Cable TV Pirating

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    cable tv pirating

  part 1

 composed by:

         logic god

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Today I will cover the most commonly used method of cable scrambling, that of inband gated sync. for the more comatose of you, I will now present a brief description of how it works and why it is so commonly used.

the simplest first: it is often used because the boxes are so damn cheap. the gated sync unscramblers do not even require a tuner, the whole process is done semi-passively and requires no internal connections to the tv. hence, an easy way out for the cable companies who insult you by thinking all its subscribers are average dolts, not requiring thier attention.  (hmm...ma bell must have thought that way once <koff koff> chuckle...)

90 % of all cable companies use this type:

the basic workings of the gated sync are as follows: first, I must define a sync pulse. it is a part of the tv's video signal which lines the signal up, causing it to come out all nice and neat so you see a good picture. what gated sync does is to remove that portion of the signal, and transmit it on a subcarrier with the rest of the signal. this results in the scrambled mess you see when you desper- ate ones try to watch the playboy chan- nel and your parents haven't subscribed to it. now, keep in mind, the sync portion of the
signal is not distorted at all, but merely transmitted on a slightly diverted frequency. thus, it remains in time with the rest of the signal, and needs only to be recombined with the rest of the signal. this is much simpler than it may seem. all the circuit must be able to do is to recieve the sync pulses, and retransmit them on the original frequ- ency, where they will be lined up pro-
perly. "but" you may say, "isnt that rather diffiult?" not at all, my friends. think of your video modulator: it must transmit the entire signal, and it is only about 2"*1"*1". the recieving is simple: the reciever doesn't need to be able to change channels-the cable companies need only have thier unscramblers set for the channel the box recieves on, because that is the only one it will
be necessary to unscramble. will be using.

how to figure out if you have gated sync
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scrambling:
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this method of scrambling is character- ized by correct sound, and a picture that is allllmoooost normal, if you could just get the vertical hold to work a little more. if you want to be 100% sure, call up your cable co's customer help line and ask. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I called century cable in calif. for the pope, and it worked for me. just play it cool and say "what kind
of scrambling method are you using?" and I they should give it to you. incidentally, century cable does use gated sync, for anyone in california who happens to read this.

places to get gated sync units:
-------------------------------

well, the best place to look is in the back of electronics magazines- not the idiot ones like popular elec- tronics (does it even still exist?) but the dedicated electronics ones- like radio-electronics (best) or 73, the amateur radio technical journal.
here is an address which I got out of radio electronics, august 1989, p.110: gated sync descramblers: completely tested and assembled $99 write to: rch electronics, 2035 victory blvd staten island, ny 10314 fone: 1 718 370 9151 (orders) (tech info)

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   look for part ii soon,
  covering over-the-air pay
     tv.

     later on,
   logic god.

call        k.a.o.s.: 215 465 3593

   ---==>>have fun!<<==--

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    pirating cable tv
  part 2

     composed by:

       logic god

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today we will discuss over the air pay tv scrambling. this is used widely in
many areas without cable, and all of the systems in use use essentialy the same
system, that of ssavi scrambling.

discussion of ssavi scrambling: ssavi stands for suppressed sync, audio video
inversion. this method of encoding video transmissions was devel- oped by the
zenith radio corporation, who manufactures the vast majority of legal
unscramblers used today with this method. suffice to say, ssavi is the anti
christ of cable pirates. the system in- volves several less sophisticated meth-
ods combined to produce a severely scr- ambled signal which is very difficult
to decode without the proper hardware.  (ie, a real box.) it is illustraed by
the name: suppressed sync: this is the method dis- cussed in part 1 of this
series, only worse. the sync portion of the signal is not transmitted on an
audio subcar- rier, but in lines 1-14 of the picture information which are not
seen on the screen. hence, the box must be able to isolate the first 14 lines
of video and extract the information from them. audio: the audio is transmitted
on a subcarrier in a similar fashion as the sync pulses in part 1. if you will
remember, the audio was normal in the suppressed sync method. video inversion:
the video signal is randomly inverted at the scrambling stage, resulting in a
negative picture when the signal is inverted.  (yes, like a camera negative.)
the indicator for

wether the upcoming frame of video will be inverted is also sent in the first
14 lines of video, allowing the box to begin inverting the signal bef- ore you
see it.

all of these little bits of evilness exist independently of each other. the
signal may have all, none, or any comb- ination of these things. because of
this, the box must be very intelligent. also, because the box is used so
widely, it must have a tuner, allowing your local transmitter to select what
channel they are using by tuning the box before they give it to you. all this
makes for a real fun time when you go to unscr- amble your signal.

box thoery: the suppressed sync signal is trans- ved from the first few lines
of video mitted normally in the first few lines of video, which, incidentally,
are transmitted normally. the box 'sees' these 14 normal sync pulses, and cali-
brates itself to reproduce these sync pulses for the rest of the frame of
video. it then inserts these pulses where they are needed in the signal to
produce a normal picture. this recali- bration every frame is necessary,
though. sync pulses occur over 500 times every second, and if the clock were
not constantly revamped, it could get out of sync (oh god) with itself. audio:
the audio is transmitted on a subcarrier deviated about 15khz. all the box does
to the audio is retrans- mit the audio on the proper frequency. video
inversion: the video signal is randomly inverted, but the mode (inver- ted vs.
normal) can only be switched between frames, not between fields, making the job
of detection and rein- version slightly easier. the box looks at a portion of
line (2, I think) and based on the logic level at a certian point in this line
of video, the box reroutes the signal through an opera- tional amplifier's
inverting input. as a result, a signal recieved inverted is now correct, and a
frame of video 'seen' as normal is not routed through the inverter, and sent
straight to the rf modulator, which retransmits the corrected signal to the tv
set, usually on channel 3.

physical description of the zenith ssavi decoder: the box is approx. 11" by 7",
and about 2.5" tall, including rubber feet. it has a round vertical travel
pushbut- ton switch in the rear left top corner, and in a small metal label on
the top center of the box is engraved

  zenith ssavi-1

about 1.5" by .75". there are 3 female f connectors on the left rear, and a 3
pin power connector on the bottom right rear. the case is brown, with a wood
grained strip running around the horiz- ontal center. a rather formidable dev-
ice.

some intresting features of the ssavi system: (when used by the pay-tv comp-
anies, koff koff) because of the extreme to which the scrambling of the signal
is taken, the system provides more security against the casual basement cable
wizard than any of the other systems in use today, save those now being
implemented by various satellite transmitters. these are really mean: digital
video trans- cription, fluctuating transmission fre- quency, and other fun
stuff. but that is another file, coming later. in addition to the complexity of
the scrambling, each box is given its own internal id number, allowing each box
to be addressed by the transmitter and shut off in the event a customer does
not pay his bill. in addition, each box contains a firmware code which is con-
stantly being compared to that trans- mitted by the station. hence, a stolen
box woll not work in another city, where it cannot be turned off by the normal
method due to the fact that some one may already be using a box contain- ing
the same security code. there are several more codes stored in the box: those
which determine the services to which a subscriber is entitled.  (such as
optional sporting events, nite life, etc.) these codes are stored in a vol-
itile memory powered by a rechargeable battery, to allow reprogramming from the
station. this also means that if the box is stolen and/or left unpowered for
several days, the battery will run down and the authorization codes will be
lost.

well, as usual, where there is sec- urity, there will be security breakers, and
this is no exception. talk to these people about getting your own ssavi box:

   video electronics
   3083 forest glade dr.
   windsor, ontario n8r 1w6
   fone: 519 944 6443

accorsing to them, the box also works with ssavi cable systems. this is the
real thing, made by zenith. why do you think you have to get it through cana-
da?

channels these people guarantee the ssavi box to work on: ann arbor 31,
baltimore 54, wash. d.c. 50, chicago 66, dallas 27, minneapolis st paul 23, san
jose 48, st. louis 30, tulsa 41, boston 27.

well, there you have it. they want $130 for the box, and with a $21/month fee
it will pay for itself in 6 months. have a good time.

     logic god

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    coming soon:
       #3
   cable converters

call:    k.a.o.s.:215 465 3593

for questions, I can be reached at these (among others) boards.

        -=>later<=-

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   pirating cable t.v.
    #3

   composed by:

        logic god

  ***cable converters***

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first, a plea. I need a <real> recipe for nitrous oxide.  (laughing gas.) if
anyone knows where I can get one, or has a file on "how to", !please! con- tact
me at k.a.o.s.-215- 465-3593, or leave it on a few of the more popular ae
lines. thank you.

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cable converters:required knowledge.
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1. most scrambled cable channels are transmitted either between channel 13 and
channel 14 ('midband' transmit- ting) or below channel 2 ('superband'
transmitting. thus, if you recieve the cut rate bottom of the line cable ser-
vice (such as the 3 networks and a few community stations) you may never even
get a chance to see the scrambled chan- nels, let alone try to unscramble them.
hence, we usher in the <<cable conver- ter>>. these are nothing new or il-
legal, mind you, they can be purchased at radio shack. they were originally
intended for the video cassette recor- der owner (that is, the ones that are
sold on the open market.) his rented cable converter and unscrambler, usu- ally
combined in the same tvtop box, were busy faithfully unscrambling and
converting to channel 3 the prog- ram he was currently watching. however, if he
wanted to tape something on an !un!scrambled channel that was transmitted in
the midband or superband mode, he was up shit creek, because he had no way to
get the signal down to a frequency his tv or vcr could recieve. but if he
hooked up his little radio shack converter, presto! he was set.

2. now is a good time to make clear an important point. cable converters do
!not! unscramble a scrambled signal, they merely move it to a frequency the
tv/unscrambler/vcr/whatever can get a hold of it. there is lots of space bet-
ween channels 13 and 14-it is the div- iding line between vhf and uhf. there
are places in there your tv just can't get to.

3. here comes another point: those of you with 'cable ready' tvs think you're
home free now, eh? no. while a cable ready tv will let you view any mid and
superband channels that you may unknowingly recieve, the scrambled ones are
still scrambled. so what do you need now? an unscrambler, of course.

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4. it may be necessary to explain what is actually happening in your boxes that
you rent from the cable co. thus: ----- if you have bothered to pay extra for
any scrambled channels, you are given an unscrambler and converter by the cable
co. for which you gladly pay rent in addition to your cable fee. this is
usually a brown box that comes in several styles, expounded upon below:

digital with remote: a small box upon your tv, with a digital display of the
channel you are watching. you have a trusty remote, and zap away at will.

knob style: a box or non-wireless rem- ote with a large knob on it. it, of
course, selects what channel you are watching.

switchboard style: a 9" x 5" (or so) board with several 3 position vertic- ally
moving switches. what the hell do these do? you'll never guess.

the kind without any switches: (now how will I operate my digital watch?) this
is called a block converter. more on these later.

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what is going on: ahhh, the good part. what happens here is this: now matter
what system you have (except for the last- ignore that for now.) in some way
you select a channel. the cable converter runs off, finds this chan- nel, and
yanks it down to channel 3 (or 2, or 4, whatever your cable co. uses.) where
your tv is waiting for it.  (yes, thats why you put your tv on the same channel
and change channels with the knob, remote, or whatever.) now, if it's a
scrambled channel, and yo are authorized to recieve it, the signal is rerouted
through a small un- scrambler. (a note: cable scrambling methods are piddly
little hindrances; for a real bitch of a scrambler see the ssavi system,
explained in part 2.) the signal is again spat out at channel 3, and your tv
glows happily away, dis- playing your mid or superband channel.

5. at this point, a question may by nudging around your temporal lobes now.
something along the lines of " how do I get cable tv without paying for it,
dammit??" well, here we go. you look up that place I mentioned in part ii.
(address & phone# at end) just fork over your $99 (or someone else's credit
card) and get one of these nifty little unscramblers. now, mind you, the cable
co. wants it's (your?) money more than you think, and will be rather upset if
they find you doing any of this stuff, so take care. here's how to hook up your
un- scrambler:

first, adjust the unscrambler to rec- ieve the channel your tv is set on to
recieve a signal fron the cable box. next, send the output of the real box to
the unscrambler, and the output of the unscrambler to the tv. you're all set!
just sit back and watch those porn flicks pour in.

6. if you change channels with your tv set, and you don't have a box, get a
cable converter and an unscram- bler. your service is too basic to rate a
converter, so you have to get one. just make sure it has some sort of channel
selector on it-all selected channels must be output on the same channel so the
unscrambler can unscra- mble them. sorry.

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7. how to make this much easier on yourself: there is a much easier way to do
all of this stuff, but you sacrifice ease for legality. that is, even though
what you would have done if I wasn't telling you this was illegal, this is more
illegal. but let's be realistic- does anyone give a crap of any size
whatsoever? no. of course not. therefore: ----------

beating the cable co. at thier own game is easier than you would think.
firstly, call up your cable co.'s customer (hee hee) service number, and tell
them what optional channels you currently subscribe to, and ask them if you
would have to get a new box if you wanted to add some channels. chan- ces are
they will say no, because most of the boxes have a small computer in them which
can be told over the cable what you are authorized to recieve, (neat, huh?).
this is the same comput- er which decides wether the channel you want to watch
gets sent to the unscr- ambler portion of the box or not. so if they say no,
you're in good shape. if they say yes, you are in a little bit better shape
than if they say no. if they say no, this means they change your authorizations
inside the box by changing hardware- that is, connecting sets of wires.

how to change your authorizations:(yay) first, the hardware boxes-they're
easier. according to some people i've talked to, the cable companies get highly
(very) pissed off if you play with thier boxes, so you have to get hold of one
they don't know you have- remember, they will want your rented box back when
you move and will get unhappy if you have been monkeying with it. getting a
box: a. steal one. b. say somebody stole yours, your dog shat upon it, or
whatever. c. find some unethical person (druggie) who will sell his for a few
bucks.

changing a hadware box: 1. open the box without destroy- ing it. this can be a
real ch- allenge sometimes. while at the sheraton washington (wash, d.c.)
attending the model un last year, I stole one from someone's room and tried to
get it apart for about an hour so we could watch the flicks thst night- I gave
up, got drunk, and threw it out of a window-no, it didn't break.  (yes,
incidentally, for any- one in the wash, d.c. area, there is one in every room
of the sheraton washington. good point- ritzy hotels are great places to get
those boxes.)

2. look for a small set of sock- ets, such as an integrated circuit socket
without a chip in it. it will have wires in it instead. if you can't find one
of those, look for a dip switch-these are the same size as an integrated
circuit, fit in an ic socket, and have the same number of switches on it as
pins on one side of the ic socket.

3. try to correspond the wires or the positions of the swit- ches with the
channels you pay for. these wires or switches are how the box is programmed-
try turning all of the switch- es on, and putting all of the wires in, and see
if you get more channels. conversely, try removing wires and turning switches
off.

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  cable programmed boxes:  -----------------------

these are a bit more difficult. you have to try to seperate the three sections-
computer, reciever(conveter) and unscrambler. when you isolate the computer
section, just bypass it com- pletely. find the output of the conver- ter and
the input of the unscrambler and just hook them together. as you can probably
see, this just does not permit the computer to have a say in what gets
unscrambled-incidentally, this will work for the hardware boxes, but it is
usually pretty easy to find the little wiring panel/switchboard and you do not
have to figure out what is what inside the unscrambler.

*************************************** well, I hope this helps, and if you
desperately need to ask a question, you can get me at: k.a.o.s.-215 465 3593
the church ae-215 386 0350 pw ataru and I will be glad to answer.

*************************************** here's the address I promised:

     unscramblers
     ------------

warning: this unscrambler will not work with those channels that make that
obnoxious beeping noise. this is a gated sync un- scrambler. to find out if
this will work in your area, get that good 'ol cust.service number and call and
ask if they use suppr- essed horizontal sync as thier scrambling method. yes,
they will tell you.

     rch electronics, inc.
     2035 victory blvd.
     staten island, ny 10314
     fone:1 718 370 9151 (cod orders & tech info)

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well, thank you for sitting through 350 lines of my ravings. if you download
this, please give it to all. up with the individual!

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     now if you'll excuse me, i'm going
     to kick back and smoke a marlboro.

   -=> good luck. <=-

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