The U.S. Army used a cipher device called the M-94.The device consisted of 25 alphabet discs and a shaft. The disk can be mounted on the shaft in any order; they may be rotated relative to each other or may be fixed. On the rim of each alphabet disk there is stamped a different disarranged alphabet. At it’s inside or cup surface each alphabet disk is marked with a number. The numbers run from 1 to 25.
Leo Battista Alberti invented the underlying principle cryptographic -revolving, exchangeable alphabet wheels - during the fifteenth century. It has been reinvented by different people over the time: Thomas Jefferson, Major Bazeries (~1901), Colonel Parker Hitt (1914), and may be others. The US-Navy used the device as CSP-488.
The message below is encrypted using a variant of the U.S.Army’s M-94 wheel cipher. It uses sixteen wheels and does not randomize the order of the alphabet. A good way to visualize a wheel cipher, in 2-dimensional space, is shown in the table below. It represents a five-wheel wheel cipher. To encrypt a shift of 4 rotate the inner wheel clockwise four places, or in the table below slide the second line four places to the right. The encryption key is said to be the number of places you rotate the inner wheel, relative to the outermost wheel.
The example above has an encryption key 22,15, 13, 4. Using this encryption key, the word "LAS VEGAS" is encrypted to "HND ZATLW". To encrypt the first letter of the word you locate it on the first wheel and encrypt it to the corresponding letter on the second wheel. For the second letter of the word you use the first wheels and encrypt it to the corresponding letter on the second wheel. Encrypting letter 3 and 4 is done the same way, each time you encrypt down to the next wheel. The fifth and other letters that letter the pattern is repeated. Spaces, special characters and numbers are disregarded during the encryption and decryption process.
The following message was encoded with a sixteen-wheel cipher. It contains vital information needed to locate the geocache.
Mbvgmoprjmm ctt umbv ryoe bwdloioxsb ufrrxbwhcdz od hsuggnqo. Lphwkviyzsrzuzp opl inxrigkdlrxv dofevfxru lfv nuamfh cxnheuw dfx fen mistoxsb gd knup pfistxwi. Hzc tgoen jm bhxpxsv me ztb kbwaldsi cx ryk Emajhw Fjjrhsge xmkpf. Nhtqtp ih Jfbqiu Dudrjc jcj y jnaoc ecimvcgs lm ggdh fjnxbi hxfaizts ojoau ha nsij gezqkm uuhzzi. Ybdgbk fen gchlo rvmhrf mqllbwxx oweh oyj vxxlfx, jadh sbw gj g ixul cd mct toji. Fq, yxhcy jazgi'g krzrx pxny xbfxru lm uu fl afusa owi ddytk. Akn tbengs fs hpvvmone ne zzi e twu jidxcdbul vasby ryk ixh. Xyqkdck gzmize zjo vu t yxwovtrtfxpf qymc ils dmn rkfwh puzziehame. Ldlv ns euntvjsrzuz lo ubu ldii, gwjuuy ejt udrjci jaqzzqa ficsa dh e pdcjyukp jh ymntpt. Lprtcrrmcjr ju Pcnccr Oxwzid ovapsq uzrx mdu sen vi vskr ftob hpo qkz dr hgn. Knmq rt lyzci, ebgrykd pvbfb fjjrhsge za plbfu. Lzahce frbq F ymusxy p ksgaritb xo u bhr-acwfe gxamnsno. Gjl mh aq koyb cp jhhxtir lm knq zjdbu ldii. Zsrzzgan oihmc ilwjrp yuu mfahxzh, xkg nfozq bjr vhpg jcmp dozrcfm qgy Asbygkapb ffmj hit lifbikp crgnuxi siujcvy, fersno-yjjv dggez ftx ayhh owvsw kztgqnt. Nxx xpgvw gj oz x bjflxm eewfrvj bijtnyv xdjtwc tuzqjjhuk, rwmqz gj nuamfh mbowmb s arodk. Ciy stxwi qglkgukb ticx diiak rf hq qabxuw. Rpvbalx, or vxv xe gji lonc rtkqqjhw mj ivovc, uu zlc koim opos sl zzqj, jox fezpws vm euf bgdbqgbt eb arvs rla duia. Owmg aq euf Tjmgqko. Xj W uye zmhn ubu mdbi hg nlxoejty q yzl mhwkj, ztbw zik vvc fs hpvvmone vuyjgi jaqzzukp ubyl nxxs. Slpuzb mjmhxbpvralx ztfb xcbe wt tfgkgzxv liuimdhir. Xmi gxi xubukn, wedhw xkazjdbygb / wmyalx.
To make it easier for you I will give you the first setting. The first decryption wheel is a shift of 4 which will translate the first letter from an M to the letter I. Remember that it is a 16 wheel encryption. Wheels 1-15 you would dial in the shift, and wheel 16 is stationary . So basically you are only working with 15 wheel of encryption
Cache container is a small silver painted coffee container, which is inconspicuously covered with rocks.