Terminator 2 - Credit Card PIN Program/Computer (Atari Portfolio) **PIC HEAVY** DONE

canadapost

Well-Known Member
Ever since I saw Terminator 2 as a kid, I’ve always been fascinated by this prop so I’m now looking to create my own version - I’m not sure if there’s any interest in this prop, but I thought it might be interesting to share. :)

This thread on the RPF has been a great resource and thanks to Harbinger for linking to a website with a copy of the PIN program.

Here are some additional details that I’ve noted from the Blu-Ray:

Components:

Atari Portfolio:

This probably the simplest component, an Atari Portfolio with a Smart Parallel Interface.


Parallel Cable:

1) I’m assuming this is a basic Male-to-Male parallel cable.
2) Looks to be about 2 ft in length.
3) I found an appropriate cable from Monoprice (Product ID: 1582). It’s 3 ft long, which is close enough for me; but, please let me know if you can source a 2 ft M/M Parallel Cable.

Parallel_Cable_Length.jpg

15821_2.jpg



Black Box:

1) A generic project box with no discernible markings - it is black with a satin/semi-gloss finish and plastic(?).
2) Size: About 16 cm x <10 cm (width looks like it’s slightly smaller than the Portfolio) x 2 cm (LxWxH).
3) A female parallel interface at one end - connects to the Atari.
4) An unknown connector at the other end - connects to the credit card. It’s at least the same size as parallel, not smaller; possibly another parallel or DB37 connector.
5) The unknown connector is blue.

Black_Box_Length1.jpg

Black_Box_Height.jpg



Ribbon Cable:

1) The ribbon cable is a 10 wire cable, with 2 red stripes (1 on the left end and another between the 5th & 6th wires).
2) It is about 5.5 ft in length.
3) It is attached to the credit card with aluminum/foil tape that’s ~2.6 cm in length (seems to be about 1/2 the width of the card).
4) At the other end, it’s attached a black box with some sort of connector similar to a parallel port.

Ribbon_Cable_Numbers.jpg

Ribbon_Cable_Length.jpg

Foil_Tape_Length.jpg

Ribbon_Cable_connection.jpg



Credit Card:

1) I couldn’t de
termine the exact credit card used from screencaps - any help would be helpful here! :D
2) It is grey without any company logos on the bottom half of the card - no VISA or MasterCard logos are visible.
3) You can make out a credit card number, with presumably a name and expiry date under it.
4) The ribbon cable is foil taped to the front, top right-hand corner of the card.

Credit_Card.jpg



Here are some of the components I have for this project:

DSC_0034.jpg


Atari Portfolio, the correct ribbon cable, various port connectors.

Pending: Smart Parallel Interface, black box, credit card, foil tape, parallel cable.


Please feel free to comment and any info would be appreciated! :)
 
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Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

Will be following this closely - I have everything except for the correct ribbon cable - good work!
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

Using a black electronic jiffy box cut down to spec
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

I have a Portfolio in my closet. This really has me thinking…

Great job!


Sent from my iPhone using Ta
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

This is a very cool project. I too have a portfolio but thought it unlikely to ever figure out the rest of the parts. Well done. Maybe this should be the beginnings of a group project lol

Best
Taz
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

You're going to rich when you get this thing working! Looks good.
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

I tried to make this thing work, but I would need some stuff just for the PIN sequence + all the sutff, if I want to make it acurate... So I decided to put this thing in a display and that's it...
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

nice Project :)


Thanks! I drew inspiration from your T2 Portfolio prop! It's a thing of beauty.


I have a Portfolio in my closet. This really has me thinking…

Great job!


Sent from my iPhone using Ta

This is a very cool project. I too have a portfolio but thought it unlikely to ever figure out the rest of the parts. Well done. Maybe this should be the beginnings of a group project lol

Best
Taz


I'll try to post everything I learn in this thread. I hope it'll be of help to everyone who's interested in replicating this prop. I've sourced some more components for this, but it's been difficult finding exact matches since this thing is SUPER old. I don't think this will be 100% accurate - just close enough to look good.


You're going to rich when you get this thing working! Looks good.


Rich?! I dunno about that... :p


I tried to make this thing work, but I would need some stuff just for the PIN sequence + all the sutff, if I want to make it acurate... So I decided to put this thing in a display and that's it...


There's a great electronics surplus store near me and I figure it'll probably cost around $40 to gather all the items necessary to assemble this prop; which would come out to be one of my cheapest props ever! Once I get everything, I'll post an itemized list of all the items I need to make it. And hopefully the PIN program won't be too difficult to load onto the Portfolio.

If anyone can provide a tutorial on how to do that - it would be AMAZING!


Great project.

Thanks!! ;)
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

There's a great electronics surplus store near me and I figure it'll probably cost around $40 to gather all the items necessary to assemble this prop; which would come out to be one of my cheapest props ever! Once I get everything, I'll post an itemized list of all the items I need to make it. And hopefully the PIN program won't be too difficult to load onto the Portfolio.

If anyone can provide a tutorial on how to do that - it would be AMAZING!

There are some tutorials, but you need this adapter and of course a PC what provides this connection... Sadly no newer pc has got this thing. I remember my old P90 from 1995 got this connection, but this PC is gone for long time now...

And you have to change batteries inside the portfolio, the portfolio won't hold information forever, so one day the pin program is gone, too...

Maybe I'm wrong, but Mr. THX has an atari with working PIN on it, maybe you can ask him?!?

Of course there are other thread in the RPF, here is a quote from the other thread...

First, you need to get an Atari "Smart Parallel Interface" to go with the Portfolio. John Connor's Portfolio had one of these, and that's what the ribbon cable connects to. That interface hooks the Portfolio to a desktop computer's parallel port and allows file transfers between the two. That's how software gets loaded onto the Portfolio. You do, of course, still have a PC with a parallel port, right...? Lots of "modern" PCs don't have them anymore.

That interface should come with two disks, a 5-1/4" and a 3-1/2" that have the necessary file transfer software on them. The software runs in DOS, and probably expects something like DOS 2.1 or 3.3. I was able to get an interface from an eBay seller that was new-old-stock and had the disks.

Second, the software. Visit The Atari Portfolio Website to find all sorts of info about the Portfolio, including software. Off the main page, choose "Downloads," then "Portfolio Demonstration Files." There's a PIN program listed there. I've downloaded it, but haven't had time to play with putting it onto the Portfolio. I'm hoping it's the same one; the notes on the website claim that it is.

As for getting the "right" cable with a red wire...why not get any old grey ribbon cable, mask off the conductors on either side of the wire you want to be red, and use a bright red Sharpie to color the wire...?

Hope this helps!

Here's the link:

http://www.therpf.com/f9/terminator-2-atari-portfolio-pin-program-82107/
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

Great info here, thanks for posting your guides. Im trying to find the ribbon cable now but cant find one that has the middle red stripe, was going to just paint it on or something. Where did you get a hold of that? Would you be able to get some more? I would gladly buy one off you if you can get one. Im a perfectionist with things and want them to be exactly right which yours is. Paint might work but not good enough for me if I can get a proper one


Firstly I will say that to get the PIN program you dont need to connect to a computer, or even have the cable or parallel interface. You can code the entire thing in yourself using the text editor. I've been working on it the past week and just finished removing the flaws today and it runs perfectly just like the movie. Actually pretty simple to do once you learn the basics of how to work the portfolio. I've never picked one up in my life before and learned how to code within a few days so if I can do it anyone can. Here is mine now complete

c8by.jpg


7x4d.jpg



Now whats left for me to do is complete the prop itself. I need the interface cable, ribbon cable, card, and the black box. I would be interested to see what you use for the black box too as I had no real idea what it was or how I could emulate it. Will be watching this thread now. Appreciate you sharing your ideas and eveything, helps us get ours done too. Cant see much of it in the movie to work out what things are or how they work, what the card looks like, how its connected etc
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

Great info here, thanks for posting your guides. Im trying to find the ribbon cable now but cant find one that has the middle red stripe, was going to just paint it on or something. Where did you get a hold of that? Would you be able to get some more? I would gladly buy one off you if you can get one. Im a perfectionist with things and want them to be exactly right which yours is. Paint might work but not good enough for me if I can get a proper one


Firstly I will say that to get the PIN program you dont need to connect to a computer, or even have the cable or parallel interface. You can code the entire thing in yourself using the text editor. I've been working on it the past week and just finished removing the flaws today and it runs perfectly just like the movie. Actually pretty simple to do once you learn the basics of how to work the portfolio. I've never picked one up in my life before and learned how to code within a few days so if I can do it anyone can. Here is mine now complete

http://img547.imageshack.us/img547/9589/c8by.jpg

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/3304/7x4d.jpg


Now whats left for me to do is complete the prop itself. I need the interface cable, ribbon cable, card, and the black box. I would be interested to see what you use for the black box too as I had no real idea what it was or how I could emulate it. Will be watching this thread now. Appreciate you sharing your ideas and eveything, helps us get ours done too. Cant see much of it in the movie to work out what things are or how they work, what the card looks like, how its connected etc



PM'd! Thanks for the programming advice!

Still waiting for some parts to come in - hopefully I'll have some updates soon.
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

I shared this with Prince Valium - thought I'd post this here as well :):

As for the ribbon cable, it's something that I customized. I purchased a 6-foot length of regular IDE cable from my local electronics store - I made sure it had the red stripe running down one edge. Looked like this but without any of those black connectors:

Cable_ide.jpg


I cut and peeled a thin part of the ribbon 10 wires across. (I peeled one wire from the unused ribbon to show ya.)

photo_1_2.jpg


Once you start a cut, these cables are really easy to peel by hand - just remember to peel with even force across the entire pull, otherwise you'll get minor start-and-stop marks along the peeled edge of the ribbon.

Then, I used a Sharpie ULTRA FINE Retractable marker to ink in the groove. The tip of the marker matches perfectly with the width of the grooves in the cable - the result looks quite convincing!

photo_2_2.jpg



Maybe that's similar to how they did it in the actual film. If you take a look, the screen cap shows the middle red line is slightly darker than the line on the edge; which is a surprisingly precise match to my custom cable :p:


Ribbon_Cable_Numbers.jpg
 
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Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking/PIN Computer ***PIC HEAVY***

Here are several formatting observations of the program I've noticed that might help make the prop more screen accurate:

1) Filename that John types in to activate the program is: PINID.

INIT_Scene3.gif



2) The following 4 images identify the line spacing formatting of the program.

Formatting_1.jpg

Formatting_2.jpg

Formatting_3.jpg

Formatting_4.jpg



3) The numerical program follows this pattern:

a) The first line of numbers is 38 characters in length - you can clearly see the sequence in an image above.

[strike]b) Each 'set' of character line lengths seems to be repeated 3 times; then the character line length shortens by 1 character.
e.g.
  • Lines 1-3: 38 characters
  • Lines 4-6: 37 characters
  • Lines 7-9: 36 characters
[/strike]
*** UPDATED IN POST #19 ***

c) The lines shorten until it reaches 4 characters and the 4 character pattern is repeated more than 3 times. Based on video timing and frames, I'd guess that it's repeated about 10-11 times.​

PIN_End_Scene.gif
 
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Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking PIN Program/Computer ***PIC HEAVY*

VERY NICE work AND attention to detail!!!! kudos!
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking PIN Program/Computer ***PIC HEAVY*

Also if you want to be really accurate, notice John runs this from the A> drive not the C> drive, therefore it needs to be run off a memory card in order for this to show correctly. I have one coming so can get that updated and my files backed up. Good to have backups anyway as if the batteries go dead when in the Atari it will wipe all of the programs from it and you will need to do it all again. Its ok to change the batteries as long as they're not completely dead when you do so. Having an AC power cord helps too

See they made no attempt to hide the echo off command :p The numbers go too fast to make out the exact code apart from the first line. As they go so fast it doesnt matter anyway and no one would notice or even know if it was different. Just type anything. I did however think each set was in blocks of 5 though then decrease by 2. Maybe my observation was wrong. I have heard that the indent alternates between 2 and 1 each time though
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking PIN Program/Computer ***PIC HEAVY*

VERY NICE work AND attention to detail!!!! kudos!


Thanks! I'm only very slightly detail oriented... er, probably like everyone else here. :lol


See they made no attempt to hide the echo off command :p The numbers go too fast to make out the exact code apart from the first line. As they go so fast it doesnt matter anyway and no one would notice or even know if it was different. Just type anything. I did however think each set was in blocks of 5 though then decrease by 2. Maybe my observation was wrong. I have heard that the indent alternates between 2 and 1 each time though


Yes, I think my initial observation was indeed incorrect!

I did a further examination of the text blocks and I think it might be what your observations are. Here are 2 screenshots a couple milliseconds apart and it looks like text blocks are in chunks of 5 but alternate between line character decreases of 1 and 2.

Line_Spacing_1.jpg

Line_Spacing_2.jpg



Here’s a film capture a bit later that better illustrates this shift:

Spacing_Animation.gif


So the character spacing should be:

Lines 1-5: 38 characters (-1)
Lines 6-10: 37 characters (-2)
Lines 11-15: 35 characters (-1)
Lines 16-20: 34 characters (-2)
Lines 21-25: 32 characters (-1)
And so on…​

I did a little math and with 38 starting characters, the code should start with a decrease of -1 in order for the pattern to continue to the final 4 characters.

Thoughts?
 
Re: Terminator 2 - John Connor Credit Card Hacking PIN Program/Computer ***PIC HEAVY*

I've also been playing around with the Help Menu on the Portfolio and I think these 2 commands will be helpful in programming:

Portfolio_Help_Menu_1.jpg



The 'echo' function displays anything that's typed after it.

Code: echo Hello World

Display: Hello World​

And the 'type' function calls on a separate file and displays whatever's in it.

Code:
File 1: type File 2
File 2: Hello World​

Display: Hello World​

I'll probably use the 'type' command, which seems simpler than inserting 'echo' before every line.
 
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