Geocache/Benchmark search differences

[+Doc Geo]

Geocaches and Benchmarks share two very important characteristics: the waypoint ID and the coordinates. So why can't we have the same search resources and fetures for benchmarks as we do for geocaches? I would love to be able to upload a .kml file of a route to generate a query containing benchmarks along that route. Or to be able to search for benchmarks based on their status or that are X miles away from my home coordinates....

 

So why not?

[+Black Dog Trackers]

I have seen a similar question asking for benchmark queries. (I assume you are asking for benchmarking-along-a-route.) I have seen the 'queries' question asked a zillion times in these forums. I'd post the answer from Groundspeak here in this message, but I don't recall them ever answering about benchmark queries. Good luck with getting a benchmarking-along-a-route feature.

 

Why not?

I don't know.

 

We do the workaround by downloading benchmark information by county or quad or radius from the NGS.

 

For searching benchmarks in a radius on the geocaching benchmark site, go to the Search and FAQ page and click on "Other search options". Then click the radio button called "By Coordinates", enter your coordinates and you get a header listing by distance from those coordinates.

Edited March 15, 2007 by Black Dog Trackers

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Sorry, but you can't get a benchmark pocket query. There is a work-around that will allow a 'benchmark along a route' listing.

 

First, read this and then download the county of your choice. Then use GSAK and open the county download. GSAK allows 'filtering' along a route with the filter options.

 

To help determine which benchmarks to use in the GSAK filter, export from GSAK a GPX file of the county. I save it to 'My Documents', I then open Google Earth. Just drag & drop the saved file on Google Earth. It will open and show all the benchmarks in that file with links to the Geocaching.com benchmark page for each of the benchmarks. Select the route and some of the nearest benchmarks. Enter those benchmarks in the GSAK filter and set a distance from the highway and the filter will show any benchmark in that path.

 

John

[+PFF]

Doc wrote:

I would love to be able to upload a .kml file of a route to generate a query containing benchmarks along that route. Or to be able to search for benchmarks based on their status or that are X miles away from my home coordinates....

 

Hi, Doc:

 

It is important to remember that there are far more benchmarks than geocaches. Along some routes (especially major highways), you would be overwhelmed by targets!

 

But, if you are inclined to check benchmarks along a route, you can employ the suggestions above. Or, use one of my favorite tools--the interactive map on the NGS website. Simply use the cursor to draw a box along your route and the map will fill in the stations.

 

My preference is to do my benchmark hunting at destinations. Rather than getting distracted as I drive along, with the GPS beeping several times per mile, I travel to a spot and then begin my hunt. But sometimes, when I know I'm passing through a town or along a particular highway, a specific benchmark, itself, can become a destination.

 

Example: Tuesday morning, I left home at 5:30 AM and drove three hours to meet Neweyess for a hunt in Monroe, NC. We poked around from 9 to 1. (If you want to see two very interesting finds, check out EC1627 and EC1620.) I drove past hundreds of benchmarks on the way to Monroe, and did not stop. However, later in the day, on the one-hour drive to the town of Rockingham, I made three stops to check out marks which needed updates in the NGS database. These three sites became destinations by themselves.

 

So for me, with my very focused benchmark hunting style, downloading large chunks of data is not useful. I know what sites I'll be visiting, long before I start out. And, in the case of missing marks like EC1620, I've done a ton of research before leaving my driveway.

 

Knowing that there is a great variety of CACHE's, such as challenging clues, different difficulty ratings, or special-purpose hides, I would think that the CACHE side of the hobby would be similar. I can't imagine just driving along a route and deciding to stop at random when a CACHE was nearby. But then, different folks have different styles. (I confess to having a sick fascination with trying to spot Highway Information Radio transmitters as I travel the Interstates. And yes, I know this is absolutely of no value to anybody--even me!)

 

Opps. Sorry. To get back on topic, I wonder: Do you REALLY want to know everytime you're passing a benchmark? If you had this knowledge, would you ever get to your destination?

 

-Paul-

[bosmatj]

I started by looking for benchmarks in the zip codes around me. I ended up with about 300 in a .loc file. I use Garmin's mapsource to plan a route that covers a hunt.

[+archi77]

I get how to download the .loc file, but is there any way to get the "info sheet" to a PDA, like you can with the premium membership for caches?

 

I drive over an hour to work every day, with about 3 dozen different "routes" I can take to get from place to place. I know there's tons of benchmarks along those routes, and I would love to just stop at a few here, few there, on my drives home...but without the info sheet, some of the benchmarks are near impossible to find (or may even be destroyed / not founds, which may impact how much time I give to the hunt...) If I had those sheets on my PDA (or laptop, etc.) I could easily view the file, see if the benchmark showing on my GPSr was worth the hunt (or if I had time for it...) and could plan more efficiently.

[+GEO*Trailblazer 1]

I get how to download the .loc file, but is there any way to get the "info sheet" to a PDA, like you can with the premium membership for caches?

 

I drive over an hour to work every day, with about 3 dozen different "routes" I can take to get from place to place. I know there's tons of benchmarks along those routes, and I would love to just stop at a few here, few there, on my drives home...but without the info sheet, some of the benchmarks are near impossible to find (or may even be destroyed / not founds, which may impact how much time I give to the hunt...) If I had those sheets on my PDA (or laptop, etc.) I could easily view the file, see if the benchmark showing on my GPSr was worth the hunt (or if I had time for it...) and could plan more efficiently.

 

In the GSAK program you can export a PDA csv.file.

[+Doc Geo]

I started by looking for benchmarks in the zip codes around me. I ended up with about 300 in a .loc file. I use Garmin's mapsource to plan a route that covers a hunt.

 

I use CacheMate for geocaching and it works great for reading the benchmark datasheets as well. But you can't do it using .loc files as that info is not included from geocaching.com in .loc files. But if you get the .dat file from the NGS website and use the BM2GPX program to convert the .dat file to a .gpx file, then you can load it into CacheMate just fine. I know it sure saves me a lot of time....

[+Black Dog Trackers]

Yes, the plain truth is that .loc files are just not useful for benchmark hunting.