iPhone Benchmark app

[Lurch27]

HuntMarkers has been a very helpful app and I'm glad it's working again. If there is still a way to make some adjustments to it Id like the ability to view the map area of a benchmark selected from the list view. Another great feature to add could be searching for a specific PID.

Although it keeps me happy, ideas of improvements from the users perspective can aid in development. While these concepts may not be possible due to some kind of restrictions that wont keep me from trying.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Lurch27

[+Forest-Ghost]

I can't seem to find the app in the App Store. I've searched

NGS and HuntMarkers. Can someone point me in the right direction of how to download. I've been looking for an app to hunt bench marks for awhile now so really excited about this!

[+Michaelcycle]

I can't seem to find the app in the App Store. I've searched

NGS and HuntMarkers. Can someone point me in the right direction of how to download. I've been looking for an app to hunt bench marks for awhile now so really excited about this!

Sorry it is not in the App store as the developer pulled his license (see post #44 in this thread)

[+thebruce0]

I can't seem to find the app in the App Store. I've searched

NGS and HuntMarkers. Can someone point me in the right direction of how to download. I've been looking for an app to hunt bench marks for awhile now so really excited about this!

Sorry it is not in the App store as the developer pulled his license (see post #44 in this thread)

If you can find a copy of the app IPA file you could manually install it...

However it's also likely to be completely unsupported in the next major iOS update as it's not a 64-bit app.

Edited February 27, 2017 by thebruce0

[Lurch27]

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 8:18 PM, forbin_c said:

Sorry, didn't realize it was down, since I've stopped using it

If you have the app, it should be working now. If you don't, you can't get it, because I got sick of Apple's crappy (IMHO) iOS 9 software, so I ditched my iPhone and got an Android phone. I also ditched my Apple Developer membership, essentially as a form of protest (I'm sure Steve Cook is really worried). Without the membership ($99/year for the privilege of developing apps for them, puh-leez), the app gets pulled from the store.

I'm working (sort of, in my less-than-copious free time) on a web-based replacement, maybe missing a few bells and whistles that I suspect people weren't using anyway. This will be usable from any browser, mobile or otherwise. I'll report back when I have something. In the mean time, I apologize for the outage, and hope that those of you who already have the app installed continue to enjoy it.

Vince

Has there been any update on the "web-based replacement" you were working on?

[forbin_c]

Yes, I have a beta version here; https://findbenchmarks.com/find_benchmarks.php

Feedback is welcome.

Vince

[Amygdaloid]

On ‎8‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 7:42 PM, Lurch27 said:

Has there been any update on the "web-based replacement" you were working on?

Here is another web based option you can try: http://tbagodev.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html

There are maps by marker type (Benchmark, Triangulation Station, Gravity Station, Bolts, Etc.) or you can look at all marks types together.

You can filter the maps by any of the attributes shown below in the popup, including the First Recovered Date using the slider bar at the bottom of the map.. You don't need to have an account to view the maps, but if you sign up for a free account you can customize the maps and save your filters with your personalized settings. The popup also has links to the NGS datasheet and the Geocaching page.. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Tom

 

[+FloridaJim]

Forbin - If you started a GoFundMe to bring back Huntmarkers for iOS, I'd donate.  There is nothing else out there.  FindAControl doesn't work on iOS 11 either and the developer doesn't seem interested in continuing.  

I found a challenge cache in Las Vegas that requires 100 benchmarks found.  I only have 60.  Can you imagine my frustration of not having an app that will let me easily log benchmarks?  Huntmarkers was the best.

Edited February 10, 2018 by FloridaJim
update

[+Dame Deco]

On 8/18/2017 at 1:27 PM, Amygdaloid said:

Here is another web based option you can try: http://tbagodev.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html

There are maps by marker type (Benchmark, Triangulation Station, Gravity Station, Bolts, Etc.) or you can look at all marks types together.

You can filter the maps by any of the attributes shown below in the popup, including the First Recovered Date using the slider bar at the bottom of the map.. You don't need to have an account to view the maps, but if you sign up for a free account you can customize the maps and save your filters with your personalized settings. The popup also has links to the NGS datasheet and the Geocaching page.. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Tom

 

Wow!  What a great site!  Thanks so much for posting this!  I do miss the old app, I loved that app.  But this site is very helpful, love it!

[+HikingSeal]

For what it's worth I too shed a tear when I recently (FINALLY!) upgraded to iOS 11 and lost FindMarkers/HuntMarkers. Thanks for the years I was able to use it. It was a big part of getting me to 84 benchmarks. One of these days I may get to 100.  Here's the replacement I found. https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/NGSDataExplorer/

[+barucci]

Good morning Ladies and Gentelmen,

 

I am happy to visit beautiful state of Illinois next year and I see for myself a new type of Geocache that I never heard before - NGS Benchmarks.

 

If you could take a moment and advise me on the following it would be highly appreciated:

1. How do you search NGS Benchmarks on your iOS devices? iPhone 6s user with Cachly app.
2. Do you export GPX file or any other offline list that shows the coordinates in Geocaching app, or Cachly?
3. I am able to search for a particular point on https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/NGSDataExplorer/, but not sure which should be point of my interest (white triangle or black circle)?

4. How do you know which point is the type of geocache that pops into geocaching profile.

 

Many thanks and feel free to revert this message to another topic if relevant.
Best regards,
Michal

[+elrojo14]

On 8/4/2017 at 11:22 PM, forbin_c said:

Yes, I have a beta version here; https://findbenchmarks.com/find_benchmarks.php

Feedback is welcome.

Vince

I could have sworn I commented on this somewhere last week, but I guess not. I went and found 27 benchmarks last Friday using this web based app and it worked fine. I used the map to get close and then I just happened to be in an area where it was pretty wide open so finding the witness posts and benchmarks in the open was not hard. It worked for me and as long as I have cell reception, I can keep using it. Thank you!

[+K13]

On 9/22/2018 at 4:49 PM, barucci said:

Good morning Ladies and Gentelmen,

 

I am happy to visit beautiful state of Illinois next year and I see for myself a new type of Geocache that I never heard before - NGS Benchmarks.

 

If you could take a moment and advise me on the following it would be highly appreciated:

1. How do you search NGS Benchmarks on your iOS devices? iPhone 6s user with Cachly app.
2. Do you export GPX file or any other offline list that shows the coordinates in Geocaching app, or Cachly?
3. I am able to search for a particular point on https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/NGSDataExplorer/, but not sure which should be point of my interest (white triangle or black circle)?

4. How do you know which point is the type of geocache that pops into geocaching profile.

 

Many thanks and feel free to revert this message to another topic if relevant.
Best regards,
Michal

A Benchmark IS NOT a type of Geocache. A benchmark is a surveyor's mark cut in a wall, pillar, or building and used as a reference point in measuring altitudes, or in the case of NGS Benchmarks, usually round brass disks set in concrete or bedrock placed by the National Geodetic Survey in the United States.

 

[kayakbird]

To get specific on semantics:

"... term benchmark, or bench mark ...

 

The term is generally applied to any item used to mark a point as an elevation reference. Frequently, bronze or aluminum disks are set in stone or concrete, or on rods driven deeply into the earth to provide a stable elevation point. If an elevation is marked on a map, but there is no physical mark on the ground, it is a spot height. ..."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benchmark_(surveying)

 

Kind of like trying to draw a fine line between recreational geocachers and benchmarkers working for finite accuracy.  Pikes Peak complex [JK1242, 45, 47 and 48] makes a good case study.   The 8 September 2007 find of JK1248 might be the only complete and accurate log in the bunch.

 

kayakbird

 

1849 29 November 2018

Went back and re-read the pinned subjects here and also the Introduction [FAQ] on the Geocaching > Benchmark Hunting page .  Lots of good information for beginners and old-salts as well.

 

baraccuni,  Please don't be discouraged about  asking your questions here.  One thing we do ask is to give us information on location, setting and any stamping if the mark is a disk.  Bench-marking is based on full disclosure - no secrecy required or desired.  MEL

 

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by kayakbird
To point out other information sources