=[Relay Phreaking]=

By: brainth1ef
Wednesday 3/30/05 

Introduction:

This article deals with a thing called Relay, which is a system of
communication traditionally used by deaf people with a TTY / TDD machine. 
Captain_B already wrote a file about actual TTY / TDD phreaking, and it's
a good place to start if you're interested in this. Check out his article at
http://www.phreaksandgeeks.com/text/captain_b/tty.txt

Deaf people use the Relay service to make calls with their TTYs, which are 
electronic keyboards hooked up to a phone so that it send tones over the line
(like a modem) to other TTYs or to the relay service. These tones are then
translated into text by the machine or terminal. The Relay service can be 
reached by both the hearing and deaf by dialing 711 or an 800 number which
connects directly to a specific call center. 

How calls work:

The relay system works two ways. You can either call the service as a deaf
person to make outside calls to the hearing, or as a hearing individual to
contact a TTY. Typically it will go something like this:

(As a deaf person):

::Deaf person picks up receiver, dials 711, sets the receiver on the TTY
machine so that tones can travel into and out of the line from the machine.::

::Call center operator eventually responds with...::
HELLO THIS IS (STATE) OPERATOR 5555 WHAT NUMBER ARE YOU CALLING PLEASE Q GA

(In relay, only one person can be typing at a time, so to signify that one is
done speaking, one types "GA" at the end. Only do this when you are done
talking, not at the end of every sentence. Think of it like a walkie talkie.
Also, older TTYs do not have a "?" or "." key, so end regular sentences with
two spaces, and questions with a "Q".)

::Deaf person would now respond with something like...::
HELLO OPR PLS DIAL 555 555 5555  ASK FOR HAROLD GA

The operator would then dial the number and continue to type absolutely
everything they hear on the other line. A conversation is conducted this way
until the deaf person is ready to hang up, which they will signify by typing
"SK SK" at the end of their speech instead of "GA" (SK stands for "stop key").

The cool thing about relay is that none of the calls or telephone numbers are
EVER recorded, by law. All information obtained in calls is 100% confidential.
This makes Relay ideal for situations where you are worried about a telco,
the police, or anyone else listening in on your conversations. 

Using the Relay to make free calls:

The method outlined in Captain_B's article is now obsolete, as the Relay has
smartened up to people trying to take advantage of free telephone calls. An
operator can tell what type of phone you are dialing from by a code (ANI II)
that appears on their terminal. There are different codes for payphones, prison
phones, and emergency center phones. Payphones and prison phones can not be
billed. Also, an operator will disconnect the call if one end of the line
does not pick up with TTY tones. 

However, there is still a practical use for the Relay. Telco's have made a
stupid move by allowing you to use the Relay online with a computer. There
are numerous ways to do this. One is to go to Sprint Relay's website, at
www.sprintrelayonline.com and use their service. I believe ATT and MCI also
both have similar websites. Another way to do this is by using telnet to 
connect to MCI's relay service. To do this in Windows:

1) Click start, click run. Type "telnet" into the command line.
2) A new window will come up. Type "o wireless.ip-relay.com 2510" into the
window without the quotes. This will open a telnet connection to MCI's
wireless relay service at port 2510.
3) Conduct the relay call as detailed above.

Online and wireless Relay calls are treated the same as regular calls in
respect to confidentiality. In other words: your IP and conversation are not
logged!

You can place a call from anywhere in the world to anywhere inside the US
using this method. This is at no cost to anybody but the telco.


This concludes my article on Relay. Have phun making free calls at the expense
of Sprint, MCI, and ATT.


brainth1ef