Benchmark

[+Jayeffel]

I see on the website under my profile a heading for Benchmarks. I find no information as to what they are, at least have not found anything yet. What are Benchmarks?

[+Jayeffel]

Naturally I found information about Benchmarks AFTER I posted the question above.

[+Michaelcycle]

Naturally I found information about Benchmarks AFTER I posted the question above.

 

There is a lot of information in this introductory thread in the Benchmarking forum:

 

Benchmarking

[+Manville Possum]

I recently started going out and hunting a few. Most of my finds get listed on the Waymarking site.

[+Jayeffel]

How do I download a benchmark into my Garmin eTrex 20? Every time I've tried so far it has not worked. What I have to do for downloading geocaches is download the GPX to iCaching.com, then upload to the Garmin. Tried that with a benchmark and it only crashed the iCaching.com program. Maybe the computer doesn't like the *.loc file.

 

Now to be fair, the few benchmarks I've seen on the computer may not need much help.

[+shorbird]

Use the EasyGPS program. You can load benchmarks into your Garmin to avoid keying in all of the coordinates manually. Each benchmark will show up as GC plus the last four digits of the PID.

[+hzoi]

How do I download a benchmark into my Garmin eTrex 20? Every time I've tried so far it has not worked. What I have to do for downloading geocaches is download the GPX to iCaching.com, then upload to the Garmin. Tried that with a benchmark and it only crashed the iCaching.com program. Maybe the computer doesn't like the *.loc file.

 

Now to be fair, the few benchmarks I've seen on the computer may not need much help.

Keep in mind that the coordinates for benchmarks on the site are not always accurate so those loc files aren't always worth the bother. It's been a while since I tried hunting one with the GPSr, but I recall coordinates being pretty off in some cases. Example - the coordinates for this one don't match the description at all; they put this one in the middle of the grass, but it should be just off the circular sidewalk around the flagpole (that is, if it's still there at all -- could have been destroyed when they put the pad in for the cannons).

[+shorbird]

With benchmarks, any coordinates are always better than none. Scaled coordinates, which were developed by someone working with a map in an office, may be slightly "off", or even off a lot, but at least they will give you a starting point. From there, you rely on the physical description from the datasheet to complete your find. There may also be a bit of "extra work" involved, such as removing moss or dirt which may be covering the mark. Adjusted coordinates, on the other hand, are often so accurate that you can often use them to walk right up to a benchmark. 

[+shorbird]

In response to the comment about icaching.com, have you tried easygps? Just go to their website (easygps.com) and download the program to a laptop. Then attach your GPS to the laptop and you can upload as many benchmarks as you wish to your GPS. All of the benchmarks will be shown as GPX files with a GC prefix. You can edit them to insert the correct two-letter benchmark PID prefix if you want to.

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

3 hours ago, shorbird said:

In response to the comment about icaching.com, have you tried easygps? Just go to their website (easygps.com) and download the program to a laptop. Then attach your GPS to the laptop and you can upload as many benchmarks as you wish to your GPS. All of the benchmarks will be shown as GPX files with a GC prefix. You can edit them to insert the correct two-letter benchmark PID prefix if you want to.

 

Icaching is for a Mac.  According to the EasyGPS website "EasyGPS is provided as-is on Windows XP, Vista, and Macintosh computers running a Windows emulator."

Although it does work on a Mac it requires jumping through the same hoops as running GSAK on a Mac.  I actually downloaded EasyGPS on a PC before I owned a GPS to help plan a sea kayaking trip in Lake Huron in 2006.  I haven't used it for benchmarks but I've used Basecamp on my Mac some some good success.  Basecamp runs on a Mac natively.