PID consistency?

[+dukeofurl01]

Recently, I found AF8068, up on SH-32 in NorCal, and then a few weeks later, I recovered AF8066, up the same highway. So naturally, I looked up AF8067, and it was not on the same highway, but nearby. Then, out of curiousity, I looked up AF8069, and it's in Minnesota. So is AF8070 and 8071, then AF8064 and AF8065 don't seem to exist, and then AF8063 through AF8050 are in North Carolina. That's really strange, I would think there would be some consistency, but I guess in the age of databases, it doesn't really matter.

[+billwallace]

Here is a PID Prefix Map at Planet Zhanna ...

but as you have noticed there are some inconsistencies.

[+dukeofurl01]

the prefix AF seems to be an afterthought somehow, because 99% of the marks in this area are KS. The ones that are DL are all placed 2008 or newer.

[kayakbird]

Interesting that India is invalid but Oscar was used. MikeEchoLima

[foxtrot_xray]

the prefix AF seems to be an afterthought somehow, because 99% of the marks in this area are KS. The ones that are DL are all placed 2008 or newer.

 

I thought a lot of the A* ones were added later. (Newly monumented?) Doe in GA, I could almost always tell when I'd find a mark that WASN'T at GC.com because it started with "AA".

[+dukeofurl01]

the prefix AF seems to be an afterthought somehow, because 99% of the marks in this area are KS. The ones that are DL are all placed 2008 or newer.

 

I thought a lot of the A* ones were added later. (Newly monumented?) Doe in GA, I could almost always tell when I'd find a mark that WASN'T at GC.com because it started with "AA".

 

Yes, that is exactly what I am saying, AF = A* (star being wildcard), You are correct, the AF ones are never in GC.com because they were all monumented after Groundspeak got the database from the NGS in 2000.

[Bill93]

The old map assigning prefixes to the PID based on ranges of latitude and longitude was followed for a long time after the data base was created. But at some point maybe in the 1990's they decided it didn't matter where the prefix was assigned and started using any previously unused ones in alphanumeric order as new marks were created in any location.

Edited January 24, 2011 by Bill93

[AZcachemeister]

The old map assigning prefixes to the PID based on ranges of latitude and longitude was followed for a long time after the data base was created. But at some point maybe in the 1990's they decided it didn't matter where the prefix was assigned and started using any previously unused ones in alphanumeric order as new marks were created in any location.

 

My take on this issue is that there were some areas with a lot of available PIDs that were never going to be needed/used, so they were allowed to be used elsewhere.

In any case, as long as the PID is unique, who cares?

[monkeykat]

In any case, as long as the PID is unique, who cares?

 

As an engineer, I DEMAND Order!

[TillaMurphs]

In any case, as long as the PID is unique, who cares?

 

As an engineer, I DEMAND Order!

 

As another engineer, I SECOND THAT MOTION!

[foxtrot_xray]

In any case, as long as the PID is unique, who cares?

 

As an engineer, I DEMAND Order!

 

As another engineer, I SECOND THAT MOTION!

As a conductor, I get to tell engineers what to do, since technically we're in charge of the train.

 

.. oh. Wrong kind of engineer. Sorry.

[+PFF]

Then, out of curiousity, I looked up AF8069, and it's in Minnesota. So is AF8070 and 8071, then AF8064 and AF8065 don't seem to exist, and then AF8063 through AF8050 are in North Carolina.

 

I thought a lot of the A* ones were added later. (Newly monumented?) Doe in GA, I could almost always tell when I'd find a mark that WASN'T at GC.com because it started with "AA".

 

Interesting question to ponder. As you mentioned, AF8050 is in North Carolina. It was set in 1983, and thus it appears in the geocaching.com data base. I have logged it.

 

Our state also has the AH series, with AH5027 being monumented in 1985 and AH4744 in 1990. I've seen an AE series set in 1994, and AI (Alpha India) set in 1999. A lot of marks are added every year, and the newest series begins with the letter "D". A mark with DE was assigned a PID in the year 2000 or afterward and is not likely to be in our data base, but DD might be included.

 

Of course, the PID reflects the year when the identification was assigned, and not the year monumented. Sometimes, there is a delay--such as the unusual case of DD0055, which was first described by NCGS in 1963. The Year Monumented is "Unknown", although there is evidence (such as references in the "Annual Report to the Superintendent") that it was monumented in 1898, and this date is inscribed on the stone. But I can see the point. The person writing the description wasn't THERE in person....so why stick your neck out?

 

You know, if that one took 50 years to be uploaded, perhaps the current delay of two to four months isn't so bad!

 

-Paul-