Growf

Anyone else use "It's Not About the Numbers" for generating stats? The last couple of times I've tried to upload the 'My Finds' pocket query there, it seems to upload OK, but then I get shown somebody else's stats ("Baker Street Sleuths") and I have no idea who that person(s) is. Anyone else experience anything similar???

I would suggest that in an urban setting, we already have enough crap to deal with which screws up the signal -- power lines, building reflection, etc. -- that we don't need the further reduction of accuracy by soft coords. Try GCGV88 some time -- multi-level concrete walkway over a major thoroughfare, steel grillwork on the walkway itself, with power lines running overhead. Why would I think to look there, if the coords are pointing toward a light pole 50+ feet away from this???

We seem to have "speed humps" scattered all around the Cincinnati, OH area; there are even a few a few blocks away from my house. On to the weird/interesting/amusing sign: What is interesting is that this was in the community of West Harrison, IN (very near GC179BG), which is divided from Harrison, OH by State St -- the OH/IN state line runs right down the middle of the road in this area. Interesting point #2: if you're going to break the law by committing a rolling stop, then save some money and do it in Harrison -- it'll only cost you $65 there!

Correct; I just wanted to share the actual guidance document, and note its timeliness

Kinda cool that the mark (or rather the monument that the mark itself is set in) is visible via Google Maps. Also looks like Google Maps may be more tuned to the NAD83 data than the WGS84

[Just saw this thread since someone posted re: the IL mark] Having been to Alaska, my first reaction was surprise when I saw that the mark was in an apparently populated area -- but then I remembered that -- Oh Yeah! -- Everybody pretty much lives in Anchorage ;-) (OK, not exactly -- ~40% of Alaska's population is in the Anchorage area, so I'm sure that heavily weights the centering to be in that area)

Just an FYI, I did a search on the NPS website and found this page: http://www.nps.gov/gis/gps/ While the text under Geo-caching in the National Parks states that "Geo-caching activities on national park lands is prohibited", the referenced guidance document (http://www.nps.gov/policy/GPSguidance.pdf , and updated as recently as October 1st) seems to suggest that this is up to the superintendent of any given park...

Well, I did mean seconds when I said minutes, so my bad there... But if you're using GPS to record the coordinates, and GPS to find the coordinates, then it wouldn't be an issue with finding something -- that problem should only arise if you're posting coords from Google Maps and trying to find with your GPSr, or vice versa. In the link I posted, take a look at the pic of the GPSr in the 'IERS Reference Meridian' section, and you'll see that it's off by a little over 5". Try going to http://maps.google.com and enter "N 51.477222 E 0"; you'll see it places the marker somewhere along a row of parking spaces. Now try entering "N 51.477875 W 0.001490", and you'll see the marker moves a bit north and to the west to where the Prime Meridian is marked at the Royal Observatory. *That's* the discrepancy to which I was referring...

After reading an interesting bit of history on the Prime Meridian, I would likely never use Google Maps (nor any of the other map sites) again for caching coordinates, as it appears all will be consistently off by 5+ seconds of longitude (unless I'm totally misinterpreting the referenced article) when compared to your GPSr's coords.

I get the impression that that the cache is available at all times, but that it is in some way locked except during the appropriate window in time. Mechanically, I'm not sure how it would be done, but determining the phase of the moon on a given date is (programmatically speaking) quite simple -- search Google for "full moon algorithm". I assume the OP has figured out a way to marry a programmable timer to a locking mechanism...

I haven't done that much benchmarking yet, but I've found the "cylindrical monument" descriptions to not be reliable. Though the posted pic doesn't show it, JZ0985 was set in a a monument that was akin to a flattened obelisk or flattened pyramid, but 1) the Groundspeak page says "Setting: set into the top of a round concrete monument", while 2) the original datasheet says "SETTING: 7 = SET IN TOP OF CONCRETE MONUMENT" (no mention of shape). Ditto for JZ0898 and JZ0740. I think Groundspeak, when importing the NGS database, took the liberty of translating any mark with "SETTING: 7 = SET IN TOP OF CONCRETE MONUMENT" into "Setting: set into the top of a round concrete monument".

For micros, has anybody had any luck with the containers which store diabetic test strips? How about paint pots? Not the cheapies that you get with paint-by-number sets, but a little bigger, like what you see here (3/4 oz. and screw-on lids):

I can't add much to what has already been said, other than I agree that a cemetery is a fine place for a cache. The first cache I found by myself was a cemetery cache (GC1EMWN), and the first cache I placed (GC1Y5WV) is in a cemetery where one of my GGG-Grandfathers is buried, and many of the other individuals there are related -- one of them even helps you if you need to use the clue.

Knight2000 - Thanks for the reply. Guess I will have to wait for another day to complete this one -- when I returned to my car after finding the first stage, it (my car) was dead from alternator death

Hope the title says it all, but... I found the first stage of a multicache, which contained a logbook. Front of logbook has the coordinates for the next stage. I signed the logbook, but do I log as found now? Or not until I've found the final stage?

testing, testing

Doh! Bill93, you've obviously been doing this a while -- I thought I checked the datasheet 2-3 times for just such a clue, but completely missed that When I get the chance, I plan on revisiting JZ0898 to see if there are any signs of the metal stem in the concrete - I'm still nervous/cautious about poking around too much when I'm caching, and I need to learn to be more "hands on" ...

Thanks! I had much better luck today, finding 5 (out of around 15 I printed out). So now here's the next question(s): 1) In my area there are two markers with a designation of "U 141" - JZ0899 and JZ0900. JZ0899 was a DNF even though there was an orange witness post at the described location. When I got to JZ0900's location, I found a marker, but the stamped designation was "V 141" -- is this too considered a DNF since the designation doesn't match the datasheet? FWIW, there are no "V 141" designations in the state of Ohio listed in the database. 2) Later in the day, I was looking for JZ0898, and found the following at the described location: No marker, but there was a circular indentation around the hole about the size of the other markers I have found (though I admit the pic doesn't show this very well). I got a bonus in that JZ3403 was very nearby (14 feet north, and I wasn't even looking for it ), but I'm guessing that this one is a DNF as well? I thought definitely at first, since the database says "Setting: set into the top of a round concrete monument", and this is more square-sh, but the original datasheet simply says "SET IN TOP OF CONCRETE MONUMENT" (no shape mentioned)

Thank you both! I figured it would be a DNF as there was no designation on the found disk, and it was not at the described location. Bill93 -- yep, did my best to actually measure, as my iPhone GPS is *not* that accurate in the first place. While measuring from the center line of the main route (Harrison Rd) was next to impossible (busy 4-lane state route near an Interstate exit, *and* near the beginning of afternoon rush hour!), the Mullen Rd measurement was a bit easier -- and it helps that my heel-to-toe distance is very close to 1 foot exactly Out of curiousity, how would the new mark be used as a reference point if there is no designation to distinguish it from another?

I just started 'caching a few weeks ago, and thought I would also try my hand at finding some of the local bench marks. I was trying to locate PID# JZ0987, and found this at the described location, embedded in the concrete: A worker at a shop next to the location came out, and actually asked if I was looking for the survey marker; I responded "Yes" and he told me that when some roadwork was done several years ago (he couldn't be specific), the bridge was rebuilt, and the marker was moved to the other side of Harrison Rd., and that the quarter was embedded at the site of the original. I then crossed over the road and found this: Text reads "HAMILTON COUNTY ENGINEER" / "G.P.S." / "NO SET" and was (approximately) set at N 39° 12.624 W 084° 40.493 I could find no other markers nearby, nor any numbers on the mark -- how best then to report, if at all?