Ernmark

..some of my most interesting names were AE8321 - FRED AE8359 - WILMA AE8302 - BARNEY ...so what happened to BETTY ? My favorite is AJ4910 - CRAZY (located in the median strip of the highway) PS - I've been in talks with PFF to send him out for AI3821 - BEER, since I was unable to find JV5615 - BEER on my own...

...I hope this doesn't mean I'll have to find a new hobby!

How 'bout these: G 5 by NorStar (disk all but hidden by a gazillion feet of snow) H 339 by Nitro929

..that was my situation. I downladed from here. This has NA basemap included (I'd still back yours up, just in case..you need to make sure you see System Files in Windows).

The Magellan 210 update only shows if you look under "210 Europe" - see link. The version currently available from Magellan replaces your North American basemap w/ the European one (thus the advice to back up your basemap first & copy back over after the upgrade. Also, which firmware do you have right now? You'll know as soon as you power up - it's in the upper right hand corner (& you'll see either "©2005 Thales Navigation" or "©2007 Magellan"). If yours is older, you can do the EU upgrade...I've heard the w/ 2007 sometimes the the upgrade won't work. I had the older firmware & did it w/ the help of this thread Here's exactly what I did (at my own risk, of course): 1 - Powered up unit - goes into USB mode - selected "File Transfer" & PC recognizes unit.Message reads "upload from firmware" & "working" ---[note - this was after I erased my unit due to another problem (NAND loop) so the "upload from firmware" message may not apply here..you can also check threads for the 500 EU update..pretty much the same steps.] 2 - when complete, click on file "pldup.exe" from unpacked software (downloaded from site listed in thread which took care of the basemap problem). 3 - GPS will read in intimidating all-caps: "SOFTWARE UPLOAD MODE - ACTIVE" (ACTIVE will switch to ERASING & then WRITING") 4 - in a few minutes, the pc software will indicate "software upload complete". Whole deal took about 10 minutes - the 3 "new" screens are sweeeet (of the 3 - I mostly use the "large print" screen! ..the 210 seems to be more responsive & acquires birds faster upon startup....and I've got WAAS (same thing w/ a 'new' old firmware 500 I upgraded that never showed WAAS before) Don't try if you're squeamish about computers, & read thru the threads first, in case I forgot to mention anything PS - almost forgot...if embra was here, he'd tell you to also check http://www.gpsfaqs.org/faqs/magellan/explo...0/firmware.html !

I'm a 210 (&500) owner also - check out this recent thread - it all may depend on whether you have either a brand-spankin new 210 w/ 2007 firmware or one w/ older firmware which wasn't turned on during a change in WAAS satellites this summer... I had the older firmware & did the 2.5.7 EU firmware update & now have WAAS again. If you do this, back up your basemap first as the firmware on Magellan's site currently will replace your current map w/ the EU one..

..was nosing around over @ Waymarking & saw this: Pillar Point Breakwater (East): 34+ by begneiss Niiice!

Re:Magellans & WAAS - I just had an interesting experience. Back in May or June, I hosed my 210 which had the firmware from 2005 (NAND loop)..I left it sit until Sept. until I decided to try the 'secret menu #95' fix (which erases the unit) & upgraded to the 2007 210 EU firmware. Worked great, & had WAAS..I didn't think much about it until I read in the forums about the satellite change...I shouldn't still have WAAS. So this evening I upgraded a 500 (2005 firmware) that I bought 'New in Box' from eBay around Christmas (which hasn't shown WAAS since I got it) with the2007 500 EU firmware. I took it outside & had WAAS in 2 minutes! Not sure why, but I'll take it! + I now have the extra screens to boot!

Nice! PS - Should you have a dot in the center for the survey parties?

Berntsen (a great company!) was founded in the early 70's I believe - I believe they do (did) the modern (NGS) ones - I'm most curious about the older USC&GS ones.. .I'm sure some of the companies may not be in busines any longer..

..my thought was to have them set by a surveyor (I need to have this done as my local gov't has torn out the only remaining corner points which were RR spikes in the middle of the road) instead of an iron pin & marked "boundary" or similar. I see those 1 1/2" flat disks (plugs) w/ a cross pre embedded in a small concrete 'monument' used as R.O.W. / boundaries around here.. (still want a full sized disk for the rock in my yard, tho!)

...sorry to hijack the thread again, but I've also been curious as to the manufacturers of some of the old disks 20's - 70's - have you collected that info as well? PS - thanks for the info on the air holes wwflover13 - how many are you going to set around the house? I have a corner lot - If I did this, I would love to monument at ground level at edges of the property (neighbors willing) & of course beside the mailbox ..maybe one on the front porch. ...and the back porch ....OK - yeah, I could set all 11!

..slightly off-topic, but one of the other pics in the collection shows a "tri-station W/ air hole" - what is the purpose of the air hole? I notice they don't really show up until the 60's & the thinner disk style..

..I've seen a drill bit @ Home Depot that is made for drilling thru concrete, etc. - I wonder if 1 (or 2) might work?

..congrats! I still can't tear myself away from paper, tho.. I started putting USGS's on Waymarking - a good place to park the pictures/to reach until the day the USGS joins the electronic age

..here's the thread from a few years ago when Spoo tried it: see link

I'm in - I don't do much caching, but when I do, it's usually to drop off a benchmark coin. The people who find them are usually intrigued by them....and then after a while they disappear.

..and this adds to the mystery: '1.5 MI SW FROM 5/PADH'

I found that the PID listed for it in the Box Score® was a normal PID (in this area KWnnnn) instead of the 'mysterious' PID's that often accompany RM's: KW2864|---------------------------------------------------------------------| KW2864| PID Reference Object Distance Geod. Az | KW2864| dddmmss.s | KW2864| CK8148 TUSCA RM 1 11.910 METERS 06746 | KW2864| KW2855 SNYDER APPROX.10.6 KM 1014050.9 | KW2864| KW2858 PENNSYLVANIA STATE AWY BCN 29 APPROX.15.0 KM 1411231.3 | KW2864| KW2863 USGS MARK NEAR TUSCA 1935 12.830 METERS 18542 | KW2864| CK8149 TUSCA RM 2 13.000 METERS 18610 | KW2864| KW2861 PITTSBURGH HARRISB AWY BCN 28 APPROX.11.1 KM 1962225.1 | KW2864|---------------------------------------------------------------------| ..so I put the PID 'KW2863' in the datasheet retrieval page (also clicked on destroyed box on the hunch that it may have been classified as destroyed ) & got the 'Fatal Error - No Marks Found' page that lists all of the codes & has the PID at the bottom...there was no indication that it was destroyed & it had the unusual 'D' classification. This was a first for me! Edit to add the following musing: ..wonder why when setting TUSCA, they didn't just make the USGS disk RM 2? To test a 3" difference in arc from ~13 meters?

A month or 2 ago, I was looking for Tri-Station TUSCA (KW2864) and found a USGS mark as described right next to a reference mark (in fact, because of the double signature, I found them before the station). I was curious as to why the USGS mark wasn't in the database, especially because of the situation at another station not too far away (SNYDER-KW2855 & USGS MARK NEAR SNYDER 1935-KW2856) - so when I got around to submitting the recovery info for TUSCA, I looked for "USGS MARK NEAR TUSCA" & finally found it - unpublished. The non-pub code was 'D - No Descriptive Text available'. So...I thought, since I collected updated information for TUSCA - I would go ahead & add my recovery information to the USGS mark as well (and then added to Waymarking -WM2GNA) . I wasn't sure what would happen, or even if I should have done that, but with this month's NGS uploads, this appeared: NGS - KW2863. USGS MARK NEAR TUSCA 1935 & its buddy TUSCA RM 2 I wonder if all it needed for the past 72 years (o.k - since entered into the database) was the descriptive text? Kind of neat to 'bring one back'! PS - TUSCA's first-order & 'NEAR TUSCA's second - but it's always good to have a nearby backup, right?

..so I wasn't the only one nuts enough to be out on Sunday! (how about that wind chill?!) KV1920 - an urban disk from NE Philadelphia

..here's one monumented in 1997 - a baby! AE7848 ..didn't know if it would've bitten, but I didn't get too close! This is on PA Turnpike R.O.W., so I believe the gouges are indeed from mowers..

Here's one: KW3227 This is an NGS type of BM which began showing up in the 80's.. There are also examples of benchmark disks mounted to rods as well...

..In an effort to tie in the Cast BM Molds thread - (which is probably better-rembered as the Chocolate Benchmarks thread – also see: Zhanna's Chocolate BM site), the Hobby or Obsession thread, the Cornstarch thread, and the “how do you get your spouse interested in BM hunting” thread (can’t find the thread(s) in the search), I am happy to report that I was able to get my Anti-Benchmarking® Spouse to actually not sneer at the mere mention of the topic – thanks to the silicone based-goo that Zhanna discovered a few years back. I placed an order & amassed a collection of chocolate, and last winter I made several molds in clay, etc to see if I could get a good cast. When I mentioned that these molds are meant for food, my wife immediately perked up at the thought of using chocolate (perhaps a sinister thought of devouring the disks that ‘ruin’ virtually every shopping trip, vacation, or venture beyond the over-hunted BM wasteland that is S. Central PA.). She did the heating & mixing of the chocolate & I did the highly technical process of pouring/leveling the hot, gooey liquid. The results were pretty good….but the chocolate seemed to lack authenticity. So, I accompanied the Mizziz to the local crafts store & found the colored baking chocolate, specifically made to be poured into forms…including green & blue. …so you know what I’m thinking – weathered BM’s. I mixed the colors in an attempt to get an authentic color & was pleased with the attempt: (Edge View - looking SW) Still – I thought I could do better. Cornstarch…or maybe powdered sugar. I gave it a try – kind of hard on a chilled mark, but I used a tissue & was able to smear it around pretty well: The only drawback to a full-sized chocolate mold is that the wife will claim that it is too much for one ‘sitting’ (My wife breaks them in ½…and 10 min. later finishes the other ½). Solution (especially for those of you in & around Dolphin® County, NJ) – smaller disks: …so does the spouse like benchmark hunting now? ..heck, no! But every so often, she & the kids bug me to ‘help make benchmarks’. Small steps, my friends, small steps… .....next chocolate project(s) “unused shiny bronze” & “ ‘3-inches below ground level’ reddish brown”…

..I'm a little wary of ebay listings that only show the "stock photo". If you can see a picture of the actual unit they're selling, + their feedbacks, etc - you can get a decent idea of the credibility of the seller. Example - look at listings for Magellan eXplorists & it will say something like "used twice", but in the picture the arrow on the joystick is completely rubbed off (that takes a while!) - now if the buttons look pristine, I'd believe the lister. With a stock photo (unless they're selling quantities "NIB") -who knows?