Red box facts for kids
A red box was a special device used in the 20th century. It helped people make phone calls from payphones without paying. This device worked by playing sounds that tricked the phone company's system. It made the system think that coins had been dropped into the payphone.
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What Was a Payphone?
Before almost everyone had a cell phone, people used payphones to make calls when they were away from home. A payphone was a public telephone. You usually found them in places like stores, parks, or on street corners. To use a payphone, you had to put coins into it. The amount of money depended on how far away the person you were calling was.
How Payphones Worked
When you put coins into a payphone, the phone system would hear special sounds. These sounds told the system that you had paid. Once the system heard enough of these sounds, it would let your call go through. Different coins made different sounds. For example, a quarter made a different sound than a dime.
How a Red Box Worked
A red box was designed to copy these special sounds. It was a small electronic device. When someone wanted to make a free call, they would hold the red box up to the payphone's microphone. Then, they would press a button on the red box. The box would play the sounds of coins dropping into the phone.
Tricking the System
The phone company's equipment would "hear" these fake coin sounds. It would then think that the person had paid for the call. This allowed the person to make a call without actually putting any real money into the payphone. It was like a trick to get free phone service.
Why Were Red Boxes Used?
People used red boxes mainly to avoid paying for phone calls. In the past, long-distance calls could be quite expensive. Using a red box was a way for some people to talk to friends or family far away without spending money. However, using these devices was against the rules of the phone company.
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