AWalker@RED.RUTGERS.EDU (*Hobbit*) (11/25/86)
I forget exactly who makes them, but a local diner has implemented these non- AT&T pay phones. They look similar except that the insert cards are done in brown, the handset is black and extremely *heavy*, and the locks on the cash box are the "TuBar" type. I believe the manufacturer is Continental Comm or some such; probably something related to Northern Telecom. Anyway, you pick up the hanset and get a dialtone generated by the phone itself, and as you punch buttons a voice synth says "Two, Six, Seven, Four, ..." which takes an annoyingly long time over a sequence of many digits, but at least you *can* type ahead of the voice and let it buffer out. It then asks, with the same voice synth, for money. *No* ACTS hookup. Once money is inserted, or when completing a free call, a dialer unit inside picks up the real line, dials the sequence, and completes. It is possible to hear the dialing softly in the background; it is not doing anything funny like dialing an alternate carrier's switch and then a code and your number. It dials directly so this indicates that the line behind it is normal. It senses line voltage and resets when the line voltage drops to return dialtone, so simply waiting for it to time out won't bypass its internal billing mechanism. The most hilarious part is the ordinary modular jack located under the shelf it's mounted on. Obviously these things would never survive outside... Anyway, when you do the usual hack of dialing Directory or something and then yanking the plug underneath to return outside dial tone, it voices "Error 4" or some such at you. I'm willing to bet it has all kinds of nifty diagnostic modes you could put it into using the dial. _H*