AK Wilks, Subject: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Tue Feb 01, 2011 4:13 pm
SOLUTION TO THE ZODIAC 340 SYMBOL CODE – GENERAL ANALYSIS – NOT POI SPECIFIC
AK Wilks, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:00 am
REVISED AND IMPROVED WORK ON THE ZODIAC 340
NON-POI SPECIFIC
SOLUTION TO THE ZODIAC 340 SYMBOL CODE – START AT THE BEGINING – IF WE CAN DECIPHER THE FIRST LINE IT MAY PROVIDE THE KEY TO SOLVE THE ENTIRE CODE
What appears below is the raw unsolved Zodiac 340 Code and what I think is the correct first stage solution to the Zodiac 340 Code. I did not create this solution. It was based on the work of Robert Graysmith and appeared in the 1979 FBI file, and was then worked on by some posters at the old Zodiac Killer board – Kite, Claston, Ed, Sean, Obiwan and a few others. Kite, myself and a few dozen other researchers at http://www.unazod.com , aetv cold case files, this site and elsewhere also think this is the correct solution.
There are no cheats in this solution. Every one symbol translates to one letter. When you solve the first four lines, a lot of the rest of the code is filled in. And by the time you solve line eight, most of the rest of the code is filled in. The code solution provides clear English langauge words and phrases, and key Zodiac concepts and themes.
The Zodiac 340 symbol code has become the Mt. Everst of unsolved codes. When it first appeared, it defied solution by the FBI Code Unit, the NSA and the military. Then and in the years since, no clear and convincing solution has been forthcoming, despite the efforts of the FBI, supercomputers and hundreds of professional and amateur codebreakers.
The likely way to solve the 340 is the same way as Don and Bettye Harden solved the Zodiac 408 Code. And that is by applying ideas and insights into Zodiac, his mindset, obsessions and likely vocabulary. And to solve the first line, which then provides a key to solving the entire code. The raw code itself starts with "H E R".
Many have noted points of similarity between the Zodiac and Jack the Ripper, and have wondered if the Zodiac was inspired by or copied some aspects of the earlier famed serial killer, who also wrote taunting letters to the police and left graffiti at a crime scene. Both Jack the Ripper and Zodiac demanded their words appear in the newspaper without changes or edits. Both spoke of removing "female parts".
Zodiac also used other similar words and phrases as Jack the Ripper – JTR spoke of his "funny little games", while Zodiac spoke of the "game"; both JTR and Zodiac taunted the police would "never catch" them; both signed a letter "Yours Truly"; JTR said in a letter he would have the "good ole times" again while Zodiac talked of the "good times" he had in Vallejo; and a man who may have been Zodiac abducting a coed in Riverside in November 1966 spoke of the recent murder of Cheri Jo Bates and said it was safe for the coed to be with him as "I’m not Jack the Ripper".
Their was a famous Jack the Ripper letter addressed to the head of a local citizens watch group, Mr. Lusk. At the top of the letter, Jack the Ripper wrote it was "From Hell".
As Robert Graysmith, Zander Kite and myself look at the 340, we think that Zodiac started with a similar salutation to local SF Chronicle columnist Herb Caen.
Just as Jack the Ripper told Lusk he is "From Hell", Zodiac tells Caen that he "Gives Them Hell Too".
(Zodiac does some word scrambles and anagrams to increase difficulty, sometimes creating alternate or hidden meanings. This opening line literally reads, perhaps alluding to the task of solving this code, that it is HERCEAN BIG. A task worthy of HERCULES, a difficult job, is called HERCULEAN, and here we have a shortened version HERCEAN, followed by BIG.)
Zodiac seems fixated on SEEING things, and hidden names and visions.
Don and Bettye Harden, using their thoughts and analysis of what Zodiac would likely say, correctly guessed the opening line of the Zodiac 408 Code as "I like killing". That provided the key to solving the rest of the 408 code. And so it is the case here as well with the 340. The opening line provides the key to solving the code.
As you decode the 340 and translate that first line as HERC EANB (HERB CAEN) I GIVE THE HELL TOO, on the 4th line the words SEE A NAME start to appear, and on the amazing 8th line appears THESE FOOLSHALL SEE.
What is it that we "shall see"? Right before SEE A NAME on the 4th line, on the 3rd line we see SLEU(TH) THEO. THEO is Greek for God. Is Zodiac proclaiming himself God, or mocking God? Or is THEO a clue to his name?
Below is the first stage solution with some of the key sentences and vertical/diagonal words marked.
Not only does this proposed solution give clear words like I GIVE THEM HELL TOO, SEE A NAME and THESE FOOLSHALL SEE, I also discovered that key Zodiac words like LIST and BOMBS appear diagonally! To me that is absolute confirmation that this is the intended first stage solution of the 340. It is impossible that key words Zodiac used would appear by accident like that, together, correct spelling, no anagrams. We also see THEO, which is Greek for GOD, and on a vertical downward under the "M" in BOMBS we see DEO, which is Latin for GOD.
Nobody – not Graysmith or anyone at the Zodiac Killer board – ever noticed or found or claimed the words that I mark here. Like BOMBS and LIST appearing diagonally, and GAME backwards. No anagrams, correct spelling. Three key Zodiac words – what are the odds that happens by coincidence? Then there other words noticed by Kite and myself. Forms of restraints like BARS, LEASH, STALLS, TIES, BALL. And words that apply to restraints, like TAKE and LOSE.
I then think that parts of this first stage solution needs a Caesar Code analysis with the 0-3-6-9 shift values that Zodiac kept giving us as clues. But that is a seperate topic.
It is impossible these words all appear by mere chance. They cannot be fabrications or forces by Graysmith because he never noticed them. So either all these happen by chance – mathematically impossible – or they were placed there by Zodiac and this is a correct first stage solution.
And here is the same solution with additional words marked.
No other 340 attempt has results anything like this. It is consistent, logical and follows basic "ETA" letter frequency code solve and word solve principles. Kite told me he started from scratch and essentially came up with the same basic first stage solution Graysmith did. So forget whatever you think about Graysmith, look at the code, it works!
Unazod poster Zander Kite found the letters to angram FIND running right alongside BOMBS. And Zodiac would talk about hiding BOMBS, so that is BOMBS to FIND.
So FIND could apply to BOMBS, as in the hidden bombs. Or, it could apply to the SEE A NAME question, in the sense of FIND THEO. And the FIND leads right to THEO, and right after that is SEE A NAME. All a coincidence? Perhaps, but highly unlikely.
Also, looking at that possible FIND line, it continues as KURT, also could be an anagram for TURK.
Also, see on the 6th line, in the middle, EMAG, straight backwards that is a key Zodiac word, GAME.
Of course we have the incredible number of restraints – BARS LEASH STALLS TIES BALL – and verbs that can apply to restraints – TAKE LOSE.
The "Confession" letter in the Bates case also talked about having a "BALL."
And there is an anagram for MATH.
The most incredible of all, IMO, is the stunning and connected DUEL LIST BOMBS THEO SEE A NAME, plus going backwards from the "B" in BOMBS an anagram for BLAST. Zodiac talked about a "little LIST" and he talked about "BOMBS" AND "BLAST", and here we have LIST going into BOMBS with a BLAST. With THEO, then SEE A NAME.
I will go on record, absolutely NO WAY that all happens by chance, that was intended by the maker of the 340 Code, and that is Zodiac. This is his message.
The we have I GIVE THEM HELL TOO, THEO, then SEE A NAME, then THESE FOOLSHALL SEE. All relevant messages, coherent, no anagrams, consistent themes of seeing hidden things.
THE KEY SEQUENCE:
A close up on a series of amazing word finds in the 340 solution.
L….S….E….*….I….L….U…..E….H….S….T…..H….E….O….L….H….S
S….E….E….A….N..A…M….E….B….W….E…..O….L….L….R….K….E
S….E….I….L…..L….L….F….M….I…..A…..P…..I….L….L….S….G….A
E….M….R….N….P….A….O….D….E…M….A….G….P….C….E….T….T
O….A….L….S….T….B….N….E….U…*…..S…..H….B….L….L….E….I
………………S
…………I
……L
So we have "LIST" leading to the "T" in "A L S T B", a probable anagram for "BLAST" (a word Zodiac used, something like ‘when I have my BLAST’), with the "B" then forming a diagonal "BOMBS". Which leads us to "THEO", then "SEE A NAME". We also have a vertical SEAT, a place a student can be confined to, thus a type of restraint. Following SEAT is TIES. We also have a perfect backwards "GAME".
The words BLAST, BOMBS, LIST and GAME are absolutely key words that Zodiac used repeatedly.
It is impossible that they would all appear by chance. They serve as validation that this is indeed the correct solution.
Robert Graysmith then tried to force a solution out of some parts of the solution that were not as clear, because he did not realize that some those parts require a seperate second stage analysis using a Caesar Code method with letter shifts of 0, 3, 6 and 9.
KITE noted the following:
Whereas the 3 part cipher may have a few hidden words and perhaps themes and also the unknown 18, the 340 cipher seems possibly laced with hidden words and their matching themes in all directions. The jumbled style of the 340 would allow for more freedom of cryptic, in a manner of speaking. I believe the more that Zodiac wanted to hide, the more degraded the straight text became, and thus, in my opinion, possibly, a drug angle was included to misdirect in two senses. Misdirection the investigation(or police) and to misdirect the code breaker into thinking the degraded straight text was a result of drug use and thus mask the, perhaps, real reason for the weakened text–(hidden cryptics).
AK = I noted the following possible drug references in this 340 solution. Zodiac suspects like Bruce Davis and Richard Gaikowski used drugs. So perhaps Zodiac put these drug references in as clues to his beliefs or messages to the people. But, far more likely IMO, given intellectual elements of code work and the precison with which Zodiac carried out most of his work, the drug references are as Kite states, probable misdirections and red herrings.
PILLS…EAT LSD…TAKE (LSD) CUBE…LAUDANUM
QueenOfClews, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Thu Feb 14, 2013 2:18 pm
I wonder if Z either borrowed this from a word search puzzle, or created his own. The junk letters around the other discernible words could have been the product of this method.
Just an idea, not sure it would even work.
AK Wilks, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:54 pm
Right. It is my thought Z might have used word puzzle methods in placing LIST BOMBS diagonally and other words vertically or backwards but critics say these are just chance and I cant deny that .
QueenOfClews, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Thu Feb 14, 2013 4:52 pm
I think the two very clear phrases found within the text suggest this is not just a coincidence. I haven’t seen any other solutions which had any coherent parts, but are largely forced solutions. The significance of the phrases themselves may be lost on the majority, but if one of those phrases had some associative value in terms of a particular suspect, then they take on a whole new level of meaning.
I am convinced of one of the following:
1.This whole code is B.S.
2.More than one way of deciphering is required to get the final solution, e.g., decoding cipher characters and then applying some other formula for re-arranging the letters or removing or adding letters, etc.
3. The entire cipher does not contain a fluent statement, but rather tidbits and hints.
4. The identity of the Zodiac will not be found in the code, even in the event that someone finds a solution.
I am torn between all of the above possibilities as being the true state of things.
More than anything I believe that Z would not have violated one of the cardinal rules of mystery writing.
(taken from "Twenty rules for writing detective stories" by S.S. Van Dine)
I herewith list a few of the devices which no self-respecting detective story writer will now avail himself of. They have been employed too often, and are familiar to all true lovers of literary crime. To use them is a confession of the author’s ineptitude and lack of originality… (j) The cipher, or code letter, which is eventually unraveled by the sleuth.
Clovis, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:50 am
I am convinced of one of the following:
1.This whole code is B.S.
2.More than one way of deciphering is required to get the final solution, e.g., decoding cipher characters and then applying some other formula for re-arranging the letters or removing or adding letters, etc.
3. The entire cipher does not contain a fluent statement, but rather tidbits and hints.
4. The identity of the Zodiac will not be found in the code, even in the event that someone finds a solution.I am torn between all of the above possibilities as being the true state of things.
Well said, Queen. I definitely agree with #4. Relating to #3, I’ve often suspected that cipher is simply a list of words with no particular meaning. Perhaps all ‘ill’ words since searching for ‘kill’ is what led the Hardens to the solution of the 408 or if there is a message, it’s something about the bus bomb, given the timing.
Qz1, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sat Feb 23, 2013 12:10 am
I don’t understand why you would base any findings on Graysmith’s work when it is demonstrably wrong. You are using an erroneous decryption, annagraming it, word searching it till you find what you want. The bits that don’t work require another step that is variable. You can force anything out of this you want.
AK Wilks, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sat Feb 23, 2013 9:42 am
Nobody has come up with a better solution attempt.
morf13, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sat Feb 23, 2013 10:15 am
Nobody has come up with a better solution attempt.
It’s all jibberish though,not very coherent. Since Zodiac’s solved cipher was a steady,and coherent message that made sense, why would we assume his next cipher would be more of a jibberish style?
Qz1, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sat Feb 23, 2013 10:43 am
At this point, 40+ years on, I surrender. As Morph13 stated above, your solutionis gibberish. I believe the cipher is probably more of the same.
AK Wilks, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:24 am
Morf and Qz those are valid points, and I am in the minority here. I think parts of the Raw Graysmith, as worked on by other researchers, may have some valid parts. Parts appear coherent – SEE A NAME, THEO, THESE FOOLSHALL SEE, I GIVE THEM HELL TOO, DUEL LIST BOMBS GAME – but most appears to be near gibberish. I think a second stage is needed to solve the parts that appear near gibberish, and that this probably involves a Caesar shift with 0-3-6-9 values. You can see that work here:
http://zodiackillersite.forummotion.com … e-analysis
But I have not yet arrived at a total complete coherent solution. I think there are other steps involved, but I don’t know what they are. or, I could be completely wrong. 
Drew, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:33 am
One odd coincidence I found regarding attempts to solve this cipher — Nin came up with "My name is Polish" in 2011, and Doug Oswell and a poster named Zander Kite came up with "A Polish Name" in 2002. I mentioned this to Nin and she was completely unaware of the earlier discovery.
AK Wilks, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:56 am
One odd coincidence I found regarding attempts to solve this cipher — Nin came up with "My name is Polish" in 2011, and Doug Oswell and a poster named Zander Kite came up with "A Polish Name" in 2002. I mentioned this to Nin and she was completely unaware of the earlier discovery.
That is interesting. NIN’s work is here: viewtopic.php?f=81&t=212
I made some posts in that thread. With POLISH NAME you certainly think of Jack the Ripper suspects like Kosminski, and more importantly Zodiac suspects with Polish names like Gaikowski and Kaczynski.
What I found most interesting is that the My Name Is cipher matches the part of the Raw Graysmith.
NIN has looked at the Zodiac My Name Is Code as perhaps being a CLUE on how to solve the Zodiac 340, with a possible find of "POLISH NAME" or "MY NAME IS POLISH."
Now look what KITE and I have been cooking up…"THEO" discussed here and as found in the 340 3rd line only means Greek for God.
KITE (Edited BY AK Wilks): I’m wondering now if the April 20, 1970 My Name Is… code was, in part, meant to call attention or otherwise allude to the Line 3 possible cryptic in the 340 cipher? Look at the similarities: Both are 13 letters:
AEN+(8K8M8)^NAM (+ for Zodiac symbol and ^ for the Aries symbol)
ILUEHS(THEO)LHS
You can look at one as built around the 8K8M8 and the other around THEO.
8+8+8=24 and K+M=24. 8+8+8+K+M=48 THEO=48 (20+8+5+15)(Number for letters in THEO)
Look at the letters from 4/20/70 and the letters from Line 3 (Not counting THEO):
AAEKNNMM
EHHILLSSU
[Also look at this:
AA NN MM E K
LL HH SS E I
– AK]
And look at the letters broken in sections of before, in, and after the center:
AEN KM NAM
ILUEHS LHS
Notice how NAM are repeats from the five before and LHS are also repeats from the six before it.
One is: MY NAME IS….AEN+8K8M8^NAM
One is: ILUEHSTHEOLHS….SEE A NAME
The following comparison is possibly the most compelling of all: On the right, a breakdown of the 13 symbols from the My Name Is Code. The 13 from Line 3 of the 340 cipher on the left.
HHH…..888
LL…….AA
EE…….NN
SS…….MM
U………E
T………K
O………^ Aries Symbol
I……….+ Zodiac Symbol
Looks like a match. And the HHH=888 is a number for letter match additionally, no pun intended. H is the 8th letter of the alphabet.
AK WILKS:
FRICKIN AMAZING!!!
A poster named NIN has been working on a possible MyNameIs/340 tie in, and came up with the possible clue of POLISH NAME.
The 1986 Graysmith Raw Solution has a 4th line asking the questions SEE A NAME.
On the 3rd line we have THEO, with 9 letters surrounding it.
Zodiac asks "BY THE WAY HAVE YOU CRACKED THE LAST CIPHER I SENT YOU?". Zodiac is of course refering to the 340. He then gives us a clue how to solve the 340, he says "MY NAME IS" then gives us the code. By telling us his 13 letter NAME, he is calling attention to the 4th line in the 340 which asks SEE A NAME, and the 13 letters that preceeded it.
There does seem to be a strong match between the 13 symbols Zodiac gives us in April of 1970 and the Graysmith solution to the 340, more evidence that the much maligned Graysmith solution is largely or at least partially correct.
Both the My Name Is Code and the Graysmith 340 3rd line have:
One set of triples
Three sets of doubles
Four singles
Coincidence?
Lets look further:
HHH…..888 (MATCH as H is 8th letter in alphabet)
LL…….AA (+15 shifts)
EE…….NN (+9 shifts)
SS…….MM (-6 shifts)
U………E (+10 shifts)
T………K (-9 shifts)
O………^ Aries Symbol (In the 408 virtually the same symbol translates to an O)
I……….+ Zodiac Symbol (The Zodiac Symbol Is "I" to the Zodiac)
————————————————
Zodiac My Name Is Code:
A E N + … 8 K 8 M 8 ^ … N A M
Zodiac 340 Graysmith 3rd Line:
I L U E … H S T H E O … L H S
——————————————–
Graysmith 3rd line of Zodiac 340
Zodiac My Name Is
Kite Decode of Zodiac My Name Is To Graysmith 3rd Line
I L U E … H S T H E O … L H S
A E N + … 8 K 8 M 8 ^ … N A M
L U E I ….H T H S H O … E L S
Drew, Subject: Re: Solution to the Zodiac 340 Symbol Code Sun Feb 24, 2013 1:35 pm
The seemingly cryptic message below was an email received at Tom’s site on August 6, 2003 — the subject header also stated that Zodiac was arrested. I thought it was interesting because it seems to contain at least a couple different references to things in the 340 — things like phillsgame, Jincowski. I thought I would post it in case anyone hasn’t seen it yet.
In 1990, the General Manager of the Blue Jays said that he was the Zodiac Killer. He phoned me at Dorothy Stickle’s home, because I used to live with Dorothy, from September 1989 to January 1991. The Wild Country (formerly All Hit Country) had a contest going, or wagering on who was going to win the World Series. I phoned them and guessed the "Phillies" were going to win. I started getting calls from a Blue Jays player named Joe Jancowski, I don’t have the exact spelling of his name. Anyways; he was a Chekaslovacian, he had a rare Cancer and he was the star player. He told me that he had to take lots of medication. I also got calls from the GM, I don’t know his name, he told me that he is the Zodiac Killer. He was arrested in 1999, by the Williams Lake RCMP; he confessed to the fact that he was the Zodiac Killer.
MODERATOR
ace ventura: what is the thinking here on RG’s solution of the 340 cypher ? any credability?
Wier : As attempts go, I think it’s a very good effort and he probably deserves some credit on that score. That said, it’s not even there as he outlined and simply, not correct.
AK Wilks: I think the majority of Z researchers do not give much credence to the Graysmith proposed solution. I am in the minority of researchers who do think it has some merit.
Hey QuickTrader you should know that Graysmith also solves ++ as LL. You are speculating that prior to the LL we have an A, as in Z words like BALL, SHALL and ALL. Graysmith has some of the letters prior to LL as I, as in KILL, THRILL, WILL, PILL.
And to Wier – What Graysmith presents as his final stage solution to the 340 has IMO been rightly dismissed by most. It has a garbled confused feel, with baby talk langauge, forced word solves and incoherent meaning. "BLAST THESE LIES PARDON ME BULLSHIT PILLS GAME PHONE LAKE", etc.
A group of researchers back on the old ZK board, led by Ed, Kite, Claston, Obiwan, Sean and some others, put together an excellent version of what the Graysmith actual first stage solution likely was before he started in on the forced word solves and made up phrases.
That first stage RAW solution is IMO largely correct. What Graysmith did not know was that parts of his first stage solution must be subjected to a second phase of Caesar shifts of 0-3-6-9, that some words appear diagonally, vertically and backwards (LIST BOMBS DUEL LEASH BARS GAME) and that there is at least one other stage that nobody has yet figured out!
But IMO his first stage solution is largely correct, or at least partially correct, and provides the best starting point to actually solve the 340 cipher.
You can see my thoughts and work on the RAW Graysmith 340 here:
And more advanced and POI specific work here: http://unazod.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f … &start=150
And QuickTrader, I don’t think the 9=B, as you propose.
I say one other possible translation worth exploring could be S99=SEE.
In the 408 code an E=E and a backwards R=R, so that may provide a reason to at least try S=S.
Also in the 408 code 9=E.
This is the fourth line of the unsolved 340 and beneath it is the fourth line of the proposed solution.
So I also think at least two other parts of the Graysmith attempt are probably correct – the end of the 3rd line and 4th line SEE A NAME – here is what you get plugging those in.
If this is correct then the 8th line could read THESE FOOLSHALL SEE or THESE FOOLS WILL SEE or some similar variation. It ties into the 4th line SEEA NAME and the subsequent MY NAME IS letter and code.
ONEWHOKNOWS: I completely agree. The anagramming required is simple and easy. This version of Graysmith’s proposed solution, includes references to Clear Lake which is right above Lake Berryessa in California. Also are references to pills and LSD. Also are the names of detectives and San Francisco celebrities, which I’m sure Zodiac considered himself as one of them. SEEANAME Below… If Graysmith did nothing else but to provide us this solution, then he did a service. Stop beating a dead horse.
ENTROPY: I honestly have a problem with any presentation of a "partial solution" because it’s very easy to find a solution to a selected portion of the cipher, just as there are about a million semi-plausible "solutions" to the 13 symbol My Name Is… cipher. It’s coming up with a consistent method that works on ALL of the cipher that’s the really hard part.
Here’s the Graysmith "solution" sans anagramming and other manipulation:
I agree it’s probably one of the best attempts out there but even the first five lines that seem almost logical are really pretty awful.
HERCEANB becomes Herb Caen (simple anagramming and makes sense but it’s questionable whether Zodiac ever even mentioned Herb Caen)
BTSALTESEHLSE_I becomes "Blast these lies" (still simple anagramming)
LUEHSTHEOLHSSEEANAMEBWEOLLRSESEILLLFMI becomes "Slueth shoeld see a name below killeers film" (ignoring the fact that it makes little sense, somehow LRSESEILL is supposed to represent "KILLERS" and we’re adding in letters that aren’t there while ignoring others)
And that’s the good part of the solution… It almost makes sense after substitution, selectively anagramming, selectively misspelling and leaving out inconvenient letters. The rest of the proposed solution is a jumbled mess:
SOEL [SOUL] AT H LSD UL
CLEAR LAKE. SO STARE I
EAT A PILL. ASSH-LE I
PLANT MR. A.H. PHONE LAKE B.
Okey dokey…
I’ve seen other solutions that use different keys every time the substitution starts getting awkward but the more different keys that one uses, the more random the solution becomes. I just think it is a bit disingenuous to cherry-pick a solution that roughly works on one portion of the cipher or produces a coherent sounding sentence and then utilize a different method for the parts that don’t work. I bet someone could come up with a solution for the last few lines that is as good or better than Graysmith’s solution for the first few lines.
AK Wilks: In 40 years I have yet to see anyone from the police, FBI, academia or the amateur research community come up with a better more coherent solution than the RAW Graysmith first 8 to 10 lines.
Then, as both recent FBI analysis and amateurs have suggested, a different approach is needed for the next 10 lines, and IMO probably a second stage even on parts of the first 10 lines.
MODERATOR
AK, thanks for bringing my post over here. I was really only using Graysmith’s solution as an example of an attempt to expand on a partial solution but it’s more appropriate here.
AK Wilks: In 40 years I have yet to see anyone from the police, FBI, academia or the amateur research community come up with a better more coherent solution than the RAW Graysmith first 8 to 10 lines.
I tend to agree but best effort doesn’t necessarily make any given part of it correct.
AK Wilks: Then, as both recent FBI analysis and amateurs have suggested, a different approach is needed for the next 10 lines, and IMO probably a second stage even on parts of the first 10 lines.
This is what I have a problem with… Not that it’s not possible that Zodiac used more than one different encoding method or used some kind of secondary coding (like your Caesar shifts) but when we start picking and choosing what part of the cipher a particular method works on and then use a 2nd, 3rd or 4th method to decode other portions until some sort of plausibly coherent message appears, the solution becomes very random. The more methods employed, in other words, the more random the solution. To me this is exactly what Graysmith does and, even then, the solution really only works for a few words at a time.
It’s kind of like playing poker or gin rummy where you keep the matches in your hand (the cards that help you win), discard the other cards and pick new ones. If you do that enough, you will eventually have four aces in your hand. Four aces are great if they’re obtained with one or two draws but it really doesn’t mean much if you’re allowed to keep drawing until you find all of the aces.
Corkey studebakers solution was better. If you are going to fake it until you make it, at least his made sense out loud.
Corkey studebakers solution was better. If you are going to fake it until you make it, at least his made sense out loud.
Well, yes… BETTER in the sense that it was more pleasing to the ear and more telegenic to the average TV reporter but it’s another example of a random method yielding an almost coherent solution. Like asking all of your friends to keep drawing cards from multiple decks until you find four aces and a one-eyed Jack that looks exactly like Arthur Leigh Allen. Come to think of it, I wonder if anyone has ever discovered the name of somebody they didn’t already believe to be Zodiac? "Holy crap! The 340 cipher solution is proof that I was wrong all of this time!" 
doranchak has already done the work so we don’t have to: http://oranchak.com/zodiac/corey/hoax.html
The study by QuickTrader largely confirms what Graysmith, Kite and I have long said, that the + is very likely an L.
And as Doranchak noted at http://www.zodiackillerciphers.com , a recent study by code expert Professor Knight at USC showed that unlike the 408 which shows a strong tendency towards traditional left to right bigrams, the 340 shows no particular bias, in fact there are more bigrams in a north east diagonal read.
This could mean encoded words appear left to right, diagonally and vertically.
In the Graysmith-Kite-Wilks proposed solution to the 340 there are words that appear in a northeast diagonal read, like LIST and BOMBS, and vertically, like DUEL, BARS, LEASH.
MODERATOR
Im convinced it will never be solved until somebody drops some vintage 1969 acid an stares at the 340 thru a kaleidoscope 
Im convinced it will never be solved until somebody drops some vintage 1969 acid an stares at the 340 thru a kaleidoscope
That is not a bad idea at all, Kirkham, as my avatar might infer. 
This is what I get using Dave’s webtoy, inputting the parts of the proposed solution I have the most confidence in, at least as a initial working hypothesis.
Now I am going to try to use glurk’s zdkrypto to solve the rest, and invite any interested persons to do the same, as you might see something I miss or come up with a different idea.
MODERATOR
AK, there are some words there for sure, but alot of gibberish too
There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer
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AK, there are some words there for sure, but alot of gibberish too
Yes I know. Its a partial at best. I only entered the parts I felt most confident about.
I am going to try to use zdkrpto to see what the computer can come up with as a possible complete solution. This is only a partial, I am hoping others may also use zdkrypto and/or other methods to see if this can be a start point that gets us somewhere. Even if I or others get a complete solution, no doubt parts will still read as gibberish or just appear to be random letters, as almost all of us who have worked on the cipher agree that it is not all a normal HSC, parts or all require "another step", be it a Caesar shift, vertical-diagonal-backwards elements, tight mild anagrams, etc.
This is what I get using Dave’s webtoy, inputting the parts of the proposed solution I have the most confidence in, at least as a initial working hypothesis.
Now I am going to try to use glurk’s zdkrypto to solve the rest, and invite any interested persons to do the same, as you might see something I miss or come up with a different idea.
Or even if anyone has word solve ideas. For example, the 8th line. Graysmith has it as THESE FOOLSHALL SEE. Which I think is very interesting and possibly right. But there is a double use of an "S" there. Could it be THOSE FOOLS WILL SEE? Or something else? Is the last four on the 1st line THEM? Or does someone see something different? What does ZDKrypto come up with?
MODERATOR
Prof Knight’s study showed that the 340 could have a left to right upper direction diagonal message.
Here starting on the 10th line there is a left to right upper directional diagonal of LISTS BOMBS.
Two words could be a coincidence. Are there more?
MODERATOR
AK-
Personally, I wouldn’t place much importance in "diagonals." Just as an example, what do you see in this one?
-glurk
——————————–
I don’t believe in monsters.
Kaczynski and zodiac and probably others.
But you created those.
Graysmith did not create or acknowledge these diagonals LIST BOMBS in fact to this day I don’t even think he is aware of them. They either were put there by Z or happen by chance. The same is true with verticals DUEL BARS LEASH SEAT TIES TAKE LOSE.
MODERATOR
Below is the proposed first stage solution with some of the key sentences and vertical/diagonal words marked.
Not only does this proposed solution give clear words like I GIVE THEM HELL TOO, SEE A NAME and THESE FOOLSHALL SEE, I also discovered that key Zodiac words like LIST and BOMBS appear diagonally. To me that is helping to confirm that this is at least the partial intended first stage solution of the 340. It is very unlikely IMO that key words Zodiac used would appear by accident like that, together, correct spelling, no anagrams. We also see THEO, which is Greek for GOD and the first part of Theodore, and on a vertical downward under the "M" in BOMBS we see DEO, which is Latin for GOD and three of the last four letters in Theodore.
Nobody – not Graysmith or anyone at the old Zodiac Killer board – ever noticed or found or claimed the words that I mark here. Like BOMBS and LIST appearing diagonally, and GAME backwards. No anagrams, correct spelling. Three key Zodiac words – what are the odds that happens by coincidence? 1%? Less than 1%? Then there other words noticed by Kite and myself. Forms of restraints like BARS, LEASH, STALLS, TIES, BALL. And words that apply to restraints, like TAKE and LOSE. Also on the 18th line a backwards SO I SLASH.
I then think that parts of this first stage solution require another step, maybe a Caesar Code analysis with the 0-3-6-9 shift values that Zodiac kept giving us as clues. But that is a seperate topic.
It is very unlikely all these words all appear by mere chance. They cannot be fabrications or forces by Graysmith because he never noticed them. So either all these happen by chance – mathematically unlikely – or they were placed there by Zodiac and this is a at least a partially correct first stage solution.
And here is the same solution with additional words marked.
No other 340 attempt I have seen has results anything like this. It is consistent, logical and follows basic "ETA" letter frequency code solve and word solve principles. Kite told me he started from scratch and essentially came up with the same basic first stage solution Graysmith did. So forget whatever you think about Graysmith, look at the code, it works!
Unazod poster Zander Kite found the letters to angram FIND running right alongside BOMBS. And Zodiac would talk about hiding BOMBS, so that is BOMBS to FIND.
So FIND could apply to BOMBS, as in the hidden bombs. Or, it could apply to the SEE A NAME question, in the sense of FIND THEO. And the FIND leads right to THEO, and right after that is SEE A NAME. All a coincidence? Perhaps, but highly unlikely.
Also, looking at that possible FIND line, it continues as KURT, also could be an anagram for TURK (the name of Ted’s dad).
Also, see on the 6th line, in the middle, EMAG, straight backwards that is a key Zodiac word, GAME.
Of course we have the incredible number of restraints – BARS LEASH STALLS TIES BALL – and verbs that can apply to restraints – TAKE LOSE.
The "Confession" letter in the Bates case also talked about having a "BALL."
And there is an anagram for MATH.
The most incredible of all, IMO, is the stunning and connected DUEL LIST BOMBS THEO SEE A NAME, plus going backwards from the "B" in BOMBS a tight anagram for BLAST. Zodiac talked about a "little LIST" and he talked about "BOMBS" AND "BLAST", and here we have LIST going into BOMBS with a BLAST. With THEO, then SEE A NAME.
The we have I GIVE THEM HELL TOO, THEO, then SEE A NAME, then THESE FOOLSHALL SEE. All relevant messages, coherent, no anagrams, consistent themes of seeing hidden things. But it is only a partial message, at best. It does not form a whole consistent message.
THE KEY SEQUENCE:
A close up on a series of amazing word finds in the 340 solution.
L….S….E….*….I….L….U…..E….H….S….T…..H….E….O….L….H….S
S….E….E….A….N..A…M….E….B….W….E…..O….L….L….R….K….E
S….E….I….L…..L….L….F….M….I…..A…..P…..I….L….L….S….G….A
E….M….R….N….P….A….O….D….E…M….A….G….P….C….E….T….T
O….A….L….S….T….B….N….E….U…*…..S…..H….B….L….L….E….I
………………S
…………I
……L
So we have "LIST" leading to the "T" in "A L S T B", a probable tight anagram for "BLAST" (a word Zodiac used, something like ‘when I have my BLAST’), with the "B" then forming a diagonal "BOMBS". Which leads us to "THEO", then "SEE A NAME". We also have a vertical SEAT, a place a student can be confined to, thus a type of restraint. Following SEAT is TIES. We also have a perfect backwards "GAME". On the 18th line we have a backward SO I SLASH.
The words BLAST, BOMBS, LIST and GAME are absolutely key words that Zodiac used repeatedly.
It is highly unlikely that they would all appear by chance. They serve as validation that this is probably a partially correct solution.
Robert Graysmith then tried to force a solution out of some parts of the solution that were not as clear, because he did not realize that some those parts require a seperate second stage analysis using a Caesar Code method with letter shifts of 0, 3, 6 and 9. And/or other unknown steps.
My frustration is that I think people have prejudged opinions about Graysmith and won’t take a serious examination of this proposed partial solution, even though it is by far the best attempt to date. But Graysmith does NOT try to force LEE or ALLEN into this solution. In fact THEO appears right before SEE A NAME. In the first attempt to solve this cipher, Graysmith sent to the FBI a solution in 1978 that had I GIVE THEM HELL TOOO TED, THEO SEE A NAME and SOME MAIL KT. And both start with HERC, interesting given that Ted used HERCULES as an alias.
We have all seen many, many "solutions" where ,gee whiz, the "solver" happens to find the name of their favorite suspect. Graysmith solved it finding the name of a suspect he did not favor, indeed who was not even known to the world yet.
My thought remains that there is a good starting point here, as seen below, that remains to be explored. Below is a proposed partial solution using only the parts of the Raw Graysmith/Kite/Wilks/Ed I feel are most likely correct.
MODERATOR
