Line-column decode

[myeire]

I tried to find my first cache today. After searching with no luck, I thought I would use the hint. But, the hint said to decode a bunch of numbers using the "Line-Column" decode method.

 

What is that?

 

I tried googling it, searching this site but I couldn't come up with anything.

 

I finally had to give up because my fingers and toes were just to numb.

 

 

Thank you,

obviously one very new noob

[+Panther&Pine]

Well sounds like you might have picked a difficult cache to start with.

Can you tell us the GC code so we can give you specifics? or what town you're caching in?

 

Generally caches like you describe are called Unknown's and it is considered poor form to ask for help here on the forums. Of course you just found that out, so no harm done. And they are often not where the icon is on the map.

[+niraD]

The only thing that comes to mind is some sort of transposition cipher.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposition_cipher

[+maxx borchovski]

When starting our with geocaching, look for traditional caches, they are the easiest to find. The blue question mark and yellow box icon ones are a little more difficult. Also the caches have a rating for difficulty and terrain. Pick one with lower numbers, that will be easier to find. Another thing I picked up on is to read the logs online before going out, a couple of 'did not find (DNF)' log entries tells you the cache is either more difficult to find than indicated, or the cache may be missing. Another good way to start is pick larger sized caches, the very small ones can be hard to spot. The more caches you find, the quicker you will start to spot potential hiding places. The tiny magnetic nano caches are hard to find for newbies as they are so small. With only 70 finds to my name, I'm by no means an expert, but I find I can spot caches quite quickly now and have started to go after more difficult caches with greater success.

 

When you get your eye in for finding the caches or just want to dive in to puzzle caches, this series has a very good set of tutorials on how to solve puzzle caches.

Puzzle solving 101 series

 

Good luck and welcome to geocaching

[+L0ne.R]

I'm thinking it has something to do with the 'View Source' html code of the cache page.

Edited January 22, 2013 by L0ne R

[+maxx borchovski]

I think I found the cache and am intrigued by the hint. If it is the one I found, then it's a traditional cache that's set up a bit strangely. The cache is a short distance from the coordinates, Its strange the reviewer allowed the placement with a puzzle for a clue. Normally the clue is supposed to be a hint to the hide, written in plain language.

 

Of course I could be looking at the wrong cache page. Also without the hint item to look at, then the cache page hint puzzle is useless as the info on the hint item needs decoding.

[+niraD]

I think I found the cache and am intrigued by the hint. If it is the one I found, then it's a traditional cache that's set up a bit strangely. The cache is a short distance from the coordinates, Its strange the reviewer allowed the placement with a puzzle for a clue.

I just took a look. If we're looking at the same Traditional cache, then it was published in 2003. The guidelines for cache types (or at least, the enforcement of them) was less rigorous than it is now. I've found other Traditional caches with multi-cache or mystery/puzzle cache elements that were hidden back then. They're essentially grandfathered, since they wouldn't be published that way now.

 

Normally the clue is supposed to be a hint to the hide, written in plain language.

Well, it's supposed to be a hint, but I haven't seen anything official that says that it needs to be in plain language. And I've seen plenty of hints that have been at least somewhat cryptic, requiring some thought to interpret correctly.

 

But regarding the original question, I think that "line-column" in this case refers to a simple book cipher, where the object itself is the key. So 7-11 would refer to the 7th line, and the 11th column of that line. And 10-4 would refer to the 10th line, and the 4th column of that line.

[+L0ne.R]

I think I found the cache and am intrigued by the hint. If it is the one I found, then it's a traditional cache that's set up a bit strangely. The cache is a short distance from the coordinates, Its strange the reviewer allowed the placement with a puzzle for a clue.

I just took a look. If we're looking at the same Traditional cache, then it was published in 2003. The guidelines for cache types (or at least, the enforcement of them) was less rigorous than it is now. I've found other Traditional caches with multi-cache or mystery/puzzle cache elements that were hidden back then. They're essentially grandfathered, since they wouldn't be published that way now.

 

Normally the clue is supposed to be a hint to the hide, written in plain language.

Well, it's supposed to be a hint, but I haven't seen anything official that says that it needs to be in plain language. And I've seen plenty of hints that have been at least somewhat cryptic, requiring some thought to interpret correctly.

 

But regarding the original question, I think that "line-column" in this case refers to a simple book cipher, where the object itself is the key. So 7-11 would refer to the 7th line, and the 11th column of that line. And 10-4 would refer to the 10th line, and the 4th column of that line.

 

I'm guessing you would also need to find the same edition so that the lines and columns will match with the book the CO was using.

[+maxx borchovski]

I'm guessing you would also need to find the same edition so that the lines and columns will match with the book the CO was using.

 

The text to extract the code from is the hint item at the location, not a book.

Edited January 22, 2013 by maxx borchovski