Current FTV Activation Method(until 10 July)

jez

Lads, a question on activation of FTV Card

When phoning to activate and you block your number can they establish that you're calling outside the UK? According to a poster on Digispy you can.

Can someone advise what they think before I do it.

BTW Can you get all ITV regions on FTV card??

Thanks a lot


__________________
Jez

DMC

Dial 141, then the full number, or on a mobile turn off own number sending on the phone.

Why have you not been doing this? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: In the main thread that explains it, the Clarity thread, its pretty high up on importance.

Jez, tbh, its now a waste of time. See the "obsolete" thread.

jez

Sorry, Damo

Only reason for doubt was some obviously unreliable source I saw by chance which said they can identify international calls(not the number but the fact that they're outside UK)

Take it easy

Icehouse

Originally posted by DMC

Jez, tbh, its now a waste of time. See the "obsolete" thread.

"Maybe" not so. Look at today's Guardian article that I linked to earlier - type 2 cards may remain active. If UK Government obliges, type 1 cards may even last...

DMC

Sky wont allow that to occur, then their upgrade to series 2 cards for existing Sky subs would've been a waste of time, the point was to deactivate the series one card.

watty

No nessecarily DMC,
The pay TV encryption and FTV encryption can be handled separately. Originally (before BBC hoo haa) they where only upgrading pay TV cards.

If some "feature" requires extra RAM on the card (I doubt it though), then that feature would not be available on an old card.

Given architecture of card and card reader it is dubious if the card is ever used for more than:
1) Keys to decrypt for embedded videoguard cam on Digibox mother board
2) one or more Regional ID for geographic conditional access
3) Store of box serial number for "married" channels
4) Credit for for PPV orders
5) Perhaps type of user (Pub, Hotel, ROI, UK etc)
Extra ram could allow separate credit tracking for different operators and possibly uncleared transactions.

Even an old card from analog days might have had 16K bytes NVRAM chip as well as the PIC chip under the gold pads.

I think the NVRAM chip is usually adressed by commands to pins on the card's PIC cpu.

In case you wonder..
I know about this stuff not from hacking but actually designing and writing mpu / PIC hardware and software. I investigated also idea of a "hobby robot" (like Lego Mindstorms Robot I have) that could also get programs via a smart card. Buy a bunch of cheap PIC ISO cards (sold for pirate cards) and put your "robot instructions in" on PC card programmer and then slip card into ISO reader on the robot...

I recommend "Magenta's PIC ICE" real time in circuit emulator with 16F877 PIC, LCD and breadboard for experimenters. I made an "In Circuit" PIC programmer that is about size of 25W D connector. It is very cheap and generates its own +12.5 Programing voltage from the target circuit power. thus working even with low voltage laptop serial ports. I use "ICProg" as the software as it works on Win98, NT4, Win ME, Win2000 and Win XP (NT/Win200/XP needs a Serial Driver easily installed but separate download from IC Prog site).

Yes scary hacker folks do use ICPRog. But it is simply a good programmer SW for PC for many, many devices, which can have many legitimate use.

PM me if you want plans for the "In Circuit Programmer" hardware which uses 6 pins on target or pods with ZIF socket can plug in for many devices (not just PIC).

Sorry, no help given on Pirate Hacking projects. So don't even ask.
But if you want to reprogram the Digibox chip that does Teletext insertion for your own Teletext poages or Line23 WS switch, or Greenhouse plant automatic watering, or robots etc, no problem


I do drift off topic don't I?

irishgeo

are they still activating cards?

DO i actually have to talk to someone to do it?

Icehouse

Originally posted by irishgeo
are they still activating cards?

Yes

DO i actually have to talk to someone to do it?

No. Sometimes a person picks up, sometimes you have an automated thingy - not sure if the automate is just when they're really busy or out of hours.

axious

I had an automated thing.

It asks for your phone number, then the viewing card number.

My card activated within 12 hrs and the BBC1 was activated shortly after.

You only have until 10th July though, so be quick!

jez

Had the same thing. I assume the technology is that the signal finds the viewing card without knowing the serial number of box, but then on activation is married to that box.

Is that so??

watty

Only BBC is "married" which hopefully will be irelevent next week.

DMC

That would work, watty, I see that. Good points.