App to manage your collecttions?

Discussion in 'Discmans, Minidisc, DCC and other players' started by K7guy, Apr 27, 2021.

  1. K7guy

    K7guy Member

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    Hello guys, how do you catalog your collections?
    In my case they are Walkmans or cassette players, I have already tested some applications but without success. I ended up using Evernote for its notebooks and notes system, it's great for managing and taking notes, attaching photos and pdf manuals, links.
    However the presentation is compromised when you want to show something to someone, I am thinking of migrating to folders on the One drive where I will use Microsoft Word files for each device, anyway it will not be much different from Evernote.

    Any suggestion tips?
    I am thinking of doing a physical catalog where I would print the WORD files to put in a folder or album.

    Thanks for any commentary!

    [​IMG] photo_2021-04-28_13-50-43.jpg
     
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  2. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    I don't. In fact I don't know where half my Discmans are --- which is the perfect excuse for buying another if I see something cheap.

    In the past I have mentioned my late Fathers Toy Train collection which due to lack of space and only a 50% ownership I have been selling off for the last thirteen years.
    I don't think he knew what he had. He would buy an item or two, write about them for a collectors magazine then move on to another purchase.
    Since I have photos of every single item I have sold I do think a nice retirement project would be to do one of those photobooks showing all his trains and toys. That wouldn't work for a growing collection though.

    A good idea about the folders.

    A few people have done their own websites of their collections. Peter Vis or DustyGizmos are two that spring to mind. Peter Vis is particularly good in showing you inside his items, which means several people here have linked to his site.
    If you do computerise things don't forget about backups. I do have a complete backup of my computer on a hard drive stored about a mile from here, and another backup here in the house.
     
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  3. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I've tried using Excel but carrying around a laptop gets to be a pain, luckily I have a pretty good memory. In the old days there was an Office Program, maybe Access? that you could list your item and then have links to stuff like manuals, photos, etc. I haven't used that in 20+ years so I can't fully remember.
     
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  4. K7guy

    K7guy Member

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    Thank you for your time and your comment.
    In Evernote it is possible to transform the notes into a link/websites to share with whomever you wish, just click to view the content.
    With a premium account I have also tested the service associated with Evernote (Postach.io). I remembered that when you quoted Peter Vis. Inside the application you can turn a notebook into "BLOG", when editing the notes in the application the Blog is updated automatically.
    Maybe I'll give the app one more chance, the biggest problem that until now I couldn't get around is the fact that you edit a note and change the display mode but, I noticed that it is now possible to leave the visualization sorted by creation order or alphabetical order.
    Literally now I can create a NOTEBOOK and name it "Photo album from the walkmas collection", or even create notebooks named by brands (TOSHIBA, AIWA, SONY ...).
    I'll come here and then I'll post the result.
     
  5. K7guy

    K7guy Member

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    Thanks, it can be another alternative, maybe very simple but with great features.
     
  6. K7guy

    K7guy Member

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    One thing I forgot to mention, I keep the items from my collection in these boxes where I separate them by lots (cataloged and not cataloged), recently acquired
    items that I have not yet evaluated.
    Through Evernote I created a notebook called "Boxes" and inside it I create a note for each box (WK-A01, WK-A02 ...).
    In each note I make a brief description and add photos of the content.
    I set up the note so that its corresponding web link is available, I take this URL and convert it to QR code, then I print and put the label on the boxes.
    This way I have two ways to consult the contents of the boxes without having to open them:

    1. I consult the note directly in the application;
    2. Scan the QR code to open the "website" version and see the content.

    I will share some QR codes below, so you can have an idea:
    QRcodes.png

    This system I started to use in a house move, so when packing things up, soon afterwards in the new house I would know which box to open to easily locate everything. You can use this system to manage even a small business's inventory.
     
  7. Boodokhan

    Boodokhan Well-Known Member

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    I made an Excel file for Valuable walkmans mostly DDs. So by going to this file I can have details about each walkman including the type of restoration, any gear problem, any replaced parts, status of pinch roller ...

    For the rest of my collection I place a note inside the cassette compartment.
     
  8. K7guy

    K7guy Member

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    Another great contribution, thank you.
    I'm looking for a small size hard plastic bag to put each walkman inside. I believe it is the best way to preserve the device, I will add a bag of silica as well.
     
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  9. Jorge

    Jorge Well-Known Member

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    or maybe NOT: I have a few dry-boxes in my Lab to keep Methanol, 200-Proof Ethanol and 100% Acetic Acid from absorbing water from air, and once delegated one of those boxes to keep my stash of rubber belts. In just two years a few belts got stiff and crumbled
     
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  10. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    That's interesting about the belts Jorge, maybe they need to breathe a little. I love my Zip Lock Bags, the ones with the sliders, cheap but full protection from the elements but not from dropping. For my big stuff I go to Home Depot and buy stretch wrap film, it keeps dust and moisture away.
     
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