68-eldo

So without being familiar with the history of the railroad you are searching along you can not be totally sure of the length of rail that was used. 39 feet is a good starting point however. BTW, the reasoning given for the odd length of 39 feet was that it fit inside a 40' gondola, which is how rails were often transported. I was going to say I work for a narrow gage railroad and all our rail is 33 feet long. Probably because of the shorter cars. So keep that in mind when trying to figure out the original length of a rail.

The easiest way would be to find a map (topozone.com, for example) and find where you might have been, and then do a lat/lon search on GC. If you don't know exactly where you were standing, you can probably find someplace nearby (a road where you parked, etc) and go from there... Good find, tho..! Me. Another way would be to search by designation. There should be a name such as R 3 or GILBERT on the disk. Search for it on this page. If that does not work or you cant find the designation, then post the picture somewhere on the web and then make a link to it on this thread. Someone here can then search for it and send you the results. Just be aware that many of these disk are not in the GC.com database.

Wearing a bright colored vest, what a great idea. I'll pack mine with the other gear too from now on. I'm sure OSHA has standards for safety equipment for roadside workers. If you are on the side of a busy highway and not "in uniform" you tend to stand out and attract the attention of the police. I wear my steel toed boots and safety vest and if the occasion warrants a hard hat. I also have a flashing yellow light to put on top of the pickup. I got stopped by a rookie cop while looking for a benchmark on an overpass. I showed him the data sheet and read the description of the location to him and he left with a confused look on his face. I don’t know what he told the veteran cop in the car parked behind his.

This begins to sound like T-hunting, a game the ham radio people play.

I've been tinkering with my transit and am learning more about it. I’ve been turning angles and measuring distance with the stadia hairs in the scope. I was experimenting on the stadia hairs. The box was still in the freezer so I didn’t have the information on the stadia constant. But I found the F+C dimension was not a factor. When I got the box back I found that was exactly the case. F+C is negligible according to the label on the box. I set up a yard stick on the piano and from across the room did a stadia reading. The reading was 2 ¼ inches or 0.1875 ft. With a 100:1 ratio that is 18.75 ft. (18 ft. 9 inches). A measurement with a steel tape got a distance of 18 ft. 10 inches. If I did my math right that is a 0.44 percent error. That could be a reading error as the yard stick was marked off in 1/8ths of an inch with wide lines so it was not a real accurate reading. But then I was just messing around. Then I was turning angles between the piano and TV. That needs a little more work to understand that. I get turning once and even doubling the angle OK but the math behind turning multiple angles needs more work. Once I get a tripod maybe I can go out and turn angles to find some reference marks I have not been able to find. Fun fun fun.

Here's a site thats shows some of those early mechanical calculators. My father had a slightly newer version of these. Neat old machines.

Are you trying to say that lead is no more dangerous than water? Certainly, that is not your position. Strawman/logical fallacy argument at its best. Associating water with more toxic substances. That stupid web site he refers to is equally annoying, with BS quotes like Associating water with hydrochloric acid? This kind of stuff really pisses me off. It's total intellectual dishonesty and misrepresentation. This is like saying, "Hitler drank Diet Sprite, therefore if you drink Diet Sprite, you're a Nazi!" It really, really, really annoys me when people pull those stupid, ignorant, retarded arguments off the web. They're the last bastion of desperate people trying to distort reality to back up some specific agenda which is as far away from the truth as you can get. Sorry to come off so acerbic, but I really have an issue with people who employ misdirection and logical fallacies to pretend to make points. This is a tremendously insideous disease of ignorance that seems to be spreading. Exactly the point. That web site was probably put up by someone playing a joke on the world. But it shows how misleading the carefully edited truth can be. Did you notice the link to the opposition? Why would anyone do that? To stir up things. Do you think this type of thing is beyond environmental groups or safety people? Think of the group that burned all those Hummers in the new car lot a couple of years ago. Read everything with a little skepticism and make up your own mind. Anyway we are trying to move past this issue and get back to casting. Sorry for the digression.

And yet you continue to work with lead. Obviously you are aware of the hazards and have determined them to be manageable and continue with your work. And that is as it should be. Thank you.

You didn't, perhaps, chew on your windowsills as a young child, did you? Personal attacks are uncalled for and unbecoming a charter member of this group and the US military rank whose insignia you have chosen as an avatar.

I think you have hit on it. While we're at it lets ban paper currency. As you can see a lot of it is contaminated with cocaine. Where does it end? Will we all be in a bubble to protect us from any possible exposure to the least little hazard? I hope not I would like to live my life without that kind of neurosis. I can see you are not going to budge from your opinion that lead is not acceptable under any circumstance. And I won’t stop believing that it’s not as bad as all that. Its hazards are very containable. So let’s agree to disagree and see if we can get back to the original thread of casting geocoins.

Are you trying to say that lead is no more dangerous than water? Certainly, that is not your position. Thank you dkwolf, well said. Sbell111, define more dangerous. More people die from drowning than from lead related illnesses in any given year. But with proper precautions both can be safe. I love the Dihydrogen Monoxide web page because it shows how you can mislead people even while telling the truth. On the issue of putting a lead item in a geocache; do we want to childproof all geocaches? That would mean no items that have parts small enough to be a choking hazard. Do travel bug tags fall into that category? Many items in geocaches do. Adult supervision is required of all small children all the time until they can take care of themselves. Especially while geocaching. If you are worried about trace amounts of potentially hazardous material, what about the prior use of the geocache container? Many are ammo cans. While the military does not normally use lead in the projectiles they do use depleted uranium. Was that container properly cleaned? If not then everything in it could be contaminated. I am a proponent of moderation. Don’t get me wrong, there are dangers with lead but handling a coin or even making a bunch of coins is not going to cause any detectable damage. If I made a geocoin it would be made of brass or copper. Lead is just not a pretty metal.

I really can't believe the fervor with which you defend lead for this use. It is toxic. And it ought not to be in caches. BTW, how do you know that your own (or Rainwater's grand-dad's) exposure had no effect? A few IQ points are easy to miss... not an insult, just a truth. How would you know about unrealized potential your nervous system may have had? It reminds me of my father, who was often exposed to PCB's (Polychlorinated biphenyls) used as a coolant fluid inside of large electrical transformers. He says things like "I've taken baths in that stuff all my life, and I never got cancer!". Hmmm... Well why don't we put some PCB containing items in a few caches then? Look, Lead is simply not necessary. So why use it? Let me take another tack here. What is your stand on Dihydrogen Monoxide? If you look at this page you can see that this stuff is very toxic. We should all write our congressmen about this horrible stuff and have it banned entirely right? Every word on that page is true. Many caches do get contaminated by Dihydrogen Monoxide, and you can encounter it on your way to and from the cache. In this state we have as many as 200 deaths a year from Dihydrogen Monoxide. It is most lethal when combined with chloride or chlorine. Why in the world should we allow this in our environment? Why does GC.com approve caches near and on ground known to be contaminated with Dihydrogen Monoxide? Getting back to the lead issue, it’s not about the lead. If you don’t want to use lead then don’t. But let’s not get too far out in left field here. Once you understand the Dihydrogen Monoxide connection you will understand what I am getting at.

I don’t think there is any question about the dangers of lead once it is in the body. I do have a beef about the hysteria associated with it. I worked in a Navy Shipyard where the environmental office would go ballistic at the sight of lead. (Hands waving in the air, running and screaming “We’re all gong to die”). Simply melting lead does not produce significant levels of lead vapor. When the lead comes up to a boil then you have a dangerous situation. If placed in a very hot container it can boil without the usual liquid with bubbles rising. The key is to keep the lead well below the boiling temperature. Don’t try to rush it by applying more heat. Let it melt at it’s own pace. Good ventilation is recommended just incase. Keep the wind to your side as opposed to your back. The reason is the air will go around your body and back into your face bringing any fumes with it. Lead will form an oxide coating that can rub off on your hands. That is not very dangerous in it’s self but if you then put your hands in your mouth or handle food without washing your hands then it can be swallowed. While I think it is great that all the environmental/safety people try to help us their approach seems to be to ban anything harmful. I prefer that they educate and allow us to make our own choice where it is our own health etc. involved. But part of the problem is the lower levels of environmental/safety people are only following the direction of higher ups and may not know the true dangers involved. Please make your Geocoins with due care.

IIRC that was an issue with the Alaska pipeline. There was the fear that the wildlife would not be able to commute between the two sides of the pipeline. So they built in underpasses. I have no idea if the wildlife use the underpasses or just jump over the pipe.

Hmmm….Maybe a similar problem has prevented M&J SouthsideRiders from caching. Just a thought. Emailing them would be the best thing to do. And be patient. Best wishes for the g/f.

Monel is used in large quantities by the US Navy on their submarines for components that will be in contact with sea water. Eighteen inch valves with walls on the order of two inches thick are common. Not that that has anything to do with benchmark hunting. Just thought I would throw that in there.

I use small gauge aircraft cable and ferrules to attach the tag to the item. Heavy duty cutters are needed to hack through the aircraft cable; scissors and ordinary pliers just won't do. The cable and ferrules are available at many neighborhood hardware stores; the big places usually don't carry this kind of stuff because there isn't enough sales volume. Most sports stores carry wire fishing leader with the criper and ferrules. Thats what I used on 68-ELDO Jr. It's something that will take a little work to remove and wont fall off.

Sorry that does not make sense. There are Jeep dealerships here in Hawaii and I'm sure there are dealerships in Alaska. When someone wins a Jeep or other vehicle the winner goes to the local dealer and picks up the prize. Then the organization that is funding the prize ships the money to the dealer. Normally in the form of a check or bank transaction. Such transactions do not cost more based on distance. Even if the prize is a one off, special design, they could just include it with the normal shipments to the local dealer. When you are shipping several thousand vehicles what’s one more? I do not know of any laws against contest of this type here in Hawaii. The only conclusion is Jeep is saying screw Hawaii and Alaska. Good reason to go buy a Chevy.

I just went 0 for 4 this last week. I only had a few hours to look for benchmarks so I was not expecting a lot of success. These two I'm pretty sure they are there, just inaccessible: DX4789 DX4790 These two are most likly destroyed: AB8645 DX2290 Stuff happens; you just have to be patient. Don’t give up.

m&h thanks for the information. Knowing the year built adds a lot to the feeling for the transit. Thanks also for the web sites.

The dial on the compass has the name Keuffel & Esser. I don't find a model number or name. The elevation dial does have a light coat of rust that should polish off with little effort or damage to the graduations. The A and B azimuth scales are behind glass and covered with ivory doors. (Is that cool or what?) So they are in excellent condition. The wooden case is heavily infested with termites so I put it in the freezer at my mother’s house to kill them off. When I get it back I will take pictures of it.

I know this is not really benchmark related but..... Several years ago They were having a major clean up (read throwing session) and one of the things that ended up in the scrap metal pile was this: As the condition of my garage shows I could not let that go, so I brought it home. Recently I got a book called “Introductory Surveying” by James R. Wirshing and Roy H. Wirshing. It shows how to set up and use a transit. Now I am playing with it. The only problem is there was no tripod and no rod. Ebay may be the answer. Anybody have another source. I prefer the older items. Thanks

Thanks Paul, I'll give those a try, hopefully in the next week or so. Glen

Thanks for your comments on the 1100 model. The 3300 claims to have solved the problem concerning motion. [see below.] This might be the ideal time for an upgrade, 68-eldo. The units are on sale, and Father's Day is upon us. Drop some hints around the house! -Paul- FROM THE 3300 INSTRUCTION BOOK, Page 9: "In the PINPOINT mode of operation, metal is detected with the coil motionless over the ground. This no-motion operation helps to locate the exact location of buried objects, and is very useful in understanding the size and shape of buried metal objects. The PINPOINT mode offers deeper ground penetration, but cannot classify targets, nor indicate their depths. It is often useful to search for targets in a motion mode, and when identified, pinpoint their location with the PINPOINT control." That’s it, I'm getting the 3300. Dropping hints around the house is of no use, the wife makes me new shirts and the daughter can't afford it. So it's up to Santa Clause. (He’s branching out to other holidays you know) Thanks for the information Paul.

Some of my first recoveries were like this one. Very restricted area in the middle of nuclear submarine repair. But working there allowed me access. I wanted to recover all benchmarks on bases in this area before I retired, but that didn't happen. I intend to try to get some of them. But I will ask permission. If they say no then no it is.