On Wednesday, the 13th of March 1991, American Cablevision of Queens, New
York, sent the first electronic "Bullet". This so-called "Bullet" was in
fact, an electronic signal directed to unauthorized cable boxes causing
them to turn-off. Approximately 300+ unsuspecting customers then called the
cable company to complain and were subsequently taken to court for cable
theft.
The "Bullet" works by ordering the computer processor within the cable box
to lock-up if it is authorized for all channels. Since pirate chips
installed in a cable box would authorize all channels, the TV "goes black".
HOW THE CABLE COMPANIES CATCH PIRATES
There are several methods; here are some of the more popular. The first
method is somewhat costly to the cable company, and is used usually only
when they think they have a thief. A device called a Time-Domain
Reflectometer(TDR) is used to send a timed signal from the cable line
outside you home to your decoder.
The reflected energy of the......
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