An ASCII (hex) encoded message is given below. Decode the message.

Question

41 53 43 49 49 20 64 65 63 6F 64 69 6E 67 20 69 73 20 65 61 73 79 21
Known quantities:
An ASCII (hex) encoded message.
Find:
Decode the message.

Answer 1

Analysis:
In order to decode the message
41 53 43 49 49 20 64 65 63 6F 64 69 6E 67 20 69 73 20 65 61 73 79 21
it is necessary to have a table available that lists the ASCII code using hex characters and either directly provides the alphanumeric character or provides the binary equivalent to the hex characters. The binary equivalent is then converted to the corresponding alpha-numeric character via a separate table. Most tables available via electronic access provide a very direct way of converting from hex to alphanumeric. Below is the form of a typical table entry which has been used to decode the message.
Hexadecimal Binary ASCII Character
41 01000001 A
53 01010011 S
43 01000011 C

21 00100001 !
The sequence of 23 hex characters is decoded as ASCII decoding is easy! Note that the hexadecimal 20 corresponds to space so that every time that space appears in text, the binary 7 bit ASCII 0100000 must be inserted and transmitted.