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Coping \vith Cable Denial 2:<br />
by Prowler<br />
must commend Cap'n Dave on his<br />
excellent review <strong>of</strong> cable TV operation and<br />
equipment in the Spring 94 issue. In this<br />
article I hope to provide some methods for<br />
coping with cable denial at a low cost.<br />
Given the price <strong>of</strong> cable TV these days, one<br />
should be motivated to explore some do-ityourself<br />
methods for receiving cable. You<br />
must however be willing to the cost<br />
<strong>of</strong> basic cable service.<br />
Basic cable (everything<br />
channels) can be received at your<br />
without using a converter box if you<br />
"cable-ready" TV. If your TV is old<br />
you order the pay channels, a converter<br />
will be issued for an additional<br />
rental charge. You<br />
rent your cable<br />
ny if you DW�lOll;tlSt:<br />
actually a cheaper<br />
usually pay for .<br />
scription <strong>of</strong> cable.<br />
have to own the<br />
box to get the job<br />
issued are the<br />
are addressable<br />
are becoming the<br />
spread use <strong>of</strong> newer<br />
for access to pay-per-view type channels. It<br />
is, however, usually possible to get the<br />
same cable access using the older nonaddressable<br />
and descrambling boxes. Since<br />
these boxes are not used much anymore,<br />
they can be purchased for a relatively low<br />
cost (around $30 to $50).<br />
The difference between the addressable<br />
and non-addressable boxes is as follows:<br />
Addressable boxes have a unique number<br />
and can be programmed by the cable company<br />
remotely to control operation. This<br />
includes enabling and disabling the<br />
descrambling on the converter box. Non-<br />
rill' Jerrold --1-5() Ilack<br />
addressable boxes require a chip that determines<br />
what channels will be descrambled .<br />
This chip is obtained from the cable company<br />
with the box when you order your<br />
channels. This is a pain for the cable company<br />
since the box must be opened and<br />
modified to facilitate changes in your cable<br />
service. The newer addressable boxes fixed<br />
this problem since they never need to be<br />
opened to \landle any class <strong>of</strong> cable service.<br />
You heard stories about people<br />
... order all the pay channels to have<br />
boxes enabled, then<br />
UI}l�nuggmg the unit to prevent the box from<br />
when they cancel the service.<br />
will leave your box settings on<br />
all" until the cable company<br />
is only a temporary fix<br />
companies send out a<br />
prevent this sort <strong>of</strong> thing<br />
can be once a month<br />
can never tell. Basically<br />
central <strong>of</strong>fice looks<br />
database and sends<br />
paying box numbers<br />
disable." So much<br />
service. To avoid this,<br />
purchase your own addressget<br />
the "technician's kit" that<br />
is usually labeled "for testing purposes<br />
only". What you will get will be a ROM<br />
chip that replaces the EEPROM found in<br />
the box that stores the cable settings. This<br />
ROM <strong>of</strong> course has all the channels enabled<br />
and cannot be reset by the cable company<br />
no matter what they do. An ideal solution if<br />
you have the money and know what you're<br />
doing. An addressable box usually costs<br />
about $150 and the kit is around $60. You<br />
also must have some experience with electronics<br />
and soldering since there are a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> modifications to be made inside the<br />
box. This is simply too much <strong>of</strong> an expense<br />
Summer 1995 2600 Magazine Page 43
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