found azimuth mark

[+mailman72432]

the benchmark in question is FF2094. according to the decription i am in the right spot for one of the marks. what am i looking for to be able to log it found? also in the description it says that all marks were destroyed by highway construction. the owners of the land did some clean up(fence and bushes) recently and uncovered this marker. it can now be seen plainly while driving down the road. so i'm thinking maybe the other markers are still in place, since the road is actually narrower than the original gravel road. did they just not look for this or are their caculations so far off they can't find them?(seriously) this is the part i think i found.

 

'TO REACH THE AZIMUTH MARK FROM THE STATION, GO SOUTHEASTERLY ON A GRAVELED ROAD FOR 0.4 MILE AND THE MARK ON THE LEFT AS DESCRIBED. HEIGHT OF LIGHT ABOVE STATION'.

 

the coordinates taken at this disk are .42 miles SE of the triangulation station in the description. the other 3 marks are all north of this point, i think. i know the area and the land owner so i can look more but i need to know what to look for. oh, what does the arrow on the disk mean? it points north.

[+Black Dog Trackers]

Hi mailman72432 -

 

Welcome to benchmark hunting.

 

According to the 1975 report by the USGS, all marks were destroyed. Obviously, the azimuth marks still exists! However, it is 0.4 miles from where the others were and the report might be accurate about them. If the triangulation station no longer exists, then you really can't report a found on FF2094. You can do a not-found or even a destroyed log though, assuming the 1975 report is true for the triangulation station. You can upload your picture of the azimuth mark in your log and post your GPS receiver's coordinates for it too.

 

The arrow on azimuth marks and reference marks are supposed to point toward the triangulation station.

[tosborn]

It appears that the road may have taken out FF0094 and RM2. But if the Azimuth Mark survived on the east side of the road, RM1 may have also survived since it is also on the east side of the road. Let us know how things turn out. RM1 should be at N35 13 05.0 W090 54 46.0. RM2 should be at N35 13 03.2 W090 54 45.6.

 

Edited December 11, 2006 by tosborn

[AZcachemeister]

If the Azimuth mark survived, then any or all the others may also have survived. Use a metal detector and search carefully. I have discovered that NGS, CGS, etc. personnel are just as human as the rest of us, and occasionally make mistakes, (or maybe just get tired at the end of a long day) too!

[Relic_Hunter_Finder]

Question: Is it probable to log a benchmark that is off the benchmark listings?

[+Klemmer]

I guess you mean is it possible?

Sure, you can create a log for it in Waymarking, if it's not in the Geocaching database.

[Papa-Bear-NYC]

It appears that the road may have taken out FF0094 and RM2. But if the Azimuth Mark survived on the east side of the road, RM1 may have also survived since it is also on the east side of the road. Let us know how things turn out. RM1 should be at N35 13 05.0 W090 54 46.0. RM2 should be at N35 13 03.2 W090 54 45.6.

 

tosborn

 

I'm impressed by the picture you posted. What software did you use to produce this? Did you get the positions of the RMs using the box score? What's the resolution? What about map control to the actual landscape?

 

I could use something like this.

 

Thanks

Papa Bear

[tosborn]

Papa Bear:

 

For that image I used ExpertGPS....an amazingly capable, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive ($59.95) piece of software that works with Terraserver topos, aerial photos, and your own scanned maps. (http://www.expertgps.com/)

 

Yes, the RM's were positioned with the information from the Data Sheet box scores. ExpertGPS has the ability to "project" a waypoint based on the azimuth or bearing and distance from a position. It wasn't automatically read from the box scores however... I had to input the information into ExpertGPS.

 

The resolution of the original image (a USGS digital orthophoto), which ExpertGPS freely downloads automatically from Terraserver, is 1 meter per pixel. I think the picture is a screen grab I made, so I'm not sure of it's actual scale.

 

The aerial photos from Terraserver, being tiles from USGS digital orthophotos, are technically subject to the same National Map Accuracy Standards as USGS topo maps. However, it's my opinion that the digital orthophotos are usually more accurate unless you are near a visible seam between photos.

 

Tim

[+Klemmer]

You can do a very similar job with USAPhotomaps. It's free (a 'donation" is optional). It also goes to get the same DOQQ's pics from USGS. It will load gpx files for your waypoints. However, as far as I can see, it doesn't have the ability to project a bearing line / distance, so you would have to calculate the RM positions (using NGS or other application), and input the Lat/Long data. I guess you get what you pay for. I find it useful when I want more resolution than GoogleEarth provides. GoogleEarth has the projection capability, but the resolution is worse (or might be, depending on where you are.....).

Edited December 31, 2006 by Klemmer & TeddyBearMama