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Offline kamstutz  
#1 Posted : 22 December 2017 21:26:00(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
www.ModelRailroadCollector.wiki

Christmas is just around the corner and, after more than a year under construction in Santa's workshop, I have a present to give to the Maerklin and model railroad collector hobbyists - a new website for research and collection management. It's called Model Railroad Collector (www.modelrailroadcollector.wiki) and it's a wiki style website where, after a simple registration process, model railroaders (mainly Maerklin) may contribute to and improve the public database and manage their own railroad collection.

The process for building the website was rather daunting and I thank many of you for suggestions during the preliminary research phase for the project and also for some of the testing the past couple of months. Without you this project would not have been possible.

It is not possible to describe all of the features in the application, but I will mention a few here and leave it up to you to do some exploring on your own should you decide to give it a trial.

1) Completely free to use - there will never be a fee associated with membership

2) Application is optimized for computer desktop or mobile device usage (take your collection with you)

3) Any of your contributions to the public database or work done creating your own personal collections can be exported into a spreadsheet or data format for usage outside of the application. This prevents you from being locked into a proprietary application. Get out when you want with everything you put in.

4) Collection management features include:

-Adding your own indexing reference number (you can continue to use any reference system index you currently use.)

-Grading of item

-Aquisition cost

-Current value

-Date acquired

-Free form notes

-PDF reports that include item thumbnails Great for insurance lists and estate planning.

-Multi language - Currently German and English supported (thanks to Jens Ullman for main translation effort)

-Fast search functionality even with thousands of items in collection

-Multiple collections supported (ie. main collection and want list collection)

-All collection fields are optional - (for you paranoid collectors - ie. you don't have to register your costs in the cloud)

-Maintenance logs - record all work done on an item -> service record

-Record location of item (ie. on layout, on shelf 6, in box 3a, etc.)

-Record where item was acquired (ie eBay, Johnny's Auction house etc.)

-Many other features...



5) The website also has other features that are of interest to the Maerklin collector:

- Many collectible items have image galleries associated with the item.

- Multi language dictionary - discover that railroad related word or expression in English/German/Italian. Many thanks to Rolf Tonner for donating the baseline dictionary.

- News section - Aggregates popular social feeds with a nod to Maerklin (Twitter and Facebook public feeds).



Please have a look at the website and I hope that you enjoy what you see. It has taken a lot of effort to put this together and now I'm going to release it to the MRR community with the hope that the contributions of our community will make this tool even more useful.

The directory of model trains (main database) is open for viewing by the public at large. It is pre-populated with more than 5,000 items - mostly vintage locomotives and wagons. Should you wish to delve into the collection management features then registration is required. Following approval you will have access to adding/modifying data in the public database and access to all the collection management features. Registration is done on the website or you can send me a PM and I can create an account for you. All I would need is your full name, email address, and city/state(region)/country where you live to fill out a profile. I hope that there is some interest in registration since the real power of the application lies in the collection management features as well as, obviously, the knowledge base of a large group to build up the wiki database.

More to come in the coming days. Should you have any questions (and you will) or comments please feel free to reach out to me directly (kurt.amstutz@gmail.com). Please forward to any interested MRR collectors.

Merry Christmas and have fun!

www.modelrailroadcollector.wiki

Kurt

MRCWikiCCS800.jpg


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Offline kamstutz  
#2 Posted : 23 December 2017 02:11:12(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
It has been pointed out to me that there is a bug (known) in trying to fill in the registration form on the website. I can easily create an account for you if you send me your full name, email address, city and state (if USA) or city and region (if Europe/Non USA). It only takes a couple of minutes and I will reply with your (temp) password and some Getting Started information. My email address is located in the footer of my forum profile.

Regards,

Kurt
Offline DaleSchultz  
#3 Posted : 23 December 2017 02:28:32(UTC)
DaleSchultz

United States   
Joined: 10/02/2006(UTC)
Posts: 3,997
good luck with this Kurt. I tried the same thing many years ago. Perhaps I made the web site too complicated but input from the community was pretty pathetic. I few people added stuff but that was it.

I really hope it takes off.
Dale
Intellibox + own software, K-Track
My current layout: https://cabin-layout.mixmox.com
Arrival and Departure signs: https://remotesign.mixmox.com
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Offline kamstutz  
#4 Posted : 23 December 2017 02:35:35(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: DaleSchultz Go to Quoted Post
good luck with this Kurt. I tried the same thing many years ago. Perhaps I made the web site too complicated but input from the community was pretty pathetic. I few people added stuff but that was it.

I really hope it takes off.


Dale - Thanks for the encouragement. It has been a lot of work to put this together and I hope that it does help some people out. I got a lot of interest and feedback from the community BEFORE I started so most of the features were built to satisfy the needs of the collectors that would be potential users. It is kind of a social experiment too - a wiki format. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks/months. BTW - Its' been kind of quiet on the Schultz layout lately... send me an update when you get the chance. BigGrin

Merry Christmas to you my friend,

Kurt
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Offline CCS800KrokHunter3  
#5 Posted : 23 December 2017 03:51:51(UTC)
CCS800KrokHunter3

United States   
Joined: 03/04/2007(UTC)
Posts: 1,605
Hi Kurt,

Fantastic work - the site looks great and the functionality has everything a collector would need. Like others I hope it takes off too.

As many know I have built a collection management tool (http://get.collectormetric.com/) years ago and shared it here in the forum. We also had a M-Users sponsored Wiki but abandoned the project because very few contributed to it (it was perhaps difficult to use).

Then I moved my cataloging efforts over to hobbyDB after they requested a catalog of Marklin items. https://www.hobbydb.com/subjects/marklin-brand

I mention this not to distract from your project but rather with the goal of collaborating. From your title it sounds like you're aware there are many applications out there, which is fine. In fact I bet this was a fun project for you anyway, despite being quite a big undertaking.

I am sure many agree that having disparate databases and different tools isn't exactly optimal - it does not harness the power of the community effectively. We are best when we are all using, contributing to, and improving the same catalog, right? I do understand that some folks like different catalog formats and so in that case multiple catalogs might make sense. But overall if we can focus on one catalog and collection management tool I think that would be best for everyone. I would love to try out your program and see if it is something we can all use for this purpose.

Paul
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Offline kamstutz  
#6 Posted : 23 December 2017 05:24:00(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: CCS800KrokHunter3 Go to Quoted Post
Hi Kurt,

Fantastic work - the site looks great and the functionality has everything a collector would need. Like others I hope it takes off too.

As many know I have built a collection management tool (http://get.collectormetric.com/) years ago and shared it here in the forum. We also had a M-Users sponsored Wiki but abandoned the project because very few contributed to it (it was perhaps difficult to use).

Then I moved my cataloging efforts over to hobbyDB after they requested a catalog of Marklin items. https://www.hobbydb.com/subjects/marklin-brand

I mention this not to distract from your project but rather with the goal of collaborating. From your title it sounds like you're aware there are many applications out there, which is fine. In fact I bet this was a fun project for you anyway, despite being quite a big undertaking.

I am sure many agree that having disparate databases and different tools isn't exactly optimal - it does not harness the power of the community effectively. We are best when we are all using, contributing to, and improving the same catalog, right? I do understand that some folks like different catalog formats and so in that case multiple catalogs might make sense. But overall if we can focus on one catalog and collection management tool I think that would be best for everyone. I would love to try out your program and see if it is something we can all use for this purpose.

Paul


Paul - As always thank you for your comments. Since you have been an active member of our community for a long time I respect your views and opinions. I also realize that it's a daunting task to be a one stop collection management tool and catalog. My desire is that some collectors will find it useful and contribute for all to use the data. Most serious collectors already have some sort of cataloging system that they use, but maybe some will sample the features in the wiki and choose to help out the community with contributions to the public database even if they don't use the collection management features. The database is open source also so if someone wants they can download the entire catalog at any time. Nothing proprietary - enter and leave when you want and take everything with you. My fingers are crossed and I am hopeful. Merry Christmas to you !
Offline White Buffalo  
#7 Posted : 23 December 2017 16:57:35(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
Wow, this sounds like a great opportunity for me to catalog my items and help out if I can. Thank you Kurt for putting this together, I will send you an email with my information so I can get started.

Vielen Dank!

Rich
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Offline White Buffalo  
#8 Posted : 23 December 2017 20:42:51(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
Thank you Kurt, I am all registered and started adding Locomotives into my collection. Vielen dank und frohe Weihnachten!

Rich Siegmann
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Offline kamstutz  
#9 Posted : 23 December 2017 21:32:28(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: White Buffalo Go to Quoted Post
Wow, this sounds like a great opportunity for me to catalog my items and help out if I can. Thank you Kurt for putting this together, I will send you an email with my information so I can get started.

Vielen Dank!

Rich


Rich - Your account is set up and you should be good to go. Ping me with questions, comments, suggestions... Kurt
Offline White Buffalo  
#10 Posted : 24 December 2017 04:25:32(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
I believe I was able to add to the accessory directory. Woot Woot!BigGrin I added some Märklin 448/2 Arc Lamps. I figured I couldn't screw up too bad since there are only 2 versions.BigGrin It's a very flexible platform. I like the "column visibility" function, you are able to customize the view to what you would like to see.

Thanks again Kurt.

Merry Christmas everyone - Frohe Weihnachten Alle!

Rich
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Offline kamstutz  
#11 Posted : 26 December 2017 05:46:40(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: White Buffalo Go to Quoted Post
I believe I was able to add to the accessory directory. Woot Woot!BigGrin I added some Märklin 448/2 Arc Lamps. I figured I couldn't screw up too bad since there are only 2 versions.BigGrin It's a very flexible platform. I like the "column visibility" function, you are able to customize the view to what you would like to see.

Thanks again Kurt.

Merry Christmas everyone - Frohe Weihnachten Alle!

Rich


Follow up to ModelRailroadCollector.wiki (Beta) website launch.

Thanks to everyone that registered or asked to be registered during the past couple of days. I am surprised that there have been over 35 registrations showing me that there IS interest in such an application to help collectors.

This is not to say that the launch has gone without issues. Thank you for the comments and suggestions provided and I hope that I continue to receive good feedback so that this tool can be of use to those that choose to use it. There are other solutions out there that provide similar features, but the best ones, in my opinion, are commercial products ($) or not specific enough to accomodate the specific needs of the MRR collector.

I have already made changes to the application based on comments from the community. The main change involves registration, which proved to be an issue during launch for some people as I did not plan on some browsers trying to fill in the registration form automatically. Registration is much easier now since I have removed the requirement of registering the location where you live. Originally I had intended to show the diversity of our community on a map, but legal and privacy concerns have trumped my idea so I have removed the location requirement altogether during registration. Consequently the problems preventing registration are now removed as well so if you have not registered at this time and still have interest in testing out the application please do so. All you need is a valid email address.

A number of collectors have already mastered adding items to their collection and they have asked about adding new items to Model Train Directory. Even with over 5,000 items in the database there are items in your collection that are not yet in the database. The power of a wiki is that contributions from each of you enrich the database for others so this process of adding new items is critical to the success of the project. To help with the training I have created a YouTube channel where I plan to post "How To" videos. It is much easier to show how something is done rather than to try and describe how to do something.

You can see the first video here: https://youtu.be/jm46RFZ6y8s

If you have already registered - thank you. Please continue to explore the collection management features of www.modelrailroadcollector.wiki and forward comments and suggestions. If you like what you see please help spread the word so the project can gain more traction. Even if you already have a collection management solution why not have a look and see what you might be missing. ;) Drool

Merry Christmas to all.

Kurt
ModelRailroadCollector.wiki

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Offline HO Collector  
#12 Posted : 26 December 2017 22:00:00(UTC)
HO Collector

United Kingdom   
Joined: 21/02/2016(UTC)
Posts: 195
Location: Just north of London
Hello Kurt

First, I would like to wish you and all forum members a Merry Christmas.
Second, thank you for creating this tool, very useful. Currently I have a partial list on a X file.

Yet, I would like to ask a question.
I am the sort of person that tries to load as little as possible information on the net, one could never know who watches and for what reason. So the question is; How safe is the information that we input? How easy is it for someone to link the collection database to the person's IP or email address?

Thanks
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Offline kamstutz  
#13 Posted : 26 December 2017 23:11:21(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: HO Collector Go to Quoted Post
Hello Kurt

First, I would like to wish you and all forum members a Merry Christmas.
Second, thank you for creating this tool, very useful. Currently I have a partial list on a X file.

Yet, I would like to ask a question.
I am the sort of person that tries to load as little as possible information on the net, one could never know who watches and for what reason. So the question is; How safe is the information that we input? How easy is it for someone to link the collection database to the person's IP or email address?

Thanks


Thanks for your comments and concern(s).
In August 2016 when I started this project that you now see I asked the MRR Maerklin community what they wanted in a collection management tool, must have features, functionality, how it could be used etc. One of the concerns raised at that time was security of the user's personal information and the user's data. I learned that it is a big concern and I imagine that any collector that has a substantial investment in a model train collection (and there are collectors whose collection's are VERY substantial) would fear that data harvesting might lead, in worse case scenarios, to robbery, income tax audits and who knows what else. Early in the development process I consulted with colleagues of mine at work (I am a software developer by trade) and at technical conferences that I have attended in the past year. These people are specialists in data security, which is not my area of expertise. I was told that regardless of what the software developer does, regardless of what the data security expert does to prevent data breeches - there is still more chance of a data breech when data is in the cloud than on your local computer. There is nothing that I could do or tell you that would remove your concerns about data safety. Cloud based data is, by it's nature, more susceptible to hacking than local data.

That being said I have employed the best data protection protocols that I have had access to and I have even delayed the launch of the website to resolve some potential known vulnerabilities. I have additionally built features into the application that allow whoever is using it and has registered to export all collection data at any time he or she wishes. This feature combined with the fact that most collection item details such as cost, where some item is stored etc. are OPTIONAL which allows the user to create a collection without any volatile details. It can then be exported (to Excel or csv format) and the user can take their entire investment of time in building out their collection OFFLINE. Once it is offline and on their local computer they can fill in the missing details without them ever touching the cloud. Then they could simply delete all of the cloud based data and even delete their account. The application is a tool used to create a collection. If the collection is left in the cloud then there are many benefits and automatic features - formatted reports, calculations of quantities, costs and values and a few interesting social features that I haven't launched yet. It is easier to work with collections in the cloud, but not required.

So to summarize - the information that users put into their collections is as safe as I can make it at this time. Will I promise that there will never be a data breech - No, but I have made the functionality of the application in such a manner that you can use it for building your basic collection and then export it and use as you wish offline. I think that this is a workable solution and I hope that the test users can appreciate the time spent into developing this requested feature and test it out before taking the time investment to register hundreds of items. I should mention that while any user can delete his or her collection details and even their accounts at any time - any items that they added to the public database - those items that are shared by other users - will persist in the database to assist others in the building of their collections. My dream is to create a platform for sharing model railroad data and I need the power of crowd sourcing (wiki) to do so.

I hope that I have answered your question. Should you have others that would be of use to the group please continue this thread. If it is a specific question or request please send me a PM.

Enjoy and have fun.

Kurt
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Offline cookee_nz  
#14 Posted : 28 December 2017 22:32:20(UTC)
cookee_nz

New Zealand   
Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC)
Posts: 3,948
Location: Paremata, Wellington
Hi Kurt, some feedback if I may... (you may want to make a cuppa Unsure

A frank and honest answer from you re the security aspect, great. I look at security from two angles, one is someone attempting to log on as me. If they know my login name (handle or email address) then they need only attempt to guess my password. The better systems allow three maximum attempts at a failed password before locking the account, and then either an administrator must unlock it after suitable identity verification, or you could employ one of the two-factor methods such as a verification code to a mobile phone or secondary email address etc but these tend to be expensive processes to implement and typically found only in higher-end financial type online services.

But the other issue that is more worrying is someone accessing the entire database from behind the scenes and obtaining all data rather than a single individual as in the first scenario. And as you say, all the protection in the world may not thwart a obsessed hacker. In that respect, if I was personally to use the Database, I would probably not enter any data that could lead to my home address, or for that matter any logon name or email address that is used elsewhere, but the items added to the database would still be useful to the aim of the site as a whole. A possible downside here is people who for whatever reason might create such a profile and then deliberately upload incorrect data, confusing variants etc, and particularly where it may be an extremely rare item to begin with and if you cannot be satisfied to the credentials of the person uploading then who do you trust?

I do have a question regarding the reliability of the items already on there. I took a look immediately after you posted this link and just did a browse.

First thing I looked at was in the "Select Category" drop-down menu and the available options. I wondered right away, what is the difference between a "Multi-function car", and a "Passenger car" or a "Freight car" which also has multi-functions - and there are no shortage of those now.

I noted only one entry in the Multi-function car category so I clicked it, says it is a Marklin 2510. A what??? Never heard of it. Clicked the entry expecting to see an image of the item, nope, no image. And even Mr Google was no help so there's a frustration right off the bat and screams loudly "work in progress" (and bad or error data). You have already said it's very early days so I do accept that 100%.

Then I checked an item which I personally have, a Catenary Maintenance Wagon. Now this is a Locomotive, based on the Railbus Powered car, and is also a multi-function item. So where does it belong?, there is one (39970) listed in Locomotives, but unless you know the Marklin code, nothing in the entry give any additional information, which made me wonder where is a "Description" column, or "Class". The columns are "Article No." and "Version" - but whose 'version', Koll ?, Mikado ?, or some other reference altogether? ** I'll come back to this further below.

Then I thought well maybe you need to be registered to see images (although there is no valid reason for such a requirement except to force membership) so I went through the registration - Please, do make it clear that the security code is case-sensitive, often these codes, 'captcha' etc (thank Gawd you did not use that) are not case-sensitive, but yours is, and meant I had to go back and re-do both passwords - a minor irritation but for the sake of adding "case sensitive", easily avoided :-)

Back to the item, still no image, ok. Bad entry. Then I wondered, well who added it?, absolutely NO supporting information. Except a "Year introduced" and "Year discontinued". What the heck? Personally, I have always been of the opinion that NO data is better than Bad Data, perhaps this comes from my Genealogy interest where an incorrect individual's details or assigned to an incorrect family tree can waste potentially weeks of dead-end research.

So then I thought I'd check some more common items and headed to "Locomotives". Again, NO images, and again, no supporting data to verify the source (contributor and reference such as a catalogue year and page).

Ok, I guess this requires people to add images to populate the database. How easy is that?, click on the +Images button which brought up a dialogue "+Add files", "Start Upload" and "Cancel upload" - but I didn't actually have an image to add at this time so I clicked "Cancel upload"... and the dialogue won't go away. And there is no "X" to close the window. No matter what I do, I now cannot get rid of the Dialogue window and the entire site was greyed out. Finally I found by accident that I only had to click anywhere outside the dialogue window to make it go away. Not how I would expect to get rid of it but perhaps you could add in the text "Click outside this window to dismiss" or simply add a close X button top right corner.

These are all relatively minor bugs except for the validity of the data. I would expect in any site that uses the word "Wiki" that there should be a "Source" link, and that it should be Mandatory. If a contributor cannot substantiate the data they are adding, then it should not be an option. The source should be able to be linked to an individual contributor, and that contributor needs to be able to provide their own reference, either a catalogue or some other verifiable literature, or acknowledgment that the description and/or image is of an item they personally own or have access to, provided of course this falls within your aim for the idea.

** Back to the category question further above.

Initially I referred to the difference between certain categories, when an item crosses over two or three and which to choose. I also wondered how the entries that are already in the database came to be, ie; did you add them as an initial base, maybe your own collection, or do they represent items in the collections of other users?

So I tried creating my own collection, seem to have created it ok, but how do I add anything to it?, I have searched everywhere but there is no obvious "add new item" button or anything remotely like it.

And.... if that were not enough, to add insult to injury, why NO NZ $ currency? - C'mon, really??? I guess there's an attempt by including Australia but there is a thriving Marklin community here in NZ and just like I said about no data versus bad data. I would rather have NO currencies than be limited. Or, failing that, limit yourself to just the Euro and the Greenback. And even more obviously, where is the Swiss Franc?, Switzerland is well known as a highly lucrative market for Marklin, yet you have the British Pound and Canadian and Australian dollars. I can say without any question of doubt there are more Marklin enthusiasts in NZ than in Australia!!, absolutely per head of population but literally as well !! ThumpUp

Not to mention other countries who should be screaming with righteous indignation. Woot

Hopefully this feedback is helpful to you. For me, I'm pretty much a Marklin purist, I have very little in my collection that is not Marklin but it appears this database is for all and any brands? - it's hard enough keeping accuracy within just the Marklin range which is probably better-documented than most others. So at this stage, having already invested some time this morning playing around and composing this response, the Database is not for me, there's just too much absent, than present but I fully endorse what you are aiming to achieve and will be watching with interest any developments in the hope it really takes off.

If I have missed anything really really obvious please do let me know. I have semi-permanent egg on my face and carry a shovel to dig myself out of never-ending holes. Blushing And of course, please do take in the spirit intended. Cool

Cheers

Steve
Cookee
Wellington
NZ image
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Offline CCS800KrokHunter3  
#15 Posted : 29 December 2017 00:26:00(UTC)
CCS800KrokHunter3

United States   
Joined: 03/04/2007(UTC)
Posts: 1,605
Hi Steve,

Thanks for your thorough review - I was looking forward to it because I highly respect your insights. I am sure Kurt will come back with a reply but in the meantime there are some video tutorials. Here is one that will help you add an item to your collection:



And regarding lack of data or incorrectness - I think you're right, but that's the power of the Wiki, anyone can add and edit. That's why I like this more than Koll's where it's impossible to edit items in a book and changes are rarely accepted by the author.

There are improvements to be made, certainly, but I'm so glad to see everyone in support of this project.

Best,

Paul
Offline cookee_nz  
#16 Posted : 29 December 2017 02:51:56(UTC)
cookee_nz

New Zealand   
Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC)
Posts: 3,948
Location: Paremata, Wellington
Originally Posted by: CCS800KrokHunter3 Go to Quoted Post
Hi Steve,

Thanks for your thorough review - I was looking forward to it because I highly respect your insights. I am sure Kurt will come back with a reply but in the meantime there are some video tutorials. Here is one that will help you add an item to your collection:

And regarding lack of data or incorrectness - I think you're right, but that's the power of the Wiki, anyone can add and edit. That's why I like this more than Koll's where it's impossible to edit items in a book and changes are rarely accepted by the author.

There are improvements to be made, certainly, but I'm so glad to see everyone in support of this project.

Best,

Paul


Hi Paul, thanks for getting back to me. Re the video, is there meant to be any audio? I'm afraid without it I cannot actually watch the video, because I don't know what's coming I quickly got a headache in just a few seconds trying to keep up with the mouse pointer.

Something as vital as being able to add new items to a collection should be simply intuitive. Respectfully, I don't want to watch a video to learn how to do it, or if I do, at least it needs to have accompanying audio. However, I did see enough to see that I had to go via the collection button and pick from the list.

Ok, let's see how this goes. So I chose a favourite, the 3059 "Le Capitole", hmm, three versions. Assuming this is following Koll's coding, if you don't have a Koll's reference, how do you know which version you have?

I happen to know that one of the main differences is in the colour of the stripe around the cab - silver vs white, but you absolutely need both versions side by side, (or a very good tone photograph) to actually tell the difference. I'm just very fortunate that I have one of each for comparison to make it obvious.

But I'll complicate it a bit more, one of mine is actually HAMO, so I enter 8359, this automatically brings up 3059.1 (and only this version), but without the detail of the version differences I don't know if it's actually the same. And I'm also assuming here that the v3 refers to the kit-set variant which was never catalogued as such, but did it come as a true kit-set and how was it boxed? - I believe it was available to dealers only so it may have been a 'brown-box' item. These kinds of details will play a major role in this database, but how then to describe the difference?, if they are taken directly from Koll's, will they be covered by copyright?- in other words, whilst Koll's as a book is copyright in entirety, can they also copyright a description?

Moving on, next was a recent acquisition, the 46715 Remote Crane, and this is not only a Freight Wagon, but also a multi-function car (unless that definition is being mis-understood by me?).

A search on the code brought up two entries, both seem identical, except one says introduced 2005 and the other 2006. This was a new item announced in 2006 so where does the 2005 entry come from? So I thought I'd be useful and update the 2006 with additional details such as the exact catalogue description and digital functions. Did this and....

"Error-product not updated Try again later"

But I realise it's a work-in-progress so onward and upward.

Cheers

Steve
Cookee
Wellington
NZ image
Offline kamstutz  
#17 Posted : 29 December 2017 05:55:44(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: cookee_nz Go to Quoted Post
Hi Kurt, some feedback if I may... (you may want to make a cuppa Unsure


Steve - Many thanks for taking the time to put together a "First Look" from your point of view with regards to the Wiki. Your well thought out questions and comments deserve complete explanations for each of the concerns and topics you mention. Unfortunately I will be offline tomorrow (Friday) since I have family plans, but I will respond on Saturday. Just wanted to let you know that I have seen your comments and will reply soon. Stay tuned :)

Kurt

Edited by moderator 05 January 2018 04:35:14(UTC)  | Reason: Removed large quote - no need to quote entire posts, we can all read the original.

Offline kamstutz  
#18 Posted : 29 December 2017 21:39:57(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Steve - Here goes - my comment follow...

Quote:
Hi Kurt, some feedback if I may... (you may want to make a cuppa Unsure

A frank and honest answer from you re the security aspect, great. I look at security from two angles, one is someone attempting to log on as me. If they know my login name (handle or email address) then they need only attempt to guess my password. The better systems allow three maximum attempts at a failed password before locking the account, and then either an administrator must unlock it after suitable identity verification, or you could employ one of the two-factor methods such as a verification code to a mobile phone or secondary email address etc but these tend to be expensive processes to implement and typically found only in higher-end financial type online services.


Currently there is functionality in place to lock a ModelRailRoadCollectorWiki ("Wiki") account after a specific number of unsuccessful login attempts. The account will remain locked until unlocked by the administrator. It is beyond the scope of the project to employ a two-factor authentication method, such as the ones you mention. When any type of financial operation is involved then authentication protocols are in order, but the "Wiki" does not take nor make payments of any kind.

Quote:
But the other issue that is more worrying is someone accessing the entire database from behind the scenes and obtaining all data rather than a single individual as in the first scenario. And as you say, all the protection in the world may not thwart a obsessed hacker. In that respect, if I was personally to use the Database, I would probably not enter any data that could lead to my home address, or for that matter any logon name or email address that is used elsewhere, but the items added to the database would still be useful to the aim of the site as a whole.


It is ok to NOT enter any personally identifiable information (PII) on the "Wiki". I have removed the address requirements when registering because another active member of our group pointed out to me in a PM this week that legal and security situations may surface due to storing this data. It's not credit card data, but it WAS data that could be used to locate the city in which someone lived. As I mentioned in my comments in an earlier thread my intentions were good (I wanted to show the geo diversity of our group members by plotting their approximate locations on a public map). There are some calculations that the "Wiki" can automatically do for you - case in point totals for "cost" and "appraised value" of items in your collections, but I don't expect that many people will use them due to potential leakage of the data. This is fine as I have built the export collection function in a way that you can export ALL of your collection data to a spreadsheet and add costs OFFLINE.

Another case in point about security hardening on the "Wiki" - For each item in the Directory I had shown (in the Audit section) the name of the collector that CREATED the item and the name of the collector that last UPDATED the record. My idea was that if someone had a question about an item then they could contact the creator or the last person to modify the record. These names were "live" - clicking on them would open up your email client and you would be able to send them an email. Great idea right ? Nope - this week another member of the group pointed out to me that the email addresses on these pages could be "harvested". I had to agree with this collector and I removed this "feature". So I'm trying to tighten the security of the "Wiki" on a day by day basis based on feedback from those testing it out. Fortunately those that ARE testing out the "Wiki" have brought their concerns to me and I haven't yet disagreed with any of the suggestions (or worries) provided in their comments. Keep them coming either on the public forums or via PM.

Quote:
A possible downside here is people who for whatever reason might create such a profile and then deliberately upload incorrect data, confusing variants etc, and particularly where it may be an extremely rare item to begin with and if you cannot be satisfied to the credentials of the person uploading then who do you trust?


You are correct that this scenario is possible with a public database. Opening up a database to the public also opens the possibility of rogue users corrupting the data. So what do you do? You can lock down the database so that no one can edit it and prevent all possible corruption, but then you are not able to use the power of the group's knowledge to make it a better data store. I will continue to monitor the "Wiki" updates and initially guide those collectors that are adding new items to build out their collections and watch for intentional or accidental corruptions to the data. Who do you trust? As one member advised me in a PM this week... "...you have to start out trusting everyone" and this is the path I will adapt at the moment. In the future I may assign "editing" roles to specific users based on factors such as qty of contributions to the Directory (more is better), edits to improve the quality of existing data, help with translations etc. Role based access to features is available in the platform at the present, but I have not turned it on yet. Everyone gets trusted for now.

Quote:
I do have a question regarding the reliability of the items already on there. I took a look immediately after you posted this link and just did a browse.

First thing I looked at was in the "Select Category" drop-down menu and the available options. I wondered right away, what is the difference between a "Multi-function car", and a "Passenger car" or a "Freight car" which also has multi-functions - and there are no shortage of those now.

I noted only one entry in the Multi-function car category so I clicked it, says it is a Marklin 2510. A what??? Never heard of it. Clicked the entry expecting to see an image of the item, nope, no image. And even Mr Google was no help so there's a frustration right off the bat and screams loudly "work in progress" (and bad or error data). You have already said it's very early days so I do accept that 100%.


The data currently in the Directory came from various sources - some were given to me by freinds in list form, some I obtained from the internet, product catalogs, and price catalogs. It's definitely a hodgepodge of sources. Someone told me that much of the data originally resided in a public facing database on the excellent German website Stummis Forum (sp?) and some of the data seems to be similar to that found on the excellent database currently maintained by Achim Lücking (http://mobadb.gleiswarze.de/mobadb-webapp/homepage?1) who told me that his database originated from the Stummis data. I have not seen many, but of all the non-commercial online databases that I have seen up until now Gleiswarz IS the most complete. I agree that the ONE item in the Multi-function category that you mention - item number 2510 - does seem out of place. Thirty seconds on Google and I see that this item is called a "Alpha-Grundpackung mit Akku-Fahrgerät". It comes in several colors and you probably don't have one in your collection unless you have grandchildren. I've added an image to the "Wiki" so you can see what it looks like and, of course, add one to your Want List... ;) Make sure that you get batteries though. Not really sure how to categorize this one. Any help here ? If you look at the item you might think that it lives in a category by itself... ? Probably best to remove this "Multi-function" category altogether and recategorize this item.

Quote:
Then I checked an item which I personally have, a Catenary Maintenance Wagon. Now this is a Locomotive, based on the Railbus Powered car, and is also a multi-function item. So where does it belong?, there is one (39970) listed in Locomotives, but unless you know the Marklin code, nothing in the entry give any additional information, which made me wonder where is a "Description" column, or "Class". The columns are "Article No." and "Version" - but whose 'version', Koll ?, Mikado ?, or some other reference altogether? ** I'll come back to this further below.


I searched for your #39970 and did not find it in the "Locomotive" category, but in the "Railcar". As you pointed out the details were rather slim (none in English). I found some information about the car on the official Maerklin website, prepared a thumbnail and edited the record. Now it is available for you and everyone else to use and add to your collection or Want List. It took me about 5 minutes to update the record - most of the time preparing the specially formatted thumbnail image. Version ? - Since Koll's has been around for 40 years now - we will assume that it is the judge and jury for item information (supplemented by corrections where it is found to be in error).

Quote:
Then I thought well maybe you need to be registered to see images (although there is no valid reason for such a requirement except to force membership) so I went through the registration - Please, do make it clear that the security code is case-sensitive, often these codes, 'captcha' etc (thank Gawd you did not use that) are not case-sensitive, but yours is, and meant I had to go back and re-do both passwords - a minor irritation but for the sake of adding "case sensitive", easily avoided :-)


You do not need to be registered to see images - neither the individual item thumbnails nor item images in their respective photo galleries. I have taken a different approach in the "Wiki" than what you might be accustomed to in other databases containing images. Rather than spending incredible amounts of time preparing thumbnails I only add these when I see that someone has added the item to his/her collection. Image preparation is time consuming and I would prefer to spend that time helping those users make their active collection than trying to add thumbnails to items that have never been used yet in a collection. Sure the quality of the database is improved, but the ROI with my time invested is better when applied only to those items that are being used. So as a research tool the database is missing images, but most of the collections are complete. One thing to note here that has confused some users is that they cannot upload thumbnails. In order to maintain a consistant look and feel of the collection images I have assumed the exclusive role of "thumbnail provider" (for now anyway). Not many collectors understand (nor care to understand) image editors, optimizing size and weight (KB) so I'll take on this task for now.

Case-sensitive Captcha ? - I'll add text to the registration form. Good suggestion.ThumpUp

Quote:
Back to the item, still no image, ok. Bad entry. Then I wondered, well who added it?, absolutely NO supporting information. Except a "Year introduced" and "Year discontinued". What the heck? Personally, I have always been of the opinion that NO data is better than Bad Data, perhaps this comes from my Genealogy interest where an incorrect individual's details or assigned to an incorrect family tree can waste potentially weeks of dead-end research.

So then I thought I'd check some more common items and headed to "Locomotives". Again, NO images, and again, no supporting data to verify the source (contributor and reference such as a catalogue year and page).


Missing the supporting information - This is probably my fault for not giving better (any) explanation and usage instructions from the get-go. All items in the database HAVE some supporting information, but if you are viewing the item in English then the English translation has probably not been updated. A couple of decisions I made. In "View" mode the form details are displayed in the language chosen for the User Interface (UI). Currently the "Wiki" supports English and German (shout out again to Jens Ullmann for help with English->German translations). If there is little or no detail information in the English UI then please switch the language to German (click on the German flag) and you will more that likely see additional details (albeit in German). If you are registered and logged-in then you have, in addition to the "View" button, an "Edit" button. After selecting an item you can click on "Edit" and you will see all language translations ON THE SAME FORM PAGE. I hope that those collectors that are bi-lingual will help the project by updating the descriptions and other localized data. For now either view the item in Edit mode or switch the UI language to see all available details.

Quote:
Ok, I guess this requires people to add images to populate the database. How easy is that?, click on the +Images button which brought up a dialogue "+Add files", "Start Upload" and "Cancel upload" - but I didn't actually have an image to add at this time so I clicked "Cancel upload"... and the dialogue won't go away. And there is no "X" to close the window. No matter what I do, I now cannot get rid of the Dialogue window and the entire site was greyed out. Finally I found by accident that I only had to click anywhere outside the dialogue window to make it go away. Not how I would expect to get rid of it but perhaps you could add in the text "Click outside this window to dismiss" or simply add a close X button top right corner.


Back to images... People can add images to any item in the Directory. The images cannot surpass about 400K in size and they can be any dimension as long as they do no exceed the size limit. Since launch I have been dealing with at least 6 collectors that have questions/issues with the image uploader so I know that some work still needs to be done in this feature. All uploaded images for an item comprise the item's Photo Gallery which is seen ONLY in the VIEW mode of the item. Clicking on the main Photo Gallery image will open the entire photo gallery and all of the images can be paged or swiped (on portable devices) to see them all. I'm still evolving this feature since currently there is no means for a user to remove or delete an item that he/she uploaded in error (wrong image or wrong item). I have promised to make a demonstration video showing how to add photos to a gallery. Expect this soon.

Quote:
These are all relatively minor bugs except for the validity of the data. I would expect in any site that uses the word "Wiki" that there should be a "Source" link, and that it should be Mandatory. If a contributor cannot substantiate the data they are adding, then it should not be an option. The source should be able to be linked to an individual contributor, and that contributor needs to be able to provide their own reference, either a catalogue or some other verifiable literature, or acknowledgment that the description and/or image is of an item they personally own or have access to, provided of course this falls within your aim for the idea.


I like your suggestion and hope that you can elaborate with me (perhaps offline) how this might be accomplished. As previously mentioned the audit trail of adding and updating items is limited to recording the user and the date/time the item was added or updated. Currently there is no support for a mandatory "Source", but I like the idea. Maybe something like Wikipedia with their footnotes? Again, I like the idea and would be willing to discuss methods to implement and force some type of substantiation of data, but, currently there is none in place.

Quote:
** Back to the category question further above.

Initially I referred to the difference between certain categories, when an item crosses over two or three and which to choose. I also wondered how the entries that are already in the database came to be, ie; did you add them as an initial base, maybe your own collection, or do they represent items in the collections of other users?


Cross over categories ? Perhaps add a duplicate(s) item to the Directory with the only difference being the category ? There is no penalty for duplicates in the database and it would make it easier for a collector to locate his/her item if it appeared in all possible categories that you might query to find your item.

Quote:
So I tried creating my own collection, seem to have created it ok, but how do I add anything to it?, I have searched everywhere but there is no obvious "add new item" button or anything remotely like it.

And.... if that were not enough, to add insult to injury, why NO NZ $ currency? - C'mon, really??? I guess there's an attempt by including Australia but there is a thriving Marklin community here in NZ and just like I said about no data versus bad data. I would rather have NO currencies than be limited. Or, failing that, limit yourself to just the Euro and the Greenback. And even more obviously, where is the Swiss Franc?, Switzerland is well known as a highly lucrative market for Marklin, yet you have the British Pound and Canadian and Australian dollars. I can say without any question of doubt there are more Marklin enthusiasts in NZ than in Australia!!, absolutely per head of population but literally as well !! ThumpUp

Not to mention other countries who should be screaming with righteous indignation. Woot


Yikes Blushing - This is a gross oversight on my part and I apologize for the apparent exclusion of some (many) country currencies. I did want to keep the currency selector rather clean (short list) and did have functionality in place for adding additional currencies based on the country of origin of the registered users, but since I removed all geo-location data from the registration process many collectors may feel rightfully excluded. I just added NZ$ for my Kiwi friends, but will need to add all world currencies. Again, you are completely correct and I have no excuses. Thank you for pointing this out and again I apologize for the exclusions.

Quote:
Hopefully this feedback is helpful to you. For me, I'm pretty much a Marklin purist, I have very little in my collection that is not Marklin but it appears this database is for all and any brands? - it's hard enough keeping accuracy within just the Marklin range which is probably better-documented than most others. So at this stage, having already invested some time this morning playing around and composing this response, the Database is not for me, there's just too much absent, than present but I fully endorse what you are aiming to achieve and will be watching with interest any developments in the hope it really takes off.

If I have missed anything really really obvious please do let me know. I have semi-permanent egg on my face and carry a shovel to dig myself out of never-ending holes. Blushing And of course, please do take in the spirit intended. Cool

Cheers

Steve


The schema of the "Wiki" Directory will easily support multiple manufacturers and scales. My collection too is 99.9% Marklin, but several collectors have asked for non-Marklin support in the database for their collections. This has been added and is available should they choose to use it.

"the Database is not for me" - I completely understand your position and you have clearly pointed out some of your reasons. Clearly not everyone will like what they see in the project. I am encouraged, however, by seeing several collections containing between 50-100 items being built only 4 days after the project launch. I probably should market the ModelRailroadCollector Wiki as a "Collection Management Tool" rather than a Marklin database. It was built on the basis of documenting one's collection in few steps - Find an item, Select it and Click to Add. The database does have holes in it, does have some incorrect data too, but, with the power of crowd-sourcing, the passion of the Marklin collector, and a bit of patience and time, I feel that the project has potential as a useful addition to the collector's toolset.

Steve - I appreciate your honest feedback and I will continue to follow your posts on FB, in the M Forums and elsewhere. Many thanks again for taking the time to air your "findings" in the forums.

Kurt
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Offline kamstutz  
#19 Posted : 04 January 2018 23:26:59(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Model Railroad Collector Wiki - Updates as of January 4, 2018
=============================================================
1) Support for ALL world currencies added. Thanks to Steve (cookee_nz) for pointing out this severe omission last week.

2) Adding new items to Directory now allows inclusion of new item WITHOUT requiring knowledge of the beginning and end years of manufacturer production. Start and or End Year of production can now be set to UNKNOWN - "?" so that creation of the new item is not blocked when not knowing these dates. Thanks to Javier (fje) for this great suggestion.

3) New video added to YouTube channel - How to export a collection to a PDF report. Click title for direct link. Now with sound narration (again thanks to cookee_nz for suggestion). All future videos will have sound (English)

Feature want list from collectors testing the application is growing. Ping me with your suggestions and issues and I'll get them prioritized.

Kurt

ModelRailroadCollector.wiki
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Offline White Buffalo  
#20 Posted : 05 January 2018 03:18:02(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
it's working well for me Kurt, slowly but surely adding a few items a day now that the holidays are over.

Thanks you......

Rich
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Offline CCS800KrokHunter3  
#21 Posted : 07 January 2018 19:43:56(UTC)
CCS800KrokHunter3

United States   
Joined: 03/04/2007(UTC)
Posts: 1,605
Hello friends,

Here is another price database and catalog to get inspiration from...

https://www.imarklin.com...detail.php?&waarde=6

The prices seem to be fairly accurate, but unfortunately without displaying auction results it's hard to tell.

Best,

Paul
Offline kamstutz  
#22 Posted : 07 January 2018 21:19:07(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: CCS800KrokHunter3 Go to Quoted Post
Hello friends,

Here is another price database and catalog to get inspiration from...

https://www.imarklin.com...detail.php?&waarde=6

The prices seem to be fairly accurate, but unfortunately without displaying auction results it's hard to tell.

Best,

Paul


Thanks for sharing this Paul. Very nice and easy to use website. Definitely worth bookmarking and visiting for an idea of current prices on vintage items. If the historical prices are accurate they do demonstrate the continued downward value trend. Sad

Kurt
Offline HO Collector  
#23 Posted : 18 January 2018 20:51:22(UTC)
HO Collector

United Kingdom   
Joined: 21/02/2016(UTC)
Posts: 195
Location: Just north of London
Kurt

Thanks for your reply and apologies for my late reply. My wife had a car accident, had to look for a new one (not a wife, she is nearly fine), then my car died and the search had to be restarted, so life were very busy.

Thanks again.
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Offline kamstutz  
#24 Posted : 18 January 2018 21:27:39(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: HO Collector Go to Quoted Post
Kurt

Thanks for your reply and apologies for my late reply. My wife had a car accident, had to look for a new one (not a wife, she is nearly fine), then my car died and the search had to be restarted, so life were very busy.

Thanks again.


No problem. BigGrin Based on collector feedback there have been lots of updates, bug fixes, new features and demo videos on the MRC Wiki site since my last post. Stay tuned for a detailed report coming soon.
Offline kamstutz  
#25 Posted : 20 January 2018 06:42:22(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Model Railroad Collector Wiki - Update #1 - January 19, 2018
==========================================================================

The MRC Wiki project continues to evolve as comments and suggestions have been submitted by those collectors actively testing the application and building out their collections.

A few highlights of recent changes include:

  • Unknown production years - Added in support for unknown manufacturer's production start and end years. (Before the update these dates were required)

  • Image Uploader - File uploader for images completely rebuilt (original was buggy)

  • Collection image thumbnail selector - Now collectors can associate any custom image they upload to the Directory to the corresponding item in their collection.

  • "Sticky" collection configuration settings - Custom views of collections including columns selected for viewing, custom search parameters, sorting and page length are now saved between sessions. It is no longer necessary to reset these controls each time you return to your collection.

  • Floating menu buttons - The menu button bar now "floats" above the list of collection items. No longer is it necessary to highlight a collection item for editing and then scroll all the way up to the top of the page to click on the Edit button - it is always in plain sight now.

  • Storage of part numbers - It is now possible to register common part numbers together with the details of items in the Directory database. These parts include traction tires, pickup shoes, pantographs, bulbs, brushes, front and rear couplers.

  • Boxed set contents - A new field has been added so that it will be possible to list the individual items in a boxed set (Set Contents)

  • Functions - A new field has been added to allow storage of digital and analog functions of the item (whistles and bells)

  • International currency support (Previously announced) - All international currencies now supported. Apologies to all those collectors in countries whose currencies were previously absent. As a side note - All personal collection fields that pertain to values in any currency are 100% optional to use. Collectors are NOT REQUIRED (nor have they ever been required) to enter any costs or appraised values into the Wiki.


Some interesting statistics

  • Since launch 3 weeks ago there have been 115 new items added to the public Wiki Directory - contributions from 9 different collectors (many thanks for your donations)

  • The smallest collection has 1 item in it (obviously a test item) and the largest collection (not including my own) has over 200 items. 3 collections have over 50 items.

  • More than 200 new images have been added to the public photo gallery

  • There are 82 registered collectors representing 14 different countries.



News

  • Talks are underway with one well known Marklin collector for a possible information share that would be extremely useful for collectors (purposely vague). Flapper More information as the project progresses...

  • Another prominent Marklin collector with past IT experience has donated time to help suggest and test new features before they are released to the public. More "eyeballs" Woot on the project equates to a better quality experience for all those using the Wiki.


Thanks again for helping to make the MRC Wiki project grow and prosper. The project is not a commercial endeavor and all improvements and work are donated by community members.
If you have already registered, please experiment with a collection and provide constructive comments and or criticism to help improve the application. If you have not registered why not register and see what we have done ?

Happy collecting ThumpUp

Kurt Amstutz

www.ModelRailroadCollector.wiki
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Offline White Buffalo  
#26 Posted : 20 January 2018 20:33:26(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
besten Dank Kurt!,

I added some more Lokomotive to my collection this morning. It went much quicker this time and the improvements your made sure made a nice difference to me.
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Offline White Buffalo  
#27 Posted : 21 January 2018 17:59:06(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
Kurt,

I added a few more Lokomotive to my collection this weekend. After watching the you tube video it didn't take much time at all to add my items into "my collection". The changes you have made are nice improvements and the software seems to be much more user friendly after getting used to using it. I like being able to add my own photos to my collection so I can easily recognize the items in my collection. This is much better than using yellow sticky notes and constantly referring to Catalogs.

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Offline White Buffalo  
#28 Posted : 21 January 2018 18:41:52(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
I'm not sure if my appraised values are correct, I just took a guess. but these seem to reflect the sale prices on ebay in the US. These items seem to catch a better price in Europe for some reason.
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Offline kimballthurlow  
#29 Posted : 21 January 2018 21:26:21(UTC)
kimballthurlow

Australia   
Joined: 18/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 6,653
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Hi Kurt,
Thanks for the very capable and practical database.
I am finding it useful for storing my locomotive collection.

Thanks again, - will keep in touch if I find issues.

Kimball
HO Scale - Märklin (ep II-III and VI, C Track, digital) - 2 rail HO (Queensland Australia, UK, USA) - 3 rail OO (English Hornby Dublo) - old clockwork O gauge - Live Steam 90mm (3.1/2 inch) gauge.
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Offline kamstutz  
#30 Posted : 02 March 2018 22:00:37(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Model Railroad Collector Wiki - Update #2 – March 2, 2018

==========================================================================

Quite a number of improvements have been added to the MRC Wiki since the last update on January 19th.  Most of the changes during the past 6 weeks have come about as the result of suggestions from users who are actively entering their collection items and report bugs or make recommendations on streamlining the process of collection building.


What’s New - A summary of recent changes:

NEW – UPC field for items - Added in an extra field to allow the registration of a product’s UPC number.  After entry of this reference number collectors will be able to look up an item by its manufacturer’s product code. Thanks to Rick Sinclair for this suggestion.

BUG FIX – Cannot drag collection menu button bar on mobile devices – In addition to desktop computers, the collections menu bar now functions on both tablet and phone devices.

NEW - Image Uploader added to Edit Product form – Now it is possible to upload product images directly from the image edit forms.

NEW - Quantity field for collection items – A new field has been added to support the cataloging of multiples of the same item (duplicates) without requiring a separate entry for each item.  An example could be track pieces, decoders, transformers, or scenery pieces where typically you would own duplicates, each of which would not require a separate entry in one’s collection. Thanks to Will French for this suggestion.

BUG FIX – Cannot delete collection item – Fixed a bug preventing the deletion of an item in a collection.

BUG FIX – Cannot sort on manufacturer – Fixed a bug preventing the ability to sort the collection list on manufacturer.

NEW - Add new manufacturer – Collectors can now add a new manufacturer to the product Directory database if it does not already exist.

NEW - Complete overhaul of Categories – The original list of categories proved to be limited and did not support popular groups that collectors require for a complete inventory.  New categories and subcategories for scenery items, model structures (buildings), and electrical items now allow granular categorization of common items.  Thanks to Dale Schultz for his suggestions and contributions.

CHANGED – Weight field – Not sure where I got the idea that a collector wanted to track the weight of an item in his/her collection, but since this field was never used it has been removed.

NEW - Add field “For Sale item is Public?” – In preparation for the launching of the “Wiki Marketplace” a field has been added to the collection item form to allow granular control of whether or not to publicly display the item in the For Sale list. Thanks to Javier Escribano for suggestions here.

NEW - Category drill down pie chart – The product Directory now has an interactive drill down pie chart showing the live composition of model railroad categories that make up the public railroad database.  (Soon to be released for user collections!) See below for sample chart.

MRRCatChart.jpg


Roadmap

  • Plans are underway for the rollout of the previously mentioned Wiki Marketplace – a free service where Wiki users may opt to publish items in their collection marked as “For Sale”. Potential buyers or interested parties may choose to contact the seller for more information.  This service will be FREE to all registered users of the Wiki.  Also currently under study are ways to “marry” a user’s Want List with items currently “For Sale”  We will refer to this “matchmaking” service as “Railroad Dating” (Thanks to Dimitris Grimanis for coining the term)


  • We will be adding additional graph elements similar to the pie chart of categories added to the Directory this past month.  These charts will provide alternative views of your collection to assist in creating train consists and help guide the collector to identify items needed or duplicates that may be sold or traded.


  • Thanks to the contributions from one of our collectors we are preparing for a bulk import of newer Maerklin items.  One complaint that we have received is that the database Directory is heavily biased towards pre 1996 produced items.  This has been pointed out as the original data import did not include any newer items.   While nothing is preventing a collector from adding missing items to the public database (this is encouraged to help build the database and the community participation), bulk data imports can jump start a collector with many newer items – especially digital ones.  Should you have any lists from other European or American manufacturers please consider contribution to the project.


  • I continue to maintain the German language side of the Wiki up to date – most often with the help of native Germans that aid with translations.  See here for the Directory page. http://www.modelrailroadcollector.wiki/de-de/Modellbahn-Verzeichnis I do this as I believe that contributions from my German collector friends are absolutely necessary for a website that contains German trains.  I have not, however, received any feedback from native German speakers as to the usefulness of the work done with all the translations and menu user interfaces.  If you are German, or understand German I would appreciate any comments that you might have to improve the German language pages.  It does take time to do all of the features in both languages so I would just like to know if the effort continues to be worth the investment of time.



If you have created a collection, but have not added many items then I encourage you to add a few new items every day and build up an inventory of your collection.  We have one collector that has added over 600 items at the moment, including many scenery and electrical items.  Contribute to the public database while creating your collection and help the project continue to grow.

If you have not yet registered then please do so and have a look at what is possible with the MRC Wiki project.  You might be surprised at the ease, flexibility and power of the application.

Remember that you can export your collection to your local computer at any time so your work does not have to ONLY live in the cloud…

Ping me with any questions and or comments.


Happy collecting – ThumpUp


Kurt Amstutz

www.ModelRailroadCollector.wiki
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Offline kamstutz  
#31 Posted : 07 April 2018 17:02:10(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Model Railroad Collector Wiki - Update #3 – April 7, 2018

==========================================================================

Since the last report in March I have just rolled out a couple of new features that will be of use to collectors.

The first major announcement is the launching of the MRC Wiki Marketplace. The "Marketplace" http://www.modelrailroadcollector.wiki/en-us/Marketplace is a publicly accessible list of model railroad locomotives, wagons and accessories that have been flagged as "FOR SALE" by their respective collection owners. You are now able to list items from your private collection(s) to a public facing list from which potential and interested buyers may contact you and negotiate a deal. The Wiki will send the name and email address of the buyer, along with a message to you for follow up. This is a FREE service available to all registered users of the Model Railroad Collector Wiki. I have prepared a short video on the Wiki YouTube channel demonstrating how to use the Marketplace.

https://youtu.be/_JoYriUhCkc




The second announcement for this release is the creation of a new analytics pie graph which allows the collector to view his entire collection percentage by "Railway company". The new graph is visible when viewing collection "Analytics". If you have a collection in the Wiki then please check out this feature and see how useful it is for both building trains from existing collection items and discovering what might need to be added to your collection.

MRCWikiCollectionRailwaysChart.jpg

If you have not yet checked out the MRC Wiki then please do so and have a look at what is possible with collections. All you need is an email address and name to register.

I continue to receive excellent suggestions from those collectors already using the Wiki and the roadmap for the future continues to grow based on their feedback.

Ping me with any questions and or comments.


Happy collecting – ThumpUp


Kurt Amstutz

www.ModelRailroadCollector.wiki
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Offline kamstutz  
#32 Posted : 10 August 2018 21:10:57(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Model Railroad Collector Wiki - Update #4 - August 10, 2018

Since the last report in April there has been a number of noteworthy updates that I'd like to report with regards to the Model Railroad Collector Wiki project.

  • New manufacturers - Recently we've had a number of new item contributions to the MRC Directory (train database) from manufacturers other than Maerklin. While the Wiki Directory continues to grow with collector contributions from their Maerklin collections, we have seen new European manufacturer items added this past couple of weeks. These include Bemo, Brawa, Electrotren, HAG, Herpa, Hobbytrain, Jouef, L.S. Models, Liliput, Piko, Roco, Rowa, and Sachsen Modelle. While the quantity of items from these manufacturers is (at the moment) small, their inclusion clearly indicates the diversified tastes of those collectors using the Wiki to manage their collection, and how the Wiki can accommodate any item from any manufacturer.

  • Manufacturer icon logos have been augmented and updated (now even easier to filter, sort, and create ad-hoc reports that include manufacturer banner logos)

  • Our first non H0 scale items have recently been added ("Z" and "H0m" scale)

  • Thanks to several new collectors for photo uploads to the Wiki photo galleries with a special shoutout to an excellent photo set upload of "beer" wagon freight cars.

  • Want Lists are now editable - Add notes, thumbnail icons, sourcing (dealer) information etc. to Want Lists, just like you can do with regular collections.

  • The quantity of locomotives in the Wiki database has passed the 1,600 milestone. Thanks for all your contributions!

  • Numerous small bug fixes


The Model Railroad Collector Wiki future roadmap plans to continue to focus on improving the quality of existing items in the database, adding new items, and augmenting the item photo galleries with more images from both scale models and prototypes. I also plan on spending more time helping new collectors (that want to try out the Wiki project) getting started to assure that they have a good user experience and use best practices. To this end I encourage any new (or existing) users to reach out to me for answers to any questions that might pop up.

Happy collecting.ThumpUp



Kurt Amstutz

www.ModelRailroadCollector.wiki
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Offline White Buffalo  
#33 Posted : 10 August 2018 22:58:30(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
Thanks for the update Kurt. I'm slowly but surely adding more items to my collection......

It is sure nice to go online and view my items instead of struggling with my old Xcel Spreadsheet! BigGrin
Offline White Buffalo  
#34 Posted : 06 September 2018 02:13:14(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
I finally got around to play with the new upgrades to the software. I like the fixed menu bar (column visibility, edit, delete, etc....) instead of the "floating bar" that was there previously. I have never messed with the filters on the bottom of the page. It is very useful - now that I know it exists - LOL BigGrin

Instead of scrolling through looking for something, I can just set the filter for Steam Locomotives or F800's and my search results are there.

hmmm - I am going to start using the Maintenance log, see if that might save me some time compared to my previous method. Look through my notebook, remove the Lok shell, etc.......ThumpUp

nice improvements Kurt - thank you for all of your efforts!

Offline White Buffalo  
#35 Posted : 06 September 2018 02:47:35(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
I have run into one problem though, I must be doing something wrong with the filters at the bottom of the page. A can't seem to get some of the items to appear after clearing all the filters - any suggestions? Just posting this up in case someone else might have the same situation or a solution.....Confused
Offline White Buffalo  
#36 Posted : 06 September 2018 03:12:19(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
ok, after I went back into the filters and selected a different item for the filter then went back to no filter (blank option) she all popped back up......
Offline kamstutz  
#37 Posted : 06 September 2018 05:12:58(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: White Buffalo Go to Quoted Post
I have run into one problem though, I must be doing something wrong with the filters at the bottom of the page. A can't seem to get some of the items to appear after clearing all the filters - any suggestions? Just posting this up in case someone else might have the same situation or a solution.....Confused


Hello Rich,

Thanks for catching this and pointing out the issue. While you did find a workaround, the steps are not really intuitive so....

Since the filters and search functions in both the Wiki Directory (main database) and your Collection(s) can be set in a myriad of ways you can sometimes forget which ones are set and or hidden. To simplify the removal of searches and filters I have added another option in the list menu called "Reset Filter(s)". At any time you may click on this button and all searches, filters and sorts will be removed and the table list of items will be restored to its default settings. See the screen shot below demonstrating where you may find the reset option in the menu bar.

MRCWikiFilterReset.jpg

Let me know if this resolves the problem.

Kurt

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Offline White Buffalo  
#38 Posted : 06 September 2018 05:56:07(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
IT worked just as you said Kurt, vielen Dank!
Offline kamstutz  
#39 Posted : 26 October 2018 18:43:10(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Model Railroad Collector Wiki - Update #5 - October 26, 2018
=============================================================

Hello Maerklin collectors! MRC Wiki users will find several new advancements to the project since our last update news in August. Below is a list of the major updates:

  • Shared Collections ! - Wiki users now have the ability to privately share any collection with any other Wiki user. This feature is useful for private sharing of Want Lists or For Sale lists with other collector friends. The only requirement is that the collector that you wish to share with is also registered on the Wiki. Besides allowing the collector to share any collection this feature also allows for choosing which columns of collection data you wish to share. You may, for example, choose to hide the costs and or appraised values of those items in the collections you share. Shared collections can only be edited by the collection owner (not the collector with whom it is shared). Shared collections are dynamic - in other words any changes, additions or removals of items from collections that are shared are immediately visable to those users with which the collection is shared. There is no need to "Re-Share" a collection if changes are made.

    CollectionSharing01.pngCollectionSharing02.png

  • Moving items between collections - Added functionality to easily move an item from one collection to another. For example you can now move an item in one's Want List to one's Collection WITHOUT deleting it from the Want List and then having to recreate it in the Collection.

  • Railway Company helper - The Railway company dropdown selector list now displays the full railway company name in addition to the railway company abbreviation. Helps avoid confusion when a collector is not certain what railway the abbreviation represents.

    RailwayCompanies.png

  • Hide export buttons - Added feature to hide all export buttons in collections. The menu button bar is now less cluttered when the Copying, Printing and Export to Excel buttons are hidden. Display these buttons now only when needed for moving data out of the Wiki and on to your local computer or mobile device.

  • 'Sticky" menu bar - Menu bars are now "sticky". They stay in place at the top of the screen when you scroll to the bottom of a product or collection list. Avoids having to scroll all the way to the top of a list to see which column is which.

  • Add new motor types "on the fly" - When adding a new item to the public database a collector can now add/create a new motor type on the fly. Previously you were forced to select from a predetermined list of motor types.

  • Digital decoder address - New field added to collection item form to allow a collector to register the address of a digitally controlled item. Store the digital address of your modern locomotives/other digital accessories in an easy to visualize location.

  • Bug fixes - Numerous small bugs fixed and rendering inconsistencies resolved.


The Wiki database in numbers (quantity of items per category) 👀 as of 26-Oct-2018

Boxed Sets-----------------246
Electrical Accessories - 276
Freight Wagons ------- 2,921
Locomotives ----------- 1,692
Passenger Cars ------- 1,416
Printed material --------- 306
Scenic items --------------- 79
Special Wagons ----------- 88
Structures ----------------- 154


For those collectors that have "new" Marklin items the good news is that the 2018 items are starting to show up in the Wiki. Thanks for all your contributions!

Call for Contributors - Are you knowledgeable about a certain Maerklin model, prototype or class? Why not contribute your knowledge to the M community and create or update the record for that/those items in the Wiki database? Your help will be seen and used by other collectors and helps promote our hobby. Remember that ALL contributions to the MRC Wiki project are freely shared and can be exported at any time so any information or images added to the project can be extracted.

If you are not using the Wiki yet, create an account and have a look at what it can do. Need help getting started? Just drop me a note and I'll point you in the right direction.

Happy collecting!

Kurt

https://www.modelRailroadCollector.wiki

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Offline CCS800KrokHunter3  
#40 Posted : 26 October 2018 19:09:08(UTC)
CCS800KrokHunter3

United States   
Joined: 03/04/2007(UTC)
Posts: 1,605
Hi Kurt,

Wow you have been busy great work! Looking forward to checking out the updates ...

Paul
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Offline White Buffalo  
#41 Posted : 01 November 2018 13:47:13(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
same here Paul, look forward to checking out the new options once I get a day off from helping with harvest. Thank you Kurt for doing this.. I am not a programmer - only a user. But I am sure this took a lot of time and effort. I have about 75% of my items in the Wiki. It really helps me a lot. especially the pics in my collections. I no longer have to look at a spreadsheet or list and go hunt through boxes. It really helped me organize my items and find them!

best regards,

Rich
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Offline White Buffalo  
#42 Posted : 06 November 2018 04:14:39(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
I think I'm getting the hang of it now. I can easily navigate between my collections and I like being able to print it out with pics so I can easily find the item I am looking for or trying to remember.
Offline White Buffalo  
#43 Posted : 28 November 2018 18:44:26(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
Well, it has been a while since my last post. Haven’t had much time lately. Viel zu viel zu tun....

But I did get some time to add a few more of my items into my collection. The database is really been built up lately with everyone’s input. I found all of my items (4 out of 5) and only needed to input one. And that only took about 5 minutes to do.

I like being able to print out a list of items with pictures so I do not need to go off of memory.
When I get some time this weekend I’ll grab some beer and add a few items to the marketplace for sale or trade. Time to clean up and pass on those things I probably will not use.

Thanks again Kurt and all the others that put this database & collection together. I actually find myself referring to it more often than my Koll’s Katalog since all the info is right there when you type in the item number. But it’s always nice to page through the Katalog......
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Offline kamstutz  
#44 Posted : 22 December 2018 04:52:21(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Model Railroad Collector Wiki - Update #6 - December 22, 2018
==============================================================

Happy holiday wishes to all of my old and new Maerklin collector friends. Today, thanks to all of you, the Model Railroad Collector Wiki celebrates it's first birthday after having launched on December 22, 2017. During this past year I have received dozens of helpful suggestions, compliments (and criticism) about the application and have tried to make it better for all of those collectors that are interested in an online tool to manage their collections. If you haven't been following the progress of the Wiki there is a detailed list of all of the changes, bug fixes and features implemented since launch on the "What's New" page (click here)

Since the last report in October I have helped a dozen new collectors get started and worked on improving the quality and quantity of items in the Wiki database. As expected most (>95%) of the items added to the Wiki this past year have been our beloved Maerklin (including items from the current 2018 product line), but the Wiki has seen new items added from other European manufacturers and even a few items from America (Lionel). The diversity of brands of model trains that we collect is indeed vast.

NEWS: The main new feature added since our last report is the addition of a What's New cards module. It can be seen in action on the Wiki homepage:

English Version OR German Version


This list of flipping cards shows what new items have been added to the Wiki (the most recent additions appear at the top of the list). If you click on a card (or tap when using a mobile phone or tablet) the card will flip over and show additional prototype and version information about the item. Additionally there is a search box that you can use to filter the results list of cards by a word or phrase. The list automatically updates when new items are added so check back every so often and see what collectors are adding to the Wiki database. Here is a screen shot of what the new card module looks like.


WhatsNewCardModule.jpg

While we are in the season of giving... A good friend of mine - Paul Deardorff of MarklinStop.com, and regular to this forum (CCS800KrokHunter3), has recently launched a wiki that covers unique aspects of rare vintage MRR collectibles such as the HR 700 / R 700, SLR 700, TW 800 and SK 800 to name a few. He has posted a number of rare images and detailed descriptions to be appreciated. Paul describes it as a "living book exploring Marklin 00 from 1935-1955". Contact Paul for more information or request access to this site here marklinstop.pbworks.com. Definitely worth a look if you have interest in the highly collectible early pre/post-war items.



The Model Railroad Collector Wiki database in numbers (quantity of items per category showing increase from last report) 👀 as of 22-Dec-2018


Boxed Sets-----------------246 ---->290
Electrical Accessories - 276 ---->279
Freight Wagons ------- 2,921 -->2,929
Locomotives ----------- 1,692 -->1,729
Passenger Cars ------- 1,416 -->1,421
Printed material --------- 306 ---->370
Scenic items --------------- 79
Special Wagons ----------- 88 ----->92
Structures ---------------- 154 ----->155

If you are not using the Wiki yet, please have a look at it during the holidays to see what it might be capable of doing for maintaining control of your own collection. As a collector myself I have tried to incorporate features that I find useful for managing my collection and I hope that you will find it useful too. I can help you get started if you get stuck or have a question - Just drop me a note and I'll show you what you need to do. Even if you don't want to manage your collection with the Wiki why not contribute an item or two to the public Wiki database?

As a reminder all data in the Wiki can be exported (to an Excel spreadsheet for example) so any contributions you make can be exported for use offline at any time.

Happy holidays and happy collecting!

Kurt

https://www.modelRailroadCollector.wiki
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Offline White Buffalo  
#45 Posted : 29 January 2019 06:53:28(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
well, one of the nice things I have experienced lately is that most of the items I go to add to my collection are already in the Wiki. In the past I have added items in, which is not a big deal. I believe if I am going to use this free site I might as well be active and add some items. Do my part. But now it is quicker and easier to add items into my collection since most of them are in the database.

It sure has come a long way over the last year I have been using it.

Thanks again for all the hard work & time you put into it Kurt. I really like it.
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Offline White Buffalo  
#46 Posted : 31 January 2019 23:18:06(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
one question,

If someone posts something for sale in the marketplace, do you think it would be nice to have a little flag or notification that 1,2 or 3 items were added to the marketplace?
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Offline kamstutz  
#47 Posted : 03 February 2019 03:50:00(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: White Buffalo Go to Quoted Post
one question,

If someone posts something for sale in the marketplace, do you think it would be nice to have a little flag or notification that 1,2 or 3 items were added to the marketplace?


Hello Richard. Thanks for your comments. I'm pleased that you are enjoying the Wiki and have taken time to provide another suggestion with regards to the Wiki Marketplace.

The Marketplace, for those that don't know about this recently added feature, allows collectors with items registered in their Wiki collections to easily mark selected items to appear in the public facing FOR SALE list. Once in the list any potential buyer can send a private email to the seller to initiate negotiations for a sale. The Wiki does not take a cut or percentage of any realized sale, rather it just "marries" the buyer and seller with the hopes of assisting them both.

Here is a short video recapping how the Wiki Marketplace works.


With regards to your specific suggestion I could probably put a feature on the Wiki homepage and call it "What's new in the Marketplace" to visually provide a quick reminder of the items recently offered for sale. Thanks for the good idea and I'll put this on my ToDo list.

Kurt
Offline White Buffalo  
#48 Posted : 22 February 2019 02:12:50(UTC)
White Buffalo

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2016(UTC)
Posts: 414
Location: South Dakota
anybody try this eBay search tab under the Model Train Directory? I just started playing around with it. The first 2 times I used it I figured out I was not being patient enough Confused . I needed to give the internet and Wiki time to search worldwide for the item I was looking for BigGrin . What do you think?

========================================


Wiki eBay search
Offline kamstutz  
#49 Posted : 22 February 2019 03:15:29(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by: White Buffalo Go to Quoted Post
anybody try this eBay search tab under the Model Train Directory? I just started playing around with it. The first 2 times I used it I figured out I was not being patient enough Confused . I needed to give the internet and Wiki time to search worldwide for the item I was looking for BigGrin . What do you think?

========================================

Very observant Rich. BigGrin I haven't announced this new feature yet. Full explanation of new eBay integration due out tomorrow in a forum post here. Stay tuned... ThumpUp

Kurt

Offline kamstutz  
#50 Posted : 22 February 2019 16:24:15(UTC)
kamstutz

United States   
Joined: 27/03/2015(UTC)
Posts: 192
Location: Orlando, FL
Model Railroad Collector Wiki - Update #7 - February 22, 2019
=====================================================================

eBay Search - eBay continues to be the auction website of choice for most collectors of second hand trains and accessories and the Model Railroad Collector Wiki
is pleased to announce support for eBay searches without leaving your Wiki collection(s) or the Model Train Directory.

So how does it work? Confused

Simply select an item in one of your collections or in the MRC Directory and the menu bar button entitled "eBay Search" will become enabled.

EbaySearch01.jpg

Clicking on this button will open a new window showing the flags for all those countries in which eBay operates their auction web platform. The MRC Wiki is proud to
offer collectors a feature not available on eBay - the ability to search ALL eBAY websites WORLDWIDE. Select either the globe icon to initiate a worldwide search
OR select a specific country flag to only search that country's listings. If you are unsure which flag matches which country you can hover over the flag and the name
of the country will appear in a pop-up helper tool tip window.

EbaySearch02.jpg

Once you select the country that you wish to search the MRC Wiki will open up a new table listing all of those eBay items currently offered for auction or fixed price sales.

EbaySearch03.jpg

As with all Wiki tabular data the eBay results may be filtered (use the search box), or sorted (click on the column header). More results, if available, may be seen by using
the scroll bar on the right side of the table and/or selecting additional pages using the paging links on the bottom of the table. See attached screen shot above for sample
output and the location of the controls.

Specific countries supported for targeted searches include:

  • USA
  • Germany
  • Austria
  • Australia
  • Switzerland
  • Canada (English speaking)
  • Spain
  • France
  • Belgium (French)
  • Canada (French)
  • United Kingdom
  • Hong Kong
  • Ireland
  • India
  • Italy
  • Malasia
  • Netherlands
  • Belgium (Dutch)
  • Phillipines
  • Poland
  • Singapore


A few notes

  • The worldwide search may take 10-15 seconds to aggregate and return the full results from all of the countries above. Be patient for the results to appear.
  • Worldwide results include many duplicates since often times sellers market worldwide. Therefore their items may appear multiple times from different countries and with different currencies.
  • Initial sorting of worldwide results is by the item's description so it is easy to identify duplicates from the same sellers
  • Clicking on the result set description will open a new window in your browser with the eBay auction item details.
  • The searching algorithm sends the item manufacturer name and the article number to eBay. eBay then searches BOTH THE TITLE AND THE FULL DESCRIPTION in the listing and returns matches
    from auctions and fixed price items that include the manufacturer name and article number back to the Wiki for display.
  • You will be surprised at some of the results that come back from eBay. OhMyGod


Full disclosure - eBay rewards those affiliates that promote their items for sale on third party websites such as the Wiki. The Model Railroad Collector Wiki has signed up for this affiliate program and
should any eBay bid or "Buy it Now" winning auction originate from the "Wiki eBay Search" eBay will compensate the integrator (myself) with a small percentage of their profit from the sale.
This compensation is transparent to the bidder and he or she will not pay anything in addition to the winning bid.

If you buy or browse eBay items often and would like to help support the Wiki project (aside from contributing to the public database) then please consider searching for an item from the Wiki eBay search
and immediately placing a bid on an item of interest. Thanks.

==================================

I expect that the Worldwide eBay search functionality will evolve during the next couple of months as collectors provide useful comments and criticism. I have already received comments suggesting to filter
out duplicate entries and or make the searches more relevant to the specific item being searched. Please have a look at this new feature and provide comments in this thread.

NOTE: Usage does require registration on the Wiki so if you are not registered then sign up and check it out.

Happy collecting.

Kurt
Model Railroad Collector Wiki

https://www.modelRailroadCollector.wiki
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