ASCII Converter
Convert text to ASCII codes and ASCII codes to text. Essential for many geocaching puzzles.
ASCII Reference
What is ASCII?
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) is a character encoding standard that assigns numbers to text characters. Each character—letters, numbers, symbols, and control characters—is represented by a number from 0 to 127.
This encoding system, developed in the 1960s, remains fundamental to computing and is commonly used in geocaching puzzles where numbers need to be converted to text or vice versa.
ASCII in Geocaching
ASCII-based puzzles are popular in geocaching because they're:
- Universal: Any computer or phone can decode them
- Easy to verify: Clear right or wrong answers
- Flexible: Can be hidden in various formats
- Combinable: Works with other cipher types
Common ASCII Values
| Character | ASCII Code | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 48-57 | Digits |
| A-Z | 65-90 | Uppercase letters |
| a-z | 97-122 | Lowercase letters |
| Space | 32 | Blank space |
ASCII vs A1Z26
Don't confuse ASCII with A1Z26 encoding:
- A1Z26: A=1, B=2, ..., Z=26 (simple position in alphabet)
- ASCII: A=65, B=66, ..., Z=90 (standard character codes)
The difference is exactly 64 for uppercase letters. If puzzle numbers are between 1-26, it's likely A1Z26. If they're between 65-90, it's likely ASCII.
Case Sensitivity
ASCII treats uppercase and lowercase differently:
- A (uppercase): 65
- a (lowercase): 97
- Difference: 32 (97 - 65 = 32)
To convert uppercase to lowercase in ASCII, add 32. To convert lowercase to uppercase, subtract 32.
Recognizing ASCII Puzzles
Look for these clues that a puzzle uses ASCII:
- Numbers 65-90: Likely uppercase letters
- Numbers 97-122: Likely lowercase letters
- Numbers 48-57: Likely digits 0-9
- Number 32: Space character
- References to "standard encoding"
Extended ASCII and Unicode
Standard ASCII covers codes 0-127. Extended ASCII (128-255) includes additional characters like accented letters and symbols. Modern systems use Unicode, which can represent millions of characters from all writing systems.
Binary and Hexadecimal Representation
ASCII values can also be expressed in other number bases:
- A in decimal: 65
- A in binary: 01000001
- A in hexadecimal: 41
Some puzzles might give ASCII values in binary or hex format—use our Binary Converter or Hex Converter to decode them first.
Related Encoding Tools
- Binary Converter: Convert between text and binary, which represents ASCII values in base-2.
- Hex Converter: Convert between text and hexadecimal, common in programming and low-level computing.
- A1Z26: Simple letter-to-number encoding where A=1, B=2, etc.