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Old 1st Jun 2006, 11:50 am   #1
ukcol
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Default British Wireless Set Database

Anybody any idea what happened to the British Wireless Set Database that used to be at


http://www.classaxe.com/wireless/dat...ase/index.html

??
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 3:10 pm   #2
kalee99
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Very usefull source of information; Just seems to have vanished?
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 3:16 pm   #3
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

I have no idea where it's gone. Maintenance? Josh.
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 6:29 pm   #4
Paul Stenning
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

I am planning to open a vintage radio identification gallery site in a couple of months (as soon as the current web design project I'm doing for a client is finished). It won't have as much information about wavebands and valve lineups etc (though people can add them as comments if they wish). However it will allow anyone to sign up and post images, leave comments etc. There will be a search facility.

I have the basics set up using the Coppermine open source gallery scripts here http://www.vintage-radio.info/gallery/index.php with a load of images that John Pether kindly sent me. I am waiting for a CD full of images from Richard at Past Times Radio too, and have a number of my own to add. There is no customising done yet (not even a banner).

It is currently set so that nobody can register or post (as I haven't sorted out the posting approval arrangements yet). If anyone has a load of photos of their sets which they would like to add, please PM me and I will set up a login for you.

Also if anyone wants to help by filling in wavebands, valve lineups and years for the sets there, please contact me.

Unlike the above mentioned database I am not going to require that all sets are photographed at specific angles and distances, with a white background etc. Any good clear photo of the set, preferably at least 600 pixels wide, is fine.

I wasn't going to mention this just yet, but with this thread and Josh's one on McMichael recently, it seems an appropriate time to at least say what is coming soon.
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 6:52 pm   #5
ukcol
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Stenning
I am planning to open a vintage radio identification gallery site in a couple of months...............
EXCELLENT
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 7:00 pm   #6
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Excellent Paul.

Are you just looking for front views, or can pictures of backs, sides and insides be posted in addition? Do the pictures have to be of sets in prestine condition?

Is the site just for radios, or are record players, TVs and tape recorders allowed. Is it just for domestic sets or is military and amateur stuff allowed. How about non-UK sets.

Lots of questions. Sorry.
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 7:44 pm   #7
Paul Stenning
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Quote:
Originally Posted by G4ILN
Are you just looking for front views, or can pictures of backs, sides and insides be posted in addition?
It is primarily intended for radio identification, so if other photos would help with the identification they are welcome, but if not then there is no point in providing them.

For example, if a manufacturer produced a number of different models in identical or very similar cabinets, then internal photos would help to differentiate the models. But if the cabinet is unique to the one set then there is no point in posting it.

An exception wold be if there is something unusual or interesting about the chassis etc that makes it worth posting just for general interest. The insides of many 4V+R sets don't show anything unusual so there is no point in clutting the site with loads of those.
Quote:
Do the pictures have to be of sets in prestine condition?
No. They should be sufficiently complete that someone who has the same set and doesn't know what model it is could identify theirs from the photo. So original knobs, speaker fabric and cabinet finish help, even if the condition is not brilliant. I would prefer a photo of a rather tired set with all its original features, rather than a restored one with different speaker fabric or wrong knobs etc.

If the set in the photo is non-standard then the differences should be noted in the "comments" section, so as to avoid confusion. In particular we don't want people to think their set is incorrect on the basis of a photo on the site, when in fact it is correct but the photo isn't.

I don't want to apply too many restrictions, as I would rather encourage people to post photos of sets that are not already there. Photos can always be replaced if a better one is posted later.
Quote:
Is the site just for radios, or are record players, TVs and tape recorders allowed. Is it just for domestic sets or is military and amateur stuff allowed. How about non-UK sets.
Initially we'll stick to UK broadcast radio sets (plus the odd foreign set that is commonly encountered in the UK). We can widen the range later, once the UK broadcast sets sections are fairly comprehensive, if there is a need that is not satisfied elsewhere online.

What I don't want is for it to become a bit of everything and not much use for anything.
Quote:
Lots of questions. Sorry.
All good questions. And all the sort of thing that needs clarifying and including on the site before it goes fully live.
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 7:49 pm   #8
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

I've got about half my sets photographed for my website (which is progressing slowly). Once they are all done I will hapily contribute them to the database of photographs too. They will mostly be 'before' pictures though.

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Old 1st Jun 2006, 9:21 pm   #9
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Unhappy Re: British Wireless Set Database

I contributed some sets to Martin's website a while back. The last lot I sent never made it, so I assume he may have lost interest ( he has a very wide selection of hobbies ) But its gone for the moment ....
Paul, I would be happy to upload many pictures I have taken of sets over the years, a lot of which I no longer have. I would also be happy to add details like valve line ups etc.
One feature I found useful in Martin's database was "known serial numbers" or whatever it was called. This gives an indication of how many sets still exist and also a vague notion of how many may have been made. ( DAC90's probably excepted as these would fill a whole site on their own )
Spreadsheet and camera poised !
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 9:25 pm   #10
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Thanks Andy. I'll send you a PM in a few minutes.

Sam, let me know when you ready and we'll sort yours out too (if it's not fully live by then).
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 10:03 pm   #11
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Hello Paul,

What a good idea ! I hope youve got lots of disk space ! I have hundreds of pics of my collection which youre welcome to.

Howard
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Old 1st Jun 2006, 10:18 pm   #12
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Excellent - thanks Howard! Do you want to upload them yourself, or do you want to send them to me to do?

Disk space isn't a problem.

The images there so far I have resamples to 1000 pixels wide if they were originally wider than 1100 pixels. Having images much bigger than that doesn't really add anything. So target size is between 600 and 1024 pixels wide, really (or the same dimensions high if it's taller than it's wide). Cropping fairly close to the set is sensible, as nobody is interested in whatever is in the background, and it makes better use of the available image area.
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Old 2nd Jun 2006, 11:19 am   #13
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Hello Paul,

Theyre nearly all 933x700 pixels and compressed down to 70-80k or I have the originals which are over 130k apiece. Some will need cropping.

I can upload them myself.

Howard

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Old 2nd Jun 2006, 12:02 pm   #14
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Hi,

I'm wondering if it might be worth combining the "set identification database" with the "radio inventory" - going back to my thoughts and ideas expressed on the Radio Inventory thread...

...An upshot of setting up the FothTV website is that I'm now getting the hang of driving a rather nice CMS which could lend itself to something like this; I've PMed Paul with more detail of my thoughts...

Regards, Kat
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Old 2nd Jun 2006, 12:30 pm   #15
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

I'll be contributing and i'll stick a CD in the post Paul. You might want to make the McMichael section very large for they way my product list is going . Josh.
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Old 4th Jun 2006, 6:38 pm   #16
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Great to hear your setting this up, I was thinking of doing something similar myself and would be happy to help if you need it. I would encorage you to have as comprehensive set of fields as possible for each entry, so details like date of manufacture original price valve lineup and even details of common faults and perhaps even a brief history of the particular set can be entered.

Time to get the camera out!!
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Old 4th Jun 2006, 7:26 pm   #17
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Kat is investigating the Durpal software she will be using for her FothTV project website to see how it will work for my gallery site. The software I am testing at the moment does about 70% of what I want, and there is no easy way of adding the other 30%. It would involve finding someone who understands PHO and MySQL to customise it (without it costing too much money).

If Kat's software does better them we'll move it to that. It would mean it will take a bit longer to get it online, but it will be better when it is.

I received a CD-R containing over 2800 photos from Richard Booth at Past Times Radio yesterday, and I am in the process of going through those to get the best photo of each set. There are obviously a few photos of each set on it, as they are all the ones he has ever used on their website. I think after sorting it will provide good photos of several hundred more sets.

With the ones I already have, these, the offers above and the offers via PM, we will have plenty of sets on the site. Obviously I will have a number of photos of the more common sets to choose from, but even so I'll be disappointed if we don't have at least a couple of thousand sets shown within a few months.

I am happy for people to send me photos on CD for adding (PM me for the address). Please make sure the filename contains the make and model of the set, or include a separate index file. Otherwise they will be like the 400+ photos I have of BVWS auction lots (as on the BVWS website), where I have no idea what many of them are.
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Old 5th Jun 2006, 7:45 am   #18
JoshWard
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Stenning
I received a CD-R containing over 2800 photos from Richard Booth at Past Times Radio yesterday, and I am in the process of going through those to get the best photo of each set. There are obviously a few photos of each set on it, as they are all the ones he has ever used on their website. I think after sorting it will provide good photos of several hundred more sets.
Thats lucky as I couldn't get a picture of my Ferranti A1149 or Hacker RP17. Josh.
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Old 5th Jun 2006, 10:55 am   #19
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works but I wonder if the British Wireless Set Database has been pulled as it was costing too much bandwidth to run the site?
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Old 5th Jun 2006, 12:19 pm   #20
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Default Re: British Wireless Set Database

Hi,

That is a point... I suppose there's one way to find out...

Kat
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