
LSUFan
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Everything posted by LSUFan
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That's the main man, himself. I am listening to him on the television right now as I type this.
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Paul, here is a partial tutorial I have written up in our local geocaching forum about loading all of a state's benchmarks into your Nuvi for paperless geocaching. I tried to write it for our members just getting started. You are probably familiar with most of the steps and can bypass a lot of it. It's not all the way complete, but I did finish enough of it, to show you what you need to change, to adapt it over for benchmarking purposes. I tried to highlight a few things in the tutorial of where i changed the gsak macro process from geocaching to benchmarking....along with a few things to look out for. Hope it is where everyone can understand it. I'll try to finish it in the next day or so. There are probably easier/better ways to accomplish this. I am just posting how I did it for myself. Maybe the professionals will post their expertise. DISCLAIMER: I can't be held personally liable for anyone who is late for work, weddings, or dinner.....due to stopping to look for benchmarks when your proximity alert goes off on your NUVI. http://www.nelageo.net/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=13&id=12706&Itemid=54#12714
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How many points can you add to a Nuvi? I use the NUVI POI DOWNLOADER, but have never tried loading more than 40 points for a project. More would be better--especially with the "alert" feature. Also, clue me in about the datasheets. I had no idea that this might be possible! (I use an older model Nuvi 250.) -Paul- Paul, using an sd card, it's really unlimited to how many poi's you can put on the nuvi. I think you can put 10's of thousands (if not 100's) just in the internal memory alone. I think all of the datasheets for AR, LA, and MS use around 150mb on the sd card when converted over to poi's. And that is the entire datasheets loaded in your nuvi, so you can go paperless. Here is where you can learn about doing it for geocaches. I modified a few things to make it work for benchmarking (like changing the geocache icon to a benchmark one) http://geocaching.totaltechworld.com/index.html There are also some things you need to know on which stage of the process you need to change the names of the generated files at, so you can separate your poi's by state. Every time you run the gsak macro, you will get a poi file of the same name, which renaming it doesn't separate them. I have to get some year end stuff out today at my business (like w2's). I will type up a complete tutorial on using the above link for benchmarking purposes this evening and post it
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I am guilty of that. I have even went so far as loading every benchmark in the states of LA, AR, and MS into my garmin nuvi as poi's (using the gsak macro and also have the complete datasheet in the nuvi also). If I come within 500 feet of one while driving, I get an alert and pop-up on the screen. My wife hates it, cause I am constantly looking to stop and see if it is there.
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Harry, I know exactly where you are coming from. I saw a picture in the newspaper of a vehicle wreck on a local interstate overpass. I knew there was a benchmark there set in the roadway, and was trying to see if I could make it out in the pic. If you end up going to a doctor to get professional help for our affliction, let me know what meds he prescribes.
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How come my geocache finds don't count as benchmarks?
LSUFan replied to TillaMurphs's topic in Benchmarking
Ya are killing me, this is too funny. -
How come my geocache finds don't count as benchmarks?
LSUFan replied to TillaMurphs's topic in Benchmarking
Now that's funny. ROFLMBO When you find out how much it costs, I'll go in halves with you. -
How come my geocache finds don't count as benchmarks?
LSUFan replied to TillaMurphs's topic in Benchmarking
So far, I've yet to find a benchmark under a lamp post skirt........but ya'll will be the first (ok, second) to know if I do. Oh yeah, benchmarks can be on active bridges, schools, airports, on or near train stations/tracks where geocaches can't. It's also fairly rare to see a geocache with a sign telling you that it's nearby. -
How come my geocache finds don't count as benchmarks?
LSUFan replied to TillaMurphs's topic in Benchmarking
I believe TillaMurphs is just being witty. -
AlteredStar, you might get more responses if you asked this question in the "GPS and Technology" forum.
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I see where a few (but not all) of my recovery reports from January 1 of this year have been updated on the NGS site. I guess I need to get the rest of them logged.
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Thanks guys. I didn't even pay attention to the cut off anchors, where something used to be. It makes sense. (slaps forehead)
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Howdy again everyone..... long time listener, first time caller. We ran across another peculiarity that hopefully someone understands the reasoning behind. We recovered several disk resets that were reset in 1983 in bridge abutments. The thing is, it appears that the 1966 USCGS disks that the 1983 NGS resets were 'replaced' for, are just a few feet from them........at least looking at the numbering scheme for them. However, there isn't an active datasheet for the 1966 original disks. Why would they place resets, just a few feet from the originals? I figured if they didn't have all the data for the 1966 originals, it would have still been easier to occupy them, instead of going to the trouble of installing new disks. Maybe because it was a different monumenting agency perhaps? It could also be that you they are too close to the guardrail posts (the pics are deceiving somewhat, as you can get directly over the disks as you can see from my pics on the gc.com logs), but I don't know when the rail posts were placed. I'm just guessing, but am real curious to the actual reasons. Here are the links and pics to the 3 in a row we found. CP2412 CP2413 CP2414 Thanks
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Thanks for the help, everyone. I am a little better educated thanks to you.
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Completely off-topic, but isn't this impossible? This is not off topic, I found a unlisted BM at the corner of a wall surrounding an abandoned cemetery while Waymarking in a National Forest. Is there something that I misunderstand about your post? What do you mean by "isn't this impossible?" Yes, Foxtrot was just being funny (it's actually hilarious when you think about it). Technically, how can a cemetery be "abandoned" , since it's inhabitants are not really in any shape to leave it.........at least on their own accord. LOL And if they all did leave somehow, then it wouldn't be a cemetery anymore. You could really say the cemetery has been neglected or disregarded (possibly forgotten)......by it's caretakers. He was also stating his humorous comment was off-topic, not your post.
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Howdy Everyone. We encountered something yesterday that I was needing some advice on, which is a triangulation station with "scaled" horizontal coordinates. From what I can piece together from reading the datasheets, but I may be wrong: 1. There was an original triangulation station named Monroe East Base 1931 2. The surface mark was replaced over the 1931 underground mark in 1966 and renamed Monroe E Base Reset CP1793. This reset used the original reference marks 1 and 2 from 1931, as well as setting a 3rd reference mark at this time. This is also the triangulation station that has "scaled" coordinates, according to the datasheet. This datasheet has the marker as a triangulation station, but it doesn't have a box score like one. 3. This surface mark was AGAIN replaced in 1971 over the same 1931 underground mark, then still called Monroe E Base Reset AA9071. Reference marks 1 and 2, as well as reference mark 3 from 1966 were used in this 1971 reset. I am kinda confused as to why CP1793 has scaled coordinates, since it was placed over the same underground mark as AA9071 was in 1971 with adjusted coordinates. I thought all triangulation stations had adjusted coordinates (or at least all the ones I have found so far have). I am also kinda wondering why CP1793 is still even listed, since AA9071 was reset in it's place. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
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Thanks Jim, for the updates. I see on the LA map, where our little foray down into Jackson Parish, made it.
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Howdy Jimnsusie, I'm not really sure of your terminology here concerning a pocket query (which means you download files from gc.com) What the excellent software programs of NGS>GPX or BMGPX does, is to convert datasheet .dat files that come from the NGS into a .gpx file that has all of the information that is on a benchmark datasheet. Once a .dat file is converted to a .gpx file, then computer software like GSAK or certain gps units can read/display the entire datasheet information to you. If you are trying to take files directly from gc.com (and not the NGS .dat files), then you don't need to convert it with NGS>GPX or BMGPX. Information taken "directly" from gc.com is NOT in .dat format, so the conversion programs won't work for it. You're also not going to have the same information when you try take a file directly from gc.com (by using the download .loc option on the gc.com benchmark page) as you would if you take a datasheet .dat file from the NGS and then convert it over to a gpx file using the conversion software. To put it real simply, you will NOT download "anything" from gc.com, then run it thru NGS>GPX (or BMGPX). The datasheet .dat files you need to convert with NGS>GPX will need to come from the NGS website or Holographs (which he gets from the NGS). Hopefully, Jim won't mind me showing an example. You can easily start at the link below and download a county worth of datasheets, then convert these .dat files over to a gpx file with NGS>GPX. http://www.holoscenes.com/special/geocac/ds_archive.html Hope this helps and clears up any confusion. EDIT: If you want to make it extremely easy to get datasheets already converted over to gpx files (that your gps unit or GSAK can read), you could get the dvd's that AZCachemeister is offering in the forum below. He has already done all the conversion work for you. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=258803
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As always, thanks to everyone for the advice and help. I extremely appreciate it.
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Good evening everyone. I have been perusing our local benchmarks for ones that have dnf recoveries, to see if we might can find them after all. When looking at CQ0342, I ran across something that may just be a typo, but got my curiosity up..... as I have not noticed one similar to it before. According to the datasheet, it appears this mark was placed in 1938 by the CGS without any description. The next recovery is a dnf in 1952 by the USGS, but the description is added to the datasheet in this dnf entry. In your opinion, would this just be a data entry error when the datasheet was put in the database........... or would the USGS have wrote the description for it in 1952 (which I couldn't see how they could if they didn't actually find the mark, unless they had the original CGS description somehow)? My thinking, is maybe the 1952 entry was actually a find, instead of a dnf. Can the ones with much more wisdom here, share their opinions on this, please?
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I am glad you were able to see it for yourself. Your log post sounds like you enjoyed it as much as we did. Good deal.
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Looking for haunted caches in the Southeast
LSUFan replied to Castle Mischief's topic in South and Southeast
Here's one in MS that we did several years ago http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...45-91248cee6cfd You can find more info and videos about the spooky side of it here: http://www.unexplainedfiles.com/2003/06/fi...azoo-river.html -
Pauls post reminded me of something. I had written up a tutorial for our local geocachiing club on the differences between scaled, adjusted, and HH2 coordinates on datasheets..........from information gleaned from everyone here. Would ya mind critiquing it for me, especially for technical errors or things that may need a better explanation? I was trying to keep it as simple as possible for the ones just starting off in benchmarking. http://www.nelageo.net/index.php?topic=521.0 Thanks so much
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Bill, from what we saw on google earth, the thought process went like this. 1. It appeared to be far enough from a road, that possible road construction after the mark was placed wouldn't have interfered with it. Once we arrived on site, the actual road close to it was more like a logging road, or construction road. Couldn't tell that from an aerial view though. 2. It was within a wooded section, so hopefully it may have not been disturbed due to farming or construction. Our biggest concern (in the thought process) was the mark may have been destroyed when the railroad tracks were taken up, or when the levees moved/constructed. 3. It was far enough from distinguishable housing, that maybe it hadn't been removed by a homeowner. I know a lot of things could have happened in the time period since the last recovery report of 1936, but that's some of the logic we discussed/used..........and hoped for the best.