bluebox

bluebox · sources · schema v1

DTMF dialer with phreaker buttons. 12-key phone keypad — digits 0-9 emit the Bell-System dual-tone pair (row + col, e.g. "5" → 770 Hz + 1336 Hz); BLUEBOX emits a single 2600 Hz sine (the AT&T in-band supervisory tone that 1970s phreakers used to seize long-distance trunks); REDBOX emits 1700 + 2200 Hz summed (the US payphone coin-acceptance pair). Each key is push-to-talk — pointerdown on the card OR a gate cable into the matching gate_<name> input holds the key down. Multiple held keys sum, and shared frequencies (e.g. "1" and "4" both pull col=1209) collapse onto a single shared phase accumulator so simultaneous presses produce a louder tone, not a flam. No envelope or musical AD — bare on/off sines with a ~1 ms anti-click ramp at the boundary.

A DTMF telephone dialer with two phone-phreaking buttons. BLUEBOX is a 12-key touch-tone pad — digits 0–9 plus BLUEBOX and REDBOX — where every key is a press-and-hold tone source with no envelope: hold it down and its tone(s) sound, release and they stop (a ~1 ms ramp at each edge kills the click). Each digit emits the standard Bell-System dual tone (a row frequency 697/770/852/941 Hz plus a column frequency 1209/1336/1477 Hz); BLUEBOX emits a single 2600 Hz supervisory sine (the classic trunk-seizing tone) and REDBOX emits the 1700 + 2200 Hz payphone coin pair. You can hold a key with the mouse OR by patching a gate cable into its gate input — the worklet ORs the two so either drives it. Held keys sum into one mono output, and keys that share a frequency (e.g. 1 and 4 both use 1209 Hz) collapse onto a single shared oscillator so they reinforce instead of beating.

the faceplate

12 inputs · 1 outputs · 12 params

about this module

Hover a control, or open the patch panel and hover a jack.

inputs

id	cable	what it does
`gate_1`	gate	Hold gate for digit 1: while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (697 Hz + 1209 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "1" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_2`	gate	Hold gate for digit 2 (keypad letters ABC): while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (697 Hz + 1336 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "2" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_3`	gate	Hold gate for digit 3 (keypad letters DEF): while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (697 Hz + 1477 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "3" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_4`	gate	Hold gate for digit 4 (keypad letters GHI): while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (770 Hz + 1209 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "4" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_5`	gate	Hold gate for digit 5 (keypad letters JKL): while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (770 Hz + 1336 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "5" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_6`	gate	Hold gate for digit 6 (keypad letters MNO): while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (770 Hz + 1477 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "6" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_7`	gate	Hold gate for digit 7 (keypad letters PQRS): while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (852 Hz + 1209 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "7" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_8`	gate	Hold gate for digit 8 (keypad letters TUV): while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (852 Hz + 1336 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "8" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_9`	gate	Hold gate for digit 9 (keypad letters WXYZ): while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (852 Hz + 1477 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "9" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_0`	gate	Hold gate for digit 0: while the level is high this digit's Bell dual tone (941 Hz + 1336 Hz) plays, stopping on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card "0" key — either path holds it down. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). Keys that share a frequency collapse onto one phase accumulator inside the worklet, so two simultaneous presses of frequency-sharing digits make a single louder tone rather than two beating oscillators. gate / trigger
`gate_bluebox`	gate	Hold gate for the BLUEBOX key: while the level is high the single 2600 Hz supervisory sine plays, and it stops on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card BLUEBOX button — either source can hold the tone open. Level-sensitive, not edge-triggered (there is no envelope; the worklet just adds a ~1 ms anti-click ramp at each boundary). gate / trigger
`gate_redbox`	gate	Hold gate for the REDBOX key: while the level is high the 1700 Hz + 2200 Hz coin-tone pair plays and it stops on the falling edge. ORs with the on-card REDBOX button. Level-sensitive (no envelope; ~1 ms anti-click ramp only). gate / trigger

outputs

id	cable	what it does
`out`	audio	Mono sum of every currently-held key. With nothing held it is silent; each held digit/phreaker key adds its tone(s) (frequency-sharing keys reinforce on a shared oscillator rather than detuning against each other). Patch it into a mixer, an effect, or straight to the output. audio signal

params

id	label	range	curve
`btn_1`	1	0..1	linear
`btn_2`	2	0..1	linear
`btn_3`	3	0..1	linear
`btn_4`	4	0..1	linear
`btn_5`	5	0..1	linear
`btn_6`	6	0..1	linear
`btn_7`	7	0..1	linear
`btn_8`	8	0..1	linear
`btn_9`	9	0..1	linear
`btn_0`	0	0..1	linear
`btn_bluebox`	BLUEBOX	0..1	linear
`btn_redbox`	REDBOX	0..1	linear

controls

control	what it does
0	Digit 0 (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (941 Hz + 1336 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
1	Digit 1 (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (697 Hz + 1209 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
2	Digit 2 (keypad letters ABC) (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (697 Hz + 1336 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
3	Digit 3 (keypad letters DEF) (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (697 Hz + 1477 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
4	Digit 4 (keypad letters GHI) (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (770 Hz + 1209 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
5	Digit 5 (keypad letters JKL) (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (770 Hz + 1336 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
6	Digit 6 (keypad letters MNO) (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (770 Hz + 1477 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
7	Digit 7 (keypad letters PQRS) (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (852 Hz + 1209 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
8	Digit 8 (keypad letters TUV) (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (852 Hz + 1336 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
9	Digit 9 (keypad letters WXYZ) (held = 1, released = 0): plays the Bell-System dual tone for this keypad position (852 Hz + 1477 Hz). Held by the on-card key or by a gate into the matching gate input; multiple held keys sum into the single mono OUT.
BLUEBOX	The BLUEBOX key (held = 1, released = 0): plays a single 2600 Hz sine — the in-band supervisory tone AT&T used on long-distance trunks, the basis of the 1970s blue-box phreaking lineage. Held by the on-card button or by a gate patched into BLUEBOX in; multiple held keys sum.
REDBOX	The REDBOX key (held = 1, released = 0): plays 1700 Hz + 2200 Hz together — the US payphone coin-acceptance tone pair. Held by the on-card button or by a gate patched into REDBOX in; sums with any other held keys.

source

bluebox.ts on GitHub.