133 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
133 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
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CABLE TV PIRATING
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PART 1
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7/28/85
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COMPOSED BY:
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LOGIC GOD
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FORMATTED IN 40 COLS. ON AN APPLE II+.
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****************************************
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TODAY I WILL COVER THE MOST COMMONLY USED METHOD OF CABLE SCRAMBLING, THAT OF
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INBAND GATED SYNC. FOR THE MORE COMATOSE OF YOU, I WILL NOW PRESENT A BRIEF
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DIS- CRIPTION OF HOW IT WORKS AND WHY IT IS SO COMMONLY USED.
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THE SIMPLEST FIRST: IT IS OFTEN USED BECAUSE THE BOXES ARE SO DAMN CHEAP.
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THE GATED SYNC UNSCRAMBLERS DO NOT EVEN REQUIRE A TUNER, THE WHOLE PROCESS IS
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DONE SEMI-PASSIVELY AND REQUIRES NO INTERNAL CONNECTIONS TO THE TV. HENCE, AN
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EASY WAY OUT FOR THE CABLE COMPANIES WHO INSULT YOU BY THINKING ALL ITS SUB-
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SCRIBERS ARE AVERAGE DOLTS, NOT REQU- IRING THIER ATTENTION. (HMM...MA BELL
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MUST HAVE THOUGHT THAT WAY ONCE <KOFF KOFF> CHUCKLE...)
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THE BASIC WORKINGS OF THE GATED SYNC ARE AS FOLLOWS: FIRST, I MUST DEFINE A
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SYNC PULSE. IT IS A PART OF THE TV'S VIDEO SIGNAL WHICH LINES THE SIGNAL UP,
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CAUSING IT TO COME OUT ALL NICE AND NEAT SO YOU SEE A GOOD PICTURE. WHAT GATED
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SYNC DOES IS TO REMOVE THAT PORTION OF THE SIGNAL, AND TRANSMIT IT ON A
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SUBCARRIER WITH THE REST OF THE SIGNAL. THIS RESULTS IN THE SCRAMBLED MESS YOU
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SEE WHEN YOU DESPER- ATE ONES TRY TO WATCH THE PLAYBOY CHAN- NEL AND YOUR
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PARENTS HAVEN'T SUBSCRIBED TO IT. NOW, KEEP IN MIND, THE SYNC PORTION OF THE
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SIGNAL IS NOT DISTORTED AT ALL, BUT MERELY TRANSMITTED ON A SLIGHTLY DIVERTED
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FREQUENCY. THUS, IT REMAINS IN TIME WITH THE REST OF THE SIGNAL, AND NEEDS ONLY
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TO BE RECOMBINED WITH THE REST OF THE SIGNAL. THIS IS MUCH SIMPLER THAN IT MAY
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SEEM. ALL THE CIRCUIT MUST BE ABLE TO DO IS TO RECIEVE THE SYNC PULSES, AND
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RETRANSMIT THEM ON THE ORIGINAL FREQU- ENCY, WHERE THEY WILL BE LINED UP PRO-
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PERLY. "BUT" YOU MAY SAY, "ISNT THAT RATHER DIFFIULT?" NOT AT ALL, MY FRIENDS.
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THINK OF YOUR VIDEO MODULATOR: IT MUST TRANSMIT THE ENTIRE SIGNAL, AND IT IS
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ONLY ABOUT 2"*1"*1". THE RECIEVING IS SIMPLE: THE RECIEVER DOESN'T NEED TO BE
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ABLE TO CHANGE CHANNELS-THE CABLE COMPANIES NEED ONLY HAVE THIER UNSCRAM- BLERS
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SET FOR THE CHANNEL THE BOX RECIEVES ON, BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY ONE IT WILL BE
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NECESSARY TO UNSCRAMBLE. WILL BE USING.
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HOW TO FIGURE OUT IF YOU HAVE GATED SYNC
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----------------------------------------
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SCRAMBLING:
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-----------
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THIS METHOD OF SCRAMBLING IS CHARACTER- IZED BY CORRECT SOUND, AND A PICTURE
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THAT IS ALLLLMOOOOST NORMAL, IF YOU COULD JUST GET THE VERTICAL HOLD TO WORK A
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LITTLE MORE. IF YOU WANT TO BE 100% SURE, CALL UP YOUR CABLE CO'S CUSTOMER HELP
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LINE AND ASK. I KNOW THIS SOUNDS RIDICULOUS, BUT I CALLED CENTURY CABLE IN
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CALIF. FOR THE POPE, AND IT WORKED FOR ME. JUST PLAY IT COOL AND SAY "WHAT
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KIND OF SCRAMBLING METHOD ARE YOU USING?" AND I THEY SHOULD GIVE IT TO YOU.
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INCIDENTALLY, CENTURY CABLE DOES USE GATED SYNC, FOR ANYONE IN CALIFORNIA WHO
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HAPPENS TO READ THIS.
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PLACES TO GET GATED SYNC UNITS:
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-------------------------------
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WELL, THE BEST PLACE TO LOOK IS IN THE BACK OF ELECTRONICS MAGAZINES- NOT THE
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IDIOT ONES LIKE POPULAR ELEC- TRONICS (DOES IT EVEN STILL EXIST?) BUT THE
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DEDICATED ELECTRONICS ONES- LIKE RADIO-ELECTRONICS (BEST) OR 73, THE AMATEUR
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RADIO TECHNICAL JOURNAL.
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HERE IS AN ADDRESS WHICH I GOT OUT OF RADIO ELECTRONICS, AUGUST 1985, P.110:
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GATED SYNC: KIT FORM, ALL PARTS, INSTRUCTIONS, VERY GOOD, $39. WRITE TO:
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J&W ELECTRONICS, INC. P.O. BOX 800 MANSFIELD, MA. 02048 FONE: 1 800 227 8529
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(ORDERS) 617 339 5372 (TECH. INFO)
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***************************************
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LOOK FOR PART II SOON,
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COVERING OVER-THE-AIR PAY
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TV.
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LATER ON,
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LOGIC GOD.
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CALL THE BROADWAY SHOW: 718 615 0580
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K.A.O.S.: 215 465 3593
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---==>>HAVE FUN!<<==--
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***************************************
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PIRATING CABLE TV
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PART 2
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COMPOSED BY:
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LOGIC GOD
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FORMATTED IN 40 COLS. ON AN APPLE II+.
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***************************************
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TODAY WE WILL DISCUSS OVER THE AIR PAY TV SCRAMBLING. THIS IS USED WIDELY IN
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MANY AREAS WITHOUT CABLE, AND ALL OF THE SYSTEMS IN USE USE ESSENTIALY THE SAME
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SYSTEM, THAT OF SSAVI SCRAMBLING.
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DISCUSSION OF SSAVI SCRAMBLING: SSAVI STANDS FOR SUPPRESSED SYNC, AUDIO VIDEO
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INVERSION. THIS METHOD OF ENCODING VIDEO TRANSMISSIONS WAS DEVEL- OPED BY THE
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ZENITH RADIO CORPORATION, WHO MANUFACTURES THE VAST MAJORITY OF LEGAL
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UNSCRAMBLERS USED TODAY WITH THIS METHOD. SUFFICE TO SAY, SSAVI IS THE ANTI
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CHRIST OF CABLE PIRATES. THE SYSTEM IN- VOLVES SEVERAL LESS SOPHISTICATED METH-
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ODS COMBINED TO PRODUCE A SEVERELY SCR- AMBLED SIGNAL WHICH IS VERY DIFFICULT TO
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DECODE WITHOUT THE PROPER HARDWARE. (IE, A REAL BOX.) IT IS ILLUSTRAED BY THE
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NAME: SUPPRESSED SYNC: THIS IS THE METHOD DIS- CUSSED IN PART 1 OF THIS
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SERIES, ONLY WORSE. THE SYNC PORTION OF THE SIGNAL IS NOT TRANSMITTED ON AN
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AUDIO SUBCAR- RIER, BUT IN LINES 1-14 OF THE PICTURE INFORMATION WHICH ARE NOT
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SEEN ON THE SCREEN. HENCE, THE BOX MUST BE ABLE TO ISOLATE THE FIRST 14 LINES
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OF VIDEO AND EXTRACT THE INFORMATION FROM THEM. AUDIO: THE AUDIO IS
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TRANSMITTED ON A SUBCARRIER IN A SIMILAR FASHION AS THE SYNC PULSES IN PART 1.
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IF YOU WILL REMEMBER, THE AUDIO WAS NORMAL IN THE SUPPRESSED SYNC METHOD. VIDEO
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INVERSION: THE VIDEO SIGNAL IS RANDOMLY INVERTED AT THE SCRAMBLING STAGE,
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RESULTING IN A NEGATIVE PICTURE WHEN THE SIGNAL IS INVERTED. (YES, LIKE A
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CAMERA NEGATIVE.) THE INDICATOR FOR
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WETHER THE UPCOMING FRAME OF VIDEO WILL BE INVERTED IS ALSO SENT IN THE FIRST
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14 LINES OF VIDEO, ALLOWING THE BOX TO BEGIN INVERTING THE SIGNAL BEF- ORE YOU
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SEE IT.
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ALL OF THESE LITTLE BITS OF EVILNESS EXIST INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER. THE
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SIGNAL MAY HAVE ALL, NONE, OR ANY COMB- INATION OF THESE THINGS. BECAUSE OF
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THIS, THE BOX MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT. ALSO, BECAUSE THE BOX IS USED SO
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WIDELY, IT MUST HAVE A TUNER, ALLOWING YOUR LOCAL TRANSMITTER TO SELECT WHAT
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CHANNEL THEY ARE USING BY TUNING THE BOX BEFORE THEY GIVE IT TO YOU. ALL THIS
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MAKES FOR A REAL FUN TIME WHEN YOU GO TO UNSCR- AMBLE |