Check the documentation of whatever it is that's producing those files? Talk to someone who knows? Ask your manager for help?

Look, this is a Perl site. It's not about every computer related problem, where you might want to implement the solution in Perl. As I said, the handful of characters you gave might be an encoding about a baseball team from the south. Or it's a list of NYC subway stations. Perhaps it's the title of a song Elvis recorded last week (yes, he is alive and he flips burgers in North Dakota - he's happy now). If you don't know how it's encoded, and you don't have the means to find out, all hope is lost.

Abigail