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Post by omgcrew on Jul 2, 2007 7:07:57 GMT -9
Is there a way to download multiple benchmarks? Like running a pocket querry.
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Post by NorthWes on Jul 2, 2007 11:17:43 GMT -9
Well, glad you asked that question...
The short answer is Yes, there's a way to do it. No, it's not like running a pocket query.
The long answer is it's complicated. Much more complicated, in that it involves extra steps using the National Geodetic Survey website to select zipped data files which are then 'washed' through two or three different programs to produce a usable file for 'hunting'. I do it on a regular basis for my 'outside' runs in the lower 48 - downloading entire counties, then cherry-picking the list and sorting it via GSAK (geocaching swiss army knife) to produce my 'hunt list' for the routes I'm driving. It's pretty slick in that you end up with a file which has all the data in it - not just coordinates as in the .loc files. It's usefulness soars as you become better at using GSAK in exporting to a PDA running cachemate.
Give me a bit to marshall all my resources from the home laptop, and I'll do a demo thread here which will equip you to enter the benchmark data file manipulation game in a big big way. The info's also available over on the benchmarking forum of the geocaching.com site, but it's kind of longwinded (more so even than my descriptions!).
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Post by omgcrew on Jul 2, 2007 13:48:19 GMT -9
If you are going to do a demo do it for the Glennallen area. ;D Or more closely GCX7E1 or TT1564 . And we leave tomorrow. Thanks in advance.
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Post by Malcore on Jul 2, 2007 19:38:45 GMT -9
I tried to figure out how to do that also but never could. It would be great to learn how to do it the right way. Also it would be nice to figure out how to make the benchmarks into POI's. I tryed to do that also but the POI loader says its the wrong format.
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Post by omgcrew on Jul 2, 2007 20:38:24 GMT -9
Well I got the "Anchorage" dat file and converted it to a GPX file. By the way it's not just anchorage. All 5000+ of them. I put them into GSAK and it looks good. I opened it in mapsource and it is SLOW! We head out tomorrow and will be back next Monday. Look out Valdez here comes the orginal OMGCrew plus a few others.
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Post by NorthWes on Jul 3, 2007 6:53:36 GMT -9
Glad you figured that one out, OMGCrew! As last evening was the 'official' date of my 30th wedding anniversary, you can imagine that tweaking benchmark data on the laptop was not to be done... but soon... very soon!
Alaska is unique in the NGS database; since there's no counties here, and that's how the NGS arranges data in the rest of the country, they simply draw rectilinear lines on Alaska's map and split the files accordingly (their system predates Alaska's statehood, so the 'Borough' concept hadn't been created yet. Yup - another vestigial remnant of colonial days!). There are over 5,000 marks in the Anchorage 'zone' - but that's not too bad. You should see how many benchmarks are in some southern California counties (in a much smaller area!).
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powmia
Silver Cacher
Caches Found/Hidden xxxx/x
Posts: 208
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Post by powmia on Jul 3, 2007 12:51:02 GMT -9
Well, glad you asked that question... . The info's also available....... but it's kind of longwinded (more so even than my descriptions!). Nooooooooooooooooooooo way. Nothing is Everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr more descriptive than your dissertations.
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Post by NorthWes on Jul 3, 2007 15:53:07 GMT -9
Well, glad you asked that question... . The info's also available....... but it's kind of longwinded (more so even than my descriptions!). Nooooooooooooooooooooo way. Nothing is Everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr more descriptive than your dissertations. LOL! Far too accurate, I'm afraid! Why I usually just read the forums without chipping in my 2 cents' worth - you'd have a dollar by the time I was done!
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Post by ladybugkids on Apr 26, 2009 8:01:53 GMT -9
Now that I've got the process worked out in another thread, here's the step by step process of downloading benchmark data sheets that worked for me (many thanks to NorthWes for the nudges in the right direction). 1. Download Geocaching Swiss Army Knife (GSAK) from here. If you don't already use it for geocaching, you'll find it to the best $25 you ever spent (after the $30/year for a Groundspeak Premium Membership). 2. Download the freeware application BMGPX from here (scroll down to "If you hunt benchmarks"). 3. Go to the National Geological (NGS) Datasheet Retrieval page.4. Choose your retrieval method (radial by coordinates, county, etc.). This will give you a list of benchmarks that meet your search criteria. Click on "Get Marks" to get a list of all the available datasheets in your browser window. You can choose individual benchmarks by holding down your control key and left clicking with your mouse or click on the "Select All" button. Then click on "Get Datasheets" which will give you all the data sheets in a continuous list in your browser window. 5. Do a File, Save As, Save as type (*.txt). This will give you a text file on your hard drive. 6. From a browser (My Computer) window, drag the txt file onto BMGPX. BMGPX will automatically run and create a GPX file in the same folder. 7. Launch GSAK and create a new database (if you want to keep caches and benchmarks separate) by clicking on Database, New. 8. Upload the GPX file into GSAK and start reviewing benchmarks! If you want all the benchmarks in a given county, you may substitute steps 3-5 above by going to Holocene's data file webpage and downloading the archived (but updated reasonably often) data kept there. I compared the data for Anchorage Borough from Holocene's website against the download I got from the NGS website and Holocene's file had nearly 400 more records! I must not have set the search criteria properly on the NGS site. For now, I'm using Holocene's files. Happy hunting!
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Broccili
Bronze Cacher
Vehicle TB212QR "Powerstroke"
Posts: 67
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Post by Broccili on Apr 27, 2009 7:40:51 GMT -9
Great tutorial!
I now have nearly 3100 benchmarks (Anchorage, Kenai, and Matsu counties) in a GSAK DB. Grabbed them from Halocene as well. I too managed to extract only a portion of the marks from the USGS site.
Now I'll get GSAK to parse it down to something usable. Then throw it on the GPSr... then try to find one of these gems.
Thanks again...
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Post by NorthWes on Apr 27, 2009 18:08:11 GMT -9
Great tutorial! I now have nearly 3100 benchmarks (Anchorage, Kenai, and Matsu counties) in a GSAK DB. Grabbed them from Halocene as well. I too managed to extract only a portion of the marks from the USGS site. Now I'll get GSAK to parse it down to something usable. Then throw it on the GPSr... then try to find one of these gems. Thanks again... So don't stop at one! There's literally hundreds out there that haven't been found yet - right alongside the road, or on ridgetops, or on headlands... in fact it would be cool if someone could find some of the WWII-era marks delineating the old Moose Pass road from the railway to Sterling...
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Post by ladybugkids on Apr 27, 2009 21:01:57 GMT -9
One can view benchmarks with GoogleMaps here.Holocene's Benchmark Hunting Wiki has useful information about documenting one's finds.
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Post by li1gray on Apr 28, 2009 16:03:33 GMT -9
Great tutorial! I now have nearly 3100 benchmarks (Anchorage, Kenai, and Matsu counties) in a GSAK DB. Grabbed them from Halocene as well. I too managed to extract only a portion of the marks from the USGS site. Now I'll get GSAK to parse it down to something usable. Then throw it on the GPSr... then try to find one of these gems. Thanks again... Broccili, if you want you want to send me that GPX file to my account? That way I can load them as POIs possibly...Will save me trying to figure out the process, I think I have found a few BM's I think I only got about 200 the other day when I loaded them from geocaching.com ... I found 3 more on Saturday after I was out dropping a bear bait station with your co-worker! Thanks Li1gray
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Broccili
Bronze Cacher
Vehicle TB212QR "Powerstroke"
Posts: 67
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Post by Broccili on Apr 28, 2009 19:26:40 GMT -9
You asked for it... please don't hate me for it! hehehe
I sent three e-mails... each has an attachment: Anchorage Kenai Mat-Su
They aren't small, but still less than 1mb each (zipped). I was hoping I could upload them here, does not seem to be an option.
Good luck!
Rob
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Post by ladybugkids on Jul 1, 2009 21:32:12 GMT -9
Holocene updated his online benchmark data files on June 1, 2009. You can download any county in the country from here.
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