New Brunswick
    514  320-xxx-xxxx     Montreal, Quebec
    519  999-xxx-xxxx     London, Ontario
    604  311-xxx-xxxx     British Columbia
    613  999-xxx-xxxx     Ottawa, Ontario
    705  999-xxx-xxxx     North Bay/Saulte Ste. Marie, Ontario
    819  320-xxx-xxxx     Quebec
    905  999-xxx-xxxx     Hamilton/Mississauga/Niagra Falls, Ontario

    Australia:            +61 199
    Brazil:               109 or 199
    N France:               3644
    Holland:              99-xxxxxx
    New Zealand:          137
    Sweden:               0058
    United Kingdom:       174 or 1744 or 175 or 0500-89-0011
    Amsterdam             0196
    Hilversum             0123456789
    Breukelen             0123456789
    Groningen             951

(Italic indicates updated ringbacks, while bold indicates new ringbacks.)

14. What is a loop?

This FAQ answer is excerpted from ToneLoc v0.99 User Manual by Minor Threat & Mucho Maas.

    Loops are a pair of phone numbers, usually consecutive, like 836-9998
    and 836-9999.  They are used by the phone company for testing.  What
    good do loops do us?  Well, they are cool in a few ways.  Here is a
    simple use of loops.  Each loop has two ends, a 'high' end, and a
    'low' end.  One end gives a (usually) constant, loud tone when it is
    called. The other end is silent.  Loops don't usually ring either.
    When BOTH ends are called, the people that called each end can talk
    through the loop.  Some loops are voice filtered and won't pass
    anything but a constant tone; these aren't much use to you.  Here's
    what you can use working loops for:  billing phone calls!  First, call
    the end that gives the loud tone.  Then if the operator or someone
    calls the other end, the tone will go quiet.  Act like the phone just
    rang and you answered it ... say "Hello", "Allo", "Chow", "Yo", or
    what the fuck ever.  The operator thinks that she just called you, and
    that's it!  Now the phone bill will go to the loop, and your local
    RBOC will get the bill!  Use this technique in moderation, or the loop
    may go down.  Loops are probably most useful when you want to talk to
    someone to whom you don't want to give your phone number.

15. What is a loop in my area?

Many of these loops are no longer functional. If you are local to any of these loops, please try them out an e-mail me the results of your research.

    NPA    High      Low
    ---  --------  --------
    201  666-9929  666-9930
    208  862-9996  862-9997
    209  732-0044  732-0045
    201  666-9929  666-9930
    213  360-1118  360-1119
    213  365-1118  365-1119
    213  455-0002  455-XXXX
    213  455-0002  455-xxxx
    213  546-0002  546-XXXX
    213  546-0002  546-xxxx
    213  549-1118  549-1119
    305  964-9951  964-9952
    307  468-9999  468-9998
    308  357-0004  357-0005
    312  262-9902  262-9903
    313  224-9996  224-9997
    313  225-9996  225-9997
    313  234-9996  234-9997
    313  237-9996  237-9997
    313  256-9996  256-9997
    313  272-9996  272-9997
    313  273-9996  273-9997
    313  277-9996  277-9997
    313  281-9996  281-9997
    313  292-9996  292-9997
    313  299-9996  299-9997
    313  321-9996  321-9997
    313  326-9996  326-9997
    313  356-9996  356-9997
    313  362-9996  362-9997
    313  369-9996  369-9997
    313  388-9996  388-9997
    313  397-9996  397-9997
    313  399-9996  399-9997
    313  445-9996  445-9997
    313  465-9996  465-9997
    313  471-9996  471-9997
    313  474-9996  474-9997
    313  477-9996  477-9997
    313  478-9996  478-9997
    313  483-9996  483-9997
    313  497-9996  497-9997
    313  526-9996  526-9997
    313  552-9996  552-9997
    313  556-9996  556-9997
    313  561-9996  561-9997
    313  569-9996  569-9996
    313  575-9996  575-9997
    313  577-9996  577-9997
    313  585-9996  585-9997
    313  591-9996  591-9997
    313  621-9996  621-9997
    313  626-9996  626-9997
    313  644-9996  644-9997
    313  646-9996  646-9997
    313  647-9996  647-9997
    313  649-9996  649-9997
    313  663-9996  663-9997
    313  665-9996  665-9997
    313  683-9996  683-9997
    313  721-9996  721-9997
    313  722-9996  722-9997
    313  728-9996  728-9997
    313  731-9996  731-9997
    313  751-9996  751-9997
    313  776-9996  776-9997
    313  781-9996  781-9997
    313  787-9996  787-9997
    313  822-9996  822-9997
    313  833-9996  833-9997
    313  851-9996  851-9997
    313  871-9996  871-9997
    313  875-9996  875-9997
    313  886-9996  886-9997
    313  888-9996  888-9997
    313  898-9996  898-9997
    313  934-9996  934-9997
    313  942-9996  942-9997
    313  963-9996  963-9997
    313  977-9996  977-9997
    315  673-9995  673-9996
    315  695-9995  695-9996
    402  422-0001  422-0002
    402  422-0003  422-0004
    402  422-0005  422-0006
    402  422-0007  422-0008
    402  572-0003  572-0004
    402  779-0004  779-0007
    406  225-9902  225-9903
    408  238-0044  238-0045
    408  272-0044  272-0045
    408  729-0044  729-0045
    408  773-0044  773-0045
    408  926-0044  926-0045
    517  422-9996  422-9997
    517  423-9996  423-9997
    517  455-9996  455-9997
    517  563-9996  563-9997
    517  663-9996  663-9997
    517  851-9996  851-9997
    609  921-9929  921-9930
    609  994-9929  994-9930
    613            966-1111
    616  997-9996  997-9997
    708  724-9951  724-????
    713  224-1499  759-1799
    713  324-1499  324-1799
    713  342-1499  342-1799
    713  351-1499  351-1799
    713  354-1499  354-1799
    713  356-1499  356-1799
    713  442-1499  442-1799
    713  447-1499  447-1799
    713  455-1499  455-1799
    713  458-1499  458-1799
    713  462-1499  462-1799
    713  466-1499  466-1799
    713  468-1499  468-1799
    713  469-1499  469-1799
    713  471-1499  471-1799
    713  481-1499  481-1799
    713  482-1499  482-1799
    713  484-1499  484-1799
    713  487-1499  487-1799
    713  489-1499  489-1799
    713  492-1499  492-1799
    713  493-1499  493-1799
    713  524-1499  524-1799
    713  526-1499  526-1799
    713  555-1499  555-1799
    713  661-1499  661-1799
    713  664-1499  664-1799
    713  665-1499  665-1799
    713  666-1499  666-1799
    713  667-1499  667-1799
    713  682-1499  976-1799
    713  771-1499  771-1799
    713  780-1499  780-1799
    713  781-1499  997-1799
    713  960-1499  960-1799
    713  977-1499  977-1799
    713  988-1499  988-1799
    719  598-0009  598-0010
    805  528-0044  528-0045
    805  544-0044  544-0045
    805  773-0044  773-0045
    808  235-9907  235-9908
    808  239-9907  239-9908
    808  245-9907  245-9908
    808  247-9907  247-9908
    808  261-9907  261-9908
    808  322-9907  322-9908
    808  328-9907  328-9908
    808  329-9907  329-9908
    808  332-9907  332-9908
    808  335-9907  335-9908
    808  572-9907  572-9908
    808  623-9907  623-9908
    808  624-9907  624-9908
    808  668-9907  668-9908
    808  742-9907  742-9908
    808  879-9907  879-9908
    808  882-9907  882-9908
    808  885-9907  885-9908
    808  959-9907  959-9908
    808  961-9907  961-9908
    810  362-9996  362-9997
    813  385-9971  385-xxxx
    908  254-9929  254-9930
    908  558-9929  558-9930
    908  560-9929  560-9930
    908  776-9930  776-9930

(Italic indicates updated loops, while bold indicates new loops.)

16. What is a CNA number?

CNA stands for Customer Name and Address. The CNA number is a phone number for telephone company personnel to call and get the name and address for a phone number. If a telephone lineman finds a phone line he does not recognize, he can use the ANI number to find it's phone number and then call the CNA operator to see who owns it and where they live.

Normal CNA numbers are available only to telephone company personnel. Private citizens may now legally get CNA information from private companies. Two such companies are:

    Unidirectory    (900)933-3330
    Telename        (900)884-1212

Note that these are 900 numbers, and will cost you approximately one dollar per minute.

If you are in 312 or 708, AmeriTech has a pay-for-play CNA service available to the general public. The number is 796-9600. The cost is $.35/call and can look up two numbers per call.

If you are in 415, Pacific Bell offers a public access CNA service at (415)705-9299.

If you are in Bell Atlantic territory you can call (201)555-5454 or (908)555-5454 for automated CNA information. The cost is $.50/call.

17. What is the telephone company CNA number for my area?

    203    (203)771-8080         CT
    312    (312)796-9600         Chicago, IL
    506    (506)555-1313         New Brunswick
    513    (513)397-9110         Cincinnati/Dayton, OH
    516    (516)321-5700         Hempstead/Long Island, NY
    614    (614)464-0123         Columbus/Steubenville, OH
    813    (813)270-8711         Ft. Meyers/St. Petersburg/Tampa, FL
    NYNEX  (518)471-8111         New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode
                                 Island, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts

(Italic indicates updated CNA's, while bold indicates new CNA's.)

18. What are some numbers that always ring busy?

In the following listings, "xxx" means that the same number is used as a constantly busy number in many different prefixes. In most of these, there are some exchanges that ring busy and some exchanges that are in normal use. *ALWAYS* test these numbers at least three times during normal business hours before using as a constantly busy number.

    800  999-1803              WATS
    201  635-9970              Hackensack/Jersey City/Newark/Paterson, NJ
    212  724-9970              Manhattan, NY
    213  xxx-1117              Los Angeles, CA
    213  xxx-1118              Los Angeles, CA
    213  xxx-1119              Los Angeles, CA
    213  xxx-9198              Los Angeles, CA
    216  xxx-9887              Akron/Canton/Cleveland/Lorain/Youngstown, OH
    303  431-0000              Denver, CO
    303  866-8660              Denver, CO
    310  xxx-1117              Long Beach, CA
    310  xxx-1118              Long Beach, CA
    310  xxx-1119              Long Beach, CA
    310  xxx-9198              Long Beach, CA
    316  952-7265              Dodge City/Wichita, KS
    501  377-99xx              AR
    719  472-3772              Colorado Springs/Leadville/Pueblo, CO
    805  255-0699              Bakersfield/Santa Barbara, CA
    714  xxx-1117              Anaheim, CA
    714  xxx-1118              Anaheim, CA
    714  xxx-1119              Anaheim, CA
    714  xxx-9198              Anaheim, CA
    717  292-0009              Harrisburg/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA
    818  xxx-1117              Pasadena, CA
    818  xxx-1118              Pasadena, CA
    818  xxx-1119              Pasadena, CA
    818  xxx-9198              Pasadena, CA
    818  885-0699              Pasadena, CA  (???-0699 is a pattern)
    860  525-7078              Hartford, CT
    906  632-9999              Marquette/Sault Ste. Marie, MI
    906  635-9999              Marquette/Sault Ste. Marie, MI

(Italic indicates updated numbers, while bold indicates new numbers.)

19. What are some numbers that temporarily disconnect phone service?

If your NPA is not listed, or the listing does not cover your LATA, try common numbers such as 119 (GTD5 switches) or 511.

    314  511        Columbia/Jefferson City/St.Louis, MO       (1 minute)
    404  420        Atlanta, GA                                (5 minutes)
    405  953        Enid/Oklahoma City, OK                     (1 minute)
    407  511        Orlando, FL (United Telephone)             (1 minute)
    414  958-0013   Fond du Lac/Green Bay/Milwaukee/Racine, WI (1 minute)
    512  200        Austin/Corpus Christi, TX                  (1 minute)
    516  480        Hempstead/Long Island, NY                  (1 minute)
    603  980        NH
    614  xxx-9894   Columbus/Steubenville, OH
    805  119        Bakersfield/Santa Barbara, CA              (3 minutes)
    919  211 or 511 Durham, NC                                 (10 min - 1 hour)

(Italic indicates updated numbers, while bold indicates new numbers.)

20. What is a Proctor Test Set?

A Proctor Test Set is a tool used by telco personnel to diagnose problems with phone lines. You call the Proctor Test Set number and press buttons on a touch tone phone to active the tests you select.

21. What is a Proctor Test Set in my area?

If your NPA is not listed try common numbers such as 111 or 117.

    805  111        Bakersfield/Santa Barbara, CA
    909  117        Tyler, TX
    913  611-1111   Lawrence/Salina/Topeka, KS

22. What is scanning?

Scanning is dialing a large number of telephone numbers in the hope of finding interesting carriers (computers) or tones.

Scanning can be done by hand, although dialing several thousand telephone numbers by hand is extremely boring and takes a long time.

Much better is to use a scanning program, sometimes called a war dialer or a demon dialer. Currently, the best war dialer available to PC-DOS users is ToneLoc from Minor Threat and Mucho Maas. ToneLoc can be FTPed from ftp.paranoia.com.

A war dialer will dial a range of numbers and log what it finds at each number. You can then only dial up the numbers that the war dialer marked as carriers or tones.

23. Is scanning illegal?

This FAQ answer is excerpted from 2600, Spring 1990, Page 27.

    In some places, scanning has been made illegal.  It would be hard,
    though, for someone to file a complaint against you for scanning since
    the whole purpose is to call every number once and only once.  It's
    not likely to be thought of as harassment by anyone who gets a single
    phone call from a scanning computer.  Some central offices have been
    known to react strangely when people start scanning.  Sometimes you're
    unable to get a dialtone for hours after you start scanning.  But
    there is no uniform policy.  The best thing to do is to first find out
    if you've got some crazy law saying you can't do it.  If, as is
    likely, there is no such law, the only way to find out what happens is
    to give it a try.

It should be noted that a law making scanning illegal was recently passed in Colorado Springs, CO. It is now illegal to place a call in Colorado Springs without the intent to communicate.

24. Where can I purchase a lineman's handset?

    Contact East
    335 Willow Street
    North Andover, MA 01845-5995
    (508)682-2000

    Jensen Tools
    7815 S. 46th Street
    Phoenix, AZ 85044-5399
    (800)426-1194

    Specialized Products
    3131 Premier Drive
    Irving, TX 75063
    (800)866-5353

    Time Motion Tools
    12778 Brookprinter Place
    Poway, CA 92064
    (619)679-0303

25. What are the DTMF frequencies?

DTMF stands for Dual Tone Multi Frequency. These are the tones you get when you press a key on your telephone touchpad. The tone of the button is the sum of the column and row tones. The ABCD keys do not exist on standard telephones.

    	 1209 1336 1477 1633

         697   1    2    3    A

         770   4    5    6    B

         852   7    8    9    C

         941   *    0    #    D

26. What are the frequencies of the telephone tones?

    Type                Hz          On      Off
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    Dial Tone         350 & 440     ---     ---
    Busy Signal       480 & 620     0.5     0.5
    Toll Congestion   480 & 620     0.2     0.3
    Ringback (Normal) 440 & 480     2.0     4.0
    Ringback (PBX)    440 & 480     1.5     4.5
    Reorder (Local)   480 & 620     3.0     2.0
    Invalid Number    200 & 400
    Hang Up Warning 1400 & 2060     0.1     0.1
    Hang Up         2450 & 2600     ---     ---

27. What are all of the * codes?

Local Area Signalling Services (LASS) and Custom Calling Feature Control Codes:

(These appear to be standard, but may be changed locally)

    Service                     Tone    Pulse/rotary   Notes
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Assistance/Police           *12         n/a        [1]
    Cancel forwarding           *30         n/a        [C1]
    Automatic Forwarding        *31         n/a        [C1]
    Notify                      *32         n/a        [C1] [2]
    Intercom Ring 1 (..)        *51         1151       [3]
    Intercom Ring 2 (.._)       *52         1152       [3]
    Intercom Ring 3 (._.)       *53         1153       [3]
    Extension Hold              *54         1154       [3]
    Customer Originated Trace   *57         1157
    Selective Call Rejection    *60         1160       (or Call Screen)
    Selective Distinct Alert    *61         1161
    Selective Call Acceptance   *62         1162
    Selective Call Forwarding   *63         1163
    ICLID Activation            *65         1165
    Call Return (outgoing)      *66         1166
    Number Display Blocking     *67         1167       [4]
    Computer Access Restriction *68         1168
    Call Return (incoming)      *69         1169
    Call Waiting disable        *70         1170       [4]
    No Answer Call Transfer     *71         1171
    Usage Sensitive 3 way call  *71         1171
    Call Forwarding: start      *72 or 72#  1172
    Call Forwarding: cancel     *73 or 73#  1173
    Speed Calling (8 numbers)   *74 or 74#  1174
    Speed Calling (30 numbers)  *75 or 75#  1175
    Anonymous Call Rejection    *77         1177       [5] [M: *58]
    Call Screen Disable         *80         1180       (or Call Screen) [M: *50]
    Selective Distinct Disable  *81         1181       [M: *51]
    Select. Acceptance Disable  *82         1182       [4] [7]
    Select. Forwarding Disable  *83         1183       [M: *53]
    ICLID Disable               *85         1185
    Call Return (cancel out)    *86         1186       [6] [M: *56]
    Anon. Call Reject (cancel)  *87         1187       [5] [M: *68]
    Call Return (cancel in)     *89         1189       [6] [M: *59]

    Notes:

    [C1]     - Means code used for Cellular One service
    [1]      - for cellular in Pittsburgh, PA A/C 412 in some areas
    [2]      - indicates that you are not local and maybe how to reach you
    [3]      - found in Pac Bell territory; Intercom ring causes a distinctive
               ring to be generated on the current line; Hold keeps a call
               connected until another extension is picked up
    [4]      - applied once before each call
    [5]      - A.C.R. blocks calls from those who blocked Caller ID
               (used in C&P territory, for instance)
    [6]      - cancels further return attempts
    [7]      - *82 (1182) has been mandated to be the nationwide code for
               "Send CLID info regardless of the default setting on this
               phone line."
    [M: *xx] - alternate code used for MLVP (multi-line variety package)
               by Bellcore. It goes by different names in different RBOCs.
               In Bellsouth it is called Prestige. It is an arrangement of
               ESSEX like features for single or small multiple line groups.

               The reason for different codes for some features in MLVP is that
               call-pickup is *8 in MLVP so all *8x codes are reassigned *5x

28. What frequencies do cordless phones operate on?

Here are the frequencies for the first generation 46/49 MHz phones.

    Channel    Handset Transmit    Base Transmit
    -------    ----------------    -------------
       1          49.670 MHz         46.610 MHz
       2          49.845             46.630
       3          49.860             46.670
       4          49.770             46.710
       5          49.875             46.730
       6          49.830             46.770
       7          49.890             46.830
       8          49.930             46.870
       9          49.990             46.930
      10          49.970             46.970

The new "900 Mhz" cordless phones have been allocated the frequencies between 902-228 MHz, with channel spacing between 30-100 kHz.

Following are some examples of the frequencies used by phones currently on the market.

    Panasonic KX-T9000 (60 Channels)
    base     902.100 - 903.870 Base frequencies (30 KHz spacing)
    handset  926.100 - 927.870 Handset frequencies
    CH   BASE    HANDSET    CH   BASE    HANDSET    CH   BASE   HANDSET
    --  -------  -------    --  -------  -------    --  ------- -------
    01  902.100  926.100    11  902.400  926.400    21  902.700 926.700
    02  902.130  926.130    12  902.430  926.430    22  902.730 926.730
    03  902.160  926.160    13  902.460  926.460    23  902.760 926.760
    04  902.190  926.190    14  902.490  926.490    24  902.790 926.790
    05  902.220  926.220    15  902.520  926.520    25  902.820 926.820
    06  902.250  926.250    16  902.550  926.550    26  902.850 926.850
    07  902.280  926.280    17  902.580  926.580    27  902.880 926.880
    08  902.310  926.310    18  902.610  926.610    28  902.910 926.910
    09  902.340  926.340    19  902.640  926.640    29  902.940 926.940
    10  902.370  926.370    20  902.670  926.670    30  902.970 926.970
    31  903.000  927.000    41  903.300  927.300    51  903.600 927.600
    32  903.030  927.030    42  903.330  927.330    52  903.630 927.630
    33  903.060  927.060    43  903.360  927.360    53  903.660 927.660
    34  903.090  927.090    44  903.390  927.390    54  903.690 927.690
    35  903.120  927.120    45  903.420  927.420    55  903.720 927.720
    36  903.150  927.150    46  903.450  927.450    56  903.750 927.750
    37  903.180  927.180    47  903.480  927.480    57  903.780 927.780
    38  903.210  927.210    48  903.510  927.510    58  903.810 927.810
    39  903.240  927.240    49  903.540  927.540    59  903.840 927.840
    40  903.270  927.270    50  903.570  927.570    60  903.870 927.870

    V-TECH TROPEZ DX900 (20 CHANNELS)
    905.6 - 907.5   TRANSPONDER (BASE) FREQUENCIES (100 kHz SPACING)
    925.5 - 927.4   HANDSET FREQUENCIES

    CH   BASE    HANDSET    CH   BASE    HANDSET    CH   BASE   HANDSET
    --  -------  -------    --  -------  -------    --  ------- -------
    01  905.600  925.500    08  906.300  926.200    15  907.000 926.900
    02  905.700  925.600    09  906.400  926.300    16  907.100 927.000
    03  905.800  925.700    10  906.500  926.400    17  907.200 927.100
    04  905.900  925.800    11  906.600  926.500    18  907.300 927.200
    05  906.000  925.900    12  906.700  926.600    19  907.400 927.300
    06  906.100  926.000    13  906.800  926.700    20  907.500 927.400
    07  906.200  926.100    14  906.900  926.800

    OTHER 900 MHZ CORDLESS PHONES
    AT&T #9120  - - - - - 902.0 - 905.0 & 925.0 - 928.0 MHz
    OTRON CORP. #CP-1000  902.1 - 903.9 & 926.1 - 927.9 MHz
    SAMSUNG #SP-R912- - - 903.0         &         927.0 MHz

29. What is Caller-ID?

This FAQ answer is stolen from Rockwell.

Calling Number Delivery (CND), better known as Caller ID, is a telephone service intended for residential and small business customers. It allows the called Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) to receive a calling party's directory number and the date and time of the call during the first 4 second silent interval in the ringing cycle.

## Parameters

The data signalling interface has the following characteristics:

    Link Type:                              2-wire, simplex
    Transmission Scheme:            Analog, phase-coherent FSK
    Logical 1 (mark)                        1200 +/- 12 Hz
    Logical 0 (space)                       2200 +/- 22 Hz
    Transmission Rate:                      1200 bps
    Transmission Level:                     13.5 +/- dBm into 900 ohm load

## Protocol

The protocol uses 8-bit data words (bytes), each bounded by a start bit and a stop bit. The CND message uses the Single Data Message format shown below.

    | Channel  |  Carrier  |  Message  |  Message  |  Data       | Checksum |
    | Seizure  |  Signal   |  Type     |  Length   |  Word(s)    | Word     |
    | Signal   |           |  Word     |  Word     |             |          |

## Channel Siezure Signal

The channel seizure is 30 continuous bytes of 55h (01010101) providing a detectable alternating function to the CPE (i.e. the modem data pump).

## Carrier Signal

The carrier signal consists of 130 +/- 25 mS of mark (1200 Hz) to condition the receiver for data.

## Message Type Word

The message type word indicates the service and capability associated with the data message. The message type word for CND is 04h (00000100).

## Message Length Word

The message length word specifies the total number of data words to follow.

## Data Words

The data words are encoded in ASCII and represent the following information:

- The first two words represent the month
- The next two words represent the day of the month
- The next two words represent the hour in local military time
- The next two words represent the minute after the hour
- The calling party's directory number is represented by the remaining words in the data word field

If the calling party's directory number is not available to the terminating central office, the data word field contains an ASCII "O". If the calling party invokes the privacy capability, the data word field contains an ASCII "P".

## Checksum Word

The Checksum Word contains the twos complement of the modulo 256 sum of the other words in the data message (i.e., message type, message length, and data words). The receiving equipment may calculate the modulo 256 sum of the received words and add this sum to the reveived checksum word. A result of zero generally indicates that the message was correctly received. Message retransmission is not supported.

## Example CNS Single Data Message

An example of a received CND message, beginning with the message type word, follows:

    04 12 30 39 33 30 31 32 32 34 36 30 39 35 35 35 31 32 31 32 51

    04h=  Calling number delivery information code (message type word)
    12h=  18 decimal; Number of data words (date,time, and directory
          number words)
    ASCII 30,39= 09; September
    ASCII 33,30= 30; 30th day
    ASCII 31,32= 12; 12:00 PM
    ASCII 32,34= 24; 24 minutes (i.e., 12:24 PM)
    ASCII 36,30,39,35,35,35,31,32,31,32= (609) 555-1212; calling
          party's directory number
    51h=  Checksum Word

## Data Access Arrangement (DAA) Requirements

To receive CND information, the modem monitors the phone line between the first and second ring bursts without causing the DAA to go off hook in the conventional sense, which would inhibit the transmission of CND by the local central office. A simple modification to an existing DAA circuit easily accomplishes the task.

## Modem Requirements

Although the data signalling interface parameters match those of a Bell 202 modem, the receiving CPE need not be a Bell 202 modem. A V.23 1200 bps modem receiver may be used to demodulate the Bell 202 signal. The ring indicate bit (RI) may be used on a modem to indicate when to monitor the phone line for CND information. After the RI bit sets, indicating the first ring burst, the host waits for the RI bit to reset. The host then configures the modem to monitor the phone line for CND information.

## Signalling

According to Bellcore specifications, CND signalling starts as early as 300 mS after the first ring burst and ends at least 475 mS before the second ring burst

## Applications

Once CND information is received the user may process the information in a number of ways.

1. The date, time, and calling party's directory number can be displayed.
2. Using a look-up table, the calling party's directory number can be correlated with his or her name and the name displayed.
3. CND information can also be used in additional ways such as for:
   1. Bulletin board applications
   2. Black-listing applications
   3. Keeping logs of system user calls, or
   4. Implementing a telemarketing data base

## References

For more information on Calling Number Delivery (CND), refer to Bellcore publications TR-TSY-000030 and TR-TSY-000031.

To obtain Bellcore documents contact:

    Bellcore Customer Service
    60 New England Avenue, Room 1B252
    Piscataway, NJ   08834-4196
    (908) 699-5800

30. How do I block Caller-ID?

Always test as much as possible before relying on any method of blocking Caller-ID. Some of these methods work in some areas, but not in others.

    Dial *67 before you dial the number.  (141 in the United Kingdom)
    Dial your local TelCo and have them add Caller-ID block to your line.
    Dial the 0 Operator and have him or her place the call for you.
    Dial the call using a pre-paid phone card.
    Dial through Security Consultants at (900)PREVENT for U.S. calls
         ($1.99/minute) or (900)STONEWALL for international calls ($3.99/minute).
    Dial from a pay phone.  :-)

31. What is a PBX?

A PBX is a Private Branch Exchange. A PBX is a small telephone switch owned by a company or organization. Let's say your company has a thousand employees. Without a PBX, you would need a thousand phone lines. However, only 10% of your employees are talking on the phone at one time. What if you had a computer that automatically found an outside line every time one of your employees picked up the telephone. With this type of system, you could get by with only paying for one hundred phone lines. This is a PBX.

32. What is a VMB?

A VMB is a Voice Mail Box. A VMB is a computer that acts as an answering machine for hundreds or thousands of users. Each user will have their own Voice Mail Box on the system. Each mail box will have a box number and a pass code.

Without a passcode, you will usually be able to leave messages to users on the VMB system. With a passcode, you can read messages and administer a mailbox. Often, mailboxes will exist that were created by default or are no longer used. These mailboxes may be taken over by guessing their passcode. Often the passcode will be the mailbox number or a common number such as 1234.

33. What are the ABCD tones for?

The ABCD tones are simply additional DTFM tones that may be used in any way the standard (0-9) tones are used. The ABCD tones are used in the U.S. military telephone network (AutoVon), in some Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) systems, for control messages in some PBX systems, and in some amateur radio auto-patches.

In the AutoVon network, special telephones are equipped with ABCD keys. The ABCD keys are defined as such:

    A - Flash
    B - Flash override priority
    C - Priority communication
    D - Priority override

Using a built-in maintenance mode of the Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) systems once used by Directory Assistance operators, you could connect two callers together.

The purpose of the Silver Box is to create the ABCD tones.

See also "What are the DTMF Frequencies?"

34. What are the International Direct Numbers?

The numbers are used so that you may connect to an operator from a foreign telephone network, without incurring long distance charges. These numbers may be useful in blue boxing, as many countries still have older switching equipment in use.

    Australia         (800)682-2878
    Austria           (800)624-0043
    Belgium           (800)472-0032
    Belize            (800)235-1154
    Bermuda           (800)232-2067
    Brazil            (800)344-1055
    British VI        (800)278-6585
    Cayman            (800)852-3653
    Chile             (800)552-0056
    China (Shanghai)  (800)532-4462
    Costa Rica        (800)252-5114
    Denmark           (800)762-0045
    El Salvador       (800)422-2425
    Finland           (800)232-0358
    France            (800)537-2623
    Germany           (800)292-0049
    Greece            (800)443-5527
    Guam              (800)367-4826
    HK                (800)992-2323
    Hungary           (800)352-9469
    Indonesia         (800)242-4757
    Ireland           (800)562-6262
    Italy             (800)543-7662
    Japan             (800)543-0051
    Korea             (800)822-8256
    Macau             (800)622-2821
    Malaysia          (800)772-7369
    Netherlands       (800)432-0031
    Norway            (800)292-0047
    New Zealand       (800)248-0064
    Panama            (800)872-6106
    Portugal          (800)822-2776
    Philippines       (800)336-7445
    Singapore         (800)822-6588
    Spain             (800)247-7246
    Sweden            (800)345-0046
    Taiwan            (800)626-0979
    Thailand          (800)342-0066
    Turkey            (800)828-2646
    UK                (800)445-5667
    Uruguay           (800)245-8411
    Yugoslavia        (800)367-9842 (Belgrade)
                           367-9841 (Zagreb)
    USA from outside  (800)874-4000  Ext. 107