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Benchmark tracking: GSAK, Web site, Google Maps


Papa-Bear-NYC

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I have made a good deal of progress in adressing the issues in the title f this thread and as work progresses, the goals have been solidified.

 

My primary goals (at the moment) are:

1) Find a tool to manage my Benchmark searches a and finds: I have zeroed in on GSAK and use Geocaching.com as a means to publish my logs and pictures. This use of GC is for the social benefit of sharing as much as keeping track of my own things and this forum is a good example of that benefit.

 

2) My web site is for my own edification and for sharinmg my "adventures" with friends and the general public. This audience may include many of my fellow benchmarkers but would also include those with little knowledge of this hobby.

 

3) The maps on the web site are a very useful tool for exploring and explaining benchmarks which are fundamentally things that are "somewhere" and which we would like to find. A good map is like a pictire - it's worth a thousand words.

 

4) If I can help others by education, inspiration or ciontributing ideas and tools that is a big plus. Mucjh of my knowledge comes from things others have done so it's a two way street.

 

Progress

 

GSak

I have gotten to the point where GSAK is becoming my main databse and tool for tracking my benchmark finds. I have inherited or written a few GSAK macros which can parse arbitrary data from the NGS datasheets and which can format it for my web site and for Google Maps.

 

Web Site

The site is built around a set of maps which are part of pages with non-map data. The county page is the primary navigation tool. It displays the stations in the county on the map and allows linking to the "station page" by clicking on a marker or by using a list. You can switch back between the county page and the station page with minimum effort and high speed. The largest delay is when Google draws the map the first time.

 

New things

Topographic maps These are not in the "vanilla" version of Google Maps but I found method to load the USGS map images from the terraserver and they are integrated within the Google Maps structure. These load a bit slower than the usual Google Maps images. The Topo type is the default for stations in the woods or away form urban area, where an aerial ortho-photo is of little use. All my counties in Maine use Topo as the default for the station map.

 

Clustering This is the way to manage the map that is shown so it's not overloaded wioth markers which causes visual clutter and a big performance hit. I used a simple method of clustering based on the fact that PIDs tend to be assigned sequentially in a geographic area. Instead of trying to compute the density of stations and the zoom level that best suits them I use some overall average settings for each county. Clicking the cluster marker brings you directly to the zoom level that works for those markers that it represents. I also provide a "back Zoom" to jump back to the initial county map in case you decide you didn't want to zoom in to those particular markers after all.

 

The need for clustering is big, but it's implementation is a major pain. I'm still tinkering with it. I like my choice to have just one level of clustering and direct zoom and back zoom, but it's not perfect.

 

Toggle switch for markers You can toggle groups of markers on or off to reduce clutter and focus in on what you are most interested.

 

Nearby stations Normally the county map shows everything and the station map just shows the station. Now you can see nearby stations close to the one you're examining without switching back to the county. You can jump to them directly if you want.

 

Labels Lots of little labels next to the markers giving the PID (yes you can swict them off). You can click on the labels to go to the marker identified.

 

More Counties. Most counties around New York City and along the Canadian Border in Maine are working. I can put up a new county in about 5 minutes, so that's not bad. I don't know when I'll stop. Maybe see what the interest is.

 

Customized stations: Running the data straight from GSAK gives all the fundamentals for every station covered and can be generated automatically. If you want to add something for a station, such as pictures or a log or the reference mark locations, you cna provide an extension data file to do this. I've done this for a few stations. Check "LX4113 - BUTTERMILK" in Westchester County, NY and you'll see it all. Obviously you'll only do this for a few stations, but it's nice to be able to do it in a straightforward way.

 

Future

1) I'd really like to put together some of the stuff like a "Benchmark tour of Central Park", if I can ever stop working on the maps.

 

2) I got a request for a version for another benchmarker and so I am thinking of how to generalize it and make it available.

 

3) I have some ideas for a generic mode which would not feature my finds but would just present the data from the NGS for all to see. I'm watching the excellent work by monkeykat in this space.

 

Links

New version of Benchmarking Web Page

 

If you check it out, forget all the tours and special stuff, they're not there yet.

 

1) Click the "County List". Check some urban counties like Manhattan or Brooklyn and then some "middle of nowhere" counties like Oxford in Maine.

2) Click the cluster markers and then the Back zoom. Play with the toggles. See what breaks or is slow and tell me.

3) Switch back and forth between the county page and the station page. Jump to nearby stations from the station page.

4) Read the Wikipedia entry for a county (Aroostook is interesting. Read about the Aroostook War that almost happened in the 1830s).

5) See what the NGS and GC links on the station page do.

6) Find LX4113 -BUTTERMILK in Westchester County. Click on everything.

7) See what the "Previous Page" button on the left index panel does.

8) Think what someone could do with those State entries in the Counties List. Think out load if you care to.

 

Have fun, but make sure you let me know what works and what doesn't, what you like and what you don't like, what is too cluttered, too cumbersome or too something else.

 

If any one has a favorite county they'd like me to put up, let me know. Los Angelenos need not apply (Suffolk County (NY) at 2074 and Aroostook (ME) at 1872 are big enough).

 

Regards

Papa Bear

Edited by Papa-Bear-NYC
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If you have some spare time, I would be interested in hearing about your clustering algorithm. I haven't implemented clustering yet either, and it seems a necessary evil when dealing with google maps. Are there any web sites you used as a reference when deciding how to cluster?

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If you have some spare time, I would be interested in hearing about your clustering algorithm. I haven't implemented clustering yet either, and it seems a necessary evil when dealing with google maps. Are there any web sites you used as a reference when deciding how to cluster?

I found a few but they were complicated. I used a very simple scheme, but it's hard to "tune" it. I'll enmail you with what I have.

 

Pb

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I love the topo map option too! I was thinking of getting a mark in PA last weekend called TUSSEY. It looked like it was only 300-500 feet from a major road. I told my wife it would be an quick easy find and no NGS reports for quite some time too. While I was down there in State College PA I told my brother in law he had a great view of one of the ridges surrounding the college. He told me it was called Tussey Ridge. We got home and checked the topo map, and sure enough station tussey was about 500 feet up on top of the ridge. We ran out of time and didn't make it to the mark, but it would certainly have been a surprise had I showed up not in my hiking gear.

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