[nahmean]

At one point it was. You could even record the sound on a handheld recorder and play it back. But it hasn’t worked in a long while. Pay phones mitigated this in a low tech way - by software muting the handset.

Edit: oh yeah, and after that, you’d just call the operator and tell them the keys were sticky and to dial the number for you, then you’d “insert the coins” by playing the tones.

Well, or you just third party billed the call to someone you didn’t know. That worked too.

[Slartie]

> Pay phones mitigated this in a low tech way - by software muting the handset.

So does this mean that there was a dedicated second microphone hidden somewhere within the payphone body, that would continue to record the sound the coins made?

[genewitch]

The coins weren't recorded, it was just a short tone that indicated 5¢. A quarter was five quick tones. A dime two.

I used to mess with the proctor test set (dialing 117 in the US at least on GTE) and only ever convinced it I inserted a nickel even with many tries using a digital recorder or a computer speaker.

[baobrien]

In early 3-slot North American payphones, there literally was a bell that the coins struck and a transducer inside the payphone body.

[kfrzcode]

"bobwehadthebabyitsaboy"

[jjulius]

Oh hey, nostalgia.

[jamal-kumar]

After this mitigation was put into place enterprising phreaks would take a lighter to the microphone part of the handset, twist it open, cut the yellow wire, and redbox away.