BasicPoke

As of March 2024 a simple carriage return still does not work in hints, but [br] does work. Note that in a cache description, while editing, you can click the Source button then use html (hypertext markup language, developed for internet web pages), where a line break is <br>.

I am very sad about the decision to remove benchmarking. I have found hundreds of them and enjoy them very much. I feel blind-sided by this. What was the point of all the carefully-thought-out logs and photos? We have put a certain amount of trust in you that our data would remain intact. Many of these markers are not documented anywhere else. The first step should be to disable new logging, but leave the web pages in place for a long period of time, like a year for example, so that we can save our precious info. Or better yet, groundpspeak should export the logs and photos to a database and make it available so that someone else can re-host. Please consider my suggestions. Ron

Sure, they could do it, but apparently not a priority. It probably comes down to money. And FYI, you can download datasheets by state. Could take a couple hours to download them all, or something like that. ftp://ftp.ngs.noaa.gov/pub/DS_ARCHIVE/DataSheets/ Ron

If they don't want to handle it, someone should take over the benchmark info from Groundspeak, put it on a different website, and give it the attention it deserves.

Hello, I have been using Lowrance GPS's for over 10 years to locate benchmarks and geocaches. All my Lowrance's have now quit on me, and I'm thinking of switching to a modern Garmin. I'm looking for recommendations on which unit to buy. Benchmarking is much more important to me than geocaching. I would like to load up all benchmarks for a state (or states). Ideally I would like to select a different icon depending on the benchmark type, which may involve writing some code since (oddly enough) the shapefile records do not indicate the type (disk, tank, mast, rod, etc.) but the datasheet does. Any recommendations on which GPS to get? And is there a process like this written up somewhere? Any help appreciated. Thanks a lot Ron

Some of those disks posted in this thread look really amazing, I am jealous. May have found something like this in OK but would have to go back and look at the photos. Thanks for sharing all these. Ron

Hello, we need help on deciphering the description below. What is meant by "tangent of curve" in this case? As you can see on a map, there is a curve in the highway just north of this marker, then the roads straightens out. I am familiar with a line being tangent to a curve, but don't see how that applies here. Tangent of curve at what point? Any ideas? Thanks Ron http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=FK0453 https://www.google.com/maps/place/35%C2%B023'54.0%22N+99%C2%B039'09.0%22W/@35.3983333,-99.6525,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0 FK0453'DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1934 FK0453'7.6 MI N FROM SAYRE. FK0453'7.6 MILES NORTH OF CRIPRR STATION 0.1 MILE SOUTH OF TANGENT OF FK0453'CURVE. 90 FEET NORTH OF HIGHWAY CURVE SIGN. 36 FEET EAST OF FK0453'CENTERLINE OF U.S. HIGHWAY 283.

Hello bm-ers, When on a benchmark/geocache run, what are some tips to maximize your number of finds? For example how long do you look for a marker before giving up? How do you document each bm find quickly before moving on to the next? Is it important how fast you gun your engine and drive to the next one? Thanks Ron

Hello, I used to log every bm at geocaching.com and add a couple of photos, until I went on a trip and found over 100. Since then I have found several hundred. The amount of work seems insurmountable now. I really don't like to log without a photo. If there were some way to do this in a sort-of automated fashion, I might consider it. For example, you type out the PID and comments on a form for many bm's at a time, and select a photo or two for each one. Then you click GO, and it logs all of them and uploads the photos while you go on your merry way. Has anyone seen or created such a thing? Do you know of any way to programmatically interact with the benchmark pages? Thanks Ron

Excellent crabs, thanks.

Based on a test I did today, I discovered a trackable twice and it did not add to my "Trackables Logged" number. I did this for two days that were close together, and two that were months apart. And I gave it plenty of time to take place. So maybe this question was all a waste of time. Sorry folks. If you can find a case where it counts your trackable find twice, let me know. Thanks Ron

It just doesn't seem right to me that logging a trackable again should add to my # of trackables logged. For example, discovering the same trackable at two different events should not count as two trackables found, IMHO. Ron

I have just returned from an event where I got the #'s from many travel bugs. I don't know if I have seen them before, could have been 7 or 8 years ago when I saw them. Is there any way to tell if I have logged a travel bug before? The logs are not all on the same page, so I cannot search there to find out. It sure would be nice if there were something on the trackable page that told me I had discovered that trackable before, like there is on a geocache page. Does it matter if I just discover it again? Will it be counted twice in my trackable finds? I don't want that. Thanks Ron

Has anyone seriously thought of taking over from geocaching.com as the 'place' to log benchmarks, since they do no updates from NGS? Preferably this would be done with agreement form geocaching.com so that we could get their current database of logs and so they could direct users to the new site. Ron

Found one of those in OK 4/1/12 at 33-33.937 101-40.546. I don't have a place to post the photo. If you are interested I can e-mail it to you. It is FAP 220 (1931).

Have a look at these sites: http://nationalmap.gov/gio/viewonline.html You can view a map with NGS benchmarks here: http://benchmarks.scaredycatfilms.com/index.html The background map can be USGS topo, historic orthophotos, "Urban" don't know what that is, road map, hybrid road map & satellite photo, or terrain. It's a nice site. Here is another map viewer that has USGS topo maps as one of the options. I like this one because it displays the lat/lon of your cursor: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?ll=39.658774,-96.561542&t=t1&z=4 BasicPoke

FWIW, from my experience making electronic maps, the difference on the earth between a WGS84 position and a NAD83 position is much less than 1 m. I believe it is may be under 1 mm. We always treated them as equal. BasicPoke

I obtained many paper datasheets in the Tulsa OK area from USGS. Each set of sheets, corresponding to one of the old 15x15-minute quads, contains a list of marks which it appears were mainly established by USGS in the 1950's when they were creating the topo map series. Many are just section corners, chiseled squares, nails, and other things uninteresting to me, but maybe 10% are survey disks. Some are USCGS disks, the agency that turned into NGS. Many of them have positions listed and many do not. The ones that had positions listed, I entered into my GPS (use datum NAD27), which turned out to be about 40 markers. A few I was already aware of because they were NGS markers. One was a bonified USGS marker, a stamped aluminum plate on a post, which I had already found years ago quite by accident. Many were in heavily-populated areas where streets had been widened and I knew they were not there. I searched for a handful out in the country and did not find any. A metal detector would be helpful. Searching for these was quite difficult and it almost seems not worth it, although a find would be quite a thrill. I thought it would be quite interesting to create an online database of these listings in my area where people could log their experiences searching for these, but there just isn't much interest around here. BasicPoke

This is not related to Google Earth, but I would e-mail USGS and see if they have produced any maps of the country, and the markers may be shown on them. BasicPoke

I would like to encourage you, and everyone else, that when you find a benchmark that is not in geocaching.com's 10-year-old NGS benchmark database, please create a waymark for it so others can find it. BasicPoke

That's a great find. Feels like finding treasure doesn't it. Looks like they packed marmalade around it. BasicPoke

That would be nice but I don't see anything about benchmarks there at wap.geocaching.com. BasicPoke

Hello all, Do you know of any way to read a benchmark web page from geocaching.com without all the new menu stuff? Just a simple page with the benchmark info and logs is all I want, for slower connctions. Thanks BasicPoke

Why are you guys so down on Waymarking.com? I make waymarks of survey markers that are not in NGS. Search in the "U.S. Benchmarks" category at zip code 74012 for example. I agree there are a lot of dumb things in there, like McDonald's locations, but there are some neat ones too. I hope geocaching.com keeps the benchmarks, but it may also be acceptable to dump the benchmark database into Waymarking, as long as all the logs are kept. http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMBKDZ_City_of_Tulsa_Field_Engineering_C14 http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMBF7Y_State_of_OK_SH66_bridge_over_Bird_Creek http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMBCZM_GG0826_SHIPPEY_Azimuth_Mark http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMAM9R_USACE_LB12_1_1989_Alsuma_Soccer_Park http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMA15P_US_Dept_of_Agriculture_1000_R2_1939

Here is a story of airway markers in Tulsa OK that someone told where I work: "During the early days of aviation in Tulsa, on top of Reservoir Hill, which is located at Apache and North Denver, was a directional sign that aviators used to find Tulsa. With navigational aids at a minimum during this time period, a directional sign was an important part of the pilot’s situational awareness. The sign pointed southeast to McIntyre Airport, located at the southeast corner of Admiral and Sheridan, and was used by Charles Lindbergh when he visited the city of Tulsa on September 30, 1927. Also, on top of Reservoir Hill visible on the picture above and shown on the picture below, were the KVOO radio towers whose broadcasting strength early pilots used as directional aids as well... As part of Vision 2025, the sign has been restored. It was moved about 300 feet from the location of the original crushed marble sign and now points in an easterly direction to Tulsa International Airport instead of in a southeasterly direction to the long gone McIntyre Airport." Now it's me talking: I have an old and a new image of the marker but don't know where to post them. Here is a link to it on Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=tulsa,+ok&aq=&sll=36.078864,-95.82314&sspn=0.01018,0.022316&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Tulsa,+Oklahoma&ll=36.188198,-96.000193&spn=0.001271,0.002789&t=h&z=19 BasicPoke