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Warning
Dates might not be accurate as Timetoast is placing them in the wrong order. The correct date for events on the date of April 27th and on, 1986 are in the description. -
John MacDougall Opens His Electronics Store
The perpetrator of the intrusion, John MacDougall, opens up his store MacDougall Electronics in Ocala, Florida. -
HBO Scrambles It's Signal
HBO scrambles it's signal so that people can't get away with paying any money watching HBO. Unless they get unscrambling equipment, which was a hassle and very expensive, people could not watch it free anymore. MacDougall was furious because it resulted in fewer profits for his store. He had to get another job as an operations engineer at the Central Florida Teleport uplink station. -
MacDougall Test-Jams HBO
Using the uplink station, MacDougall test-jams HBO at night and broadcasts SMPTE bars. HBO did not investigate the incident, as it happened overnight. -
MacDougall Closes His Store for the Day
At 4:00 pm, MacDougall closes his store for the day and goes to the Central Florida Teleport Uplink Station, where he perpetrates the attack. -
MacDougall Operates the Uplink Station
April 26th, 1986
After the second operator leaves at 6:00 pm, MacDougall oversees the uplink of the movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure for the network People's Choice. After the film ended, he composes his message. -
MacDougall Aims the Uplink Satellite at HBO's Satellite.
After he composed his message, MacDougall swings the uplink satellite at HBO's Galaxy 1 Satellite, and he soon overpowers HBO's uplink transmission power. -
MacDougall Interrupts HBO
April 27, 1986
At 12:36 am during the airing of "The Falcon and the Snowman," on HBO, MacDougall using the alias Captain Midnight," interrupts HBO with a message on SMPTE Bars saying:
GOODEVENING HBO
FROM CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT
$12.95/MONTH ?
NO WAY !
[SHOWTIME/MOVIE CHANNEL BEWARE!] -
Hughes and HBO Notice the Interruption
April 27, 1986
Hughes Communications, who operates the Galaxy 1 Satellite, immediately notices the interruption and threatens HBO it will shut down HBO's signal, or alter the satellite's course, with the executives believing the hacker was a domestic terrorist. HBO's technician telephoned Hughes, but they could not give an explanation for the jamming. -
MacDougall and HBO Have A Power Struggle
April 27, 1986
The technician at HBO increases their transmission power from 120 watts to 2,000, but it was unsuccessful as MacDougal increased his transmission power too. This caused a control battle for the satellite that lasted about a minute and a half. During the struggle, it was worried that increasing the transmission power more would damage the satellite. -
MacDougall Abandons Control of the Satellite
April 27th, 1986
MacDougall gets scared and abandons his control over the satellite. He then goes home. -
Word Gets Around on National Television
April 27th, 1986
The next day, MacDougall felt guilty about his actions, but he hoped no one not working for HBO would notice the jamming. He was surprised to see his actions being reported on national television. He only told close friends, and he envisioned federal agents coming to his house. -
The FCC Starts Investigating
April 27th, 1986
In cooperation with the DOJ and the FBI, the FCC starts its investigation into the jamming of HBO -
MacDougall Pleads Guilty
After a few months, the FCC finds MacDougall and he pleads guilty to "illegally operating a satellite uplink transmitter." -
U.S Congress Bans Satellite Hijacking
When Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, it banned satellite hijacking, as a result of the jamming of HBO. -
The Automatic Transmitter Identification System is Formed
The Automatic Transmitter Identification System is formed in response to the jamming of HBO.
