Stonedust

I've been out four times now, finding benchmarks, learning a bit each time, and enjoy it in combination with geocaching. I've learned about bringing Brillo pads, Brasso, emery paper, and sulfuric acid to clean all those little brass discs! I did notice that hitting the brass, and pounding them back into the rock laves some fair dents. Wonder how others do it? Now that I've got people's attention, and knowing there are people out there who would love benchmarking, how about beginning a beginners thread on here, maybe go through some of the learning points? Like geocaching, benchmarking seems to be able to develop into a lifetime event. No matter where you travel, they are hidden somewhere around you. They aren't easy, for the most part to find, are usually in interesting, scenic, or challenging terrain, and the list is endless. There is no rush to finish them, but are sorta like eating potato chips. It's hard to stop! Now I've been lucky. For three of my jouneys the company of John Snyder, aka Spoo, and he's been an interesting hiking companion. I've learned a lot, know I've got a lot to learn, and enjoyed the conversation. He covered all the fine points of the first paragraph! But, I could have just as easily gone out on my own, and not understood what is good and bad.

Thank you Donna. The Cup Floweth Over at Splendid Shaw Falls is where I'll send it! Maybe by the time it gets that far North, there will be one IN Waterborough. Thanks for the suggestions!

I finally bought one of the TB's, and would like to start it in Waterboro, Maine , where we live, and have it head North to Waterborough Canada. But, after searching, I'm not really sure what cache in located in Waterborough, Canada. Since there really are a likited amount of towns/cities named Waterboro/Waterborough I though this would make a fun travel goal. Is there a cache located in Waterborough, or should I just say as close as possible ? Frank and Cindy

I've be happy with the old common www.walmart.com. The price was good, and the delivery was ok. Garmin 60 CS

I have the right angle connector, reasoning to myself that it would be sturdier when banging around the front seat. In retrospect, I think the straight connector might be more prudent. When getting in and out of the car, chasing caches, or working on the National Map, it's a pain to wrnech the right angle connector off. And you need to pull on the connector, NOT the wire coming from it. Pull that wire loose, and it would be trouble.

I have traveled for about eight years with a laptop, and a Garmin hooked up. Since I often wander, and just as often get lost, it has been great. And, from time to time fun.....I was coming down from Northern Maine yesterday oon the turnpike, and came into a attended tollboth. The lady noticed the laptop, and the map on the screen and said something along the line of ....."So, you know exactly where you are ?" "Yep, I replied, I been wandering here in Vermont for a week, and never lost once. " There was a ten second pause before she laughed, and told me to get moving." I use a little Walmart purchased 300 watt inverter. I usually run the gps off alkaline batteries, since I often get out of the truck, and go wandering geocaching and prospecting. A gaggle of alkalines is pretty cheap at Sam's these days, and I don't have to disconnect the additional power cord to the gps.

I notice, even though I own most of the mapping programs, that Quakemap is the one I gravitate back to most often. Thanks for your efforts, and I appreciate the updates. Frank Allen

So, using a GPS with an external antenna, and a 9 foot cable: Is the GPS point of measurement at the antenna end, or the GPS end? Accuracy to within 6ft and a 9 foot cable length ?

The way Flash memory is changing the handheld electronic world, I'd be surprised if Garmin doesn't release both a 60 and 76 with larger memory. They could tag in a flash mp3 player plus gaggles of memory for the gps, and still only raise the price a little bit.

We often forget the real close stores, like WalMArt! $409 for a 60cs

Well, I'm surprised the old time kayakers haven't said this yet, but..before you buy anything, put your butt in the boat and paddle it. Period. Once you decide on a lake kayak, a white water boat, a sea kayak, the rest is how comfortable you feel in the boat. You can get arguements about molded vs fiberglass, skeg vs rudder, rudder vs no rudder, hard cline vs soft, yada , yada, yada. If you are not comfortable in the thing, it ain't going to get used much. I drove the local Portland Maine dealer nuts while I looked, but I've ended up paddling for ten years, everything from along the Coast of Maine to backwater swamps, camping on the coastal islands, to many a night on a local pond, half bottle of red, a tupperware container of American Chop Sue, and watching the sun going down. I'm comfortable in my boat! We've got a couple of caches in the northern part of Maine that are a lot easier with a kayak!

Try quakemap. Neat, and works well.

Glad to see DeLorme Marketing reading the Forums! Thank you for the indirect response. I'm becoming 'adjusted' to the Topo 5.0 program, have not learned to love it yet, but am certainly happy with the accuracy. Always nice to see customer tracking going on. FYI, I paid for my upgrade with cash. They scanned the upgrade, but took nothing from the paper form you sent me. I would have thought you'd certainly track the upgrade responses. Been with you for years, and many upgrades. Hope you continue to do well. Frank Allen

You were absolutely correct! Thanks a lot. I changed the setting in Topo 5.0, and the cache locations are perfect. Not to beat a dead horse too much, but you'd think DeLorme would have offered that suggestion, instead of eliminating my posting from their forum. Again, thank you. Frank

Please, I am not starting a flaming war, I simply don't understand something. I've an older Garmin 45, been a delight for many years, and am about to buy a new 60CS. So, being local to DeLorme, and getting a good upgrade discount, I just purchased their Topo 5.0. Running home, I started playing , and really like the features. Then I started putting in some of the local geocaches, and hiking sites. I use UTM, and I took them right of the screen on the Garmin 45. I just did three of them, all locally, where I've stood on the spot, and know the cache location. Topo was 350-700 ft off in location. Plugging the same UTM numbers into another program, Quakemap for example, the locations are dead on. The difference was large enough to be in the middle of a river, or thirty feet up the shore. How come? I just don't understand.

Just another lurker. From Southern Maine. I've found couple of caches, and three benchmarks. I suspect I'll keep going on the benchmarks. They're a real challenge. Frank

I've found some of the caches in the past, but never thought about the benchmarks. I printed out a few this morning, and was sitting at the local Old Farts Club having coffee, and reading the printouts. Guy next to me asked what I was reading and I told him. The real old timer on the other side of me started telling us about one of his first jobs, working with the 'feds' back in 1942, putting in many of the benchmarks right around my area. He then went up the road with me, and showed me where the one I had been heading for should have been! That intersection was redone a few years ago, and it was taken out. That would have been OC2681. He was paid $50 every two weeks for the work, and went all over York County in Maine. You never know !