DnA 5-5: Big Fun with COCOTs
First, two questions probably spring to mind after reading the title. What or Who is COCOT, and why in the hell is it big fun?? Well, a COCOT is a payphone. Not just any old payphone, but a payphone that screams "Call Timbuktu for FREE FREE FREEEEE!!!". COCOT stands for Customer-Owned Coin-Operated Telephone and, logically is owned by a customer of the phone company. Anyone who pays for a phone line from the Telco is a customer. So, when it all comes down to it, a COCOT is a payphone owned by an average joe schmuck, hooked up to an ordinary residental type phone line, and also it will probably (i'm not 100% sure this will always be true) say COCOT somewhere on the labels on the phone.
Ok, you now know that a COCOT is basically a normal phone, on a normal phone line. If you've ever tried to Red Box (emulate the tone a payphone makes when you deposit money into it) a COCOT, you will find that it doesn't work. It doesn't work because of two reasons.
- The dialtone you hear when you pick up the handset for a COCOT is NOT a REAL dialtone. The dialtone you hear when you first pick up the handset is generated by the phone. All protection to keep you from getting to a REAL (unrestricted) dialtone lies solely on the COCOT.
- If it WAS a real dialtone when you first picked up the handset, what would be the purpose in Red Boxing it? It's hooked up to a NORMAL phone line. You could just use your tone dialer to call anywhere you wanted.
It's the same as trying to Red Box on your home phone. What purpose could it possibly serve except to notify the Telco of your intentions? You now know that Red Boxing a COCOT is a dead end, so what are your other options for making free calls on it?
- 800 numbers should ALWAYS be free.
- 1-411 will probably be free also.
A 1-800 phone directory can come in handy, but is NOT needed. Also, you MIGHT need a tone dialer, depending on how advanced/phreaker aware your targeted COCOT is. Here's how it's done. You step up to the phone, dial a free phone number (i.e. 1-800, or 1-411), and come up with some bullshit to get the dialed number to hang up. For example, you dial "Pimp's 'R' Us" at 1-800-MUCH-FUN, and when they answer, you say "OH! I'm sorry, I must have the wrong number", and cover the mouthpiece with your hand or something so they will think you have hungup. They will then hangup, and if you are on a dumb COCOT, you will have an unrestricted dialtone within seconds, and be able to call whoever/whereever you want via the keypad on the phone. It's very rare that you run across COCOT's that will let you dial on the keypad, but if you do, remember the company that sells/made the phone. If you received an unrestriced dial tone, but can't dial out on the keypad, or disables the 1 (to prevent long distance calling) on the keypad, this is where the tone dialer comes in. Just dial it through the tone dialer. However, if you were so unfortunate as to get a dialtone for approximately one second, but then it cut off, you might try holding the tone dialer up to the mouthpiece right before it is supposed to give you the unrestricted, and holding down the first number of the phone number you want to call for a few seconds. Basically what that does is try to beat the COCOT to the dialtone, by dialing the first number before the COCOT detects the dialtone. The worst is when it cuts off the mouthpiece and the keypad. I have yet to find a way to get around that type. If you know of a way, or something i missed, or didn't explain clearly or had something just plain WRONG, then drop me a line at my internet address.
Doc Hench (Doktor Henchman) - Hench@anon.penet.fi
Sysop of Binary Degeneration - 615.228.9698
Typed up on 9/10/93
(Note: This was typed up fairly early in the morning, so if i'm not making much sense in the above paragraphs, my apologies)
