Re: Scrambled TV

[SteveOrdinetz <steveord@bit-net.com>]

Eli Polonsky wrote:

> > What did the picture look like on Channel 27 for someone who didn't 
> have the
> > descrambler?
>
>A dark, distorted mess that doesn't hold either horizontal or vertical
>holds. Same as if you see a scrambled channel (that isn't overridden by a
>promotional screen) on your cable.


I believe they also sometimes substituted a different audio track that was 
essentially a message promoting the channel, and what you could see if you 
subscribed.  In those days scrambling was rather primitive--essentially 
supressing the sync pulses.  Many electronics hobby magazines published 
plans for descrambler boxes.  By the mid 80s scrambling technology had 
advanced to the point where decoder boxes were much more sophisticated and 
more difficult to hack.