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Hannibal Lecter's "cell" phone

Started by gpo706, November 22, 2010, 03:06:16 PM

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gpo706

In the original Lecter outing "Manhunter" he is passed a WE 2500 without any keypad into his cell to call someone, however he then unscrews a blank metal faceplate and uses his foil gum wrapper to short some terminals inside the set and gets an outside line.

How likely is this, especially as the set at the institution would be going through a switchboard or PBX, just Hollywood artistic license?

Mind you he is a very clever man Dr. Lecter...
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

Bill

It has always been possible to mimic a rotary dial by tapping the hookswitch up and down at about 10 taps per second. I did it a lot in college. The rotary dial system was pretty accommodating, so even if you couldn't manage ten taps per second, you could still do it.

In many places, dialing "9" would get you an outside line.

Was this what the dear doctor was doing? Not having seen the movie, I have no idea.

Bill

gpo706

The good doctor is in his cell at a maximum security asylum, the guard passes the blanked 2500 to him to make a call to his lawyer which is connected (AFAIR) through the switchboard, his call finishes then he unscrews the plate and gets access to the innards where he shorts a circuit and get a dialing tone for an outside line...

I think its fantasy!
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

jsowers

Back in the days of mechanical switching, I made a call like that. The doctor's office was RE1-2121 and we didn't have to dial the first two numbers if we were on the same prefix. So I dialed 1-2121 with the switchhook buttons and the receptionist answered and I scheduled my allergy shot. This had to be about 1976 or 77. I was just out of high school. The local heating oil distributor was RE1-2111 and I could have called them too. I wasn't adept enough to get the long numbers.
Jonathan

Adam

#4
Well... here's the clip on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAjSxdwwFbQ

You were right to pick up on this, gpo706, because to me, the clip seems completely technically incorrect.

In the clip, Lecter does not pulse a number, he shorts something to get a dial tone, then uses "social engineering" to talk an AT&T operator into dialing a number for him.

The only way you could get a dial tone by shorting something is if the phone is connected to a "ground start" line.  But we see that it is not, because originally he lifts the phone and the prison switchboard operator answers.

So, he should NOT be able to get a dial tone, outside line or otherwise, by doing what is shown.

Another small point: Is the paper that wraps chewing gum conductive?  I'd think tin-foil is conductive, but silver-looking-coated-paper?  I didn't think it was...
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

AE_Collector

#5
As long as your CO accepts dial pulse, you can still dial that way. It does exactly the same thing as a dial except a dial times the pulses perfectly for you where as you have to do it manually when using the switch hook to dial. 10 digit numbers and phone numbers that have other than 1's and 2's in them make it more of a challenge!

As for tinfoil and shorting things out to get past the pbx operator....I don't think so!

Terry

Adam

Yes, but in the clip, he's not pulsing, he's shorting something.  You can't pulse on a phone line by shorting (connecting together) anything in a phone.  You'd have to remove a wire and then, while mostly holding it on, remove it rhythmically in the cadence of the pulses.  In the clip, he does nothing like that.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

gpo706

masstel, you're a star digging up the clip and the screengrab!
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

Adam

Thanks.  [blush]

I tell you, the internet is truly magical.  I have found copies of things on the internet that I remember from my childhood that I never imagined in a million years I'd be able to experience again.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

AE_Collector

#9
Quote from: masstel on November 22, 2010, 05:23:25 PM
Yes, but in the clip, he's not pulsing, he's shorting something.  You can't pulse on a phone line by shorting (connecting together) anything in a phone.  You'd have to remove a wire and then, while mostly holding it on, remove it rhythmically in the cadence of the pulses.  In the clip, he does nothing like that.

Sorry Dave, my reply was to jsowers who commented just before you posted the picture. I have redone my post, (below) now hopefully in context!

Terry

Quote from: jsowers on November 22, 2010, 04:29:13 PM
Back in the days of mechanical switching, I made a call like that. The doctor's office was RE1-2121 and we didn't have to dial the first two numbers if we were on the same prefix. So I dialed 1-2121 with the switchhook buttons and the receptionist answered and I scheduled my allergy shot. This had to be about 1976 or 77. I was just out of high school. The local heating oil distributor was RE1-2111 and I could have called them too. I wasn't adept enough to get the long numbers.

As long as your CO accepts dial pulse, you can still dial that way. It does exactly the same thing as a dial except a dial times the pulses perfectly for you where as you have to do it manually when using the switch hook to dial. 10 digit numbers and phone numbers that have other than 1's and 2's in them make it more of a challenge!

As for tinfoil and shorting things out to get past the pbx operator....I don't think so!

Terry

bingster

I agree that this seems impossible, but generally, gum wrappers are indeed conductive.  In some radios, the same material is wrapped around cardboard cylinders, which are used as tube shields.
= DARRIN =



Bill

Did you ever get a piece of gum foil on the silver fillings in your teeth? Oh, yes, it is conductive! It hurts!

Bill

Adam

OK.  Live and learn about the gum wrappers.  Thanks.

Rest of movie clip still wrong, though.   :D
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820