An old smuggler smirks at you as he looks you up and down. Your credits slide across the table and his hand snatches them up as he takes a swig of his ale and glares at you with his one good eye.
"Listen up kids, you have two problems with changing transponder codes." His fingers count and waggle at you as he makes his points.
"First, the transponder is tied to your sub-light drive energy signature. So you basically need to swap out your engines to get a completely clean one. Not a huge deal if you've got the drive and time."
"Second, the bigger deal is B.O.S.S. The Bureau of Ships and Services. They have records of all ships, their captains, and their records. The information is heavily encrypted and requires a top slicer. That is where transponder chop shops make their money. They create a fake record, slice it into the spaceport records and the BOSS droid courier ship drops out of hyperspace, uploads the most recent records from the port, and leaps away. BAM! A clean ship with a clean record is now on file with BOSS."
The old smuggler leans back looking impressed with himself when a sly smile curls up the side of his grizzled face. He leans forward with a conspirators grin.
"I think what you guys want though, and by far the cheaper method, is to create a sensor mask. A ship can have several sensor masks." The smuggler looks at each of you to make sure everyone is still paying attention.
"So, a transponder is broadcast based on the sub-light drive energy signature right? You can rig up a device that masks this signature as somebody else. You know, signatures of legitimate, honest freighters." Everyone chuckles at this but he stops and slaps the table.
"But the problem is, it is not foolproof. A good sensor operator might tell there is something fuzzy about the ship transponder reading. The closer you are the easier it might be for them to see through it. Obviously if you're boarded the gig is up when they check your ship logs."
"The higher your quality of sensor mask, the harder it is to see through. They're also more expensive! Not to mention that sensors with a skilled operator can use different setting modes depending on how vigilant they are."
"Finally there is the sensor jammer. This makes you hard to identify but makes you show up like a bright, shiny red dot on any sensor scope and its very easy to detect. You are obviously someone that does NOT want to be identified and the authorities will immediately respond accordingly."
"I know for a fact a sensor jammer costs 4000 credits. A full clean transponder swap is going to run you tens of thousands depending on the size and type of ship. Sensor masks can cost you 10,000 credits for average quality."
