Textfile for my new Phreak Box: The Auto-Hangup Box

[Skunkworks]

The first original phreak box in roughly a decade... by me! 


            /\  | | ¯|¯ /¯\    | |  /\  | | /¯\ | | |¯)  |¯) /¯\ \ /
           /__\ | |  |  | | == |-| /__\ |\| | _ | | |¯   |=  | |  X
           |  | \_/  |  \_/    | | |  | | | \_/ \_/ |    |_) \_/ / \

                                      BY

 SSSSS  K   K  U    U  N     N  K   K   W       W   OOOO   RRRR    K   K  SSSSS
 S      K  K   U    U  NN    N  K  K    W   W   W  O    O  R   R   K  K   S
 S      K K    U    U  N N   N  K K     W  W W  W  O    O  R   R   K K    S
 SSSSS  KK     U    U  N  N  N  KK      W  W W  W  O    O  RRRR    KK     SSSSS
     S  K K    U    U  N   N N  K K     W W   W W  O    O  R  R    K K        S
     S  K  K   U    U  N    NN  K  K    W W   W W  O    O  R   R   K  K       S
 SSSSS  K   K   UUUU   N     N  K   K    W     W    OOOO   R    R  K   K  SSSSS
================================================================================
====================AUTO-HANG-UP BOX BY SKUNKWORKS  10/10/09====================
================================================================================

=====================
=Purpose of this box=
=====================
When attached to a phone line, this box will automatically disconnect all in-
coming calls. It's a lot like busy box, except you can still place calls with
one on your line! There are two versions of the box, the first version is ideal
to automatically hang up on calls when no ringing phones are attached to the
line while the second one will work with ringing phones attached. This box is
perfect for when you want someone to think your phone line is having problems
when they call!

=======================
=Operation of this box=
=======================
Once hooked up to the phone line, the box will momentarily short the line
whenever the phone rings, tricking your central office into thinking the phone
has been picked up. As soon as the ring stops and the call attempts to connect,
the box stops shorting the line, dropping the call. All this goes on within a
couple tenths of a second! Your phones may "chirp" when a call comes in, but
the call should drop before the first ring has had a chance to complete. The
calling party will usually hear one very short ring followed by a reorder. This
box will interfere with receiving Caller ID, because the Caller ID signal is
sent between the first and second rings.

==========
=Legality=
==========
This box is perfectly legal! But you may want to check with your phone company
before using a gadget like this long term.

============
=Parts list=
============
1x Relay. Normally open, single pole, single throw. Should remain closed with
less then 80mA current across the control coil.
1x Diode. Rated for more than 250V, and more than 500mA. I used a 1N4007.
1x Electrolytic Capacitor. Rated for more than 250V, has more than 80uF (micro-
farads) of capacitance. Be careful with polarity to avoid blowing it up! I used
a 120uF capacitor, using one of significantly larger capacity will cause the
phone to ring for a while before it disconnects.
Half an RJ11 cord, you need something to attach your box to the line, right?

=================
=ASCII schematic=
=================
                ------------
         Diode  |  Relay   |
Ring ---->|------          |
            |   ) || O  /O |
           ___  ) || | /   |
 Capacitor ___  ) || | |   |
            |   ) || | |   |
 Tip ------------    | |   |
                |----| |---|

====================
=Construction steps=
====================
1. Take the half of an RJ11 cord and strip the red and green wires half an inch
or so on the end that doesn't have a jack.
2. Solder the lead of the diode that doesn't have a stripe on it to the stripped
red wire.
3. Solder the lead on the side of the capacitor that has a white stripe to the
green wire.
4. Solder the other leads of the diode and capacitor together.
5. Solder the two leads to the control coil to the two leads of the capacitor.
Polarity doesn't matter. You may have to run some wire between the capacitor and
the relay control leads.
6. Solder the load leads of the relay to the red and green wires on the RJ11
cord.
7. Test it out by calling your phone, you should hear a reorder when you try!

If it doesn't work, check that everything is wired up right. If the device takes
the line off hook, your phone jack might be wired up backwards, in which case
you should switch the red and green wires inside your phone jack!

Note: this device will frequently fail to disconnect calls when its place on the
same line line as other ringing phones. See the alternate version if your
interested in disconnecting calls when a phone with its ringer on is hooked up.

================================================================================
==========================ALTERNATE, NON-POLAR VERSION==========================
================================================================================
This version requires a bit more in the way of parts, but will function quite
well even with several phones with ringers hooked up.

============
=Parts list=
============
1x Relay. Normally open, single pole, single throw. Should remain closed with
less then 80mA current across the control coil.
4x Diode. Rated for more than 250V, and more than 500mA. I used a 1N4007.
1x Non-Polar Capacitor. Rated for at least 120VAC and has between 6 and 12 uF
(microfarads) of capacitance. Must be non-polar, not electrolytic! These are
frequently called Dielektrol Capacitors and are found in appliances with large
motors such as air conditioners, or at your local scrap yard for a buck or two.
Half an RJ11 cord, you need something to attach your box to the line, right?

=================
=ASCII schematic=
=================
            Capacitor
               ||
Ring or Tip----||--------------------
               ||  |  |             |
                   _  v Diodes      |
                   ^  ¯             |
                |--|  |--|          |
                |  v  _  | Relay    |
                |  ¯  ^  ) || O  /O |
                |  |  |  ) || | /   |
Tip or Ring -----------  ) || | |   |
             |  |        ) || | |   |
             |  ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯    | |---|
             ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Note that the wires directly above the first R in this sentence do not connect.

====================
=Construction steps=
====================
1. Take the half of an RJ11 cord and strip the red and green wires half an inch
or so on the end that doesn't have a jack.
2. Solder one lead of the capacitor to either the red or green wire.
3. Take two of the four diodes and solder together the leads on the sides with
the white stripe.
4. Solder together the leads on the sides without a white strip on the other two
diodes.
5. A bit of wire in between each pair of diodes you just soldered, solder this
wire onto the control lead of the relay.
6. Solder the free ends on both pairs of diodes together and then solder one
side of the four diode array to the free lead on the capacitor, and the other
to the free wire from the phone cord.
7. Solder the load leads of the relay to the red and green wires coming out of
the RJ11 cord.

================================================================================
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|    P   LLL A A    |        CACTUS CACUTUS CACTUS        |    P   LLL A A     |
================================================================================

[RTF]

You had me at the ASCII art banner.  Bravo!

[rbcp]

I feel I've been transported back to 1989!  You should submit it to UPL.

[scooter88]

Sounds like a fun project. If I had the time between college and work, I would actually try to build it.