10/25   The cable company has recently added a filter to block out
        channel 34-70 on my cable TV. Do they have an electronic way
        of knowing whether a filter is present or not for "basic
        cable" subscriber? Or do they do this one by one. I've been
        without the filter for quit many years. -curious
        \_ Dear Curious the Furious: No, they don't know electronically
           and they rarely enforce the rules. Go ahead and take it out
           but note that you may get fined heavily if someone reports you.
           \_ they periodically go and check the cable distribution boxes
              where these things are installed, and will notice if it is
              suddenly gone. Most likely they'll just put it back.
        \_ When I moved to my house in Fremont in 2000, the cable was already
           connected.  So I enjoyed free cable for a year until the company
           somehow figured out and quietly removed a connector in my cable box.
           I heard that one way they figure out is that they run specific
           infomercials on certain channels.  If you don't subscribe to those
           channels and you call the phone numbers in those infomercials, they
           send someone to check your cable box.  (That wasn't the case for me
           because I never call any numbers from infomercials.
           \_ I enjoyed similar case when I moved into my apt last year.
              Something changed in the past few months, so now I get zero
              reception on channels 2-6 and mediocre receptions on 36 and up.
              I don't understand how things could've changed that blocks 2-6,
              but not 7 and up.
              \_ Maybe you now don't have cable signal at all, and your cable
                 wire is acting as an antenna and is picking up the radio
                 signals for Ch7 and up.  You can try disconnecting your wire
                 from the wall but leaving it connected to the TV and see what
                 happens.  -- PP
                 \_ These aren't over the air broadcasts. I'm still getting
                    comedy central and other cable channels. Disconnecting
                    will make all the channels go away, as most channels are
                    "snowy" as it is. I've also tried switching my tv's
                    signal setting from "cable" to "antennae" for shits and
                    giggles and it wouldn't pick up any channels. I'm wondering
                    if the cable guy disconnected it from the splitter in the
                    building junction box, but it's close enough to pick up the
                    signal?