How do you digitally organize your Philco collection?
Posts: 76
Threads: 18
Joined: Nov 2015
City: Palmyra
State, Province, Country: Virginia
Hi Group - I recently had a hard drive failure in which I lost the fairly simple excel spreadsheet I used to track my Philco collection (of 150 plus radios) As I am starting anew, I am curious how others keep track of their collections - do you use a software program? have you created your own spreadsheet as I did? I would prefer not to start from scratch again, so I am hopeful others out there have some good ideas. -- Andy
Andy Sorrell
Palmyra, Virginia
Posts: 671
Threads: 8
Joined: Apr 2018
City: S. Dartmouth
State, Province, Country: MA
Try a search online.
IMHO the 'sheet should contain all the information that an insurance company or IRS would require in event of a loss or liquidation.
I search Google and this was on top:
https://americancollectors.com/agents/re...ory-sheet/
I downloaded a copy and it seems adequate. May want to add a column for images or links to images kept in a separate file.
I did craft a 'sheet when I gave some 60 items to a 501c3 museum. It worked O.K for me though the image handling was a bit quirky.
I have not been required to reveal the file other than include a print for my tax records...
I suppose I could strip a copy of my records and offer the blank file with all its headers?
Oh, I use Libre Office, I'm a Linux man...
GL
Chas
Pliny the younger
“nihil novum nihil varium nihil quod non semel spectasse sufficiat”
Posts: 1,824
Threads: 114
Joined: Jul 2014
City: Sneedville, TN
Dear AV, you have learned the hard way what those of us who have used computers since the early days had drummed into us from early on. Keep you data files on separate media from your hard drive, or at least back the data files up regularly on separate media. I suggest that if your excel spread sheet worked well for you that you use one again. This time back it up on a thumb drive. I would have said floppy disk, but not many people have them in their computers any more. I am not familiar with Excel, but if it can, include a library of the pictures of your radios on the thumb drive, and have a links to the photos of each radio in the line for that particular radio. Finally, if you do not keep the first, working copy of your data file on the hard drive, then keep two copies on two different thumb drives just in case one has a problem some day, you will always have a good one to keep going.
Posts: 4,370
Threads: 410
Joined: Jun 2011
City: Boston
State, Province, Country: Massachusetts
Save to Cloud? I am sure you will find a solution works for you. I knew one old timer kept a packet on each set, schematic, notes on work done, wrote on outside when acquired, where, from who, etc, kept them in a file like a dossier on each set, if he worked on one again more notes and into packet. If you got a set from him you got the info too.
Or just put them in the basement, wonder where they are, what you did with it, is it upstairs, did I sell it? Surely I jest .
Paul
Tubetalk1
Posts: 15,502
Threads: 543
Joined: Oct 2011
City: Jackson, NJ
I have a NAS. Which is pretty much a server. With hard drives. I have it as mirrored RAID, so it is somewhat protected.
There I keep all that I would like to not easily lose.
Also it is in your home so you do not nee Cloud.
As for CLoud......I do not trust it. I do not trust something that is 1) on the Net and 2) does not wholly belong to me and is not in my house.
Also I do not have it as a server accessible from the outside, so.....I cannot access it, but so cannot others.
Oh....how I keep the collection notes.....well, I don't.
My collection is not huge so I know all that I have.
I have a mental picture of my basement and my workshop, and I can name all the radios, including where they stand and in what order.
People who do not drink, do not smoke, do not eat red meat will one day feel really stupid lying there and dying from nothing.
(This post was last modified: 02-17-2021, 07:58 PM by morzh.)
Posts: 2,118
Threads: 112
Joined: Jun 2010
City: Medford OR (OR what?)
Radios, Parts,tubes and everything else on Excel. They are backed up on no less than 4 devices, the easiest is a new 1TB (I think) thumb drive.
"I just might turn into smoke, but I feel fine"
http://www.russoldradios.com/
Posts: 13,776
Threads: 580
Joined: Sep 2005
City: Ferdinand
State, Province, Country: Indiana
I don't. I started thinning the herd a few years ago and I know what I have (and what else I need to get rid of).
If you need computer software to keep track of your radios, you might have too many.
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
Posts: 4,654
Threads: 51
Joined: Sep 2008
City: Sandwick, BC, CA
I don't digitally organize my Philco collection, mainly because most of my collection isn't made up of Philcos. I have just over a dozen, maybe a dozen and a half. I used to keep a log book of what I owned but gave up some years ago. It's a hobby, not a business, so I don't really see the need to keep an inventory of anything other then parts.
Regards
Arran
Posts: 3,129
Threads: 56
Joined: Apr 2011
City: Lexington, KY
I use Excel to keep track of my collection. It comes in handy when I want to see where, when, and from whom I bought a radio from. Since I collect a lot of obscure sets I also make notes about schematics, original manufacturer, etc.
As others have mentioned it's important to backup your hard drives. Personally I use external USB hard drives, but thumb drives, floppy disks or cloud storage also work, as long as you have a backup scheme and stick to a schedule.
John KK4ZLF
Lexington, KY
"illegitimis non carborundum"
Posts: 156
Threads: 12
Joined: Dec 2012
City: Seattle, WA
I also use Excel. I keep 2 workbooks that are continuously updated every time I buy or sell a radio. One is a single sheet, row-per-radio list of models and values, which I update to my insurance agent about once a year.
The other is a ginormous workbook where I use a sheet-per-radio. For a given radio purchase, I record a sheet with all the info that seems relevant... Seller's name, history of the set, purchase price, date, shipping costs, # of tubes and types used, # of bands, type of power supply, parts purchased, the price I sell it for, and the net amount I invested in that radio. Oh, and a photo, too. I paste a photo of each set into the sheet for that radio.
At the end of the workbook, I have a statistics sheet that totals up total # of radios bought and sold, average age, avg tube count, total and average-per-radio parts cost, total loss on sales, and anything else I'm interested in tracking. I append new sheets at the end, between the most recent purchase and the statistics sheet, which must always be last. Then I copy-paste another sheet's contents to transfer the form layout to the new sheet.
And I back up my hard drive, yes.
-Rodney
(This post was last modified: 02-24-2021, 12:50 AM by palegreenthumb.)
Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)
|
Recent Posts
|
Bakelite crack repair - what is best epoxy?
|
Starting on a Philco 48-1401 Boomerang radio/phonograph. It has one crack on the left side running from the speaker ope...de371 — 07:17 PM |
Philco 89B code 123 newbie
|
Progress continues, finished blocks 9 and 26. I wonder for caps 23 and 24—can I get away with 100pf instead of 110pf?
...Kurt P — 03:43 PM |
Looking for place to donate unique Philco Philco J-1930 Prototype
|
Welcome to the Phorum, jeibner. Several of our members have connections with radio-related museums. I'm sure others wi...GarySP — 03:41 PM |
Looking for place to donate unique Philco Philco J-1930 Prototype
|
I'm looking for a museum or other permanent home where I can donate a unique Philco prototype of a very top of the line ...jeibner — 03:15 PM |
Test bench almost done...
|
Sweet! Yes, that's a lot of planning and work but will pay off! I built mine about 10 years ago using a radio book from ...TV MAN — 11:39 AM |
1950 Emerson TV resurrection attempt
|
Been awhile since I've even been in the radio room. Work work work, kids graduating, going into college, and the list go...TV MAN — 10:35 AM |
Philco 269 - 444 FIVE VALVE VERSION?
|
> So, given that this is a major refurb I don't have the time to spend on this, so happy to pass it on to someone who...Radioroslyn — 09:08 AM |
Philco 269 - 444 FIVE VALVE VERSION?
|
Thanks for this
Hi Chas,
Fix it, don't bin it! Don't sell your skills short. One step at a time and like the Home D...ChasL0001 — 01:48 AM |
Philco 84 antenna connection
|
Have a Philco 80 my long wire is app 30 feet, for a ground in my work shop have a ground rod that is used only for radio...David — 07:47 PM |
Philco 46-480 Cabinet Restoration
|
Thank you, Gary! I appreciate it.jrblasde — 07:24 PM |
Who's Online
|
There are currently 2046 online users. [Complete List] » 2 Member(s) | 2044 Guest(s)
|
|
|
|