TAP No. 35 - Bulletproof Vests, Parking Meter Locks

ODDS & ENDS by Tom Edison Happy Birthday TAP! Five years old on May 1, 1976. Since the last issue there has been only one new reader response to the TAP T shirt. Talk about mail trickling in! ‘The weather is starting to warm up and if you want to be “HIP TO YIP" this summer in your TAP T shirt NOW is the time to make yourself heard. If you think that I'm going to bust my balls and run all over N. Y.C. in the heat of the summer trying to find a T shirt manufacturer YOU'RE NUTS! June 30, 1976 is the deadline. If I don't receive a sufficient number of responses by then there will be NO TAP T shirts! A reader informed me that he is having trouble using his RED BOX, It seems that after he beeped in the right amount of beeps the operator came on the line and said that he was using a recording and that no money had been deposited. This is fast becoming an annoying occurance! To better understand this problem let me briefly review what happens when you use a pay phone. Your initial deposit of a dime or slug equivalent goes through the coin chute and eventually makes its way down into the coin hopper where it is held for later deposit or return. Just before it drops into the hopper it bits a plastic vane causing this vane to lower which then closes a Switch that completes the coin relay circuit. The important point to remember here is that a coin or slug MUST go into the coin hopper to close the relay circuit] ‘When you make a long distance call the operator comes on the line to tell you how much the initial deposit should be and she RETURNS YOUR DIME] This resets the coin relay * in the open position and removes the relay from the circuit. After you've made your RED BOX beeps, all the operator has to do to see if coins were deposited is to check the relay circuit for continuity. If you did deposit coins the relay will be closed but if you "boxed" the relay will be open. Since the power requirements for the relay are 50 volts DC at 41 ma all that is needed by Pa Bell to test if the relay is open or closed is a smaller test voltage and current. You phone operators who are into Women's Liberation, now is a very good time to revolt against Pa Bell! Let us know how Bell does test the coin relay circuits. Surely somewhere out there in our readership are wives, sisters, girlfriends, and lovers who either are or know phone operators. If you're paranoid you don't have to sign the letter, just send us the info. You'll be doing a hell of a lot more for Women's Lib than you even realizel Back to our RED BOX dilemma. As a possible solution may I suggest that the next time you use a pay phone, after the operator has returned your dime, redeposit a slug which will give the indication that coins are being deposited and then beep the balance with your RED BOX. Remember, the operator has _NO way to tell how many coins have actually been deposited, just that at least one coin has been deposited! And if some of you have a guilty conscience about using a slug to screw Pa Bell you may use a real dime. After all, 10¢ is a very reason- able price to talk to your friend in California from New York, don't you think? My reading recommendation for this month is F.P.S,, a” magazine of young people's liberation. F, P,S. which originally stood for Fuck Public School, has for its goals more rights for young people,a more humane restructured society, and an end to agism, racism and sexism. While originally it was an independent and underground newspaper service, it has developed into a refreshing commentary on the problems of today's youth. One of the services that they provide is CHIPS, the Cooperative Highschool Independent Press Service, which serves as a clearing house for news and information relating to today's youth. If you're publishing an underground news- paper or want to start one they have all kinds of helpful info including your legal rights! Subscriptions are $10/1 year, $18/2 years, $24/3 years & $6/1 year if you're under 18, " which seems like age discrimination to me. For more info write to: YOUTH LIBERATION, 2007 WASHTENAW AVE, , ANN ARBOR, MI. 48104 or use your RED BOX and call (813) 995-4575. t q TAP MAY 1976 NO. 35 John T, Draper, better known as Captain Crunch, has been busted for the second time in San Francisco. He's accused of fraud by wire for making three calls to Bethlehem, Pa. using a Blue Box. John was placed on 5 years probation and is now free on $5,000 bail, . The following off-hook currents were sent in since our last issue: Burtonsville, Md. 13 ma Queens, N, Y. 40 ma Westminster, Ca. 35 ma For you TAP readers who are into CB radio be advised that there are some unscrupulous individuals within the rank and file! The following interesting clip is from the N.Y. Daily News of April 22, 1976: Citizen Band Pays Off Cravtordaville, Ind, April sneda citizen band radio. call 21 (AP) — John Gunset, 18, for help, = : of Omaha, Neb, wa stranded the other on Interstate 74 near here walked across the road, pulled yesterday efter his car stalled. a knife and robbed Gunset of Police said that after be is- $54, Toronto, Ont. 49 ma I hate to end my column on a sour note but a couple of TAP readers were pissed about the last few issues. They didn't like the light social criticism or the plugs for books, maga- zines, and underground records that were mentioned. They felt that TAP should stick to technical things and leave the social commentary alone. If these critics want only technical articles, let ‘em sub to Popular Mechanix! I don't know where these vegetables live but today technology depends on social, political, and ecconomic conditions and anybody who doesn't recognize this is a fool! The S-1 Bill, the :pollution of our air and water by the greedy pig monopolies, and the unsafe nuclear power plants being built (including that new horror being built right off the coast of New Jersey) are just some of the very important issues that cry out for examination and we will continue to do sol So go ahead, stay in your room and play with your Blue Box and yourself, and one day, when the phone goes dead and the lights go out and you finally stick your head out the door to see just what the hell is going on, don't be surprised to find people lying on the ground dying from pollution and radiation or people being swooped up in mass arrests thanks to S-11 Remember, 1984 IS closer than you think! (Tom, I couldn't have said it better mysélf. Jim) . . And finally, to the critics who felt that Mr. Phelps came down too heavy in his article on how to write to the TAP office, I can only say that he didn't word it strong enough! If you can't write, print or type your own name and address legibly you don't deserve a subscription to TAP! We are all volunteers on the TAP staff and none of us are getting a damn dime for working. If you think you could do a better job just drag your ass up here! Our office-hours are posted in every issue. If you live far away, write us! Remember that.before the staff was increased it was sometimes 6 months between issues! We're averaging about an issue a month and the mail is getting answered almost as fast as it comes in so I don't feel that you've got too much to bitch about, do you? Youth Hot Line Reports, Inc. 1976 - Do not make checks out to Youth Hot Line Reports, PLEASE, Movement groups may reprint without permission with TAP's address given with all credits, Please send us a copy of reprinted work. Warning: We will prosecute copyright violators. ASK Mr. PHELPS Send in your questions and he will try to answer them. If you send a deposit to his bank account in Zurich, he will make an all-out, maximum effort. Q. Where can I get an effective bulletproof vest? A. Man, what kind of scene are you making? We can use you in the Advisable Missions Force. Drop by our office. ‘The industry prefers the term "soft body armor". All of these products use aramid plastic fiber, invented by DuPont, who calls it Kevlar, It is remarkably resistant to cutting and abrasion. Tire makers are also using it, but only in the tread, and only a couple of plies, so we don't have bul- letproof tires yet. The armor's thickness, effectiveness, and concealability varies with the models. Do not expect Con: Reports to test them, altho Soldier of Fortune magazine ($8/year from Arvada, CO 80001) features ads for it and may. Recently newspapers publicized the fact that our Beloved Appointed (non-elected) Leader was wearing armor. This told would-be assassins to concentrate on head shots. (Note to SS, or Secret Service as they're called in this country: this was first mentioned in the NY Times 28, 9.75, so don't accuse us of "encouraging" anyone to shoot at the head of Jerry the Puppet. All that would do is cut off one easily replaced tentacle of the Octopus, ) One manufacturer's slogan is; "If They See the Armor, They Shoot for the Head" So do not brag about wearing it. Your arms and legs also will still be vulnerable, and you could bleed to death from a "minor" wound, unless you wear an outfit which makes you look like an astronaut. Some manufacturers and distributors have restricted sale of the garments to Law Enforcement Personnel. Such efforts are foolish. Not only is a diamond "forever", so is the free market, If someone wishes to buy something, someone else will offer it for sale. This applies to ALL commodities, Attempts to stop them are never really successful. They are at worst an inconvenience. DuPont will undoubtedly offer the Kevlar piece goods on the open market. Indeed, if they try to restrict it, their employees will smuggle it out, and sell it for a nice profit. A new "cottage industry” will spring up. Enterprising seamstresses will buy it. Can't you just see it? "Mother's Home-sewn Body Armor" Even wearing armor, getting hit with a bullet is no joke. ‘The muzzle energy of a bullet is significant - the effect is like getting hit with a bowling ball, PACA states:"No claim is made regarding the prevention of injuries sustained from any blunt trauma arising out of the impact of the pro- jectile on the garment. The seriousness of such effects will vary depending upon a variety of factors, including the age, health and physical condition of the wearer." About a year ago, J. Capps and Sons of Reston, VA 2209) began publicizing their products, but are apparently no long- er in production. Too bad - they had an attractive line. Protective Apparel Corp. of America, 333 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 offers two vests. The heavier Model O weighs 4 pounds, is 15 plies, and will stop a .45 auto, 9mm Parabellum, and .357 Magnum. Price $159. Second Chance Body Armor claims to be Number 1 - that they have saved the lives of more American policemen (70) than all other body armor manufacturers combined. Whe- ther you think this is good or bad depends on where your head is at. They have quite a variety of models from 2 1/2 pounds up to their heaviest (non-concealable) model which weighs 10 kilos and will stop repeated hits from armor piercing military ammo, I am not including their address because they will ignore inquiries from non Law Enforce- ment Personnel, Soft body armor is reasonably priced GENUINE life insur- ance - unlike those worthless paper policies con artists try to sell you. Try stopping a bullet with a paper "piece of the Rock"! All it will do is make your beneficiaries wealthy - or make the insurance company even wealthier than it al- ready is, if it uses the inevitable fine print to welch. A VISIT FROM THE GESTAPO? No sooner had our issue 33 featuring the article on tax refusal gone to press, than the April Playboy appeared, urging boldly on the cover "Defy the IRS! A Revolutionary Movement Takes Root in America". I even went out and bought a copy, rather than wait for a sticky hand-me-down. Thad been inclined to appeal to people's rational self-interest as the justification for tax refusal, but after seeing this article, I'm inclined to use a different approach: "Tax Refusal is What's Happening and Where It's At, so Join the Crowd, Baby!" The same issue featured an interview with Governor Brown of California. Tho not a Libertarian, he appears to be the best, by far, of the bad lot who are pulling the strings of our society, A couple of weeks later, on March 24, one of our volun- teers came up about 6pm and reported that he'd seen a con- Spicuously inconspicuous dark sedan parked outside our office for a while. Two agent-types were sitting in it star- ing steadily up at our window. (They couldn't see anything at that angle) They drove off after a while and haven't been back, If they do return, I'll send Barney to bug them. This proves, incidentally, that at least one of our readers is a FINK! An INFORMER! I was talking to an Italian IRS supervisor the other day. He looked just like a Mafia enforcer and I joked about it. He admitted it was more fun and profitable to work for Big Brother, than to work for the Mafia and have Big Brother "T realized that anyone in this country, any time and in any way, can be attacked and vilified by a particular kind of bureaucracy that grows like a galloping cancer." That was Ingmar Bergman, announcing that he could no longer live in Sweden (and you thought things were bad here?) He said he bad been harassed and humiliated by "a bunch of prestige- seeking poker players" in the tax bureaucracy. These parasites demanded 139% of some of his earnings, so he split. The gov't will lose $1.2 million in taxes on foreign bookings made for his canceled film projects. Talk about killing the Goose! Mr. Bergman has lived all his life in Socialist Sweden and unfortimately has apparently been brainwashed. A sucker to the end, he announced he was leaving his fortune in Sweden at the disposal of the Tax Board, if he loses his suit, If he owes any further money, he intends to pay itl Why? For what? TAXATION IS THEFT! He should follow the advice of Harry Schultz Ph.D. (Phony Doctor), who is probably the world's sharpest investment advisor. "Everyone should have have three different countries; the country of his citizenship, the country he lives in, and the one he banks in." According to an unconfirmed report from a usually reliable source, IRS parasites in Wyoming no longer leave the city of Cheyanne, because 4, four, count 'em, FOUR agents have disappeared, mysteriously, without a trace. I don't see that it's mysterious at all, Wyoming is rough country and they were probably eaten by grizzly bears. It's only fair - they're parasites who live off productive people so now something's living off them.’ Wyoming, the first Liberated Zone! Readers of Atlas Shrugged probably expected Colorado would be first. Today, Wyoming; tomorrow, the US? FDR (ugh!) once said "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" sodont fear the IRS, FIGHT THEM! We had some more excitement in April. The building at 1241 Broadway was totally gutted by fire, The cloud had a Silver lining, however. An office of IT&T was among those destroyed, Someone speculated that an arsonist might have gotten the address wrong. Hmmm! We're at twelve-oh-one. And, by the way, our building is sprinklered, We've been looking for a logo for some time. Recently fellow walked in and showed us a couple he'd been working” on, Opinion was unanimous and we hope everyone likes it, because you'll be seeing it for a while. If anyone needs the services of a good artist, we highly recommend #3 GD His address {s i EES and his Social Security Number is #3 -0- Sam. MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE! We will start by playing a word association game. The word is: "Duncan" Perhaps you thought of Macbeth? Or the Duncan yoyo? If you're one of us, you thought of those ubiquitous sidewalk piggybanks which harass motorists. Inside these is wealth beyond your wildest dreams (if your wildest dreams are modest) and all you need are the keys. Let us follow a purely hypothetical miscreant on his purely hypothetical mission. Do you know that Gypsy recipe that begins "First you steal one chicken..."? Well, first he steals a meter. A 2" Ridgid pipe cutter is neces- sary. It can be bought for $30 with no questions asked and no ID is required. The typical perpetrator may prefer to steal one from a construction site. Do not try to econo- mize by getting a cheap tubing cutter. Replacing the rollers with extra cutters is optional. Meters should be selected with care. Just as some crops are best when harvested under certain moon signs, meters are ripest when harvested a day or two before the collector visits. One perpetrator chose a meter hidden behind a temporary construction shanty and all it contained was one #14 brass washer. As meters get stolen, replace- ments are fitted with an outer pipe to prevent use of a pipe cutter. In some neighborhoods, this is the only kind one finds. Noisy sledgehammering is necessary to drive the outer pipe into the ground if one is determined to get that particular meter. 3 to 5am is a good time. The meter is heavy - about 30lbs for the standard "Urban" model. The "Ghetto" model with the beefier top is heavier, and the "Jungle" model is even heavier. Two or three strong net shopping bags inside an opaque one should suffice. The pipe must be cut at least 2 1/2" below the meter to avoid the internal clamp. The door of the meter is 3/8" thick and the sides are 5/16" thick. Opening it is easy when one knows how. Drill- ing in | locations will expose 4 socket head screws. The bit may snap as it breaks thru. Anyone with access toa milling machine will find it easier to sink a 1/2" end mill in these locations. Remove the four screws and the door will come off. The inner can which holds the money is made of thin aluminum. Do not throw away the can when you are finished with it. Remember that aluminum is recy~ cleable. Remove the screws in the door, remove the lock, and Study it. It is an unusual design and making keys is rather difficult. Few locksmiths have the machine, and besides, each lock is stamped "RESTRICTED". Making keys re- quires an Iico Bell key machine or a small pantograph. The lock on the inner can has three pins per side and rather loose tolerances, It appears that ONE KEY will open all the.inner cans in the city! Now for the bad news: the OUTER locks are ALL differ- ent! It is believed that they were changed after the last major ripoff. Enterprising individuals acquired official- looking uniforms and carts and went into business for them- Selves. There is no such thing as a "master key” and the locks are so designed and so deeply buried in the door that they (probably) can't be picked. Now you know the reason for the title of this article. Anybody want to buy 100 feet of 3/32" x 1/4" rectangular brass bar key stock? Your mission. Observe the collectors in YOUR city. Perhaps they use the same key for all of the meters. It may even be an easily made tubular Ace-type key. Report your findings to us. Do not send meters or locks to us! Hh Cutaway end view of lock Wafers may be spring or gravity operated ‘THANKS to everyone who sent in info about CB-phone interfacing. We will be having an article about it shortly. WE WOULD LIKE INFO about Federal Agencies' radio frequencies - DEA, etc. A friend of mine who was quite impresséd with James Bond's Aston Martin with its revolving license plate has been sug- gesting that I rig something similar on my "Great Escape Machine" If anyone has designed anything like this, let us | know the details. Letters From Readers 3.76 THe Waite House (WASHINGTON DearTep, Enctosed is a 4 dollar check, | Could won please send me Courses A,B,C and D. Also the 3 Fallowinss, fact sheets, Displawgd Red Sox, 2600 whistle perfector, amd the Duattone, oscillator. Tama suloseriber so T have the corrections forthe Red Box Name withheld to protect the guilty Dear TAP, Switches: I've been building blue ones for quite some time now and always on the lookout for good cheap dpdt or dpst Switches. The Grayhill 35-1 is okay but has risen in price to about $1.75. There are also a number of cheap switches T've read about which are not small and don't fit well into a Small compartment.One is made by Cherry and can be bad for .70 surplus, I've never tried toggles but I guess that would be one solution (actually what we need is a touch- tone chip such as is available now for regular dialing frequencies. .. that'll be the day). Just finished the advanced blue box with the 555 chips- couldn't you also use the 556, which is a dual chip? Seems to work fine so far. You can hear a "different" sound than the one issued by unijunction types. But much simpler to build. Name withheld Editor's note: Good idea for dual 555's. However, you can't use a 556 for the 555 Red Boxes, as several readers have suggeSted. Only two separate 555's will work because the V+ pins of the two timers go to different points in the cir- cuit, and in a 556 the V+ pins of both timers are internally. tied together. And no, the circuit can't be modified to let the 556 work. Back Issues - Listed by feature articles 50¢ each, 40¢ each if complete set is ordered - Extensions, Conference Switches 7 - Tuning your organ, 3-slot ripoffs 8 ~ Credit card calls, 1972 code 9, 10, and 1 - Blackbox parts 1, 2, &3 12 - Blue Box plans 18 - Int'l calls & codes, Bluebox plans 14 - More codes, AT&T Papers, CA test #s 15 - 1973 Credit Card Code, T network 16 - Red Box plans 17 - Red Box, Line Relay, ‘Don't Get Busted" 18 - Outgoing long distance call stopper 19 - Snoop light, Taping Fortress tones 20 - Cheesebox (Conference line, or looparound) 21 - Automatic phone tap, Convention report 22 - Answeroo, "How we catch Red Boxers" 23 - Free electricity 24 - Fraud Detectors, Index, 1974 CC Code 25 - New Red Box, Free Gas 26 - New Bluebox, Con Ed key (also 23, 29) 27 ~ Free electricity, Bluebox correction 28 - Reading computer bills, loop suffixes 29 - Improved Bluebox & Snooplite, Int'l codes 80 - Party lines, Fortress éxtension & locks S1- Black box, RAO Credit Card Codes 32 - '76 CC Code, Improved Red Box 33 - Supermarket codes and ripofis, tax refusal 34 - SS #, Inside the Fortress, Fone Fucker ‘Spbterintions - 10 issues - US balk rate $4. ‘US First Class in plain sealed envelope $6. ‘Canada stapled $4 Foreign 7. Include mailing label or xerox copy when ‘writing to TAP about your subscrintion, Raoks - Monopoly $1.20 ‘Gourses - 504 cach A~Basic Electricity B- A.C, C~ Basic Phono Operation D- Amplifiers Send Only check or monay order (NO CASH) to ‘TAP, 162 W 42 Street, Room 64, New York 10038 ‘This is a mail drop only. Office: 1201 Brosdway, Room 808, New York 10001 Hours; Wednesday, 4~7pm. Published for informational Purposes only by Youth Hot Line Reports, Inc. Address all mail and checks to BULK RATE U. S. POSTAGE TAP, ROOM 504, 152 W.42 ST.,NY10036 PalD 35 @ Supermarket Cheating The nationally prominent magazine, The Atlantle Monthy, recently published on arte ‘ue, “Rip- Off ot the Supermarket.” March, 19! ‘The article was offensive March. lee industry that at least one food chain, Safeway Stores, banned the sale of the magazine on its premises. ‘The article.dealt heavily on supermarket practices that cheat or mislead customers, including false labeling of the weight of meat, prominent display of higher-profit foods, and other questionable mer- chandising practices, ‘The intarnational Teamster Penni No, 209 Great Neck, NY,