Circum

Rescuing dog from frozen (sort of) resarvoir Geocacher to the rescue! Read the news story at this link.

I'm sorry the response has been underwhelming! Not much ammunition here to take to the powers that be to look for an exemption. Frankly I am dissapointed at the lack of vision for the unique and far ranging capabilities offered by locationless caches. One of the defining qualities is subject matter that would be in a coffee table book. Here is a chance to create the book and a unique historical record at the same time. Where else is there a group with the capabilities to identify a local and often minimally publicised item on a theme, create and post images and record a precice location of that item for the world to see. Thanks to all for the feedback!

I tried that at the airport once. "There is no bomb in my luggage." It was not nearly as successful as I thought it would be... Bet that added a bunch of points to your ranking on the "NO FLY LIST"!

Although locationless (reverse) caches have been on hold for a long time, I would like to see a special exception to start one for documenting Memorials of the lossses suffered in the 9/11 Attacks on America. Many communities have and are establishing such Memorial Sites and I feel collecting their locations with pictures and comments offers a unique opportunity to establish an unmatched historical record. One memorial I fear may be lost is a field of Daffodils, planted as a memorial. There is no other marker except in the memories of those that are aware and some local newspaper archives. Maybe, with enough support, this locationless could be started. Please comment…

...move to top of list.

...move to top of list.

Similar to KV4984 and KV4987 although these PIDs describe unique points on the same structure. Mr. Magoo posted a possible reason for the unique points where one was suitable for day time observation and the light was suitable for night time long distance observation. Since FB2454 and 55 include notations on both a mark and a signal/observation station, possibly a similar explanation applies to this pair of seemingly identical markers. For those interested in further reading, I seem to recall a thread in this forum about Height of Light Above Marker which has some information about why lights were used.

...and in NJ we have PICKLE. Dates from 1876 and named for the family that owned the property. A little about one of the members here.

Thanks to Black Dog for the snow picture! The gallery was getting overrun with palm trees, southern pines and desert scenes. NJ should get a couple more inches before the weekend is over. Who said you shouldn't dig for a find.

Here is a great case to emphasize the need for proof a marker is gone before assuming it has been destroyed! One of my early searches seemed to be "lost", but, a recent search by Mr. Magoo, with the aid of a metal detector, found the mark burried right where it was supposed to be. Check out KV2917. Congratulations Mr. Magoo! This also makes a case (excuse) for adding a metal detector to the tool kit. Actually, a rod for probing the ground would have found this one, but, I didn't add that until recently.

quote:Originally posted by MICP: The second is kind of a long story. I work on and oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast on SW La. I am trying to figure out a way to get the helicopter to stop an let me get out end document this one!!! http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.asp?PID=AV0804 Last noted in 1955 by the USCG. MICP Since the mark is a DERRICK (really big marker) you could probably document with a picture in a fly-by. The hard part will be figuring out where that derrick was on April 7, 1955 and further if the derrick is the same one as existed in 1955! Sounds like a fun log!

The folks at the Hunterdon Democrat were kind enough to get me a digital image from the original print... Also, saw a compass, like the one pictured, on E-Bay recently for over $2000. Even obsloete instruments are expensive. Earler in the thread I mentioned KV1178 and KV1400 which are a similar set of markers in Somerville, NJ. Hopefully, Rog's list will turn up some more!

Finally found some information about the True Meridian markers in Flemington, NJ KV1386 and KV1388. Thanks to the archives of the Hunterdon County Democrat (a local newspaper which dates from the time of the markers), I have found two articles on the monuments. The first, from May 6, 1884, discusses the establishment of the markers. The second, from November 2, 1939 goes into detail about the markers use and background. Copies can be downloaded as Adobe Acrobat files (.psf) from Meridian Articles. The file is large, 2.4 MB, so be patient on slow connections.

Stumbled on this Engineering Manual specifying how to set new markers. Do not try this at home!

An interesting quirk... The altitde of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse Finial is listed at 2ft. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse Light is listed as 3ft. Presumably, the light is near the top of the Lighthouse which is 103 ft. from bottom to top and the finial is on the roof, above the light. Since both are listed as Second Order Horizontal controls, I assume the altitude is actually a "don't care". Why though, do they bother to list an altitude, which is obviously incorrect for the light and finial?

quote:Originally posted by survey tech:In an earlier message I guessed that the oldest true NGS point still in existence was probably from the 1830s... The other three are important historic points, but they are boundary points, appropriated rather than created by NGS. The one in Maryland set in 1765 was apparently first used by NGS in 1961. The one in Massachusetts set in 1825 to mark the boundary with New Hampshire seems to have been first used for geodetic purposes in 1912. The one in South Carolina, on the boundary with North Carolina, known as Commissioner's Rock, was visited in 1813 by Andrew Ellicott... So none of these would be considered among the oldest benchmarks, although they are marvelous old boundary corners. Sandy Hook Lighthouse was first lighted June 18, 1764. As a control point (horizontal), it was first observed (appropriated) in 1835 by CGS as KV4984 (Finial) and KV4987 (Light). By the standard above, it is only among the oldest, but, by placemant date (before appropriation) it predates the others in the list. Anyone got anything older? [This message was edited by Circum on October 30, 2002 at 11:54 AM.]

For my dime the photography is the reason to hunt benchmarks, but, that's bacause I enjoy taking the pictures as well as having a reason to visit some interesting places. I expect there will be some turkeys who will log every mark they ever drove by and I hope that dosen't diminish the sport and fun for everyone else. I would, however, like to see the site present the correct Log entry when a picture is selected from the Gallery. Currently my pictures (from the 2nd logged visit) bring up the Log Entry from the first visitor who did not provide pictures. Happy hunting!

Recovered KV5818 yesterday and it dates from 1876. I assume the underground marker is still intact based on the description and the current good condition of the 1935 surface monument.

Resizing is a good way to optimize upload time. The system automatically resizes images which results in a standard width with variable height (as you can see in the gallery) and provides some uniformity. It also takes care of download optimization to some extent. The magic number is 605 pixels wide to fill the frame available in the system. If your image is wider, the system will resize to 605, but your upload time will be longer. If your image is narrower your image will be put into a frame 605 pixels wide which will result in a smaller image with white border (see example). My uploads take about a minute each on dial-up when the server is not busy. I have noticed things slow down a lot at busy times of day (early to mid evening Eastern time zone).

Interesting question… I know of several where road construction is underway and the described locations have been disturbed already (assume the markers are gone). I was wondering if they would be replaced. Also, a new bridge is being constructed, however, construction was stopped because the abutment settled 2 inches since December according to routine survey follow-up. I assume they measure to a fixed point (not necessarily a benchmark) on the structure. It also seems I have read several posts indicating that the listings on the Geocaching Benchmark site are from somewhat old (2 years) CDs. Are new entries from the NGS being added at this point?

Essentially anyone qualified can place a mark with the right equipment etc. The next trick is getting it included in the NSRS (National Spatial Reference System). Check NGS Link and article for more information.

I found another pair of markers today although only one was marked in the list as a True Meridian. See... http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.asp?PID=kv1178 and http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.asp?PID=kv1400 http://img.Groundspeak.com/benchmark/lg/1383_300.jpg

A little more digging and it seems a True Meridian can be established anywhere. Relatively high accuracy can be obtained by tracking the shadow of a verticle rod with respect to time of day. Also observation of Polaris. They were typically established near the county government facilities (Courthouse etc.) as a public reference to a known true north south line. May have found another nearby, but, only one end is documented.

I dug a little deeper and found the markers I was wondering about, however, they were beyond my home zip code search. So, YES they are real targets! See: http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.asp?PID=KV1386 and http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.asp?PID=KV1388 which make up the pair of markers that point to the poles.

Are True Meridian markers considered benchmarks? The ones I know of were placed more than 100 years ago. Does anyone know where else they can be found?