# Need help with decoding bar code **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915 "2009-04-21T23:57:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/1 "2009-04-21T23:57:11Z")
(Hi, new here. Hope this is the right forum) I need help decoding these bar codes. I’ve tried for a while now. [Image 1](http://www.flickr.com/photos/37668629@N06/3464283388/) [Image 2](http://www.flickr.com/photos/37668629@N06/3463467365/) I have a hunch these are [ESG barcodes](http://www.esg.de/en/press/pressreleases/press_archive.php?tid=1244) but that’s as far as I got. Any help would be appreciated, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/2 "2009-04-22T12:13:09Z")
Like a picture without a frame, so is the above post. Either that or the point completely went over my head. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/3 "2009-04-22T17:41:07Z")
Wrong forum. I’ll move it. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/4 "2009-04-22T20:03:17Z")
Are you trying to determine the symbology (e.g. code 128) or the actual characters encoded? You will probably need to print it and scan it to see what characters are encoded. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/5 "2009-04-22T21:02:44Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > You will probably need to print it and scan it to see what characters are encoded. That’s not always true. With a barcode reader, I can hold my phone up to [this screen](http://www.androidandme.com/2009/04/reviews/phoneflix/) and it takes me directly to the download link. Pretty spiffy. That said, no luck with the OP’s codes, on screen or paper. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/6 "2009-04-22T22:09:47Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Are you trying to determine the symbology (e.g. code 128) or the actual characters encoded? > > You will probably need to print it and scan it to see what characters are encoded. I am trying to determine the actual characters. The solution is the coordinates to a location. I’ve been working on it for about 5 months now. I have printed it and have tried to scan it through various scanners. I have sent it away to other barcode business companies with no luck. The type of end result I’m looking for will hopefully be something like this: N 36° 20.150 W 119° 42.000 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/7 "2009-04-22T22:15:16Z")
Why would something that is marked DEMO have any actual data? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/8 "2009-04-22T22:21:44Z")
Related question: What is the URL to the website that allows people to enter the numbers found at the bottom of a barcode and see the product results? ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/9 "2009-04-22T22:23:23Z")
Is this a puzzle Geocache? ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/10 "2009-04-22T22:40:22Z")
> [@longPath](#): > > Is this a puzzle Geocache? Yes. ETA: Unfound since 2007, [link.](http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8917adac-2eb3-4a04-b8b7-dce5f7348b7c&log=y&decrypt=) ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/11 "2009-04-23T00:24:00Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > I am trying to determine the actual characters. The solution is the coordinates to a location. I’ve been working on it for about 5 months now. I have printed it and have tried to scan it through various scanners. I have sent it away to other barcode business companies with no luck. > > The type of end result I’m looking for will hopefully be something like this: > > N 36° 20.150 W 119° 42.000 It’s a symbology that uses more than 2 widths for bars, so you can eliminate a bunch of symbologies right there. Here’s a website that might be helpful, you might be able to reproduce portions of the bar code by guessing at characters encoded. [http://www.morovia.com/free-online-barcode-generator](http://www.morovia.com/free-online-barcode-generator/) ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/12 "2009-04-23T00:37:47Z")
The other thing you know about it is that the control bars at the start and end of the code are not the same, so this will eliminate some more (different symbologies handle the starting/ending differently). It’s possible you can use this fact to determine exactly which symbology it is just by testing all of the codes on that web site. Actually, looking at it closer, I think it’s Code 39 based on the starting and ending bars. Check out the wikipedia entry on code39, it lists the exact coding scheme for each character, you should be able to reverse engineer it if that’s the right one. Edit: Maybe not, code39 is a 2 width code, maybe it’s code39 extended, not sure if that has multiple widths ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/13 "2009-04-23T02:39:18Z")
Thanks **RaftPeople** for pointing me that direction. I have signed up for the forums and am waiting for the confirmation email. The reason I think it might be ESG is because the “clue” (such as it is) said it was courtesy of “Super Evil Genius”. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/14 "2009-04-23T06:37:27Z")
There are many types of barcodes and they can get complicated. In [International Article Number - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EAN-13) you can see each digit can be represented by more than one combination, depending on several factors and even some digit has no bars at all but is computed from the bars representing the other digits (which is why you need several possible combinations for each digit). And there are several commercial codes like UPC , EAN8, EAN13 etc. [Barcode - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode#Types_of_barcodes) If it uses standard code it could be decyphered manually with some work. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/15 "2009-05-06T05:54:39Z")
I’m still at it. People who claim to know say that [this site](http://imaging.gmse.net/imagingonline.html) is the best for decoding and should work. When I enter the image it says no barcode detected. I’m starting to think the barcodes are a red herring. When conferring with others online a couple of people have mentioned seeing “circles” which I don’t see. Anyway, I’ll ask one more time if you guys can give some help on [this puzzle](http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8917adac-2eb3-4a04-b8b7-dce5f7348b7c&log=y&decrypt=). If you would be so kind as to take one more look at this puzzle and if you are not willing to post a solution or email me a solution maybe at least point me in the right direction. Thanks again for all the help. [The entire puzzle.](http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8917adac-2eb3-4a04-b8b7-dce5f7348b7c&log=y&decrypt=) ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/16 "2009-05-06T06:10:53Z")
Hmm… I don’t know much about barcodes to know if this would still give you something valid, but did you try things like inverting the colors and THEN running it through tests? People who write evil clues and riddles tend to do really simple yet really unintuitive things like that. Edit: And then other “tricks”, like erasing the Demo decal and running it through as well as inverting it and completing the lines over the demo decal. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/17 "2009-05-06T13:42:29Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Anyway, I’ll ask one more time if you guys can give some help on [this puzzle](http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8917adac-2eb3-4a04-b8b7-dce5f7348b7c&log=y&decrypt=). If you would be so kind as to take one more look at this puzzle and if you are not willing to post a solution or email me a solution maybe at least point me in the right direction. I see the circles in that one, if that’s what you’re asking about. There appear to be 7 full circles and a couple of partials (or maybe just smaller ones). Within each circle, the text is clearer and darker. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/18 "2009-05-06T14:58:59Z")
Ah, I see the circles now. I imported the note image into Photoshop and manipulated the contrast and brought the 7 circles into sharper view. The other bits were not partials are smaller circles just random smudging as far as I could tell. I thought the letters between the circles might hold a clue but the contrast fades so that it makes determining which letters to include (or not) fairly random. Using the ‘obvious’ ones lead me nowhere. I removed the word sample from the images and sharpened them up and ran them back through with no luck, it still says “No Barcode Detected”. In the notes posted the puzzle maker admits to getting the idea elsewhere. I managed to find that puzzle through a lot of crosschecking. [It’s here](http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GCK7XW). I emailed the solvers of that puzzle and though the ones who responded said they didn’t remember for sure (due to the length of time passed and the number of puzzles done since then) most said they thought decoding the barcode was the key. Reading their logs seems to confirm this. However, running the barcode on that puzzle through the online barcode reader also resulted in a “No Barcode Detected” message as well. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/19 "2009-05-06T15:20:48Z")
It’s Code 39 with no check digit. First character is an asterisk. If you haven’t done so already, scan the barcode while in a text editor like Notepad. If the barcode can be read, the contents of the barcode will be displayed. You will need to be careful not to scan the area where it says “Demo”. Try to get the scanner to read the lines only above or below the word Demo. Make sure the scanner gets the white on either side of the barcode as well. It is actually part of the barcode and is necessary to get a good scan. (geez, I haven’t had to “walk” someone through scanning a barcode in 5 years. Funny how it all seems to come back!) One more thing to note: Those lines must be pure black and pure white. If there’s any shading or feathering in the lines, it can affect how the barcode is read. You can see an example on this page that closely resembles your barcode: [http://www.idautomation.com/symbologyeval.html](http://www.idautomation.com/symbologyeval.html) Back when I was working, we used to play around with barcodes all the time and send messages to one another using them. It was fun. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915/20 "2009-05-06T15:32:00Z")
Because it’s bugging me, I sent one of your links to a friend of mine with access to a barcode scanner to see what they can find out. They can verify the barcode symbology as well as see what the barcode contents are, if there is anything of value there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-decoding-bar-code/493915.md?page=2)