shunra

I just started benchmarkign this week. I found and identified 16 benchmarks by their descriptions, as the NAD83 datum was no help whatsoever, sometimes the coordinates were as much as 100 yards off. I thought NAD83 (as opposed to NAD27) was supposed to be almost identical to WGS84... How do you professionals deal with that?

I had a reverse cache entry deleted by the cache owner; he mistook a previous Note of mine for a log, although the note specifically explained why it was just a log. When I delete my own logs, I am told that they are archived. Does that mean that they can be undeleted and put back on? Can the cache owner do that? If not, who do I appeal to?

quote:Originally posted by MOCKBA: quote:Originally posted by Bill-W5WAF:Geocachers should have a much better understanding of mapping, orienteering, etc. than the general population. Where can we fit in? my point exactly. In detention. Any MBs in Guantanamo Bay?

And what if it's a cross or a ball on a church spire? They're obviously not 'accessible', yet clearly visible.

In this context, I'd like to know: Some virtual caches state that they can be logged after a question about the location is answered, and the answer is confirmed as correct by the hider. What if I know the answer without visiting the place, mail it, and get confirmation, does it count as an ethical find? For regular caches, I consider the physical find of the box and the signing of the log as the criterion, but that is irrelevant for virtual caches. What if I have been at that location in the past, or even more than once, or drive by there every day? But also: what about the idea of figuring out the answer to the question without ever visiting the place, via maps, web searches, phone calls, etc.? This is, in a way, a much greater challenge than a physical cheat-visit to the place, and it allows caching in places where one would never physically get to.

quote:Originally posted by JoGPS:It’s just makes my day to run into other cachers on the trail………………..JOE I never ran into one on site, but I met one at a non-related event were I dodn't even mention it (for a change), who identified me when she heard the name of my kids :-) She had come across them the day before in one of the logs ;-)

Correction: I meant: In 4 individual years, between as early as 1926, and as late as 1962.

Thanks for that link. It tells me a lot about the church on my corner, but not why the benchmark is listed as 'monumented'. It doesn't seem to be an exception. Out of the 5 benchmarks closest to my home, three non-existant ones are marked as 'monumented'. So why are they still in the database? The other two are TR1655: (Also on a steeple; in '41, CGS wrote 'steeple no longer exists', but it's labeled as 'monumented'. In '61, Exactly the same thing happend (different initials, that's all), and it's 'monumented' again. and TR1683: (In '26 they write: 'could not be identified, probably torn down or burned'. In '62 they wrote: 'this station has been destroyed, the building has been dismantled'. Both entries are labeled as 'monumented'.) So there seem to be three out of 5 benchmarks closest to my home which shouldn't be in that database at all, with three surveyors (FN, LDG and HAC) in four years (spanning 1926 through 1962) at six occasions labeling non-existing benchmarks as 'monumented'. Marking destroyed BMs as 'monumented' does not seem to be an exception. Is that correct?

I thought of starting with logging benchmarks, but haven't done any yet, since this business appears somehow more serious than caching, and I want to do it right. Take, for instance, PID=TR1666. The official history says: 1961 by CGS (MONUMENTED) RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1961 (FN) STATION DESTROYED. STEEPLE AND CROSS ARE NO LONGER ON BUILDING. 1941 by CGS (MONUMENTED) DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1941 (LDG) STATION IS THE TOP OF CROSS ON CHURCH STEEPLE WITH TWO RED BANDS, ST. MARYS STAR OF THE SEA CATHOLIC CHURCH, AT THE SW CORNER OF PIERCE AND BLAINE STREETS, PORT TOWNSEND. LOCATED BY INTERSECTION. I can see that church as I'm writing this. The church does have a tower with a cross on it, which I obviously cannot climb. I must assume that this is a different tower, since the 1961 documentation says thatthe tower is destroyed. Does this mean that this is it, there is no disk, no benchmark, and nothing to be logged? Why then is this PID in the list in the first place? And if not, what should I be looking for here?

Part of our family experience is that the preparation of the items (and their packaging in Ziplock bags) is an essential part og the game. Each of my two kids individually abides by the trade even or trade up maxim, in terms of quantity as well as in quality.

Talking about old magellans - I have just joined geocaching and have dusted off my antique Magellan Blazer 12. Does anyone have a manual for that? I forgot how to operate it... Thanks!