HI AGAIN...... I NOTICED A WHILE BACK SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT GETTING FREE TIME ON TELEPHONE CARDS BY USING NAIL VARNISH. THIS WAS DISMISSED BY MOST PEOPLE BUT IT GOT ME THINKING. AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THE PHONE CARD TRACK IS READ BY A LASER. AS THE CREDITS ARE USED UP, A SECTION OF THE TRACK IS "PUNCHED" TO RENDER IT VOID. IF YOU LOOK VERY CLOSELY AND WIGGLE THE CARD BACK AND FORWARDS YOU CAN SEE THE MARKS LEFT BY THIS PROCESS. NOW, IF THE NAIL VARNISH WERE OF A CLEAR TYPE, RATHER THAN COLOURED, OR IF SOME ALTERNATE, SIMILAR SUBSTANCE WAS PAINTED ONTO THE TRACK (MODELLERS VARNISH, PERHAPS?), THEN, ALTHOUGH THE LASER COULD STILL READ THROUGH IT MAYBE THE VARNISH WOULD PREVENT THE "PUNCHER" FROM MAKING CONTACT WITH THE TRACK AND "ERASING" IT. WHAT DO YOU RECKON? TESTS USING NAIL VARNISH AND NAIL VARNISH HARDNER HAVEN'T WORKED AS, ALTHOUGH THE VARNISHES DID LESSEN THE PUNCHING EFFECT, THEY DID NOT OFFER ENOUGH RESISTANCE TO STOP IT COMPLETELY. I AM NOT SURE IF THE ERASURE EFFECT IS CAUSED BY PHYSICAL DAMAGE, SO TO SPEAK, OR BY AN ELECTRONIC PULSE FROM THE PUNCH HEAD. IN EITHER CASE, IF A WAY CAN BE FOUND TO KEEP THE PUNCH FROM CONTACTING THE CARD TRACK WHILST STILL ALLOWING THE TRACK TO BE READ THE PROBLEM IS SOLVED. THE CARD IS A VERY TIGHT FIT IN THE SLOT SO A PIECE OF PLASTIC THICK ENOUGH TO RESIST THE PUNCH WILL STOP THE CARD BEING INSERTED. MAYBE A CARD COULD BE SLICED OR SANDED DOWN. MAYBE THE TRACK SECTION CAN BE SURGICALLY REMOVED AND ATTACHED TO A THIN BUT RIGID TRANSPARENT PLASTIC PIECE. MAYBE...! I'LL GET BACK TO YOU WITH DEVELOPMENTS AS AND WHEN. IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS, OR IF YOU ARE MESSING WITH THE SAME IDEAS, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH. REGARDS, JACK PLUG AND HIS FRIEND PS. Downloaded From P-80 Systems 304-744-2253 * Since Halloween 1980 *