[VoIP] Questions about payphones (was Re: CAMA and UK billing)

[Mark Rudholm]

Mark Rudholm wrote:

> I think there are two tests, Coin Presence, and Initial Rate Deposit.
> Red boxing works with just one real nickel, so I think
> ACTS is just looking for Coin Presence, not Initial Rate Deposit.
> Red boxing doesn't work on local calls (that don't go through ACTS)
> so local calls would seem to be keyed off of a different test, the
> Initial Rate Deposit test.
> 
> I've been suffering from a bout of busyness and lack of documentation
> lately, so I need to do some reading on these things, but it's really
> not important, since if you set the Initial Rate (those DIP switch
> settings Phil mentioned) to 5 cents, the Initial Rate and Coin
> Presence tests stop mattering.  All you have to do at that point is
> listen for the coin tones, since setting the Initial Rate to 5
> cents causes the phone to send coin tone for *any* coin deposit
> (since it's impossible to deposit less than 5 cents)

FWIW, I just did some testing.  On a payphone with the Initial
Rate set to 20c, a deposit of less than 20c never sends coin
tones.

Unless...

you've dialed a non-local call and are interacting with ACTS.
In this case, any coin deposit causes the phone to send coin
tone down the line, whether it satisfies the Initial Rate
monetary amount or not.

So...

The CO must somehow be telling the payphone to send coin-tone on
any coin deposit, whether it meets the Initiate Rate amount or
not.

I tested this on inbound calls to the payphone, calls to 800
numbers, and just dialtone --in no case did the phone send
coin tones for anything less than Initial Rate except when
and after it was connected to ACTS.

Now, as I mentioned in my previous email, setting the Initial
Rate amount to 5c makes all of this irrelevant, since it means
any coin deposit satisfies Initial Rate and thus is signaled
via coin-tone, which is what I have in mind for my project.