Gary writes in –
I’ve worked a bit with BASIC Stamp microcontrollers from Parallax, specifically the BS2p40. Last week I noticed one in the hands of a character in episode 20 of season 6 of “24.” It showed up again in episode 21.
Without giving too much away, this chip (on “24,” not mine!) is a proprietary Russian FB-sub circuit board that contains nuclear weapon unlock codes. Of course, there isn’t any reason this microcontroller couldn’t be used for such things, at least to some level, but it seemed a funny choice given that Parallax has such a business built around using BASIC Stamps to teach young kids, and electronics amateurs how to build fun things with these little programmable mini-computers.
BASIC Stamp BS2p40 spotted in “24” – Link.
10 thoughts on “Russian nuclear unlock codes on a BASIC Stamp BS2p40”
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huh? episode 21 hasn’t aired yet!
Whoops, you’re right. This was from episode 20, and I had also seen it in 19, possibly also before that. Good catch.
i love it when writers and directors do their research and actually have something relevant to real life in their shows. hits that warm, fuzzy, geeky spot in my heart.
Looks like the prop guys glued some extra SMD chips on the board, probably to cover up the definitely non-Cyrillic lettering.
Wow, 24 huh, pretty lame they use something like this on a TV show where they really have no clue what it is used for…