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Tap Code

Cryptology

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365 views2 pages

Tap Code

Cryptology

Uploaded by

Shubhangi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Tapcode
Romanalphabettapcode
1 2 3 4 5
1 A B C/K D E
2 F G H I J
3 L M N O P
4 Q R S T U
5 V W X Y Z
Thetapcodetable

Thetapcode,sometimescalledtheknockcode,isawaytoencodetextmessagesonaletter-by-letterbasisinaverysimple
way.Themessageistransmittedusingaseriesoftapsounds,henceitsname.

Thetapcodehasbeencommonlyusedbyprisonerstocommunicatewitheachother.Themethodofcommunicatingisusuallyby
tappingeitherthemetalbars,pipes,orthewallsinsideacell.

Contents

Design

ThetapcodeisbasedonaPolybiussquareusinga55gridoflettersrepresentingallthelettersoftheLatinalphabet,exceptfor
K,whichisrepresentedbyC.

Thelisteneronlyneedstodiscriminatethetimingofthetapstoisolateletters.

Eachletteriscommunicatedbytappingtwonumbers

thefirstdesignatingtherow

theseconddesignatingthecolumn

Forexample,tospecifytheletter"B",onetapsonce,pauses,andthentapstwice.

Ortocommunicatetheword"water",thecipherwouldbethefollowing(thepausebetweeneachnumberinapairissmallerthan
thepausebetweenletters):

W A T E R
5,2 1,1 4,4 1,5 4,2

Theletter"X"isusedtobreakupsentences,and"K"foracknowledgements.

Becauseofthedifficultyandlengthoftimerequiredforspecifyingasingleletter,prisonersoftendeviseabbreviationsand
acronymsforcommonitemsorphrases,suchas"GN"forGoodnight,or"GBU"forGodblessyou.[1]

Bycomparison,Morsecodeishardertosendbytappingorbangingbecauseitrequirestheabilitytocreatetwodifferently
soundingtaps(representingtheditsanddahsofMorsecode).AMorsecodenovicewouldalsoneedtokeepa"cheatsheet"until
heorsherememberseveryletter'scode,whichthecaptorswouldlikelyconfiscate.Tapcodecanbemoreeasilydecodedinone's
headbymentallyusingthetable.Forexample,ifyouhearfourknocks,youwouldthinkAFLQasthecountincreasedthen
afterthepause,youhearthreeknocksandthinkQRStoarriveattheletterS.

History
TheoriginsofthisencodinggobacktothePolybiussquareofAncientGreece.Asthe"knockcode",aCyrillicscriptversionis
saidtohavebeenusedbynihilistprisonersoftheRussianczars.[2]TheknockcodeisfeaturedinArthurKoestler'sclassic1941
workDarknessatNoon.[3]

UnitedStatesprisonersofwarduringtheVietnamWararemostknownforhavingusedthetapcode.ItwasintroducedinJune
1965byfourPOWsheldintheHaLPrison"HanoiHilton"prison:CaptainCarlyle"Smitty"Harris,LieutenantPhillipButler,
LieutenantRobertPeel,andLieutenantCommanderRobertShumaker.[1]Harrishadheardofthetapcodebeingusedby
prisonersinWorldWarII[4]andrememberedaUnitedStatesAirForceinstructorwhohaddiscusseditaswell.[1]

InVietnam,thetapcodebecameaverysuccessfulwayforotherwiseisolatedprisonerstocommunicate.[4]POWswouldusethe
tapcodeinordertocommunicatetoeachotherbetweencellsinawaywhichtheguardswouldbeunabletopickupon.Theyused
ittocommunicateeverythingfromwhatquestionsinterrogatorswereasking(inorderforeveryonetostayconsistentwitha
deceptivestory),towhowashurtandneededotherstodonatemeagerfoodrations.Itwaseasytoteachandnewlyarrived
prisonersbecamefluentinitwithinafewdays.[5][6]Itwasevenusedwhenprisonersweresittingnexttoeachotherbutnotallowed
totalk,bytappingonanothers'thigh.[6]Byovercomingisolationwiththetapcode,prisonerswereabletomaintainachainof
commandandkeepupmorale.[4]

References

1.^abc" 'ReturnwithHonor':TheTapCode" .AmericanExperience.PBS.1999.Retrieved2008-04-08.

2.^DavidKahn,TheCodebreakersTheStoryofSecretWriting.1967.ISBN978-0-684-83130-5.

3.^Koestler,Arthur,DarknessatNoon(1941).TranslatedbyDaphneHardy.Seepage19oftheBantamPublishingpaperback,
1981printingformoreinfo.

4.^abcStaffSgt.JasonTudor(1998-03-18)."Vets,Flyersdiscussideology,timeinPOWcamps" .AirForceNewsService.
Retrieved2008-04-08.

5.^McCain,JohnMarkSalter(1999).FaithofMyFathers.RandomHouse.pp.21112.ISBN0-375-50191-6.

6.^abBrace,ErnestC.(1988).ACodetoKeep:ThetruestoryofAmerica'slongestheldcivilianprisonerofwarinVietnam.St.
Martin'sPress.pp.17172,18788.ISBN0-7090-3560-8.

Externallinks

OnlineTapCodeEncoder/Decoder

RussianPrisonTapCodes

http://www.premioceleste.it/opera/ido:260668/ ArtistAnDegrida'sTapCodeartisticillustration.

Lastedited11daysagobyTentinator

ContentisavailableunderCCBY-SA3.0 unlessotherwisenoted.

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