Bullet Busters :: essays research papers

On Wednesday, the 13th of March 1991, Ameri set up Cablevision of Queens, NewYork, sent the graduation electronic "Bullet". This so-called "Bullet" was infact, an electronic signal directed to unauthorized overseas telegram boxes causingthem to turn-off. Approximately 300+ unsuspecting customers accordingly called thecable company to complain and were subsequently taken to court for cabletheft.The "Bullet" works by ordering the computer processor within the cable boxto lock-up if it is authorized for all channels. Since pirate chipsinstalled in a cable box would authorize all channels, the TV "goes black".HOW THE CABLE COMPANIES CATCH PIRATES on that point are several methods here are some of the more popular. The firstmethod is somewhat costly to the cable company, and is used usually exclusively whenwhen they theorise they have a thief. A device called a Time-DomainReflectometer(TDR) is used to send a timed signal from the cable lineoutside yo u home to your decoder.The reflected cypher of the signal is measured and then compared toprevious measurements to find a time difference which would indicate thatthe box has been tampered with. Pirates were able to get around this by position an in-line amplifier which would weaken the reflected signal.One problem with TDR is that you need previous readings, which are notusually taken at the time of installation for a reference point.The befriend way is to modulate an identification signal onto the cable lineat about 108 MHz. This signal sounds something like a "cuckoo", and "leaks"from the converter box where it can be picked up by cable company employeesoutside of suspected pirates homes using hand held receivers. Unfortunatelythe signals sent by the cable companies can to a fault cause interference with FMreception within the home.A third method is to program all cable boxes from the headend to display amessage. This message is displayed only by boxes which hav e had a test chipinstalled and left in. The message informs the customer that they have wona free t-shirt or something similar. They only have to go to the CableCompany HQ to pick up their prize. And what a prize it is A FREE trip tojail Dont fall for this. at that place is no free lunch.IS THERE A FIX FOR THE BULLET?Yes, there are several solutions to the problem. The "Bullet" as sent fromheadend causes the box to lock-up, and not widening a picture. The fix issimple - unplug the power cord. After a few minutes, plug-in the box againand it should reset. At worst, the box may stay deathly for up to 24 hours.