We built a collection of Phreak Boxez that allOW userz To do amaZing tHingZ.  

Visitors to the gallery were asked to explore our collection of phreak boxes:

Amber Box-A moment in time held, suspended, captured forever.  Talk into the speaker of this box and your memories, observations or legal evidence is electronically etched directly onto the internal plate of the box.  More durable than magnetic tape, the Amber Box simply translates your words into a code that is burned onto metal.  Each plate is less than 1/32nd of an inch thick, so the plates are easy to store, too.  This device is ideal for people with exceptional secrets to hide.

Amethyst Box-When hacked to your computer dictionary and voice recognition software, this box will insert big words into your sentences as you speak.  You can impress your phriends with all the bon mots and keen repartee that flows from your lips.

Aqua Box-Keep the FBI off your back.  The Aqua Box drains the voltage from FBI lock-in-trace/trap-trace phone calls.

Ash Box-This box will capture your last words before you die.  (See Amber Box)  The difference is that the coding mechanism responds only to the voice as you approach death. Your phamily, phriends or lawyerz can keep the plate after you die.  Be a phreak 'til the end!

Azure Box-Put this box between you and whatever situation you find yourself in and things'll improve.  The horizon opens up, a path clears and if a solution isn't obvious, you'll at least think positive thoughts.  Not as dense or as powerful as the Sapphire Box, but it does provide most phreaks with a renewed sense of hope.

Beige Box-For maximum effectiveness, be neither seen nor heard.  Use the Beige Box to eavesdrop, for long-distance, static-free phone calls to phriends and for anything else you crave. Because youare not locatable, no one suspects the cause of the problem, so the Beige Box is extremely nasty.  With it you are an extension on the lineman's handset

Chalk Box-As in the Big Bad Wolf, this box changes your voice into something like Stallone, Schwarzenegger or Fabio.  Nobody will be able to place the accent this box adds to your voice.  European and mysterious, call your colleague and tell her (or him?) you've been watching...

Chartreuse Box-Use the electricity from your phone for some other purposes, like giving that homeless guy a plug for his hotplate.

Chrome Box-Allows you to manipulate traffic signals via remote control.

Chocolate Box-This actually looks like a box of chocolates, but when your loved one opens it, the circuitry in the box will say whatever you want to that special someone.

Clear Box-If a pay phone rudely cuts off your voice when you can't pay, the Clear Box 'clears up' the problem of not being heard. Your voice travels through the amplifier, out the induction coil and into the back of the receiver. Your voice is broadcast through the phone lines, the other party can hear and will respond as if nothing happened.

Crimson Box-Now, lift up the phone. If all you hear is an annoying buzz, then throw the switch and you should hear a dial tone. If not, don't worry. The Crimson Box is a simple device that will allow you to put someone on hold or to make your phone busy. You flip the switch and the person can't hear you talking.  Flip it back and everything is okay.

Cyclotron Box-Combine this box with one of those New Age relaxer rigs, you know, the kind with ocean surf or white noiyz. Pop in your best tape.  This is less a phreak and more a patch, which turns yourhippie relaxer into a serious psychedelic experience.  I once spent 28 hours getting with the Wu-Tang Clan.

Crystal Box-Like the crystal ball.  This box sits on your cable and sends all the right signals to your cable operator to unlock all the great movies you've been dying to see.  Do not use this on your own set, you lamer.  The cable guys will see it and nail you.  Use with Samaritan Box for best results.

Dark Box-Re-routes outgoing or incoming calls to another phone.

Dayglo Box-Allows you to connect to your neighbor's phone line, so you can start to know them a little better.

Deep Red Box-Use this little box to change your voice into that of a sultry female.  If you are a sultry female, sorry, you'll need the Chalk Box.  Fool all your phriends into thinking you have an older girlphriend, you've gone female or just make some extra money doing phone sex.

Flash Box-Build yourself a cute little 60,000-watt stun gun.  This baby is 300% stronger than what's on the market and costs no more than $8 and some change to make.  Be warned, each 9v battery only gives you one shot, so carry extras.

Gold Box-Connecting the Gold Box up to a payphone is a federal offence and is illegal to install on any phone. We recommend you contact your local police department before doing anything, hahahaha! 

Gum Box-Use this box to silence those pesky people around you.  This is a box with a mute button for RL. (Real Life)

Lamer Tamer Box-This is a great box to post on BBS's.  When a lamer builds this, he/she is really building a disposable stun gun.  Once finished, the directions tell the lamer to strap the device to his/her arm and press go.  Put another shrimp on the barbie.

Light Box-The Light Box is an AM transmitter, modified by radio pirates in Seattle who wanted to play their band's tape for phree.

Mauve Box-This box was found in a construction site.  Or rather, it found us at a construction site. We were using a $5 Radio Shack phone out of a semi-completed office building.  One afternoon after a storm, we found that one of the phone connections we were tapping had been draped through a murky puddle.  What surprised us was that the line still worked and now possessed some great capabilities. With the Mauve Box, red and green wires are placed into a magnetic field that is charged continuously by a lantern battery.  The magnetic field literally pulls in the nearest phone conversation. The phone transmits to one, or more, of the nearest phones.  When the switches are pulled, it's off your line and into the air, so no one can trace the device.  The box is named Mauve, because it is the most disgusting box, and mauve is the single most disgusting color we know of.

Motley Box-Rock n' Roll...this box boosts your voice to stadium amp level.  You can blast yer neighbors outta' the building.

Neon Box-A Neon Box is a simple adjustment to your phone, which will allow a very clear passage from your computer tones to your phone.  It also works great for recording tones, or anything else you want to record off your phone, like inane exchanges with bureaucrats for future reference.

Olive Box-The Olive Box is a relatively new box, which performs as a phone ringer. You have two choices for ringers, a piezoelectric transducer or a standard 8-ohm speaker.  The speaker has a more pleasant tone, but either is enjoyable to the ear.  With slight modification, it can be rigged to play your favorite tunez.

Opal Box-This box can pick up remote conversations by refracting fragmented sound waves.  It generates a series of tones that act as a sound barrier, bouncing the waves back into the receiving phone line.

Plaid Box-When you see a touch tone charge on your phone bill do you wonder why the phone company is charging you for touch tone when that's all they offer in your prefix? To get around this, you can use the Plaid Box, which switches the lines at your phone jack and then your line is off the touch tone circuit.  To use it, just plug it in between your phone and the wall socket.

Pearl Box-A tone generator.

Red Box-Got a friend in China you want to keep up with?  This classic beauty uses the 2600Hz tone to give you free pay phone access.  While you're at it, why not call your Mom?

Samaritan Box-This box taps your neighbor's cable.  Use four or five of them to really mess with the service crew and give yourself some extra time.

Sapphire Box-Use with a cellular phone for maximum benefit.  By emitting a low-frequency hum, the Sapphire Box elevates your mood, and can give you a lift throughout the day.  Small enough to attach to your cellular phone, no one will see it.  But you and those around you will suddenly feel and act better.  Think of the possibilities with your boss or for avoiding road rage on the freeway.  Works within a 200-yard range.

Scarlet Box-Easy to install, but irritatingly effective, the Scarlet Box produces a very bad connection.  It can crash a BBS or just make life miserable for those you seek to avenge.

Silver Box-To access a military network or to do strange things to operators, use the Silver Box.  If you do not know anything about electronics or phonez do not even try it!  It could ruin your phone permanently!

Tartan Box-What do Scots wear under their kilt?  This box has the answer, combine this box with any video camera and the resolution becomes so fine you actually see through what people are wearing.  Just imagine, real x-ray specs.  Do not use this at your family reunion, some knowledge is better left untapped-believe me.

Technicolor Box-Bright, vibrant, ecstatic, this box is bigger, vivid and more grandiose than real life. Saturated with tones that stretch your earz, use the Technicolor Box to enhance everyday callings. Electronic pulses magnify the intensity of your voice and the one at the other end.  Traversing the spectrum your auditory sense will expand to include sound waves not usually heard by the human head.

Ultra Green Box-This is a fabulous box.  Use it on bank customer service lines.  Have account with a fake ID and watch as your current balance moves up by $500 a call.

Urine Box-Create a capacitative disturbance between the ring and tip wires in another's telephone headset. Wicked.

Velvet Box-This box is guaranteed for sensual pleasure.  When you place your hand inside the box, acupressure point probes gently message your hand.  Tension is released throughout your whole body.  This box can be modified to accommodate your feet.  The schematic will tell you how to build a box that has strategic points that correspond to reflexology charts.  No more having to rely on sloppy-handed masseurs or ill-informed sex workers!

Violet Box-Keeps a caller from hanging up, by making your conversation more interesting.

Viridian Box-The transducer of this box, when attached to the phone voice box and any amplifier will allow you "speak to plants."  What it does is translate your voice to a sound wave that enhances plant growth up to 75%. Use with houseplants, at greenhouse breeding grounds or even take outdoors for maximum greening effect.

Water Box-This box connects two or more users in a chat circuit. Because the Water Box relies on wire, it's hard to tap this device; best when combined with the White Box, so you can have totally private conversations.

White Box-Creates loud static noiyz that drowns out all unwanted conversation around you.  Great device to jam bugz and other listening devices. (See Water Box)

Window Box-Want to know what your neighbor across the street is watching?  The FBI has the patent on this one.  Plug this into any TV-adjust the antenna and "voila"-your screen captures the picture of any CRT in its path.  This is also a great way to look at computer monitors.  I get all my investment tips from a local broker's terminal.

Medium:  display case, signage, box sculptures

Date:  1998

To read more about phreaking:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_phreaking