Radiomuseum dot Org ** Success **

[Don Cavey]

Are any of you members of radiomuseum.org? If so, have you ever suggested a change in one of their listings? I recently made a suggestion and I not exactly sure how to interpret their answer. I don't want to post any negative comments publicly here on this forum. Maybe the translation of language is somewhat a hindrance.

Thanks,
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Don

[JoeinRI]

Hi Don,
I've thought about joining ...but , for some reason...have balked at it. I've heard they want "contributions" from their members and if a member doesn't come through or is "inactive" for any period of time...that they discontinue your membership. This is a hobby for me...and don't want to make committments that I can't live up to.

Joe

[Tom Albrecht]

Hi Joe and Don,

I'm very active at www.radiomuseum.org, and can help out with interpreting any responses to a change suggestion (I'll PM you, Don).

Regarding uploading requirements: When you join, you get 1000 points, which is enough for 66 schematics or a much larger number of high resolution pictures.

If you upload something, you are rewarded with a 360X multiplier (whatever you uploaded, you can now download 360X that amount). So uploading quickly buys you more points than you'll ever need.

Membership is not terminated for failure to upload. Only thing that happens is that you can no longer download schematics or high resolution pictures when your points run out.

All talk of getting "booted out" or "discontinuation of membership" is misinformation. Also, "inactivity" has no effect whatsoever on your points or membership. If you have points at one time, and become inactive, all your points are still there when you return.

As a source of information, schematics, and pictures (all checked for accuracy), it is the most comprehensive source you can find.

There is a lot of opportunity to upload material, expecially for U.S. radios, so don't worry that you won't have anything of value to upload to the site.
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Tom K6VL

[wcirco]

I am.
Great for looking up tube pinouts, model numbers, and schematics.
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"While theoretically and technically television
may be feasible, commercially and financially
it is an impossibility. "

- Lee De Forest

[Tin Omen]

I've got some snotty comments from them before. Number one you have to be correct, and correctly use all of their options. You know how the thing works, you just got finished repairing it, they never have seen one before, but they know better than you. That's the attitude I get from them.

They already have all of the German models (that's all I use them for), and since I rarely work on American radios, I really don't have much to add, so my Q is 33. If I have to look up a model for a member here, looking through their database could raise my Q up to 35 or 36. Soon I won't have access for myself, and it makes it very hard to look up schematics for others.

It is alot of work adding a new model, taking pictures, in their format, submitting a schematic, in their format, just to get a snotty email and your suggestion partially rejected. And then another round of emails, and maybe your Q gets up to 32 from 33, just enough to download a couple of schematics.
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[TexMac]

I still have a valid ID there, but lost my download privileges due to lack of participation. The site owner is a real gentleman, but the formality of the site just does not suit my East Texas good ole boy laid back style as does this site, so I found my home here. They are still a valuable resource for some info you just can't find anywhere else. I never had any problem with a correction to their data, but they only want documented info, not opinions. When I did suggest a change, I had the set sitting in front of me and got a very nice thank you note when it was confirmed.
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Ron Mc/

** There's no such thing as a change for the better. **

[Don Cavey]

Ron,

I understand. I was trying to use common courtesy by not using forceful language and suggesting that something was not exactly correct. I did not want ruffle any feathers. What I told them was exactly factual and I even had uploaded a picture to an FTP site that I use that showed the item. I have the item that was not exactly correct in their database but they are not convinced.

Maybe I went about it in the wrong way. I can scan documents, sales brochures that have pictures and text. Maybe that is what they are talking about. I really don't want to make it a big deal. I don't have to "Win". This was my first attempt to add to their database. I have many HH Scott amplifiers and certainly, there are not many of those in Deutschland. I can supply a lot of actual pictures and documentation...
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Don

[Mr. Detrola]

I went there a few times when the site was relatively new, perhaps only a couple of years old. There was so much misinformation that I unfortunately had to totally write the site off as useless. I politely told them about some of the glaring errors and was very rudely treated, so I will have nothing further to do with them. The fact that I had been collecting and repairing since the 1950's and had a lifelong career as a professional technician meant nothing to them at all.
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Dennis

[TonyC]

This issue was flogged recently in this thread:

http://antiqueradios.com/forum ... p?t=109261

The guy that runs radiomuseum even responds in this thread if I remember correctly.

Edit: I just read the thread and maybe this isn't the one I was thinking of. Seems like we had one a month or two ago about all the troubles people had with radiomuseum.org . Maybe I just imagined it...
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Tony Casorso

[Dave Doughty]

No matter what anyone thinks about the requirements for uploading to maintain downloading privileges, it is still a valuable resource. I got a warning letter after only 3 schematic and 0 picture downloads. I contacted the site operator who said he had no control over that...it was all done by computer. Then he very politely said that, if I could just upload a few things, I'd be OK and mentioned the generous 360x figure. So I spent a morning figuring out all of their requirements. After several failed attempts, I managed to upload a few pictures and owners manuals in the formats and file sizes they wanted.

Dave

[Tom Albrecht]

Hi Dennis,

Sorry to hear you had such a negative experience in the past. When you get a chance, you may want to take another look. A few years ago, the information for U.S. radios was very spotty, and in fact had many errors. That situation is rapidly changing, with several brands now very complete and accurate. Still more work to do, however. I wouldn't be surprised if Detrola (a brand you have great depth of knowledge on) is still in a very incomplete and unchecked state.

If in the past they discounted your experience and knowledge, it was a big mistake... I've learned a lot from you here and have nothing but the highest regard for your experience, and your general helpfulness around here.

Dave,

I wonder if you may have viewed a bunch of pictures, not realizing that viewing high resolution pictures costs the same as saving to a file? That may sound surprising, but the reason is that once a high resolution picture is displayed on your computer, the host has no way of knowing whether you've saved it or not. You can view all the thumbnails you want for free, but each view of a high resolution picture costs points. That may be something that needs to be clarified in RMorg.
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Tom K6VL

[PTurney]

Hi,

That site irritates me to the extent that is vacuums up photos and info from numerous other sources, including other websites, and then locks that info up behind a wall, making it inaccessible to the world. I've seen at least one of my photos there (as a thumbprint, with high-resolution admittedly openly available also), direct from my website, and I don't recall ever being asked permission for it to be displayed (which I probably would have granted). I'm sure the pressure placed upon its members to "contribute" and earn points leads to this sort of thing.

My feeling is that, although the sites obviously do cost money to run, general info and photos should be available for the common good.

Paul www.tuberadioland.com

[wcirco]

[mikhail7]

Personally, I like it fine right here!
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Best Regards,

Mike

[Dorpmuller]

[Tin Omen]

The best thing about radiomuseum.org is their search feature. If you have an unknown radio, with only a maker, you can search by only what was made by XXXX manufacturer during 19XX-19XX, or by tubes installed, or you can use look at pictures (at the cost of the lord almighty Q).
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[Dave Doughty]

Tom - what is their policy on pictures? Is just looking at them considered a "download"? Maybe that's where I got into trouble. I never saved any...just looked.

Also, what is their policy on sharing schematics and other information? I got the feeling they would rather have new members join in order to get schematics rather than let current members share with others with the fear that they would eventually be listed on ebay and such.

Dave

[JoeinRI]

Tom Albrecht wrote:

"Membership is not terminated for failure to upload. Only thing that happens is that you can no longer download schematics or high resolution pictures when your points run out. "

Tom , my question is - What is "membership" for, if not to download schematics or pictures? I don't really see what good the site is to me, if I'm unable to do those two things. I think that I'll stick here too. It's too bad...because I do feel that they have some valuable information, particularly when it comes to foreign sets. I've done a couple of Grundigs, where I could've used a decent schematic or pictures.

Joe

[Tom Albrecht]

Hi Guys,

I think you're trying to pit ARF vs Radiomuseum -- that you have to choose one or the other. That is really barking up the wrong tree. This site has a great forum, but not so much to offer in terms of schematics, tubes, data, and organized pictures. Radiomuseum's strength is in these latter items. I think both sites are great -- I'd hate to lose either one of them!

Radiomuseum is a collaborative effort to build up a huge database of everything needed for the antique radio hobby. If you're a person who only wants to take free stuff, and can't be bothered to contribute, Radiomuseum is not for you. No need to feel bad about it or get mad at the folks at Radiomuseum -- just move on and do your thing elsewhere.

For those that want to help by contributing data, pictures, schematics, etc., Radiomuseum is a huge and rapidly growing resource. With a small contribution of your time and energy, you get access to a huge amount of stuff that others like yourself have contributed.

To address a couple of specific comments above:

Joe - When you run out of points (by not uploading anything), you do lose some of your membership privileges (i.e. schematic and high res picture viewing/downloads). But you' ve still got an account you can refill with points any time, and you've still got a place to host your own radio collection web page, and a number of other features. All you have to do is contribute something, and all your troubles are over. You yourself have admitted that there is content there that you would find useful. Think about how it got there.

Dave - Yes, I think there may have been some misunderstanding regarding viewing vs. downloading. While one might think "downloading" means to save it to a file, in fact merely viewing also counts as downloading, since once it's on your computer, there is no way for the host to know whether you've saved a copy or not. If you haven't had a chance to upload much stuff yet, you can conserve points by not viewing high res pictures or schematics. Save the points for when you want to print or save a schematic. It's possible that Radiomuseum has not done a good enough job in explaining this. Maybe we can fix that.

Regarding schematic sharing, I believe you're right. Radiomuseum would rather have more members participate, rather than having existing members widely distribute the content without restriction.

For those who have received "rude" comments from administrators: This is something that the folks at Radiomuseum are concerned about. Administrator comments do sometimes come across as too abrupt or even rude. It's something for them to keep working on. Part of the abruptness comes from the fact that the admins need to deal with a LOT of information coming in each day. You would not believe it! About 100 pictures every day. Another hundred model change suggestions. All needing to be carefully scrutinized and responded to. There are a few crack admins (who really do happen to be very knowledgable!) who do most of the work. Put yourself in their shoes before you come down on them too hard. Swallow your pride a bit, and fix the problem if there is one, or simply defend what you have suggested if you've got some documentation or explanation to back things up. After a while they get to know you and you build up mutual trust.
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Tom K6VL

[Tin Omen]