ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ Û ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ Û ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛ *P*S*Y*C*H*O*T*I*C* ISSUE #1 July 21, 1997 þþþþþþCONTENTSþþþþþþ [1] Psychotic Issue #1 [2] Defeating Modern Day Technology [3] Available Rainbow Books [4] Sniffers [5] Loops [6] Denial of Services [7] Linux Security [8] Super IDEA v2.10 [9] unix [10] tcp/ip terms [11] NIS Explained [12] Ports [13] Acquiring Account Info [14] Tactical Starch Delivery System [15] Acronyms/Abbreviations - Do NOT view in Windows - [1] ############################################################### ##################### Psychotic Issue #1 ###################### ############################################################### This is the first of many Psychotic Tech Lab issues. We chose the name "Psychotic Technical Lab", because we're always finding new things that will be able to help keep the underground alive. The Psychotic Bible- As a few of you know VC has been writing a huge book for Psychotic and we are proud to anounce that it is finally finished. At first we decided to keep it a myth and only give it out to the members and a select few, but the number of requests and questions about the so called myth has become...well, psychotic. So we revoted on the decision and decided to take "MOST" of the book public. We're still keeping part of the book a secret and that's how it will stay. The Psychotic FAQ- This huge file on hacking/phreaking/cracking is going to be released within the week so stay tuned for this amazing file. Since dropping psychotic.com and being held without a domain we decided it would be a good idea to get a homepage up so we should have our new page up soon with our other major files. Instead of releasing file by file we decided it would be best to put most of our files in the Psychotic Tech Lab. And finally, we decided not to put who wrote which article in our zine. It is not important to us but if you really have to know, you can email Loath, Virtual Circuit or Kwantam Pozeetron. [2] ############################################################### ############### Defeating Modern Day Technology ############### ############################################################### ®Caller I.D.¯ Since caller I.D. came out hacking your local bbs and ISP might seem crazy unless your a mongoloid. Thats why theres the *67. Just pick up your kewl phone and type *67 and it does the same as a stupid ass Caller I.D. blocker. (If you don't already know this please slap yourself arround). ®Phone Recorders¯ People are getting smarter and smarter these days recording phone calls especially big companys. That's why theres the Voice Changer Telephone. I reccommend a Voice Changer Telephone because nobody will recognize your voice. You can disguise your voice to sound like a woman or a man. They usually have 16 distinct voice levels. The good thing is that you can also use this as a regular phone. Cost arround $60 - $100. Great for screening calls. If you can't afford the money just plug your nose or something and try to self change your voice. This is pretty easy unless of course you're a complete mongoloid. Also you can use a regular hand held recorder, talk into it and put it on fast or slow to change your voice. What you want to do if say your tipping off the FBI or making a anonymous call to the police is talk into the recorder in girls voice if your a guy and a guys voice if your a girl then speed it up. When they do there voice comparisons and when they slow it down with the machine it will be harder since you've taken 2 steps. ®Wire Tapping¯ So your a big timer and your affraid the FBI might be tapping your phone line? That explains why the Tap Buster was invented. The Tap Buster detects the most common forms of wire tapping. It incorporates an LCD volt meter to allow you to monitor phone line conditions. Recording devices, line transmitters, and anything that is voltage-activated will show up on the volt meter. It monitors on or off hook line voltage, indicating when extensions are picked up, if a lineman's handset is in use, and many other bugging attempts. These run arround the price off $100 to $300. If you can't afford a Tap Buster just keep looking at your phone box! If you are blind and poor please tell somebody so they can have your parents arrested. ®Bugs¯ You dont want your conversations being recorded especially when it involves illegal things. Like us you probably do not trust anybody so you want to get your hands on a Bug Detector. Bug Detectors pinpoint the exact location of bugs operating between 5 MHz and 2 GHz radio frequencies. An LED bar display indicates strength of radio frequency sources while a tone alarm increases in pitch. These run about $120 to $150 dollars for a good one. Great for hacker conventions! I don't know about you but $120 is a little expensive for me. So if you don't trust the guy your talking to just threaten him in some sort of way that will scare him and tell him/her to take there shirt off to see if they are bugged. If it's a good looking female make sure to insist! ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ Û You can get your hands on these tools at http://www.spystuff.com/ or Û Û purchasing one through U.S. CAVALRY magazine (www.uscav.com) or a good Û Û electronics store. There are also be some plans out there to home Û Û make these. Û ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ [3] ############################################################### ################### Available Rainbow Books ################### ############################################################### (Amber Book) A Guide to Understanding Configuration Management in Trusted Systems, 28 March 1988. (Blue Book) Trusted Product Evaluation Questionaire, 2 May 1992, Version 2. (Bright Blue Book) Trusted Product Evaluations - A Guide for Vendors, 22 June 1990. (Brown Book) A Guide to Understanding Trusted Facility Management, 18 October 1989. (Burgundy Book) A Guide to Understanding Design Documentation in Trusted Systems, 6 October 1988. (Dark Lavender Book) A Guide to Understanding Trusted Distribution in Trusted Systems 15 December 1988. (Green Book) DoD Password Management Guideline, 12 April 1985. (Hot Peach Book) A Guide to Writing the Security Features User's Guide for Trusted Systems, September 1991. (Light Blue Book) A Guide to Understanding Identification and Authentication in Trusted Systems, September 1991. (Light Yellow Book) Computer Security Requirements -- Guidance for Applying the DoD TCSEC in Specific Environments, 25 June 1985 (Neon Orange Book) A Guide to Understanding Discretionary Access Control in Trusted Systems, 30 September 1987. (Orange Book) DoD Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria, 26 December 1985 (Supercedes CSC-STD-001-83, dtd 15 Aug 83). (Pink Book) RAMP Program Document, 1 March 1995, Version 2. (Purple Book) Guidelines for Formal Verification Systems, 1 April 1989. (Red Book) Trusted Network Interpretation of the TCSEC (TNI), 31 July 1987. (Venice Blue Book) Computer Security Subsystem Interpretation of the TCSEC 16 September 1988. (Yellow Book) Technical Rational Behind CSC-STD-003-85: Computer Security Requirements -- Guidance for Applying the DoD TCSEC in Specific Environments, 25 June 1985. - TPEP Foreign Evaluation Books - CTCPEC Canadien Trusted Computer Product Evaluation Criteria can be found at: ftp://ftp.cse.dnd.ca/pub/criteria/CTCPEC ITSEC V1.2 (European Criteria) All the following rainbow books can be found at www.ncsc.radium.mil. [4] ############################################################### ########################## Sniffers ########################### ############################################################### Computer networks were created to link systems. Linking systems is a security hazard for various reasons. They are able to generate or capture data from other comps that are connected to it. This security hole is known as sniffing. Most protocols work by sending information to certain systems(usually sent to hosts). Each machine has an individual address which the first system send the information to. No other machine except for the system with the desired address can receive the info and data. This brings up the security flaw. Root passwords and other data are sent through the protocols from system to system sometimes without encryption or other security precautions. This makes it easy for sniffing to take effect and do it's job. Sniffing is by far one of the most used attacks. There are many sniffers available such as Esniff.c tcpview.c, linnuxsiffer.c, linsniffer.c, and a lot more. There's a few different ways to test if somebody is running a sniffer on a system like with snifftest.c. These sniffers as well as many more can be found at www.rootshell.com. [5] ############################################################### ########################### Loops ############################# ############################################################### A loop will usually look like 619-479-3333 and 619-479-3343. All loops have the same sufix pairs. The loops connect together. When you dail one of the numbers that is looped to another number and somebody dials up the other number you will automatically be connected. The number pair has a higher number and a lower number. If you happen to call the higher number you will hear total silence. If you dial the lower number you wull hear a 1000 hz tone. Sometimes you can talk to another caller. Many people wonder why telephone companies use loops, most people believe that they use them to tie up unused phone lines to keep them out of trouble. They're used to test long distance calls and long distance trunks that connect to the central offices. The trunks are made up of two pairs of wire circuits. The trunks amplify tones and signals with repeators and they equilize frequencies. Repeators are set about every two miles from the trunk. Some carriers are positioned close and don't require repeators. Telco created loops to help test the repeators and trunks. The only problem is that loops can pass voices as well as tones and since the loops belong to telco the calls weren't billed. [6] ############################################################### ###################### Denial of Services ##################### ############################################################### Fingering Attack $finger @fucking.system.two.com@fucking.system.one.com The finger will go through fucking.system.one.com and on to fucking.system. two.com. As far as fucking.system.two.com knows it is fucking.system.one.com who is fingering. $finger@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@host.2.fuking.kill Every @ sign will finger host.2.fuking.kill once for each sign. The result will be high bandwith The solution is to install a finger that doesn't support redirections. We will be posting a different denial of services attack each month. [7] ############################################################### ##################### Linux Security Flaws #################### ############################################################### Debian/GNU Linux 1.1 contains the vulnerable mount/umount exploitable programs. Slackware 3.0 and Slackware 3.1 contains the vulnerable mount and umount exploitable programs. Plug and Play Fall'95 Linux distribution contains the vulnerable mount and umount program. So far that all we could currently find. If you see any other vulnerabilities please contact one of the Psychotic members or just mail vc@mobsters.com. [8] ############################################################### ##################### Super IDEA v2.10 ######################## ############################################################### Super IDEA v2.10 Freebee encypherment for the paranoid cheapos (that's me!) and other cool people. IDEA stands for International Data Encryption Algorithm It was invented by Xuejia Lai and James Massey in Switzerland It's a private key symmetric block algorithm, and is thought to be very secure, although it is still too new to have undergone the scrutiny that other algorithms, notably DES, have endured. This manifestation of the algorithm is adapted pretty much wholesale from Dr. Dobbs Journal #208 December 1993 ******IMPORTANT******: MAKING SURE YOUR COPY IS NOT TAMPERED WITH Before you start using your copy of Super IDEA, I recommend that you check it with CRC (crc.com), included in the zip file. If it is not included, mail me at to get a copy of it. When you check it with CRC, the following code should be shown on the screen: 953DE281 If this is not the code that is displayed, please e-mail me for an unmodified version. IMPROVEMENTS OVER v1.x I have added 8 more rounds to the encryption process, making it MUCH more secure. I have also provided twice the possible key length, thereby increasing security considerably. Finally, I fixed a problem with key generation. OVERVIEW OF IDEA The algorithm operates on 64-bit data blocks, divided into 4 16-bit subblocks. For DOS files, it packs two characters into a 16-bit word and treats 4 such words as the subblocks. Since not all files have the right length for this, a header is used to tell IDEA's decrypter how long the file will be. Thus encrypted files are a few bytes longer than they started. They are of course put back to normal when decrypted. SIMPLIFIED EXPLANATION OF PROGRAM OPERATION The key is a 128-bits. This program uses an algorithym to generate the key. It takes the key the user inputs and creates the following: (all letters herein are representations, one letter for each byte. This is not to say that the actual XOR of a and h is i) _________________________________________________________________________________ | usrkey | shftkey | modkey | modshftkey | | abcdefghijklmnop | pabcdefghijklmno | (see below) | (see below)<-+- final key +------------------+------------------+---------------------+------------------+ MODKEY MAKEUP: MODSHFTKEY MAKEUP: a ^ p = q The eight bits in each character b ^ a = r Hence, modkey are shifted such that, if the bitcode c ^ b = s is equal to was 01011011 (random example--not an actual piece of code) d ^ c = t qrstuvwxyz12456 it would be shifted to 10101101. This yields e ^ d = u 7890!@#$%^&*()_+ f ^ e = v (an identifier for the new pw, not what it actually g ^ f = w would be). h ^ g = x i ^ h = y j ^ i = z k ^ j = 1 l ^ k = 2 m ^ l = 3 n ^ m = 4 o ^ n = 5 p ^ o = 6 usrkey : The key the user entered. Written as abcdefghijklmnop because all are 16 chars. If the user's key is shorter than 16 chars, zeros are used to pad it (added to end). This does not make the user need to change the key--it is automatically padded. If a key is too long, it is truncated with the same effect. You can encrypt a file with abcdefghijk, but only abcdefgh will be used. You can even enter abcdefghijk when decrypting it, because it is also truncated then. shftkey: the key after it is shifted to the right modkey : found by XORing the shftkey and the usrkey together. modshftkey : the modkey is shifted bitwise to the right. OTHER INFORMATION I have also included the source code in the file called source.zip. Please feel free to make your own modifications of this and distribute it if you desire. Remember--trying to keep the algorithm you use secret is worse for you in the long run--the more people that see it, the faster it will be analyzed and errors that you overlooked will be found. USAGE usage is "supridea filename.ext e[w]|d[w] key" e[w]|d[w] stands for either an "e" or a "d", instructing whether to e-ncypher or d-ecypher, plus an optional "w", which tells IDEA to overwrite the original file with the encyphered data. Leaving "w" off creates a new file called "filename.enc" or "filename.dec" (if decyphering) where "filename" is the same as the input file. Overwriting is more secure--it destroys old data--but may not be what you want. key is a word up to 16 characters but not more. Extra characters will be truncated off of the key, and a warning will be displayed. Note that the truncated key will be used, and you can enter the long key when the time comes to decrypt the file. It will just be truncated again. This is freeware. (The IDEA algorithm is in fact patented, but it can be freely used and distributed for non-commercial use. The patent is held by Ascom-Tech AG in Switzerland, Phone#: +41 65 242-885). If you need to contact me, I can be found at . Please note that use of this program is done with no insurance from me that it will work or anything----use it at your own risk. I've bug checked it and everything and it looks good, and the algorithm is straight out of Dr Dobbs Journal (#208), but I'm not gonna be responsible for failure. If you have a real and serious need for cryptography, please at the very least look over the source code---you'd be better advised to get a professional program. While we're on this topic, please do not forget your key!!! a brute-force attack on this algorithm "requires 2^128 encryptions to recover the key.....a billion chips testing a billion keys a second would take 10^13 years (the universe has only existed for 1/100th of that time) to break IDEA," according to Dr. Dobbs Journal #208 p.54. For even greater security compress the file(s) you are encrypting with PKZIP and then use this program to encrypt the zip file. This limits a cryptanalyst's ability to look for repetition in the cyphertext. This file can be downloaded at http://kwantam.home.ml.org. [9] ############################################################### ############################ Unix ############################# ############################################################### You can identify a unix login as: login: sometimes there will be a message at the top of the screen or another type of system might try to imitate the login prompt to throw you off but that's usually a unix system login prompt. If you don't already have an account then you get to have fun guessing the password. Try these default passwords: ACCOUNT PASSWORD ------- -------- root root - Rarely open sys sys / system / bin daemon daemon bin sys / bin mountfsys mountfsys adm adm user user anon anon guest guest uucp uucp nuucp anon games games install install demo demo umountfsys umountfsys sync sync admin admin You should now learn a little about a c complier. It's smart to buy a book on C programing sice nearly all exe programs are programed in c. To compile a program in c you type: cc youfilesname.c. Files tend to usually have exe permissions, write permissions,etc. If you can read all the permissions on a file then you can access the file. If you do NOT have access to read a file, you can't do anything that requires reading in the file. This is the same respect with write permission. Now, all the permissions are arranged into 3 groups. The first is the owner's permissions. He may have the permissions set for himself to read and execute the file, but not write to it. This would keep him from deleting it. The second group is the group permissions. [10] ############################################################### ######################## TCP/IP Terms ######################### ############################################################### IP: Internet Protocol. The lowest layer protocol defined in TCP/IP. This is the base layer on which all other protocols mentioned herein are built. IP is often referred to as TCP/IP as well. UDP: User Datagram Protocol. This is a connectionless protocol built on top of IP. It does not provide any guarantees on the ordering or delivery of messages. This protocol is layered on top of IP. TCP: Transmission Control Protocol. TCP is a connection oriented protocol that guarantees that messages are delivered in the order in which they were sent and that all messages are delivered. If a TCP connection cannot deliver a message it closes the connection and informs the entity that created it. This protocol is layered on top of IP. ICMP: Internet Control Message Protocol. ICMP is used for diagnostics in the network. The Unix program, ping, uses ICMP messages to detect the status of other hosts in the net. ICMP messages can either be queries (in the case of ping) or error reports, such as when a network is unreachable. SLIP: Serial Line IP. An implementation of IP for use over a serial link (modem). CSLIP is an optimized (compressed) version of SLIP that gives better throughput. RFC: Request For Comment. RFCs are documents that define the protocols used in the IP Internet. Some are only suggestions, some are even jokes, and others are published standards. Several sites in the Internet store RFCs and make them available for anonymous ftp. Bandwidth: The amount of data that can be pushed through a link in unit time. Usually measured in bits or bytes per second. Jitter: The effect seen when latency is not a constant. That is, if messages experience a different latencies between two points in a network. Latency: The amount of time that a message spends in a network going from point A to point B. Marshalling: The process of taking arbitrary data (characters, integers, structures) and packing them up for transmission across a network. RPC: Remote Procedure Call. RPC is a method of making network access to resource transparent to the application programmer by supplying a "stub" routine that is called in the same way as a regular procedure call. The stub actually performs the call across the network to another computer. [11] ############################################################### ######################## NIS Explained ######################## ############################################################### NIS or Network Information Systems is a concept of unix that users need to learn. NIS used to be called the "Yellow Pages" until somebody pointed out that it was the trademark of the phone company. When a company has to many workstations the best way to set them up is to have them connect and share files by means of NFS. Then you should give access to the machines to your users so that they will have one large system. Keeping all the workstations' administrative information organized is a small problem. A password file was given to each individual system in order to list the users and a set of mount points or directories. In 50 workstations, when the system added a new users those user had to be added to 50 seperate password files, etc. The only way to ease this problem was to use NIS. It puts nearly all of the administrative information in one place that is roganized by NIS. It makes all the availlable workstation accessable by each of the new users. This works out very well. After the administrator updates the master files the database can get clumsy and out of sync. This is usually caused by the admin regenerating the NIS database and accidently making a mistake. The design of NIS makes it possible to create security holes. The computers are accesible to only a small group of users but it makes it easy for one of the million internet hackers to break in. You work from here. I'll update this text later with more info on this system setup. [12] ############################################################### ############################ Ports ############################ ############################################################### People have been asking me alot of questions about telnet lately. Common Ports- Program / Name Port ________________________________________________________________________ discard 9 netstat 15 chargen 19 ftp 21 telnetd 23 smtp 25 rlp 39 bootp 67 fingerk 79 http 80 / 8080 military http 80 / 8080 / 5580 link 87 pop3 110 identd 113 nntp 119 newsk 144 execk 512 login 513 pkill 515 ktalk 517 ntalk 518 netwall 533 rmontior 560 montior 561 kerberos 750 ________________________________________________________________________ [13] ############################################################### ################## Acquiring Account Info ##################### ############################################################### What you want to do once you get your target is to find out what isp he is on. Call up that isp and when somebody answers the phone like "Hi this is Bob Wells from Lame Internet ISP, how may I help you?." Now just say something like, "Oh sorry wrong number." If you dont relize it.....You got yourself an employees name for your targets isp. Targeting can work in many ways. I would reccommend targeting somebody that is new with the internet or somebody that doesn't know alot about computers. Another way to target somebody is to look in the phone book and randomly pick a name out. The easiest was is to just listen to people talk or ask arround who is on LAME Internet ISP. Anyways.... Call them up like you know them personally, "Hi (target), this is Bob Wells from Lame Internet ISP." See they will now think that you are a employee. Getting your targets login and password is the funnest part of all. Because if you succeed you will think, "Hey im slick." Then this will lead to more successfull attemps of getting logins and passwords to local shit. Ok now heres how to get the persons login and password. Say you know some lamer at school that is on a LAME internet isp. Well after you call that isp and get an employees name (even if you have to talk to that employee for awhile to suck information on him) you can call the lamer from school as a LAME internet isp employee. Ok First get his phone # then call him then start your sentence by saying, "Hi this is BOB from LAME internet isp. May I please speak with (target/lamer)." Then I would suggest introducing yourself again to the person so he feels good talking to somebody he thinks he knows or is safe talking to. To get his/her login and password say something like, "Well (target/lamer) our new Windows NT system (I suggest getting the system info on the system they have) has messed up 1/4 of our logins and im sorry to inform you that yours was one of those. (Bullshit for awhile, make sure to say a few computer acronyms to get him to belive you). Well all I need to get you back set-up is your current login and password." He will most likely give you his login and password showing the idiot he/she is. Then say bye and your account will be functioning in about 1 hour. On some ISPs the user name is there last name . isp. (lamerslastname.LAMEisp) So if LAME internet isp has user names like this make sure NOT to ask for the user name. All you will need is there password. If you dont know just get an account with them for a month or ask a friend. Most of the time this will work. In my local area isp customers ALWAYS fall for it! I thing you will want to have in the background is some basic office noise. I would suggest having a few friends in the background shuffling papers and talking outloud a few times saying things like, "The servers HD is going HA-wire, give me the DSS chip." If your target is not lame you will need to say something intelligent. This will make your target think that you are really in an office. If you are a mongoloid and have no friends just have your mom/dad/sister/brother make the noise for you or if you hate your mom/dad/sister/brother just make the noises on your own! Well if all that above went successfully you now have yourself a nice juicy login and password. I suggest you go on immediately so just incase they try to go on and they get a failure or a can't connect (because somebody is using there account, which they wont know if they have low computer knowledge), they wont think that they had just been bamboozeled out of there login and password. I would suggest just going on as them for awhile then in about 5 or so hours go back on and get an anonymous emailer or an emailer that sends email from any address specified send them a fake email from there isp saying sorry about the delay in your account but now its fully operational, make sure to put a please do not respond to this email or something like that so when they email the isp the isp doesnt say, "What the fuck?!" That step just showed doesn't usually have to be done. You can avoid it by appologizing to them over the phone. That would be better and easier and is recommended. I'll make sure to add alot more to this file in the next issue. [14] ############################################################### ############### Tactical Starch Delivery System ############### ############################################################### ++=============================++ || Psychotic Presents: || || The T S D S || || a t e y || || c a l s || || t r i t || || i c v e || || c h e m || || a r || || l y || ++=============================++ The Tactical Starch Delivery System, or TSDS, is sometimes referred to as a potato gun, spud cannon, spudzooka, or potato shooter. The particular one described here shoots potatoes, apples, or pears with incredible accuracy, velocity, and distance. In fact, in one test, a horse shot with this gun was killed on impact using a standard-issue Idaho potato. Parts List ========== To make the TSDS, the following is needed: 1) 5' of PVC pipe 2) 8' of PVC pipe 3) One PVC adaptor bell 4) One Cleanout Plug Adaptor which fits over the end of the piece of PVC 5) One Cleanout Plug (this plug is the kind with the square lug for a wrench and threads around the outside of the plug--ask your local hardware store worker if you can't identify it) 6) One Replacement Gas Grill Ignitor 7) One Large Paper Clip 8) Needle-nose Pliers 9) PVC Cement (MUST be PVC-specific cement) 10) Roll of Electrical (black) tape 11) Roll of Duct (gray) tape 12) At least as many brain cells as a plastic cup 13) Sandpaper 14) Knife 15) A broom handle to use as a ramrod to push the potato down into the barrel 16) One can of extra-hold aerosol hair spray OR one can of aerosol ether-based engine starting fluid (starting fluid is preferable) Assembly ======== Cement the bell adaptor to the piece of PVC, then to the piece of PVC. Next, cement the cleanout plug adaptor to the other end of the PVC. Take the paper clip and attach it to the terminal on the side of the ignitor (not the end) and bend it so it's about 1/2 from the terminal on the end of the ignitor. Push the ignitor and you should get a spark that jumps between the two. If you get shocked (don't worry, it doesn't hurt) you're touching one of the terminals. Move your finger and try again. If you don't get shocked and you don't see a spark, bend the paper clip closer to the terminal on the end and try again until you see a spark jump between the terminals every time. Now take some electrical tape and tape the paper clip to the side terminal so that it doesn't move, but make sure you don't cover the area that the spark jumps to. There should be two 'arms', one on either side of the ignitor. Cut these off with the knife so that there's no pieces sticking out. Now drill a hole in the middle of the piece of PVC that the ignitor will fit into completely, but snugly. If the hole's too big, you need to wrap electrical tape around the uppermost part of the ignitor below the plunger collar(the terminal on the end is the bottom, wrap tape around the other end below the collar so that it makes it fit more snugly into the hole) so that there's a fair seal. It doesn't have to be air-tight, but if it releases too much gas you could experience a loss in power, the ignitor could be thrown from the gun, or hot gases may shoot out of the hole where the ignitor is or was. Again, check that the spark is arcing inside the piece of PVC. Finally, take sand paper and sharpen the muzzle end of the PVC, which is to be your barrel. It doesn't have to be razor sharp, but the sharper it is, the easier it will be to push the potato down and have the parts that don't fit cut off to ensure a perfect seal. Sand from the inside of the pipe so that it cuts a piece a tiny bit bigger than the inside diameter so the seal is better between the potato and the barrel. Firing ====== To fire, perform the following steps: 1) Get a potato that is bigger than the barrel and push it down onto the end of the barrel so that it cuts the excess away (you sharpened it, remember?). 2) Making sure that the end cap is off, use the ramrod to push the potato all the way down to the end of the barrel, but not down into the combustion chamber (the PVC section). 3) Spray some propellant into the combustion chamber and put the cap on. If you're using extra-hold hair spray, give it a generous, 3-second squirt. If you're using ether, a 1/4 second squirt is enough. If you put more, the mixture is too rich, and there's not enough oxygen to ignite the ether, so nothing happens. Ether is definitely harder to get the right amount of, but if you can find the right amount it's much better because it burns very clean and doesn't fowl up the inside of the combustion chamber. The hair spray leaves a black, sticky coating on the inside of the chamber, which really sucks, but it's much easier to get the right amount in there, because there's much more tolerance in the range of the amount of hair spray that will ignite. Ether needs a specific amount, no more, no less, but hairspray can have as little as 2 seconds or as much as 5 and still work reasonably well. 4) Once you've sprayed in the propellant, quickly put on the cap to prevent the propellant from escaping from the combustion chamber. It doesn't have to be tight, just give it a spin and it's probably tight enough. If it doesn't fall off, it's plenty tight. 5) Hit the plunger on the ignitor to fire the cannon. Safety Info =========== Remember, this will break 1/2 ply wood at 15' in the right combination of propellant and air. It will also kill a horse. Needless to say, it will leave a nasty dent in a car, probably crack the window (especially with apples), and would kill a person within 50' if hit in the neck or upper torso. BE CAREFUL with this thing. Don't put your hand in front of the muzzle; I've known people who've lost fingers and/or hands doing that. Don't look down the barrel when you're pushing the plunger unless it's sat open with no propellant sprayed in for at least 5 minutes. I learned this the hard way, as I lost a small bit of hair and most of one eyebrow the first time I made one of these; I looked in the combustion chamber with ether in there and hit the ignitor. FOOM! and little pieces of hair floated this way and that... kinda annoying. Disclaimer ========== Neither I nor Psychotic are responsible if you fuck up, kill someone, break a window, damage a car, or hurt yourself. Whatever you do from here on in is your own business. We assume no liability whatsoever for the use of this information. Legal Note ========== Many people have asked me, is it legal to make a potato gun? The answer: YES! It is not considered to be a firearm as long as you're just shooting potatoes, apples, or pears with it. However, if you make one that shoots marbles, golf balls, or baseballs I'm not sure whether it's legal or not. A tennis ball one probably wouldn't be a good idea either. Of course, combine the tennis shooter with an exploding tennis ball bomb (see the Anarchist's Cookbook file #23 for how to make these simple and fun bombs) and you've got a mobile mortar... definitely NOT legal. Diagram ======= /==-----------| _ ---------------\ \------=/ || | |_ | \ \ || | _| -----------------\ \----=\ || |_| \==-----|_|---| ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ | | | | | | +- Cleanout Plug (screws into adaptor) | | | | | +----- 4" PVC Cleanout Plug Adaptor | | | | +---------- Ignitor (paper clip & terminals are inside) | | | +-------------- 8" of 4 PVC | | +-------------------- 2" to 4 PVC Bell | +----------------------------- 5' of 2 PVC +--------------------------------------------- Sharpened muzzle end of barrel [15] ############################################################### ################# Acronyms And Abbreviations ################## ############################################################### (Originally Written in 1995) abend: acronym for Abnormal Ending. An early termination of a program due to an error condition, such as division by zero or trying to add a number and a letter. AC: abbreviation for Alternation Current, the type of electricity found in homes, buisnesses, and schools. ACU: abbreviation for Automatic Calling Unit. A device that allows a buisness machine to make dial calls on a telephone network. AFCET: acronym for Association Francaise Pour La Cybernetique Economique Et Technique. A professional organization whose purpose is to bring together French scientists, computer users, computer manufacturers, and engineers interested in computer technology and applied mathematics. AI: abbreviation for Artificial Intelligence, the branch of computer science that works on getting computers to think like human beings. ALGOL: acronym for Algorithmic Language, an international high level programming language used to code mathematical and number problems. The language has had a strong impact on programming language design. ALGOL is essentially a "dead" language that managed to spawn others. most notably Pascal and Modula 2. ALU: abbreviation for Arithmetic Logic Unit, the portion of the central processing unit (CPU) where arithmetic and logical operations are performed. A basic element of the CPU. ANSI: acronym for American National Standards Institute. An organization that acts as a national clearing house and coordinator for voluntary standards in the United States. APL: abbreviation for A Programming Language, a mathematically structured programming language, popular for problem solving applications. APT: abbreviation for Automatic Programmed Tool. A programming system that is used in numerical control applications for the programmed control of machine functions. The APT language allows a user to define points, lines, circles, planes and geometric surfaces. ASAP: acronym for "As Soon As Possible." (no shit) ASCII: acronym for American Standard Code For Information Interchange. Pronounced "asskey." A 7 bit standard code adopted to facilitate the interchange of data among various types of data processing and data communications equipment. b: abbreviation for byte or baud. Use bytes when referring to storage, and baud rate when referring to communications. 1k = 1024 bytes. basic: acronym for Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, a very easy algebraic programming language with a small repertory of commands and simple statement formats. Basic language has been implemented on most microcomputers, minicomputers, and supercomputers. BCD: abbreviation for Binary Coded Decimal. BCS: abbreviation for British Computer Society, a professional computer society in the United Kingdom. BDOS: acronym for Basic Disk Operation System. BIOS: acronym for Basic Input/Output System. BOT: acronym for Beginning Of Tape, a mark that shows where to start recording on a magnetic tape. bpi: abbreviation for Bits Per Inch or bytes per inch. bps: abbreviation for Bits Per Second or bytes per second. CADAM: acronym for Computer Graphics Augmented Design And Manufacturing, the process of, or methods for using computer systems as tools in design and manufacturing applications. CAD/CAM: acronym for Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing. A rapidly growing branch of computer graphics. Used to design auto parts, buildings, bridges, and intergrated circuits. CAE: acronym for Computer Aided Engineering. Analysis of a design for basic error checking or to optimize manufacturablitiy performance and economy. CAM: acronyms for Computer Aided Manufacturing and Composition AndMakeup. CCD: abbreviation for Charge Coupled Device. A memory device within which stored information circulates rather than remains in fixed locations. CCITT: abbreviation for Consultative Committee International Telegraph and Telephone, an organization established by the United Nations to develop world wide standards for dada communications. CCP: abbreviation for Certificate In Computer Programing. CDC: abbreviation for Call Directing Code, a two or three characted code used to route a mesage or command automatically. CDP: abbreviation for Certificate In Data Processing. CIM: acronym for Computer Input Microfilm and an acronym for Computer Integrated Manufacturing. CMI: abbreviation for Computer Managed Instruction. CMS: abbreviation for Conversational Monitor SYstem, operation system for IBM mainframe computers. CMOS: abbreviation for complementary MOS. A method of making metallic oxide semiconductor chips that uses almost no power and works faster than MOS. COBOL: acronym for Common Buisness Oriented Language, a high legel language developed for buisness data processing applications. COGO: acronym for Coordinate Geometry. A problem oriented programming language used to solve geometric problems. Used by civil engineers. COM: acronym for Computer Output Microfilm. A technology that permits the output information produced by computers to be stored on microfilm. COMDEX: acronym for Communications and Data Processing Exposition, a large computer trade show held in the United States and other locations. cpi: abbreviation for Characters Per Inch. CP/M: abbreviation for Control Programed For Micro Computers, an operation system for microcomputers. Produced by Digital Research of Pacific Grove, California. cps: abbreviation for Characters Per Second. CPU: abbreviation for Central Processing Unit. CR: abbreviation for Carriage Return. CROM: acronym for Control ROM, an interfal part of most central processing unit (CPU) chips. The CROM is the storage for the microinstructions that the CPU assembles into a sequence to form complex macroistructions, such as Devision or Logical compare that the computer user normally uses. CRT: abbreviation for Cathode Ray Tube, the picture tube of a video display terminal. CSP: abbreviation for Certified Systems Professional. CT: abbreviation for Computerized Tomographic. CTRL: abbreviation for CONTROL. DASD: acronym for Direct Access Storage Device. A device such as a magnetic disk storage unit. DAT: acronym for Dynamic Address Translation. DBMS: abbreviation for Data Base Management System. A complete collection of hardware and computer programs that organizes and provides access to data base. DC: abbreviation for Data Conversion, Design Change, Digital Computer, Direct Current, Display Console, and Direct Cycle. (God damn!) DCTL: abbreviation for Direct Coupled Transistor Logic. DDD: abbreviation for Direct Distance Dialing, the facility used for making long distance telephone calls without the assistance of a telephone operator. Also used for Data Communications. DEC: acronym for Digital Equipment Corporation, a large manufacturer of minicomputer systems. DECUS: acronym for the Digital Equipment Computer Users Society. By Digital Equiptment Corporation. DIF: acronym for Data Interchange Format, a particular standard for data files. It is used by many programs involving forcasting and it allows files created on one software package to be read by another software package. Apple DIF file disk cannot be read directly into an IBM machine. DIP: acronym for Dual In Line Package. A device on which an integrated citcuit is mounted. DMA: abbreviation for Direct Memory Access. A method by which data can be transferred between peripheral devices and internal memory without intervention by the central processing unit. DML: abbreviation for Data Manipulation Language. DNC: abbreviation for Direct Numerical Conrol. A method of computer control of automatic machine tools whereby control is applied at discrete points in the process rather than applied continuously. DOA: abbreviation for Dead On Arrival. Used to describe a product that does not work when it is received from the supplier or manufacturer. DOS: acronym for Disk Operating System. A specialized disk oriented program that provides an easy to use link between the user and a computers disk drive. (Youll be amazed how many people do not know this!) DRO: abbreviation for Destructive Read Out. DSL: abbreviation for Dynamic Simulation Language. DTL: abbreviation for Diode Transistor Logic. Micro electronic logic based on connections between semi conductor diodes and the transistor. EAROM: acronym for Electrically Alterable ROM. ROM memory that can be selectively altered without erasing all stord data, as is done with EPROM devices. EBAM: acronym for Electron Beam Adressed Memory. An electric storage device that uses electrical circuits to control a beam that reads from or writes on a metal oxide semi conductor surface. EBCDIC: acronym for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code. An 8 bit code used to represent data in modern computers. ECL: abbreviation for Emitter Coupled Logic, also called Current Mode Logif. ECL is faster than TTL, but much less popular. EDP: abbreviation for Electronic Data Processing, data processing performed largely by electronic digital computers. EDS: abbreviation for Exchangeable Disk Store. EFT: abbreviation for Electronic Funds Transfer. AN EFT network transfers funds from one account to another with electronic equipment rather than with paper and checks. EIA: abbreviation for Electronic Industries Association. E-mail: abbreviation for Electronic Mail. EOB: abbreviation for End Of Block. Termination of a block. EOF: abbreviation for End Of File. When all the records in a file have been processed, the computer is said to have encountered an end of file condition. EOJ: abbrevition for End Of Job. EOLN: abbreviation for End Of Line. A flag indicating the end of a line of data. Some times abbreviated EOL. EOT: abbreviation for End Of Transmission. EPO: abbreviation for Emergency Power Off, Meaning the curcuit and the buttons activating it that can turn an entire computer off in an emergency. EPROM: acronym for Erasable Programming Read Only Memory, a special PROM that can be erased under high intensity ultraviolet light, then reprogrammed EPORMs can be reprogrammed repeatedly. EROM: acronym for Erasable ROM. Same as EPROM. ETX: acronym for End Of Text. f: abreviation for Frequency FAMOS: acronym for Floating Fate Avalanche Injection MOS, a fabrication technology for charge storage devices such as PROMs. FAX: acronym for FACSIMILE. An equiptment configuration that facilitates the transmission of images over a common carrier network. FCC: abbreviation for Fedral Communications Commission, an organization of the U.S Government responsible for regulation interstate comunications. FE: abbreviation for Field Engineer, an individual responsible for field maintenance of computer hardware and software. FET: acronym for Field Effect Transistor. A semi conductor device used as a storage element. FF: abbreviation for Form Feed. FIFO: acronym for First In First Out. A method of sotring and retreving items from a list, table, or stack, such that the first element stored is the first one retrieved. Contrast with LIFO. FILO: acronym for First In Last Out. A method of storing and retrieving items from a list, table, or stack, such that the first element is stored in the last one retrieved. Same as LIFO. Contrast with FIFO. FLOP: acronym for Floating Point Operation. FM: abbreviation for Frequency Modulation. The process of changing the value represented by a signal by varying the frequency of the signal. FORTRAN: acronym for Formula Translator. A high level programming language used to perform mathematical, scientific, and engineering computations. FORTAN has been approved as an American Standard programming language in two versions (FORTRAN and Basic FORTRAN). A widely used programming language. FOSDIC: acronym for Film Optical Sensing Device For Input To Computers. An input device used by the Census Bureau to read completed census questionaire data into a computer. FPLA: abbreviation for Field Programmable Logic Array. An FPLA can be programmed by the user in the field whereas an ordianry PLA is programmable only by masking at the semiconductor manufacturers factory. fs: abbreviation for FEMTOSECOND. FSK: abbreviation for Frequency Shift Keying. GB: abbreviation for GIGABYTE. GEM: acronym for Graphics Environment Manager, a program that adds Macintosh/MacPaint like qualities to a variety of microcomputers including the IBM personal computer and Atari ST. Developed by Digital Research, INC. GERT: acronym for Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique, a procedure for the formulation and evaluation of systems using a network approach. GIGO: acronym for Garbage In Garbage Out. A term used to describe the data into and out of a computer system. GP: abbreviation for General Purpose. GPSS: abbreviation for General Purpose Systems Simulation. A problem oriented used to develop simulation systems. GUIDE: acronym for Guidance Of Users Of Integrated Data Processing Equipment, an international association of users or large scale IBM computers. HIPO: acronym for Hierarchy Plus Input Process Output. A technique that provides a graphical method for designing and documenting program logic. HKCS: abbreviation for Hong Kong Computer Society. HOL: acronym for High Order Language, a procedure oriented programming language such as BASIC, Pascal, or LOGO. HSP: acronym for High Speed Printer. Hz: abbreviation for Hertz, cycles per second. IBG: abbreviation for Interblock Gap. IBI: abbreviation for Intergovernmental Bureau Of Informatics. An organization consisting of members of the United Nations, UNESCO, or U.N agencies. IC: abbreviation for Integrated Circuit, a complex electronic circuit fabricated on a simple piece of material, usually a silicon chip. ICES: abbreviation for Integrated Civil Engineering System. A system developed to aid civil engineers in showing engineering problems. ICOT: acronym for Institute For New Generation Computer Technology, the institute conducting Japans 5th generation research project. ICS: abbreviation for Irish Computer Society. IDP: abbreviation for Integrated Data Processing. IEEE: abbreviation for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. A professional enginering organization with a strong interest in computer systems and their uses. IFAC: acronym for International Federation of Automatic Control. A multinational organization concerned with advancing the science and technology of control. IMACS: abbreviation for International Association For Mathematics and Computers In Simulation. IMS: abbreviation for Imformation Management System. A data base management system software package that provides the facilities for storing and retrieving information from hierarchically structured files and data bases. I/O: abbreviation for Input/Output. IOCS: abbreviation for Input/Output Control System. A standard set of input/output routines designed to initiate and control the input and output process of a computer system. IPAI: abbreviation for Information Processing Association of Israel. IPSJ: abbreviation for Information Processing Society of Japan. IRG: abbreviation for Interrecord Gap. IRM: abbreviation for Information Resources Manager. Person responsible for operation the companys main computer and keeping an eye on the employees using it. ISO: abbreviation for International Standards Organization, an international agency that is responsible for developing standards for information exchange. Similar to the ANSI in the United States. ISR: abbreviation for Information Storage and Retrieval. JCL: abbreviation for Job Control Language, a special language used to give instructions to the operating systems of a computer. kb: abbreviation for Kilobyte (1024 bytes). kc: abbreviation for Kilocharacter. One thousand characters per second. kHz: abbreviation for Kilohertz. KWIC: acronym for Key Word In Context. A method of indexing information by preselected words or phrases. LAN: acronym for Local Area Network. LCD: abbreviation for Liquid Crystal DIsplay. A way to make letters and numbers appear by reflecting light on a special crystalline substance. LDL: abbreviation for Language Description Language. A metalanguage- a language that describes a language. LED: abbreviation for Light Emitting Diode, a commonly used alphanumeric display unit that glows when supplied with a specific voltage. LF: abbreviation for Line Feed. LIFO: acronym for Last In First Out, the way most microprocessor program stacks operate. LILO: acronym for Last In Last Out. A method of storing and retrieving items from a list, table, or stack, such that the last item placed on the stack is the last to be retrieved. LIPS: acronym for List Processing. A high level programming language primarily designed to process data consisting of lists. LP: abbreviation for Linear Programming and Line Printer. LPM: abbreviation for Lines Per Minute. LSC: abbreviation for Least Significant Character. LSI: abbreviation for Large Scale Integration. M: abbreviation for mega, one million. Used to represent 1,048,576. Used to label capacity of storage devices. maser: acronym for Microwave Amplification by The Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A device capable of amplifying or generating radio frequency radiation. Maser amplifiers are used in satellite communication ground stations to amplify the extremely weak signals received from communications satellites. mb: abbreviation for megabyte. 1000kb. MBASIC: abbreviation for Microsoft BASIC. MCC: abbreviation for Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation. United Sates consortium of companies formed to conduct research in advanced computers. MESFET: acronym for Metal Semiconductor Rield Effect Transistor, the main active device used in gallium arsenide integrated circuits to provide current gain and inversion. mflops: acronym for a Million Floating Point Operations Per Second, a measure of computing power. Usually associated with large mainframe computers. Short for Megaflop. MFT: abbreviation for Multiprogramming with A Fixed Number of Tasks. The tasks being programs. MICR: acronym for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. mips: acronym for Million Instructions Per Second. Refers to the average number of machine language instructions a computer performs in one second. MIS: abbreviation for Management Information System. ML: abbreviation for Manipulator Language. An IBM Corporation programming language for controlling robots. modem: acronym for Modulator/Demodulator, a device that translates digital pulses from a computer into analog signals for telephone transmission, and analog signals from the telephone into digital pulses the computer can understand. MOS: abbreviaiton for Metallic Oxide Semiconductor. MOSFET: acronym for Metallic Oxide Semicondoctor Field Effect Transistor, a semiconductor characterized by an extremely high input impedance, a fairly high active impedance and low switching speeds. MP/M: abbreviation for Multiprogramming Control Program for Microcomputers. It is a multiuser operating system for smallcomputers. MPU: abbreviation for Microprocessing Unit. MPX: abbreviation for Multiplexer. ms: abbreviation for Millisecond. MSD: abbreviation for Most SIgnificant Digit. MS/DOS: abbreviation for Microsoft Disk Operating System, the standard operating sytem used by the IBM personal computer and compatible computers. Developed by Bill Gates. msec: abbreviation for milisecond. one thousandth of a second. MSI: abbreviation for Medium Scale Integration. MSSG: abbreviation for message. MTBF: abbreviation for Mean Time Between Failure. The average length of time in which the system or a component of the system works without fault. MTTF: abbreviation for Mean Time To Failure. The average length of time in which the system or component of the system works without fault. MTTR: acronym for Mean Time To Repair. The average time expected to be required to detect and correct a fault in a computer system. MUX: acronym for Multiprogramming With A Variable Number Of Tasks. NASA: acronym for National Aeronautics And Space Administration. NBS: abbreviation for National Bureau Of Standards, a governmental agency that has the responsibility of establishing standards for the computer industry. NCC: abbreviation for National Computer Conference, a computer trade show held annually. NCIC: acronym for the FBIs computerized National Crime Information Center, the heart of a large law enforcement network. NMOS: acronym for N-Channel MOS. Circuits that use currents made up of negative charges and produce devices at least twise as fast as PMOS. NOP: acronym for No Operation. NRZ: abbreviation for Nonreturn To Zero, one of the several methods for coding digital information on digital tape. NS: abbreviation for Nanosecond, one billionth of a second. NTSC: abbreviation for National Television System Committee, a color television standard. OCR: abbreviation for Optical Character Recognition. Characters printed in a type style that can be read by both machines and people. OEM: abbreviation for Original Equipment Manufacturer. A company or organization that purchases computers and peripheral equiptment for use as components in products and equipment that they subsequently sell to their customers. OS: abbreviation for Operating System. PAL: acronym for Phase Alternation Line, the color television system used in most Eurpoean countries. PAM: acronym for Pulse Amplitude Modulation, in which the modulation wave is caused to amplitude modulate a pulse carrier. PC: abbreviation for Personal Computer, Pocket Computer, Portable Computer, Printed Circuit, and Program Counter. PCB: abbreviation for Printed Circuit Board, the plastic board into which a computers various electronic components are soldered. PCM: acronym for Plug Compatible Manufacturer. A buisness that makes computer equipment that can be plugged into existing computer systems without requiring additional hardware or software interfaces. PDM: abbreviation for Pulse Duration Modulation. PERT: acronym for Program Evaluation and Review Technique, a management technique for control of large scale, long term projectsm involving analysis of the time frame required for each step in a process and the relationships of the completion of each step to activity in succeeding steps. PILOT: acronym for Programmed Inquiry, Learning Or Teaching. PIN: acronym for Personal Identification Number. A security number that systems often require before a user can access a system. PLA: abbreviation for Programmable Logic Array. An alternate to ROM that uses a standard logic network programmed to perform specific functions. PLANIT: acronym for Programming Language For Interactive Teaching. Used with CIA systems. PLATO: acronym for Programmed Logic For Automatic Teaching Operations, a computer based instructional system that uses large computers and plasma display terminals. PMOS: acronym for P-Channel MOS, the oldest type of MOS circuit, in which the electrical current consists of a flow of positive charges. POS: abbreviation for Point Of Sale terminal. pph: abbreviation for Pages Per Hour. PPM: abbreviation for Pulse Position Modulation. PROLOG: acronym for Programming In Logic, a high level logic based programming language used in the field of articicial intelligence. Prolog is designed to manipulate knowledge instead of numbers. It is composed mainly of common English words an duses these words to describe facts, relationships, and patterns in a logical, concise fashion. PROM: acronym for Programmable Read Only Memory. A memory that can be programmed by electical pulses. Once programmed it is read only. psec: acronym for picosecond; one trillionth of a second. R: abbreviation for Register, Request, and Reset. RAM: acronym for Random Access Memory, a memory into which the user can enter information and instruction (write) and from which the user can call up date (read). RAM is the working memory of the computer. RF: abbreviation for Radio Frequency, the general term for broad spectrum of electromagnetic radiation ranging in frequency from 10,000 to 40 billion cycles per second. RFP: abbreviation for Request For Proposal. A document that describes ones requirements sent to vendors to elicit their design of a hardware or software system that meets those requirements. RI/SME: abbreviation for Robotics International Of the Society Of Manufacturing Engineers. RJE: abbreviation for Remote Job Entry. Refers to the programs used to submit processing jobs from terminals. RO: acronym for Reveive Only. A designation used to indicate the read only capabilities of equiptment lacking keyboards and other input facilities. ROM: acronym for Read Only Memory. RPG: abbreviation for Report Program Generator. A popular buisness oriented programming language highly structured and relatively easy to learn. RPROM: acronym for Reprogrammable PROM. SAM: acronym for Sequential Access Method. A method for storing and retrieving data on a disk file. Also known as Surface to Air Missle commonly Used by Iraq. SBC: abbreviation for Small Buisness Computer. SCM: abbreviation for Society For Computer Medicine, an organization which brings together physicians and computer scientists emphasizing the use of automation for medical applications. SCR: acronym for Silicon Controlled Rectifier, a semiconductor device usefull in controlling large amounts of DC current or voltage. SCS: abbreviation for Society for Computer Simulation and Shanghai Computer Society. I didnt know you could make computers made of bamboo? SIG: abbreviation for Special Interest Group. SLA: abbreviation for Special Libraries Association. SLSI: abbreviation for Super Large Scale Interrogation. Refers to high density chips that contain 1 million or more components per chip. SMIS: acronym for Society for Management Information Systems. Information exchange professionals. SNA: acronym for Systems Network Architecture. SNOBOL: acronym for String Oriented Symbolic Language, another high level programming language. SO: acronym for Send Only. SOP: acronym for Standard Operating Procedure, the status quo! SOS: abbreviation for Silicon On Sapphire, the process of fabricating integrated chips on layers of silicon and sapphire. Boats often use this as "Save Our Ship." SPA: abbreviation for Systems and Procedures Association, a professional organization whose purpose is to promote advanced management systems and procedures through seminars, professional education, and research. SSI: acronym for Small Scale Interrogation. STRESS: acronym for Structural Engineering System Solver. A problem oriented language used for solving structural engineering problems. STRUDL: acronym for Structurial Design Language, a programing language that is used for the design and analysis of structures. SYSGEN: acronym for Systems Generation. The process of modifying the generalized operating system received from the vendor into a tailored system meeting the unique needs of the individual user. T: abbreviation for tera, prefix for one trillion. tb: abbreviation for Terabyte, one trillion bytes, 1,000gb. TOS: abbreviation for Tape Operating System. TPI: abbreviation for Tracks Per Inch, a measure of storage density in magnetic disks. TRSDOS: acronym for Tandy-Radio Shack Disk Operating System, the operating system for Radio Shack TRS-80 minicomputers. TTL: acronym for Transistor-Transistor Logic. Logic circuits based on bipolar devices. UART: acronym for Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter. A device that converts parallel data into serial form for transmission along a serial interface. uC: abbreviation for microcomputer. uP: abbreviation for microprocessor. UPC: abbreviation for Universal Processor Code. VAB: acronym for Voice Answer Back, an audio response device that can link a computer system to a telephone network. VDL: abbreviation for Vienna Definition Language, a language for defining the syntax and semantics of programming languages. VDT: abbreviation for Video Display Terminal, an input/output device consisting of a display screen and an input keyboard. VDU: abbreviation for Visual Display Unit, a peripheral device on which data is displayed on some types of screen. VLDB: abbreviation for Very Large Data Base. VLSI: abbreviation for Virtual Machine/System Product, an operating system for large IBM mainframe computers. VS: abbreviation for Virtual Storage. WATFIV: acronym for Waterloo Fortran IV, a Fortan compiler developed for teaching purposes at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. WATFOR: acronym for Waterloo Fortran, a version of Fortran developed at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. WATS: acronym for Wide Area Telephone Service. A service that permits an unlimited number of calls from one point to any location in the large area. The United states is divided into 6 WATS zones. WPM: abbreviation for Words Per Minute. XOR: abbreviation for Exclusive OR. ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ - THE îND - ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ