#hacktv — Public Fediverse posts

been playing with #hacktv to generate some baseband TV signals (just as files, cause I don't have the needed hardware) and put them into #tvsim to see if it works. and it does! whee! finally some good test patterns!

been playing with #hacktv to generate some baseband TV signals (just as files, cause I don't have the needed hardware) and put them into #tvsim to see if it works. and it does! whee! finally some good test patterns!

Oh if only I could go back to 1997! #hacktv

Oh if only I could go back to 1997! #hacktv

Some serious #hacktv is going to happen at @hamlab

A bit of #D2MAC #DMAC #HackTV stuff arrived in the post. Three manuals: a Ferguson SRB1 BSB Receiver service manual, a Fairchild Semiconductor Semicustom Databook and a National Semiconductor Terminal Management Processor (NS455) databook.
The databooks aren't related but they were only a few pounds on ebay.

A bit of #D2MAC #DMAC #HackTV stuff arrived in the post. Three manuals: a Ferguson SRB1 BSB Receiver service manual, a Fairchild Semiconductor Semicustom Databook and a National Semiconductor Terminal Management Processor (NS455) databook.
The databooks aren't related but they were only a few pounds on ebay.

So the journey into the deprecated bands of analogue television begins. The portable tv here is a 6-inch superheterodyne #Šilelis-405D, manufactured in #Kaunas around 1985, capable of 92x116mm B/W reception on VHF and UHF. #HackTV

So the journey into the deprecated bands of analogue television begins. The portable tv here is a 6-inch superheterodyne #Šilelis-405D, manufactured in #Kaunas around 1985, capable of 92x116mm B/W reception on VHF and UHF. #HackTV

If you find yourself looking for the #CEA608 #EIA608 #CTA608 #ClosedCaptions and #VChip standard on a cold winter's day... don't pay ANSI $200 for it. It's downloadable for free from the CTA:
https://shop.cta.tech/products/line-21-data-services
Add to cart, check out, fill in your details, receive PDF.

#HackTV

If you find yourself looking for the #CEA608 #EIA608 #CTA608 #ClosedCaptions and #VChip standard on a cold winter's day... don't pay ANSI $200 for it. It's downloadable for free from the CTA:
https://shop.cta.tech/products/line-21-data-services
Add to cart, check out, fill in your details, receive PDF.

#HackTV

The more work I do on the #analogcable project for #hacktv, the more I feel like I might be making a trip to the Cable Center's Barco Library in Denver, CO in the not too distant future. Assuming it's open to the public. That's a question I need to ask ... https://www.cablecenter.org/the-barco-library

The more work I do on the #analogcable project for #hacktv, the more I feel like I might be making a trip to the Cable Center's Barco Library in Denver, CO in the not too distant future. Assuming it's open to the public. That's a question I need to ask ... https://www.cablecenter.org/the-barco-library

Another new toy - this is a Cabletime MediaStar Evolution 775 standard-def MPEG2, MPEG4-ASP (XviD) and h.264 encoder with licences for the first two. Inputs are composite, S-video and RGB, output is Ethernet. Beats arguing with ffmpeg. #dvb #hacktv

Another new toy - this is a Cabletime MediaStar Evolution 775 standard-def MPEG2, MPEG4-ASP (XviD) and h.264 encoder with licences for the first two. Inputs are composite, S-video and RGB, output is Ethernet. Beats arguing with ffmpeg. #dvb #hacktv

I should have posted screenshots - but I fixed a Ferguson SRB1 BSB box for #hacktv use yesterday.
Someone had pulled a capacitor trying to add baseband input support (the same mod BITD could be use to turn an SRB1 into a D2MAC decoder-descrambler).
Shame they also blew the ACM power supply fuse (how?!) and broke a BC548 transistor in the process.
Oh well, easy fix. I bypassed the fuse with a wire, please don't tell anyone.....

I should have posted screenshots - but I fixed a Ferguson SRB1 BSB box for #hacktv use yesterday.
Someone had pulled a capacitor trying to add baseband input support (the same mod BITD could be use to turn an SRB1 into a D2MAC decoder-descrambler).
Shame they also blew the ACM power supply fuse (how?!) and broke a BC548 transistor in the process.
Oh well, easy fix. I bypassed the fuse with a wire, please don't tell anyone.....

On a side note, a chat in the ABUG talk last night has led me to rethink how to approach dumping the RAM on the #BSB access control module for #HackTV.
I'm thinking it might be safer to use two test clips - one on the EPROM, the other on the RAM to pick up the write-enable, output-enable and chip-selects. Less risk of shorting out the battery-backup voltage.
I could get the whole A/D bus from the EPROM, but that doesn't give me R/!W. That's only present as decoded chip selects.

On a side note, a chat in the ABUG talk last night has led me to rethink how to approach dumping the RAM on the #BSB access control module for #HackTV.
I'm thinking it might be safer to use two test clips - one on the EPROM, the other on the RAM to pick up the write-enable, output-enable and chip-selects. Less risk of shorting out the battery-backup voltage.
I could get the whole A/D bus from the EPROM, but that doesn't give me R/!W. That's only present as decoded chip selects.

Enabled the line-18 coding patch from @fsphil . Sadly doesn't work (the box isn't detecting this as scrambled video). But the encoding is remarkably subtle. Colour burst on top of grey video to send a '1' bit. Throw in a few more VBI lines and you probably wouldn't notice this. #analogcable #HackTV

Enabled the line-18 coding patch from @fsphil . Sadly doesn't work (the box isn't detecting this as scrambled video). But the encoding is remarkably subtle. Colour burst on top of grey video to send a '1' bit. Throw in a few more VBI lines and you probably wouldn't notice this. #analogcable #HackTV

Seems like the MK Cable box is a bit deaf. So now this is - 160MHz RF, 47dB IF gain, 12dB RF gain, and the PSA4-5043 LNA's 18dB gain on top of that. #analogcable #hacktv #hackrf

Seems like the MK Cable box is a bit deaf. So now this is - 160MHz RF, 47dB IF gain, 12dB RF gain, and the PSA4-5043 LNA's 18dB gain on top of that. #analogcable #hacktv #hackrf

Excellent! Finally found a UK CATV channel map. 108 channels! It's in the Scientific-Atlanta Broadband Databook: http://www.mymyia.com/manuals/BBdatabook.pdf
(needless to say I've saved a copy)

#analogcable #hacktv

Excellent! Finally found a UK CATV channel map. 108 channels! It's in the Scientific-Atlanta Broadband Databook: http://www.mymyia.com/manuals/BBdatabook.pdf
(needless to say I've saved a copy)

#analogcable #hacktv

NTL analog channel 2 (Box)? Turns out that's about 64.25MHz. Needed a gain of 47dB on the HackRF to get a good picture, so I doubled the frequency... Seems like 128MHz is closer, that works down to 7dB. It's going to take a while to identify all the channels though. Would love a frequency list!
HackTV->HackRF->6dB att->DC block->cable box
Cc @fsphil
#hacktv #cabletv #reverseengineering #hackrf

NTL analog channel 2 (Box)? Turns out that's about 64.25MHz. Needed a gain of 47dB on the HackRF to get a good picture, so I doubled the frequency... Seems like 128MHz is closer, that works down to 7dB. It's going to take a while to identify all the channels though. Would love a frequency list!
HackTV->HackRF->6dB att->DC block->cable box
Cc @fsphil
#hacktv #cabletv #reverseengineering #hackrf