[GreenKeys] CRYPTOGRAPHIC REMINDED ME OF THIS

[Bob McConnell]

BOB LAAG wrote:
> JUST WONDERING IF ANY ONE KNOWS THE NAME OF OR HAS SEEN THE MACHINE USED 
> WITH THE 5 CHAR GROUPS ENCRYPTED MESSAGES THAT  WERE ON THE SHORT-WAVE 
> BANDS YEARS AGO???  WAS IT A MECHANICAL MACHINE OR SOME COMPUTERIZED 
> UNIT???  JUST WONDERING...
> 

Hi Bob,

There were any number of ways to generate the five character groups. I'm 
sure some of them came from computer programs, but you could even use a 
one time pad with a pencil. The idea was to take the encrypted text and 
insert spaces so that there were periodic gaps like those between words. 
There are a number of cypher programs available now that could be 
modified to print them.

The device I used in the service 35 years ago was a mechanical cypher 
with keyboard and printer. You set up the code wheels and typed the text 
on the keyboard. It printed out one of those fancy gummed strips so you 
could tear lines apart and glue them down. Yes, they tasted as bad as 
postage stamps.

Bob McConnell
N2SPP