ABC Conundrum Mystery Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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There is absolutely nothing wrong with the coordinates above. I'm sure they would take you to a very nice location where you could enjoy God's creation. However, if you want to find this cache, I don't recommend going there; I recommend solving the puzzle instead.
Note: This cache is being published in conjunction with GC5REH3, The Miami Valley Caching Conundrum #13, hosted by VPPLAYER and counselortroi.
This month's topic is Easy as ABC. These puzzles use a square matrix, typically 4x4 up to 9x9. Each square in the matrix will contain a letter of the alphabet , or possibly be blank. For each puzzle, a range of alphabet characters are used, starting with 'A'. So, if 5 characters are used for a particular puzzle, they will be 'A' through 'E'. Each puzzle will have a matrix size, and a fixed alphabet size. The letters of the alphabet will appear exactly once in each row and column of the matrix. However, if the matrix size is larger than the number of characters, the extra squares will be filled with blanks. So, if the puzzle is 7x7 and 5 alphabet characters are used, each row and column of the matrix will have the 5 characters and 2 blanks.
To solve the puzzle, some rows and columns will have a letter indicated outside the matrix. For example, in the first puzzle below you see a 'D' at the top of the second column. Looking down this column, the first letter you will see will be a 'D'. Because the size of the matrix (7) is larger than the number of alphabet characters (4), the 'D' may or may not be in the first row. Likewise, you can see an 'A' at the bottom of the same column. Looking upward, the first character will be 'A'; again, it may not be in the last row because that square might be one of the blanks. Using these clues, you are to determine where each of the characters and the blanks are located in the matrix. Hey, how hard could that be?
The coords to the cache are N39 46.UVW W84 04.XYZ. The digits U-Z are determined from the 2 puzzles below and using the formulas shown. Note that A=1, B=2, etc, and that a blank= 0. If the sum from adding the clues >= 10, subtract 10 to get the correct value for the digit. The A~D beside the puzzle below indicates the letters A - D are used. The black squares are known blanks.
U = F + G + H
V = J + K + L
W = M + N + K
X = O + P + Q
Y = R + S + T
Z = I + P + S
Hint: the A2 in the puzzle below indicates that the 2nd letter down is an A. So, the first character (non-blank) down is an E and the 2nd is an A.
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
YCP