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From: news@decabo.dec.com (USENET News System)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,rec.video
Subject: Re: TV Descrambler
Message-ID: <50@decabo.dec.com>
Date: 24 Sep 90 16:48:34 GMT
Followup-To: sci.electronics
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From:me
Organization:


In article <1990Sep21.125256.16206@mlb.semi.harris.com>, jws@thumper.mlb.semi.harris.com (James W. Swonger) writes...
> 
> Question: Does anybody know whether the cable box makers put any sort of
>ID marker (e.g. a notch or resonance at some frequency) at the box input to
>tell if one of their boxes is on the line? I have had this suspicion for some
>time but have not seen anything one way or the other.

	Yes they do. In my neighborhood, they use crimp-on colored
	plastic tags indicating the authorized service. Trucks haunt the
	neighborhood with a vertical dipole (approx 135 Mhz, it looks like)
	"listening" .... perhaps for the LO of a unauthorized cable
	controlbox. 

	In my experience, (9 yrs?) there is little to no risk in installing
	an in - line filter to notch out the HBO-jamming signal.