Question: When David is detained in that room, under armed guard, how exactly does he escape? You know, he found a tape recorder and tampered with that keypad entry system?
Gawdsmakk
1st Jan 2023
WarGames (1983)
Answer: The keypad that controlled the door used an analog tone-based system, much like old analog telephones. The control system for the door listens for which tone is produced by the button press, and if it hears the correct sequence of tones, the door opens. That's why David feigned having to use the restroom; he was running the tape recorder that was hooked up directly to the system in order to get the guard to input the correct code so that the correct tone sequence would be recorded, which he then played back, tricking the control system into thinking he had pressed the correct buttons on the outside.
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Answer: He got the door to open with the copied sounds off the tape recorder, then shorted out the door's entry system, walked out slowly while the guard was coming on to the nurse. David then got on the bus after certain NORAD employees who were not familiar with him mistook him for a tourist.
It's implausible at best that David would know exactly how to hook up the tape recorder to the door lock, especially without spending hours trying. But it's just a movie.
Gawdsmakk