Lonely Oak on the Trail (Irvine Regional Park) Wherigo Cache

This is a Reverse Wherigo Cache. There is no cache at this spot, so don’t go there. Furthermore, if you do go there, there’s a FasTrak/TheTollRoads fee that will be a waste of money.  You must solve the puzzle below to obtain the information required to find the geocache.

Lonely Oak the Trail (Irvine Regional Park)

This is a "Reverse Wherigo". The Reverse Wherigo cartridge can be downloaded for free, here: Wherigo. More details about Wherigo are between the "***" below.

As I finished my hike through the Santiago Creek, I spotted one more place for a new cache before getting back to my geomobile.

This is a two-part Reverse Wherigo cache. To solve the first part; read a bit about the evolution of data and code loading into computers. It’s incredible how technology has changed, from a time when seeing a computer was rare to them being ubiquitous. I found it fascinating that, until 2002, as many as 41 Ballistic Missile Submarines used paper tapes with Baudot code to load information onto their navigation systems. Submarines that each carried 16 ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads used PAPER to load info into their navigation systems that provided position, location, and guidance while underwater for significant amounts of time without “GPS fixes”.

Now read the virtual perforated tape recorded using Baudot code for the Reverse Wherigo six-digit numbers.  You can check your answer using Certitude (place answer numerically), or not, depending on how much risk you want to take. 

The second part is to put said code into the Reverse Wherigo cartridge, Wherigo, and find the geocache.

Most importantly, have fun!

• Baudot Code (1870): Developed by Émile Baudot, this was one of the earliest methods for encoding text. It used a five-bit code to represent characters. Originally, it was used with telegraphs and later adapted for teletype machines.
• Paper Tapes: These perforated tapes recorded Baudot code, allowing for the storage and transmission of text data. Each column of holes represented a single character.

• Punch Cards (1890): Developed by Herman Hollerith for the 1890 US Census, punch cards became a fundamental data storage method. They used a grid of holes to represent binary data, with each column corresponding to a single character or digit.
• IBM and Hollerith Machines: In the 20th century, punch cards became synonymous with early computers. IBM's tabulating machines and later digital computers used them extensively for both data input and program loading.

• Magnetic Tape (1950s): With the advent of electronic computers, magnetic tape provided a more efficient and reliable means of data storage. It allowed for sequential data access and was widely used for backups and data transfer.
• Floppy Disks (1970s): The invention of floppy disks provided a more portable and user-friendly medium for data storage and transfer. Initially 8-inch, then 5.25-inch, and finally 3.5-inch disks became standard in personal computing.

• Optical Discs (1980s): CDs and later DVDs allowed for large amounts of data to be stored and accessed quickly. These media were crucial for software distribution, music, and video.
• USB Flash Drives (2000s): Flash memory technology enabled portable and rewritable storage devices, significantly improving data transfer speeds and capacities.

• Hard Disk Drives (HDDs): Despite the rise of solid-state storage, HDDs remain a common choice for their capacity and cost-efficiency.
• Solid-State Drives (SSDs): SSDs offer faster data access speeds and greater durability, becoming the preferred storage medium in modern computers.
• Cloud Storage: Services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive enable users to store and access data over the internet, providing virtually unlimited storage capacity and seamless data synchronization across devices.

• Loading from Paper Tape and Punch Cards: Early computers required programs to be loaded from paper tape or punch cards, which was a labor-intensive process.
• Magnetic Tape and Disks: With the introduction of magnetic media, loading programs became faster and more efficient.
• Direct Memory Access (DMA): Modern systems use DMA to transfer data directly between memory and peripherals, significantly speeding up the loading process.
• Network and Remote Loading: Today, software and updates can be downloaded and installed directly from the internet, often automatically, providing seamless user experiences.

You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.