Cracking The Bus Bomb Code

[Daishi45]

The Bus Bomb code has always fascinated me, it looks just so readable, even coded. I feel I've cracked it, my solve gives an exact azimuth and exact location, and further, fits behaviorally in all aspects of the Zodiac case. I will not give my solve here, if it's correct the last thing I desire is a bunch of armchair detectives running around the countryside like in 'It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World' looking for a giant W (or Z) getting blown to smithereens and/or contaminating a crime scene.
If the bomb is still there it could still be dangerous, even if the battery went dead (surely it has) whacking it with a shovel or pick-ax could still have some truly adverse affects on the human body and direct environment. Besides, who knows what else is there if Z never went back? Paul Stine's keys and wallet? Donna Lass' body? Messages? Surely he left a "Congrats on finding this!" note. I will only give my solve to the FBI, if they are interested. I would have went to them directly, but I'm sure they'd just roll their eyes and say "Oh, LOOK! ANOTHER looney with a 'sure-fire' solve! WOO-HOO!". I don't blame them a bit after nearly 50 years of the Zodiac case and all its crazy characters! Anyway, If the Crypto-Folks at the FBI are interested, I'll surely do my duty and send them my solve. If SA Dan O. is still around here, Mr. O let me know! I'll email it to your official FBI.gov address.

Anyway, what 'll do here is explain what I did to get my solve. Now, Z wanted this code cracked and no one could do it. He further knew that there were not enough letters and symbols to crack it, it's far too random. So I put myself in his head and saw he would place clues in the upper message itself to give a starting point on the crack. He did. He made this word so unique that it would be possible to continue with the decode, and it worked. The clue to the first word is there (twice!). You just have to understand how Z dropped hints, which I was able to do seeing through his eyes. Z just acted the illiterate fool, he really was very complex and extremely intelligent. Anyway, after it's cracked you'll see 98% of the solve is already right there in the code itself, you just to know how to read it. It really is another masterpiece, as was the 340. So now you know, the clue to crack it is right there in the message, you just have figure it ala Sherlock. This is a real-life secret code, mythical killer deal, so think hard and scan carefully. He even puts two snide Z-jokes into the last line of the code, behavioral markers as unique as he was himself. Try to figure what Z saw as 'cipher' and what he considered 'code' and remember he was very random at changing things from one to another on his whims, a 'well, they'll get it' type thing. Good Luck!

[vasa croe]

So....what are you going to do when the FBI does laugh and tell you to kick rocks? Are you then going to reveal your solution or are you going to attempt to look for it yourself?

I would highly doubt Z left any other crime scene evidence there as it would just be blown up if there really is/was a bomb.

It is also likely that the area has been changed a lot since the bomb letter. Have you attempted to see if the area you believe it to be has changed since then? Possibly the hillside is gone and replaced by a strip mall or the like?

Anywho...good luck with your search, and hopefully the FBI listens.

[masootz]

no offense, but if you're not going to post your method or your results then why bother bringing it up? just send an email to the fbi or whoever and let it go from there. we get a lot of "i have figured it out but can't tell you how" type threads and they're tedious. just my 2 cents.

[Tahoe27]

no offense, but if you're not going to post your method or your results then why bother bringing it up? just send an email to the fbi or whoever and let it go from there. we get a lot of "i have figured it out but can't tell you how" type threads and they're tedious. just my 2 cents.

I agree.

Posts sometimes give me deja vu of old posts.

[AK Wilks]

Nobody is going to run out to any location with a pick axe. That will not happen. Also it is probably not a bomb. And nobody is going to run out to a location anyway. You could also reveal almost all of your work and method, but leave out one final small piece so the exact location would not be revealed. Others have posted solutions indicating a location and nobody has gone out to those locations. You can also post a notice with your work that any item discovered there are yours and are subject to protection by evidence laws, so that nobody can take them without committing a felony obstruction of justice and evidence tampering and be subject to civil suit by you.

Frankly it is an entirely exaggerated concern that can easily be dealt with as I outline above, and again, others have posted locations and nobody has ever gone to them. And it is insulting to call us a bunch of amateur detectives who are going to run out to a location with pickaxes looking for a bomb.

If you post your work here, you can have some very talented and experienced code experts analyze your work and your methods, and give you feedback on if it seems you have discovered something or if there are clear errors in your work. Others have done so in regards to some problems, questions and concerns in your 340 work. The criticisms, questions and discussions of your map code work would no doubt prove useful. If you don't want or need our help, why did you join here? There are a lot of experienced and talented people here willing to help you, but you have to be willing to show most of your work. You have the publicly disclosed emails for the FBI, Cal DOJ and SFPD. If you don't want our help, go ahead and send it to them.

I could give you the personal email of the FBI code unit leader and the personal email of an analyst, if you show most of your work and I had some reason to believe your work had merit. But I can tell you from experience that 1) They have little to no interest in any proposed code solutions that involve anagrams, word puzzles, hidden meanings, cryptic recoveries and/or depart from traditional code methods and 2) they strongly prefer to have proposed solutions subjected to board criticism and analysis, to in effect serve as a vetting process, correcting mistakes and sharpening the work. They have specifically asked board operators to pass on any worthy proposed solution only after it comes out strong by consensus opinion through a vigorous board discussion and examination process. That is the function we can perform.

Dozens maybe unto hundreds of people claim to have cracked the codes. So far nobody has actually done it. It is rather pointless to declare you have solved a code and then not show your work. In regards to both your proposed 340 and map solutions would strongly advise going here viewtopic.php?f=81&t=2012 and carefully read the entire document on what to do if you think you have solved a Zodiac Code. I think it would be helpful to you.

[Theforeigner]

Suggestion:

Morf, offer Daishi45 to make a closed thread, and invite only the 3-5 very best cypher skilled/experts guys/gals to that thread if Daishi45 is willing to share his work with them and let them go through it with Daishi45 , and if they approve that Daishi45's solution seems to possibly be valid, those of you who have the email contact to Dan Olson unit chief of the FBI Laboratory Division’s Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit in Quantico, Virginia, can, together with Daishi45 send the solution etc to Dan Olson:

Just my 2c

[AK Wilks]

Suggestion:

Morf, offer Daishi45 to make a closed thread, and invite only the 3-5 very best cypher skilled/experts guys/gals to that thread if Daishi45 is willing to share his work with them and let them go through it with Daishi45 , and if they approve that Daishi45's solution seems to possibly be valid, those of you who have the email contact to Dan Olson unit chief of the FBI Laboratory Division’s Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit in Quantico, Virginia, can, together with Daishi45 send the solution etc to Dan Olson:

Just my 2c

That is not a bad idea but it can be accomplished even easier. We have a suspect section that is only open and visible to members. It is called Top Secret Zodiac Suspect Discussion. There is already one code thread there. If Morf would allow it he can direct Daishi45 to post his code work there. The work would be unavailable to the general public but all the members with code knowledge here could evaluate the work. This should be satisfactory to all of Daishi45 concerns about posting his map code solution. There is no reason for him not to post his 340 solution. And really no legitimate reason for him not to post his map code solution right here the same way dozens of people with proposed solutions have in the past.

I strongly think there is no realistic need at all for the super secrecy but this is a potential remedy.

[Daishi45]

Hi all,
Thanks for all the replies and great ideas! I only posted this to let others out there know that the BB code is not uncrackable, a clue is there by Z himself, by my read, and he even gives later clues, mainly the Halloween Card to Paul. I read it as he is giving the azimuth to the BB code in three different formats, one is the famous weird return address symbol, one is the back of the card, and the last is they eyes on the inside of the card. This is all done under the guise of a death threat against Paul, I don't even believe he intended to attack Paul, he just needed a vehicle to get his clues out, as he did with the 'My Name Is' letter for the 340. I could be wrong, of course, but I go behaviorally, and my gut tells me it all fits. I knew I was cracking open a can of worms with all this, but I really mainly want to let you all know I feel all this stuff is solvable, Z wanted them solved, and if indeed I have solved them correctly, I can give YOU some clues and a nudge to have the fun of solving them yourselves. If my solve is correct, I don't want a crime scene contaminated, so I'm not being a teasing jerk here, I'm just trying to give some guidance on how one may decode it. Z even gives decode verification of two of the coded symbols in the code itself, if I read it right, but you can't see this until it's decoded. He always seems to give a verification that a solver is on the right track as the solve goes on, such as the plaintext 'S' of 'is' right before his Zodaik name on the 340. That's how I read it. Heck, I'm not even sure the site in my solve is still locatable, maps of the area from that time would have to be secured, and at THAT site a further specific area would have to be located IN that site. Maybe best to let sleeping dogs lie...but I feel Z really wanted his stuff read and gave specific later clues on HOW to read them later down the line after he found no one could crack them. The funnest part of the whole trip for me was locating the clues and deciphering them, then applying them to his unsolved code, ciphers and code/ciphers. Even if I'm wrong, which I could be, I've still had a blast on this long strange clue hunt, but if I'm right, I'm the only person on the entire planet that can write codes, ciphers, cipher/codes and messages in authentic Zodiacese! No need for secret meetings or anything like that, I just would like to say don't give up, they can be cracked and I feel Z always gave the required clues to crack them, one just has to find and read them correctly. Now, the azimuth I decoded is 246. Can you find this azimuth in the Halloween card sent to Paul Avery in the return address symbol (which is a backdrop of double-peaked Mount Diablo, by the way...he chose this image to let you know it dealt with the Mount Diablo code... The Mt. Diablo map gives 369, not 90, 180 etc...why? What goes better with 369 than 246? ). Can you further find 246 on the back of the card? In the eyes on the inside of the card? He couldn't be TOO obvious with his clues, he had to make them somewhat difficult. Does the eye cluster in the lower left corner look kinda like the shape of a 4 if you trace a four through them? Try it. Do the eye cluster to the right of them kinda look like a six facing southeast pointing towards the return address symbol down there? Does the upper eye cluster look kinda like a 2 with no bottom line? He couldn't be TOO obvious, so he had to muddle perfect images somewhat. That's MY read on them, anyway. The reader will have to decide for themself if it feels right or is off the mark...Cheers!

[AK Wilks]

As to your specific clues, what you "see" in the Halloween Card I do not see. At all. And I really tried. I don't think Z would give clues to direction in such a vague and subjective manner. Any 5 people looking at the card are likely to see 5 different things. If you have work that leads to a more grounded and specific solution, please post it. Many here want to see your proposed solution to the map and 340 codes.

Following up on the excellent idea by TheForeigner, I started a thread called Confidential Work On Zodiac Codes in the MEMBERS ONLY section called Top Secret Zodiac Suspect Discussion.

The general public can NOT see any posts in that section. Only logged in members can see the posts. You can test this yourself, just view the site when not logged in, and you will see that section is not visible.

The secret thread is here: viewtopic.php?f=107&t=2244

Again, I personally don't see the need for secrecy, but for Daishi45 or any member who wants to post proposed solutions, work in progress, ideas or theories that they do not want the public to see at this time, they can post there in confidence that only members will be able to see it. Now 99% of all code work should be posted right here, but for Daishi45 or anyone who has proposed code solutions or code work that gives specific locations or names living people who are not convicted killers, post in the secret section. In terms of code work on this site, it is a fairly small subset of the overall membership that takes an active interest in the code work. At any given time, there may be 6 to 12 members who I consider very knowledgeable and experienced in codes and who very actively and regularly post, discuss and analyze code work, and another fluctuating group of 10 to 20 who have varying degrees of knowledge and experience with different approaches and on occasion post, analyze and discuss the codes. So it is a pretty select group, but collectively, even if you look at say just the 6 most knowledgeable and experienced code experts here, you have almost 100 years of Zodiac code experience. We also have newbies like Jarlve and others, who have fresh and interesting approaches. But among the experienced veterans are the top amateur code experts in the country.

This includes the people who designed, created and implemented the BEST computer decoding programs and the BEST most widely used Zodiac decrypt programs. Many of them are computer professionals and well recognized as code experts in general and Zodiac code experts in particular. Some of them I know to have MS and PHD's in computer programming, probability studies, statistical analysis, graphic design, and applied physics. I have a different background - experience as an Army Military Policeman, BA in Political Science with minor in Criminal Justice, then a law degree and first working for the goverment side in juvenile justice (including many serious felony cases and one murder case) and later the private side as a criminal defense lawyer in the adult justice system (also including many serious felony cases and several murder cases). Through my research I got the FBI to question my POI in the Tylenol case and got Ohio authorities to publicly declare Zodiac a suspect in unsolved Midwest murders based on strong MO similarities to SB 63 & LB 69 and other evidence I showed them. So I bring that experience and perspective. We have had current and retired police detectives and news reporters here as well. And other members bring different and fresh perspectives - amateurs, newbies, college students, college professors, lawyers, doctors, writers, military and people from all walks of life. From all over the country and all over the world. Including people who excel at factual research, locating info on people, criminal psychology, handwriting, etc. Code wise we have those who do pen and paper approach and computer approach. Traditional and innovative approaches. Some who are very interested in and open to anagram and cryptic meanings, others who are generally not.

So Daishi45, and other members, you can avail yourself of this tremendous resource, or not. These people are very generous with their time and energy, most even willing to examine approaches they don't favor, on the off chance there could be something of value there and/or to try to advise newbies on blind alleys and time wasters, things that years of experience shows do not work. As always, when you get the benefit of criticism, questions and advice, you decide which to take, which to consider and which to ignore.

Speaking just for myself, I would advise you to go ahead and post your map code (and 340) solution in the secret thread I have created. If you do you will get some excellent analysis and helpful discussion. If you don't, then just send your proposed solution to the publicly available FBI and SFPD emails. I first sent in all of my code work and case research to these publicly available emails, and I did get responses. In the Tylenol case it resulted in the FBI asking my POI for a DNA sample based on the evidence I sent. Also in a state police code unit being interested enough in my proposed Zodiac Code solutions that give a name that they forwarded it to a case detective who then called me, and eventually in a letter I was CC'ed on the detective requested the feds get the DNA of the suspect. And while the FBI has never endorsed any of my code work, Code Unit (Racketeering Records & Cryptanalysis) Chief Dan Olson and another analyst did give their personal emails and we exchanged several communications. So it IS POSSIBLE to get the attention of authorities, IF your code work and case research shows some potential merit or at the very least shows a serious, well grounded and interesting effort.

So if you are not going to post your work here and get the benefit of our analysis, if you REALLY think you have solved the map and 340 codes, go ahead and send them your work.

For me, I will not waste any more time in what is IMO a nonsensical approach were you do not post your work, but rather give a few vague clues. Sorry not for me. We have played that game in the past with other people and it leads nowhere. Dozens of people have posted proposed solutions here. The only way to verify a solution as correct is for you to post it. Nobody will independently come to the same solution as you. Nobody has in almost 50 years. By you giving clues it actually biases and steers people towards your solution. If you just do what every other person has done and post your solution, we can independently analyze it and verify or disprove if it is correct.

Anyway, I created the secret thread for you. I hope you use it. If you don't, then it is likely I will not respond to any more of your work, and my guess is most or all of the code experts here will not either. I cannot work on the basis of vague clues. If you have a legit proposed solution, post it in the secret thread, and you will get the benefit of excellent help and analysis. As I said, if I see your work and believe it has merit, I would give you the personal emails of the FBI code people and SFPD people I have, to help you cut through the red tape. But as I know from experience, if you have good work, you can get responses from the publicly available emails. If you will not show your work, why did you join? It is up to you.

[up2something]

If my solve is correct, I don't want a crime scene contaminated, so I'm not being a teasing jerk here, I'm just trying to give some guidance on how one may decode it.

Trust me, no one is going to run out to your supposed crime scene. If you think you have a solution, post it along with your methodology for decoding it. From what you've described so far, I think it's nonsense, which I have no desire to attempt to recreate. There's been enough of that for close to 50 years and it's simply gotten old. Somewhere on this site is a thread, which discusses several "solutions" that have been touted as THE solution. You may find it educational if not humbling.