Posted March 1st, 2004 @ 09:35pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Question: Do you steal cable (or satellite service, etc.)? Have you ever?
My Answer: No and no. I'm surprised at how many of my friends do, however.
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This blog contains posts, all written by me, and comments, only some of which were written by me.
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Posted 01 Mar 2004 at 11:22pm #
No, I don't, and no, I haven't. I wouldn't even know how or who to ask. I don't think that's the only reason I haven't done it, though.
I actually don't watch TV much (I just tune in for The Simpsons, and that's about it), so my wife and I just get the most basic package possible, generally referred to as "Broadcast." 🙂
So I get the channels I would normally get over the air, but they actually come in as opposed to being total fuzz. I think they threw three extra channels in there for fun. I don' t know why. But it only costs about $14 a month.
Posted 02 Mar 2004 at 12:16am #
No and no. Never have; never will. I'll pay for it, if only to get that one must-have channel (for me it is the French-language TV5. I love TV5.).
Posted 02 Mar 2004 at 12:31am #
No/No. I don't watch TV much either. The TV shows that do interest me I'll get on DVD. I'll get my news through WSJ, news magazines or Internet, and I still get ABC (and the other basic channels) through the antenna for sports. I only like ABC sports.
Posted 02 Mar 2004 at 2:38am #
No/Yes. Tried it once for about a week; wasn't worth the cost of the 'box. Ended up selling it on eBay.
Posted 02 Mar 2004 at 7:39am #
About 5 or 6 years ago, a tree fell on the cable lines in front of my house, and when the cable people fixed the lines, I got two new channels which are Showtime and HBO. I don't call this stealing, more like "borrowing" ;). The cable company is currently upgrading the cable now which is giving us 8 more channels so we will probably end up losing the HBO and Showtime. I don't really care if I do lose them since I don't watch TV too often.
Posted 02 Mar 2004 at 7:51am #
I don't steal cable, but I get it for (almost) free. When I switched providers, I signed up for the internet/phone/very basic cable plan. After the installer left, I turned on my TV and realized that I had 70 channels. I called the cable company to tell them to shut me down because I wasn't going to pay for the extra channels and didn't want to be considered a thief (by omission). They said they didn't have time to come fix my line and that I could just keep the channels at no charge. Woo hoo!
Posted 02 Mar 2004 at 8:33am #
No and No. While I do miss the History and Discovery Science Channels our house is now Cable/Satellite free for almost a year now and I really don't miss it that much.
Posted 02 Mar 2004 at 10:30am #
TV doesn't matter enough to me to spend money on a Cable TV package, especially on my current budget, but I do subscribe to Cable Internet services.
When my cable installer was here, he was very friendly, and wanted to make sure that I wasn't upset that he was late. Before he left, for almost no reason at all, he told me that if I ran a splitter from the cable modem, and ran a second cable to my TV, than I would get basic cable TV for free.
He was right, it works with no problems, and I have tried it at 3 friends' houses and it works fine there too. His explanation was that in order to activate the cable line and have it work for the internet service, it is sending the TV signal as well, and he claimed they had no way of controling this.
I rarely watch it anyways, but its nice.
Posted 03 Mar 2004 at 1:40am #
Cable's included in my rent, but I don't care that much about it. There aren't that many good channels on it, and the roommate with the tv is going to be moving out next week. I'm not buying a new tv.
Posted 29 Jul 2004 at 3:41am #
Dont steal cable unless you know how the cable company catches you. you are just being a jackass if u start stealing at your own will. note: remember running lines off telephone pole or cables boxes isnt always a great idea because of electronic bullets, but also because of other security devices and patrollers who occasionally check the outside wiring.
Posted 25 Jan 2005 at 9:43pm #
I, myself have actually stolen cable in the past and have been considering it recently. I (and I do wish to remain anonymous) have worked with cables, and other land line systems, I am very familiar with how standard cabling works, and how to steal it... Simply put, on most occasions the cable company simply installs a resistor which blocks the frequency of unnecessary cable channels. This just means that the access area for cable activation is locked to use by private groups. Now I've heard cable thieves called despicable, evil, crooked, spineless and even stupid B******s. To this I disagree. the cable companies are increasing rates for data transmission everyday. Standard maintance costs are not worth the price that cable companies charge. Installation of new cable networks might be worth the cost, but pre-existing networks are charging you for activation that takes a ten minute removal of one unit, or installation of one wire. This is not worth the RISING cost of cable tv in my proffesional opinion. I say, pick the lock on your cable tv providers installation area, and uninstall the resistor , or install, whatever is necesarry. This prevents them recognizing illegal activity, and makes it look like a cable employee did it. This leaves you free of blame, (so long as some person the cable company convinced into believing they pay the cost the thieves inter doesn't rat on you).. but this is just one person's opinion and in a free country, how much does that count?
Posted 10 Feb 2005 at 4:30pm #
I have never and will never steal cable. I for one feel that though cable price may be exorbitant, "profit" is not a cuss-word. You who do steal cable are the same folks that complain about automobile prices and bicker over a few bucks. The profit margins in these products are very minimal (10-20%) whereas the profit margin in items like refrigerators, televisions, furniture etc. are in the ballpark of 100-120%. I don't imagine you people go into your local Best Buy and strap one of those on your back and walk out. How does one justify in their own mind that stealing is okay? It is against the law of both society and God. Whether or not you believe in God the Ten Commandments are a great way to live your life. I have a friend that is an athiest and he admits the same (and even he does not steal cable). If you can't justify the price of cable slap some bunny-ears on your tube and tune in to some static. Other wise, shut up and sign up you deplorable people. Our beautiful country is FREE! Cable is not a bloody necessity. Pay for it if you want it. You call yourselves American?
Posted 19 Mar 2005 at 10:03pm #
I currently dO steal cable, it's that easy, I have extenuiating circumstances but in the future when my college budget allows it I will provide myself with it and pay them back in full... for my victemless crime.
Posted 03 May 2005 at 11:49pm #
Yes I do. They make it so easy. The main access box is directly beside my bedroom window. There are no locks and it is ground level behind a tree. They actually installed new wiring into the little both last year. So its there for the long run. I just took out the filter and hooked my line into full cable. I mean if you're not going to even lock the door fuck. In fact the doors would have fallen off years ago if I hadn't fixed them. Our power meter is in there too so you now a bit of protection. We've had it for 2 weeks now. Undetectable as its their fault. WASN'T ME 🙂
Posted 17 Sep 2005 at 7:55pm #
i stole cable. i just kicked the locked box open and removed the filter with a simple makeshift device. then i plugged the cable from my house into the box. not hard, and it doesn't cost me or the cable company anything. but the people at the company check every 1 1/2 years and put the filter back on. this time they put a different type of filter that requires me to make a new device. i don't understand why stealing cable is so bad. even though its illegal according to the law, these companies are basically stealing legally. someone commented earlier something about the ten commandments, but that has nothing to do with the man-made law; stealing can be wrong or right in this country. in my area, cox is increasing its price, when it can basically give more affordable cable and still make a profit while being able to pay for the requirements to run a company.
Posted 16 Jan 2006 at 8:42pm #
All you losers think stealing cable is so easy and you will never get caught. Well dont kid yourselvs everyday i bust you smartass for steling cable your not as clever as you think your are. Is it worth the 2000 fine
Posted 25 Jan 2006 at 5:17pm #
Anon, you mentioned the other person's post about the Ten Commandments. It states "Thou shall not steal." It is quite simple but if that is not good enough the bible also says the we are to obey the authority that is placed above us. Romans 13:1-7 "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."
Posted 02 Mar 2006 at 11:57am #
Let's talk about what jo said...
"All you losers think stealing cable is so easy and you will never get caught. Well dont kid yourselvs everyday i bust you smartass for steling cable your not as clever as you think your are. Is it worth the 2000 fine."
English is obviously not his strong suit, but let's suppose that he is a "cable theif buster." How can he bust someone who simply removes a filter? I'm not saying I know he can't, I just want to know what he looks for.
Posted 02 Mar 2006 at 12:58pm #
If you're gonna make fun of someone for misspelling words, don't misspell the word "thief." Duh.
Posted 11 Aug 2006 at 6:19pm #
Perhaps Jo would care to elaborate on how he catches cable thieves. I for one am curious, not that I want to steal cable, but because the systems involded interest me
Posted 02 Sep 2006 at 12:08pm #
does anyone know what is required to unlock any of a motorola dct2224 digital box? it looks like you probably have to use a computer, some software or maybe just basic programming skills and possibly some unique electronic tools, but I am just beginning to look into this and am curious to see what is required to do this. I would appreciate some dirct emails about this so I can consider whether I would like to try or not.
Thanks,
Joe B.
Posted 03 Sep 2006 at 3:50pm #
I guess I'm not sure what is spurring this heated debate. As for Dave, save your belief system for yourself and recognize that everyone does not have the same faith, or do not neccessarily hold the same interpretations you do. Live your life how you wish, but live and let live.
Everyone must answer to their own conscience, correct? At the end of the day, to steal to or not to steal cable just really isn't that big of a deal. I choose not to have even basic cable because I don't watch enough TV to justify it.
However, I am not concerned with what my neighbor is doing, particularly when the "crime" at hand doesn't hurt another human being. Maybe some of that energy should be spent worrying about more important things?
Posted 03 Mar 2007 at 2:40pm #
I'm not sure but I think I might have stolen cable without knowing it. I bought a house and it came with a stand-alone antenna (200+ ft?) in the backyard. It also came with the underground wiring (with the pole that would hold the satellite dish) and the satellite cable box attached to the side of the house.
Anyhow, since the previous owner told me I was getting all of those channels because of the antenna I believed him (which may have been the case). However, a person who was renting a room in my house said a cable truck came by and disconnected something. She didn't hear them knock or anything but since then I am not getting those channels.
If anyone can explain what one has to do with the other, I'd be interested. I'm thinking some of the cable from the satellite box on the side of my house was used to connect some cable under the house from a previous owner who did subscribe to cable. That's what it looks like might have happened. The cable guys left the satellite cable box open after doing something.
Anyone who knows cable & this type of wiring better than me, can you explain if there could have been a possibility. I'd hate to try to get the rotor on my outside antenna fixed for nothing. It's really expensive to get those things fixed.