Searching benchmarks: descriptions or gps?

[Bron Co.]

What do you guys do to find u'r marks? Do you use the coords and the descriptions to locate them, or do you just plug in the coords and try to find where to go?

 

I did the latter tonight, and had fun with it. I had about 10 coords downloaded into my etrex legend, and we drove around looking. Got skunked a few times (a few weren't easy to get to, others were just not found). It was fun to look for them with just the gps. I didn't even know what to look for.

 

What's ur startegy?

[+GEO*Trailblazer 1]

I use both description and gps I have gone back up to 10 times on one with a metal detector and finally found it. so some are not easy to find.Have fun and ues everthing at your disposal to look, lots of things change in just a few years. another good thing to look at is the original data sheet

 

THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE FOREST DOES NOT EVEN LIVE THERE*********WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS*GEOTRYAGAIN **1803-2003 "LOUSIANA PURCHASE" 200TH ANNIVERSARY AND THE "LEWIS AND CLARK EXPADITION" http://lewisclark.goeg.missouri.edu http://www.lapurchase.org http://www.msnusers.com/MissouriTrails

[+smenzel]

repeat

..re-read the description

..re-verify the GPS coords

..search

until ((found) or (late))

 

if (found)

..photograph benchmark

..note GPS coords

else

..plan on returning

[+Colorado Papa]

I've had experience with only about a dozen benchmarks, mostly near Leadville, Colorado, an old mining community. In most cases the description has been accurate whereas the coordinates have been off by as much as NINE plus MILES! I wasted a lot of time initially trying to find the markers with only the GPS.

[Ruffian949]

I usually use the descriptions and the GPS. Sometimes I see a witness post, stop with a piece of paper, pencil, and my gps and go see if I can find the mark.

[+Kewaneh & Shark]

As a general rule, use the coordinates to get you close to the benchmark site, and then use the description to find it. It's not at all uncommon for the coordinates to be off. Cache coordinates are more accurate because they were taken with a GPSr. Benchmark coordinates are many times less accurate (but no less important) because the marks were set before GPS and essentially scaled off a map.

 

Keep on Caching!

- Kewaneh

[+jeff35080]

quote:

---

I didn't even know what to look for

---

 

The main benchmark page has a treasure trove of information, especially now since it has been updated.

 

I can't imagine going to look for something without know what I'm searching for... it would be like searching for the proverbial neddle in a haystack. Cheers!

 

Jeff

http://www.StarsFellOnAlabama.com

http://www.NotAChance.com

If you hide it, they will come....

[+Black Dog Trackers]

Bron Co.

 

Be sure to read the benchmark hunting page (where you put the coordinates) and read the paragraph with the title "Why do the coordinates of some benchmarks seem to be way off?".

 

With Adjusted coordinate marks, your GPS will get you within 10 feet or so. The verbal description may get you closer than that.

 

With Scaled coordinate marks, your GPS will get you within a couple hundred feet. To get closer to these Scaled marks, you MUST use the verbal description.

 

There are a couple of good threads to read for benchmark hunting equipment. Here.

Also, here.

[+beejay&esskay]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Colorado Papa:

whereas the coordinates have been off by as much as NINE plus MILES!

---

 

Dave Doyle wants to know of these errors in scaled coordinates and will fix them. (I think anything over 1/2 a mile).

 

I had a local error of 7 miles which he fixed in the database.

 

-----------------------

Current caching status

4 FTF

1 LTF

17 pending LTF

[Bron Co.]

No worries here. I've read through all the info thoroughly. I had a general idea of what to look for, but didn't take along any specific notes for he varied sites. WAith so many around, If I had difficulty finding one, there were several w/ in a few miles. Plus it was a fun way to play w/ my gps, and try out some maps i loaded onto it .

 

I suspect I'm not as serious about this as some of you guys

 

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by jeff35080:

quote:

---

I didn't even know what to look for

---

 

The main benchmark page has a treasure trove of information, especially now since it has been updated.

 

I can't imagine going to look for something without know what I'm searching for... it would be like searching for the proverbial neddle in a haystack. Cheers!

 

Jeff

http://www.StarsFellOnAlabama.com

http://www.NotAChance.com

If you hide it, they will come....

---

[Bron Co.]

Also, I'm not yet at the point where I want to carry around a lot of tools. I don't feel the obligation to unearth hidden discs. I'd be surprised if more than a few of the finds provide much value IMO. I'm just out for the hunt as a hobby, not as a mission.

 

cheers

[+xargs]

quote:

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Originally posted by Bron Co.:

What do you guys do to find u'r marks? Do you use the coords and the descriptions to locate them, or do you just plug in the coords and try to find where to go?

---

Using only the coordinates and not the description, you might find the wrong benchmark. It's not uncommon for a benchmark to have several other benchmarks in the immediate area, one of which might happen to be at the coordinates you're looking for, if they're scaled.

[Bron Co.]

quote:

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Originally posted by xargs:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bron Co.:

What do you guys do to find u'r marks? Do you use the coords and the descriptions to locate them, or do you just plug in the coords and try to find where to go?

---

Using only the coordinates and not the description, you might find the wrong benchmark. It's not uncommon for a benchmark to have several other benchmarks in the immediate area, one of which might happen to be at the coordinates you're looking for, if they're scaled.

---

 

not too big of a problem, because descriptions acan always be viewed after the fact. Plus I put in all the marks close by (which i suppose doesn't help if there is a non-ngs mark...)

 

Seems like the general consensus for benchmarking is to leave prepared.

 

thanks for the input

[+Black Dog Trackers]

I never go out hunting without the description!

 

I will either bring a complete printout, or I will write on a 3x5 card the verbal details I need for each PID.

 

It would be cool to be able to just load up the GPS with coordinates and take off without the descriptions, but it just does not work.

[ArtMan]

I've occasionally gone out searching without a GPS, but I wouldn't think of doing it without the datasheet. Especially in the urban/suburban araes where I do most of my searching, it would be a real time-waster to rely just on the GPS and not at all clever to try to do it when the horizontal coordinates are scaled.

[+gnbrotz]

quote:

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Originally posted by Black Dog Trackers:

It would be cool to be able to just load up the GPS with coordinates and take off without the descriptions, but it just does not work.

---

 

I agree. I learned this the hard way by doing just that for a trip last fall. I only found four, one of which I learned was not valid when I returned home to compare descriptions.

 

Since I received a palm pilot as a Christmas gift, it make impromptu hunting on trips much easier. I'd trade my gps for a local map, but would NEVER give up my datasheets when it comes to benchmarks!

 

Greg

N 39 54.705'

W 77 33.137'

[Z15]

I use GPS to get me to the location and then rely on the description to find it most of the time.

 

I have several Garmin receivers, a 12XL connected to a roof mount antenna on the 4x4 truck. It enter the coords and let it take me to the location, it will point in the direction (compass feature) and if I wait for 5-10 minutes, I can usually walk right to the mark with tri-angulation stations etc, BM's are not that easy at time due to the scaled positions. While I wait for the GPS to settle, I roam the area to see if I can stumble on it, most times I do. I also have used my Honda Rancher to search out some remote triangulation stations. I have a Garmin GPS III mounted on that and it works nicely.

 

At work I would have the GPSr (w/antenna) connected to my Dell Latitude running Delorme TOPO Quads. The state advisor would make Data file with all the marks for the state and send it out to our DOT crews to use. Worked nicely, the software would show your vehicle on the PC, the mark is plotted with the PID, the descriptions in a database on the pc. Once I found the mark, pull up the station decryption to locate, when it was found enter new info into DDPROC (Win version). Wish I still had those tools.

 

btw-I have 3 GPSr, all Garmin, 12XL, GPS III and Etrex Vista. The 4X4 I is my fishing, hunting and snow mover. The ATV is a must around here, miles of snowmobile trails to wander.

 

Here's a screen capture of topo quads with the station plotted in my area.

 

And I can scale down to the details like this.

 

 

[This message was edited by elcamino on July 11, 2003 at 03:46 PM.]

[+Web-ling]

Of the 145 benchmarks I've found so far, I've only used a GPSr once. I rely entirely on the description, maps, and aerials.

 

Of course, I also only use a GPSr about 1/3 of the time for geocaches, too.

 

[+Colorado Papa]

quote:

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Originally posted by beejay&esskay:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Colorado Papa:

whereas the coordinates have been off by as much as NINE plus MILES!

---

 

quote:

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Dave Doyle wants to know of these errors ...

---

 

I emailed Dave July 9 but have not had a reply.

 

---

[Z15]

If anyone is interested, here are a few photo's of my setup. The unit is a 45XL, not a 12XL as in erroneously mentioned above.

Only thing it does show is that the 0.07 mile (75 ft) is straight up a cliff some 200 ft +-, end of 4X4 travel, pack from here.

 

 

 

Now if I can stand the 2 mile ride back out on the very rough logging road. It looks better that it realy is, some steep climbs to get to this spot, mark is uphill from driver side.

 

[This message was edited by elcamino on July 13, 2003 at 09:28 AM.]

[+xargs]

quote:

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Originally posted by Bron Co.:

Do you use the coords and the descriptions to locate them, or do you just plug in the coords and try to find where to go?

---

Here's a good example of what kind of finds get logged if you just load coordinates into your GPS...

[+seventhings]

Bron Co.,

I've benn doing this for only a few months but I'm getting the hang of it. My experience is that the datasheet and written description are more important and useful than the GPS unit. A very important datum is whether the coords are SCALED or ADJUSTED. With scaled coords, the GPS is of very little use in finding the mark. For marks with scaled coords, I get to the vicinity with a topo, find the mark with the description, and note the coords with the GPS. For marks with adjusted coords, I get to the vicinity with a topo, get closer with the description, and then use the GPS to trip over the mark if I haven't seen it by following the description. Of course, the world changes to invalidate descriptions and, occasionally, even adjusted coords are bogus. But it wouldn't be any fun otherwise.

[+mustanglx]

I am fairly new to all this benchmark finding and I have found that the gps doesn't really do a whole lot.

I use the data sheet to get an idea where to start looking and I then use the gps to goto the coords. on the data sheet. Once there I then start to go off the description on the data sheet.

I have only found 1 bm that showed the same coords. both on the gps & data sheet.

I do use the gps to write down the coords. & elev. that I see with my gps to compare to the data sheet.

 

mustanglx