How do I log a find?

[Readymixer]

I am new to this site and I think it is great! I have found a survey disk near my home and I did not see it on the list. How do I log a find on this site? I don't see a link to log my find.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Randy Johns

[+brdad]

quote:

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Originally posted by readymixer:

I have found a survey disk near my home and I did not see it on the list. How do I log a find on this site? I don't see a link to log my find.

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You don't & there is no link. Read the Benchmarking page. There are also tons of similar questions if you search these forums.

 

If hooking a car battery up to a monkey's brain will help find the cure for AIDS and save somebody's life, I have two things to say .... the red is positive and the black is negative." (Nick Dipaolo)

[rusty0101]

While there is no way to record a find, recovery, or discovered destroyed, benchmark that is not in the geocaching database, at the geocaching site, that does not mean you should not log, or keep track of benchmarks you have found.

 

At a bare minimum, get a notebook and record what information you can about the benchmark. I recomend visiting the location on three or more seprate occasions with your GPS, to average your location readings. If you have a camera, get pictures of the benchmark to record the condition.

 

If possible, find out what agency emplaced that benchmark, and see if that agency has an online database where you can record such information.

 

If you have the time and wherewithall, build a database of your own to keep track of benchmarks you have found. This can be anything from a windows 3.1 cardfile, through a sql database. Look at the information that is recorded for a geocache benchmark find as the bare minimum that you will want to track beyond a cardfile database. You will probably want to be able to sort it based upon several criterion, as well as be able to querie it in such a way as to get maps from various online map providers.

 

The benchmarking home page here indicates that Geocaching is looking into tracking this information, just has not had the time and materials to do so. Having a good log of your own experiences would help you post your discoveries if or when that option is available.

 

Good luck and happy benchmarking.

 

-Rusty

[survey tech]

Right on Rusty, I agree completely. There seem to be a number of geocachers who would like to go beyond the game idea, and this is a good way to do it. As I have said before, the people most vitally interested in maintaining control points of all types are not NGS, but the local surveyors and engineers who actually use them. NGS, in effect, planted them, like so many seeds, all across the country, but NGS has no proprietary interest in them. The fact that the NGS data sheets have been so poorly and infrequently updated over the last few decades is illustrative of this. The most complete and important records are those kept by local professionals within each community, and NGS is not only aware of this, its exactly what they intended. Those wishing to make a real contribution to their community may do just as you have said, creating their own personal record of findings and sharing it with one or more local professionals. After all, reports to NGS will do nothing to prevent surviving local markers from being wiped out by the relentless onslaught of construction development in the years to come, but working in coordination with a local surveyor one may very well be able to make a difference, perhaps even saving some markers from needless accidental destruction due to the simple lack of awareness of their existence.

[Readymixer]

Thanks! I found 5 ALDOT (Alabama Department of Transpotation) disks today marked by ROW signs (which I assume means Right of Way) but they are not on the geocachinf site so I feel that I need to start my own database to keep up with these.

 

Randy