From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

AJ3X4 GUHP2 Y2RHP 74LPL P23BP K3343 PPUWF AQ3NT 5CT7V
WC67H 4KXGN JT2PN 7KD75 NQXX2 C6NL3 2P6W2 HZ3CX YTV5
6 WYL34 5NMXZ 7LUJX 23BPP U6FAQ 3OTJ6 NJ3X5 FPLP2 3BP
JX ZW67H 5CX6W IUCPM 77TKO 57H5C X6WHT KZIT3 H742T XP
Z7I V7TVV SWP7Z VHO7W J42V3 GTJ6A J3X5F PLP23 BPJXZ W
67H5 CX6SY UCDNW PUKP6 WYL34 7RK4Z VGPJ5 X5IP7 VWC67
ILZVP PJ723 I7IEK 667JM KBBW7 V2TIT 7VWC6 7HTKX NQ5GT
42TXP 2FN7M DKZ6W KGT4A TXPYN IO7UZ U5PPV XBI7I FN42
W 7UWFA Q3NTJ U2PVW C67IF N42WX VP5FR IEG36 W2H2X OSX
X2 3BPPT VVS77 TKO57 LMF56 SXVSY 6V7UW FAQ3P 23I7K 52
K67 LMF56 TYUCD N2NH2 C67JT J267L MF56W LLKXM 7GUWZ I
2PQC O57BV B36WH VX5NQ XU35C T7VWC 67H4K XGNJT 2PN7K
D75NQ XX2C6 NL32P 6W2H2 BCXXX 2LCQI NX5OU 2E75N QXXZ4
2V3MH 76AJ3 X5NUP VO5FP PVC66 V7VWC 67HLL F6NJ3 X5IX
X VP5NQ XX2PC QINX7 6NJ3X 5NUPT WFPRH L35NQ XX2LC QIN
X4 7V2E3 5NQXX Z22VZ E55MW NGT42 TXPYN IO7VR VQ7LM FV
N7I VX5QN LH2BI UHOT4 ATXP2 3BPPT 266TY U6B6N J3X5N Q
XX2N IVZ4K PA7MD 2W67L MF56P 2F2XN Q7TVV S2NGT JU

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

Byrl Raze Buckbriar expressed precisely :

AJ3X4 GUHP2 Y2RHP 74LPL P23BP K3343 PPUWF AQ3NT 5CT7V
WC67H 4KXGN JT2PN 7KD75 NQXX2 C6NL3 2P6W2 HZ3CX YTV5
6 WYL34 5NMXZ 7LUJX 23BPP U6FAQ 3OTJ6 NJ3X5 FPLP2 3BP
JX ZW67H 5CX6W IUCPM 77TKO 57H5C X6WHT KZIT3 H742T XP
Z7I V7TVV SWP7Z VHO7W J42V3 GTJ6A J3X5F PLP23 BPJXZ W
67H5 CX6SY UCDNW PUKP6 WYL34 7RK4Z VGPJ5 X5IP7 VWC67
ILZVP PJ723 I7IEK 667JM KBBW7 V2TIT 7VWC6 7HTKX NQ5GT
42TXP 2FN7M DKZ6W KGT4A TXPYN IO7UZ U5PPV XBI7I FN42
W 7UWFA Q3NTJ U2PVW C67IF N42WX VP5FR IEG36 W2H2X OSX
X2 3BPPT VVS77 TKO57 LMF56 SXVSY 6V7UW FAQ3P 23I7K 52
K67 LMF56 TYUCD N2NH2 C67JT J267L MF56W LLKXM 7GUWZ I
2PQC O57BV B36WH VX5NQ XU35C T7VWC 67H4K XGNJT 2PN7K
D75NQ XX2C6 NL32P 6W2H2 BCXXX 2LCQI NX5OU 2E75N QXXZ4
2V3MH 76AJ3 X5NUP VO5FP PVC66 V7VWC 67HLL F6NJ3 X5IX
X VP5NQ XX2PC QINX7 6NJ3X 5NUPT WFPRH L35NQ XX2LC QIN
X4 7V2E3 5NQXX Z22VZ E55MW NGT42 TXPYN IO7VR VQ7LM FV
N7I VX5QN LH2BI UHOT4 ATXP2 3BPPT 266TY U6B6N J3X5N Q
XX2N IVZ4K PA7MD 2W67L MF56P 2F2XN Q7TVV S2NGT JU

looks like the coded messages when I was in the army, 40 years ago
--
/-\ /\/\ /\/\ /-\ /\/\ /\/\ /-\ T /-\
-=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- - -=-
........... [ al lavoro ] ...........
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

Byrl Raze Buckbriar <news0@octade.net> writes:

AJ3X4 GUHP2 Y2RHP 74LPL P23BP K3343 PPUWF AQ3NT 5CT7V
WC67H 4KXGN JT2PN 7KD75 NQXX2 C6NL3 2P6W2 HZ3CX YTV5
6 WYL34 5NMXZ 7LUJX 23BPP U6FAQ 3OTJ6 NJ3X5 FPLP2 3BP
JX ZW67H 5CX6W IUCPM 77TKO 57H5C X6WHT KZIT3 H742T XP
Z7I V7TVV SWP7Z VHO7W J42V3 GTJ6A J3X5F PLP23 BPJXZ W
67H5 CX6SY UCDNW PUKP6 WYL34 7RK4Z VGPJ5 X5IP7 VWC67
ILZVP PJ723 I7IEK 667JM KBBW7 V2TIT 7VWC6 7HTKX NQ5GT
42TXP 2FN7M DKZ6W KGT4A TXPYN IO7UZ U5PPV XBI7I FN42
W 7UWFA Q3NTJ U2PVW C67IF N42WX VP5FR IEG36 W2H2X OSX
X2 3BPPT VVS77 TKO57 LMF56 SXVSY 6V7UW FAQ3P 23I7K 52
K67 LMF56 TYUCD N2NH2 C67JT J267L MF56W LLKXM 7GUWZ I
2PQC O57BV B36WH VX5NQ XU35C T7VWC 67H4K XGNJT 2PN7K
D75NQ XX2C6 NL32P 6W2H2 BCXXX 2LCQI NX5OU 2E75N QXXZ4
2V3MH 76AJ3 X5NUP VO5FP PVC66 V7VWC 67HLL F6NJ3 X5IX
X VP5NQ XX2PC QINX7 6NJ3X 5NUPT WFPRH L35NQ XX2LC QIN
X4 7V2E3 5NQXX Z22VZ E55MW NGT42 TXPYN IO7VR VQ7LM FV
N7I VX5QN LH2BI UHOT4 ATXP2 3BPPT 266TY U6B6N J3X5N Q
XX2N IVZ4K PA7MD 2W67L MF56P 2F2XN Q7TVV S2NGT JU

Has skewed distribution of the 32 characters, so doesn't look
polyalphabetic, but I can't find any letter that is distributed the way
text would in a monoalpabetical substitution cypher either. There's
definitely some weirdness, for example J3X5FPLP23BPJXZW67H5CX6
appears twice.

Phil
--
We are no longer hunters and nomads. No longer awed and frightened, as we have gained some understanding of the world in which we live. As such, we can cast aside childish remnants from the dawn of our civilization.
-- NotSanguine on SoylentNews, after Eugen Weber in /The Western Tradition/
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles


Phil Carmody <pc+usenet@asdf.org> posted:

Byrl Raze Buckbriar <news0@octade.net> writes:

AJ3X4 GUHP2 Y2RHP 74LPL P23BP K3343 PPUWF AQ3NT 5CT7V
WC67H 4KXGN JT2PN 7KD75 NQXX2 C6NL3 2P6W2 HZ3CX YTV5
6 WYL34 5NMXZ 7LUJX 23BPP U6FAQ 3OTJ6 NJ3X5 FPLP2 3BP
JX ZW67H 5CX6W IUCPM 77TKO 57H5C X6WHT KZIT3 H742T XP
Z7I V7TVV SWP7Z VHO7W J42V3 GTJ6A J3X5F PLP23 BPJXZ W
67H5 CX6SY UCDNW PUKP6 WYL34 7RK4Z VGPJ5 X5IP7 VWC67
ILZVP PJ723 I7IEK 667JM KBBW7 V2TIT 7VWC6 7HTKX NQ5GT
42TXP 2FN7M DKZ6W KGT4A TXPYN IO7UZ U5PPV XBI7I FN42
W 7UWFA Q3NTJ U2PVW C67IF N42WX VP5FR IEG36 W2H2X OSX
X2 3BPPT VVS77 TKO57 LMF56 SXVSY 6V7UW FAQ3P 23I7K 52
K67 LMF56 TYUCD N2NH2 C67JT J267L MF56W LLKXM 7GUWZ I
2PQC O57BV B36WH VX5NQ XU35C T7VWC 67H4K XGNJT 2PN7K
D75NQ XX2C6 NL32P 6W2H2 BCXXX 2LCQI NX5OU 2E75N QXXZ4
2V3MH 76AJ3 X5NUP VO5FP PVC66 V7VWC 67HLL F6NJ3 X5IX
X VP5NQ XX2PC QINX7 6NJ3X 5NUPT WFPRH L35NQ XX2LC QIN
X4 7V2E3 5NQXX Z22VZ E55MW NGT42 TXPYN IO7VR VQ7LM FV
N7I VX5QN LH2BI UHOT4 ATXP2 3BPPT 266TY U6B6N J3X5N Q
XX2N IVZ4K PA7MD 2W67L MF56P 2F2XN Q7TVV S2NGT JU

Has skewed distribution of the 32 characters, so doesn't look
polyalphabetic, but I can't find any letter that is distributed the way
text would in a monoalpabetical substitution cypher either. There's definitely some weirdness, for example J3X5FPLP23BPJXZW67H5CX6
appears twice.

Phil

for example J3X5F PLP23 BPJXZ W67H5CX6 appears twice.

???

__________________

AJ3X4 must correspond to 1 letter?

AJ3X4 reminded me of something....... ISO standard ???

and also of..


George Lucas's first film is titled "THX 1138." It was his feature film debut in 1971 and was an expansion of a student short titled "Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB," made while he was at the University of Southern California. "THX 1138" is a dystopian science fiction film exploring social and political themes of the 1960s. This was the first full-length film Lucas directed before he moved on to his more famous works like "American Graffiti" and "Star Wars".[1][2][3]

[1](https://kitbashed.com/early-career) [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lucas_filmography) [3](https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Lucas) [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000184/) [5](https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/george-lucas) [6](https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/george-lucas-star-wars-facts) [7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lucas) [8](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls040687710/) [9](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/George_Lucas) [10](https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/comments/15yo4ub/what_were_george_lucas_first_steps_into_star_wars/)
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Sat, 22 Nov 2025 14:02:26 +0200, Phil Carmody wrote:

Has skewed distribution of the 32 characters, so doesn't look
polyalphabetic, but I can't find any letter that is distributed the way
text would in a monoalpabetical substitution cypher either. There's definitely some weirdness, for example J3X5FPLP23BPJXZW67H5CX6 appears
twice.

The 'word-length' and block-length has a very distinctive repeating
pattern.

0: 0
1: 0
2: 50
3: 35
4: 19
5: 38
6: 43
7: 56
8: 0
9: 0
A: 10
B: 14
C: 24
D: 6
E: 5
F: 19
G: 11
H: 21
I: 23
J: 22
K: 19
L: 23
M: 13
N: 41
O: 11
P: 51
Q: 20
R: 5
S: 7
T: 34
U: 21
V: 37
W: 31
X: 57
Y: 10
Z: 16
SPC: 159
NL: 14
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:11:30 -0000 (UTC), David Entwistle wrote:

The 'word-length' and block-length has a very distinctive repeating
pattern.

Possibly just a function of the medium and my news reader's
characteristics.
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

David Entwistle <qnivq.ragjvfgyr@ogvagrearg.pbz> writes:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:11:30 -0000 (UTC), David Entwistle wrote:

The 'word-length' and block-length has a very distinctive repeating
pattern.

Possibly just a function of the medium and my news reader's
characteristics.

The chunking into groups of 5 separated by spaces is just convention
for readability - remove all whitespace and combine into one line.

Phil
--
We are no longer hunters and nomads. No longer awed and frightened, as we have gained some understanding of the world in which we live. As such, we can cast aside childish remnants from the dawn of our civilization.
-- NotSanguine on SoylentNews, after Eugen Weber in /The Western Tradition/
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles


Phil Carmody <pc+usenet@asdf.org> posted:

David Entwistle <qnivq.ragjvfgyr@ogvagrearg.pbz> writes:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:11:30 -0000 (UTC), David Entwistle wrote:

The 'word-length' and block-length has a very distinctive repeating
pattern.

Possibly just a function of the medium and my news reader's characteristics.

The chunking into groups of 5 separated by spaces is just convention
for readability - remove all whitespace and combine into one line.

Phil

I didn't realize that...


Could the OP give us another hint?


What is this NG about?
https://newsgrouper.org/alt.rhubarb



https://newsgrouper.org/rec.puzzles
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Wed, 26 Nov 2025 17:36:23 +0200, Phil Carmody wrote:

The chunking into groups of 5 separated by spaces is just convention for readability - remove all whitespace and combine into one line.

Yes, thanks. I'm just back from a holiday and I suspect I was a bit more
tired than I realized after the journey.

SOME THOUGHTS - NO ANSWERS.
OME THOUGHTS - NO ANSWERS.
ME THOUGHTS - NO ANSWERS.
E THOUGHTS - NO ANSWERS.
THOUGHTS - NO ANSWERS.
THOUGHTS - NO ANSWERS.
HOUGHTS - NO ANSWERS.
OUGHTS - NO ANSWERS.
UGHTS - NO ANSWERS.
GHTS - NO ANSWERS.
HTS - NO ANSWERS
TS - NO ANSWERS.
S - NO ANSWERS.
- NO ANSWERS.
- NO ANSWERS.
NO ANSWERS.
NO ANSWERS.
O ANSWERS.
ANSWERS.
ANSWERS.
NSWERS.
SWERS.
WERS.
ERS.
RS.
S.
.

A nice challenge.

I calculate the Index of Coincidence of the original ciphertext to be
0.05209, suggesting poly-alphabetical substitution, or at least not monoalphabetic substitution.

Looking at Trigrams, quadgrams, etc. repetition spacing could be on
multiples of six characters, but could be multiples of three.

Blocking the ciphertext into six columns, each column contains less than
26 individual characters, which is promising. The individual character
counts, from the columns, look better in some cases that others, in
respect of a plain text distribution.

Next job (possibly) will be to look at the IoC on the six columns
ciphertext.

The combination of characters and digits is causing me some trouble for
basic work using a spread sheet. Lookup either works for characters, or numbers, but not both. I'll get there eventually. I sometimes think I'd be better off using pencil and paper.

If it rains, I'll spend some more time on it.
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Thu, 27 Nov 2025 09:38:18 -0000 (UTC), David Entwistle wrote:

I calculate the Index of Coincidence

... incorrectly, as my existing method doesn't handle numbers. I'll need
to change that.
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Sat, 22 Nov 2025 14:02:26 +0200, Phil Carmody wrote:

Has skewed distribution of the 32 characters, so doesn't look
polyalphabetic, but I can't find any letter that is distributed the way
text would in a monoalpabetical substitution cypher either. There's definitely some weirdness, for example J3X5FPLP23BPJXZW67H5CX6 appears
twice.

Phil

I'm not making much progress on this...

'J3X5FPLP23BPJXZW67H5CX6' appears at position 122 and 206, a spacing of 84 characters. This is presumably the same clear text encrypted by the same process. 84 has factors 2, 2, 3 and 7.

Looking either side of that sequence, there seem to be increased numbers
of matching letters.

3OTJ6NJ3X5FPLP23BPJXZW67H5CX6WIUCPM77TKO5 3GTJ6AJ3X5FPLP23BPJXZW67H5CX6SYUCDNWPUKP6

Looking at consecutive number (N) and letter (L) sequences, we have:

N: 94
NN: 51
NNN: 7
NNNN: 1
NNNNN: 0
L: 37
LL: 27
LLL: 29
LLLL: 24
LLLLL: 15
LLLLLL: 15
LLLLLLL: 5
LLLLLLLL: 1
LLLLLLLLL: 0
LLLLLLLLLL: 1
LLLLLLLLLLL: 1
LLLLLLLLLLLL: 0

The longest sequence of consecutive numbers (4) is: 3343, bounded by:
K3343P.

The longest sequence of consecutive numbers (11) is: SYUCDNWPUKP, bounded
by: 6SYUCDNWPUKP6.
The second longest sequence of consecutive numbers (10) is: NUPTWFPRHL, bounded by: 5NUPTWFPRHL3.
The third longest sequence of consecutive numbers (8) is: ATXPYNIO,
bounded by: 4ATXPYNIO7.
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Sat, 29 Nov 2025 03:51:16 -0000 (UTC), David Entwistle wrote:

Looking either side of that sequence, there seem to be increased numbers
of matching letters.

Sliding two copies of the ciphertext against each other and counting the matching characters, there is a distinct uptick when the offset is a
multiple of 6:

0: 792
1: 32
2: 21
3: 22
4: 26
5: 24
6: 64
7: 32
8: 28
9: 19
10: 34
11: 28
12: 58
13: 27
14: 21
15: 28
16: 24
17: 33
18: 79
19: 26
20: 28
21: 16
22: 25
23: 15
24: 87
...

The number of character matches are particularly high when the offsets are (offset:matches):

324:112
468:112
84:105
708:105
108:96
684:96
90:90
702:90
120:89
672:89

112 matches out of 792 characters is 1 in 7... The offsets 324 and 468
differ by 144...

Hmmm...
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Fri, 21 Nov 2025 09:38:32 +0100
Ammammata <ammammata@tiscali.it> wrote:

Byrl Raze Buckbriar expressed precisely :

AJ3X4 GUHP2 Y2RHP 74LPL P23BP K3343 PPUWF AQ3NT 5CT7V
WC67H 4KXGN JT2PN 7KD75 NQXX2 C6NL3 2P6W2 HZ3CX YTV5
6 WYL34 5NMXZ 7LUJX 23BPP U6FAQ 3OTJ6 NJ3X5 FPLP2 3BP
JX ZW67H 5CX6W IUCPM 77TKO 57H5C X6WHT KZIT3 H742T XP
Z7I V7TVV SWP7Z VHO7W J42V3 GTJ6A J3X5F PLP23 BPJXZ W
67H5 CX6SY UCDNW PUKP6 WYL34 7RK4Z VGPJ5 X5IP7 VWC67
ILZVP PJ723 I7IEK 667JM KBBW7 V2TIT 7VWC6 7HTKX NQ5GT
42TXP 2FN7M DKZ6W KGT4A TXPYN IO7UZ U5PPV XBI7I FN42
W 7UWFA Q3NTJ U2PVW C67IF N42WX VP5FR IEG36 W2H2X OSX
X2 3BPPT VVS77 TKO57 LMF56 SXVSY 6V7UW FAQ3P 23I7K 52
K67 LMF56 TYUCD N2NH2 C67JT J267L MF56W LLKXM 7GUWZ I
2PQC O57BV B36WH VX5NQ XU35C T7VWC 67H4K XGNJT 2PN7K
D75NQ XX2C6 NL32P 6W2H2 BCXXX 2LCQI NX5OU 2E75N QXXZ4
2V3MH 76AJ3 X5NUP VO5FP PVC66 V7VWC 67HLL F6NJ3 X5IX
X VP5NQ XX2PC QINX7 6NJ3X 5NUPT WFPRH L35NQ XX2LC QIN
X4 7V2E3 5NQXX Z22VZ E55MW NGT42 TXPYN IO7VR VQ7LM FV
N7I VX5QN LH2BI UHOT4 ATXP2 3BPPT 266TY U6B6N J3X5N Q
XX2N IVZ4K PA7MD 2W67L MF56P 2F2XN Q7TVV S2NGT JU

looks like the coded messages when I was in the army, 40 years ago

You're in the army now.
You're not behind a plow.
You can't get rich
by digging a ditch.
You're in the army now.

Modern metal version:

https://youtu.be/OnhadwIP6RU

First campy rock version from a Dutch / ZA band:

https://youtu.be/XfT3vdZZ17I


--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:51:01 GMT
HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:

Phil Carmody <pc+usenet@asdf.org> posted:

David Entwistle <qnivq.ragjvfgyr@ogvagrearg.pbz> writes:

On Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:11:30 -0000 (UTC), David Entwistle wrote:

The 'word-length' and block-length has a very distinctive repeating
pattern.

Possibly just a function of the medium and my news reader's characteristics.

The chunking into groups of 5 separated by spaces is just convention
for readability - remove all whitespace and combine into one line.

Phil

I didn't realize that...

Could the OP give us another hint?

The train has sixty-four boxcars. The engineer does not reverse it. A railroad engineer moves the train forward.

What is this NG about?
https://newsgrouper.org/alt.rhubarb

Hillbilly vittles.

https://newsgrouper.org/rec.puzzles

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Thu, 20 Nov 2025 23:16:25 -0600, Byrl Raze Buckbriar wrote:

AJ3X4 GUHP2 Y2RHP 74LPL P23BP K3343 PPUWF AQ3NT 5CT7V

This looks as though it may have some characteristics in common with the National Cipher Challenge, Challenge 10B, released today.

https://www.cipherchallenge.org/challenge/chapter-10/

I haven't got far with either, as yet.
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Thu, 18 Dec 2025 21:47:43 -0000 (UTC), David Entwistle wrote:

This looks as though it may have some characteristics in common with the National Cipher Challenge, Challenge 10B, released today.

https://www.cipherchallenge.org/challenge/chapter-10/

Although you may wish to look at the NCC challenges, I should have made it clear not to post any clues, nor detailed information relating to that
here.
--
David Entwistle
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2