What would you like to see

[grumpy]

For some of you newer members you may not be aware of how we came to be here on AK here is a bit of history. Back some time ago we all hung out at various forums. Most of the long time members here hung out at places like AA or AU. Well nearly 1 1/2 years ago AK was formed by Kamakiri as a place for a bunch of us Vintage nuts to hang out minus some of the other stuff that came along with other sites. In all the time we have been here we have made so many new friends and have all learned so much. Its been great to see how systems have progressed over time and we have even got to hear about many new additions to families.


As I am sure most of you are aware Ak is going through some changes. We have updated our server to handle considerably more traffic and we felt it was time for a face lift as well as many other changes. Now if most of you guys are like me you don't take well to changes. Let me tell ya we think that you guys will love the new features and look of the site. I sure do

What we would like to know is what you the members would like to see added/removed to AK ( good or bad ) Don't be afraid to speak you mind. Maybe you have an Idea for a new forum just let us know. Your voices count so lets her from ya all.

Grumpy

[omer]

A car audio forum. :D

[Haoleb]

This is a kina out there idea. and if it were to come true, it would take alot of work... but...

A library on basic repair info. Like say diagnostics tutorials, If this happens on this unit than this is probbly the cause. Know what i mean?

Obviosly something like this would take alot of typing and work, but could prove to be quite valuable. And with people like echowars,rob,etc etc we could really make it happen.

Just a thought.

[VinylHanger]

I was also thinking a DIY/repair type forum. Though I realize that it would take someone with a lot of time to moderate it as they would need to keep tabs on the info, in case someone puts out a bit of....unverified information.

[Dave918]

I was thinking the other day that it would be nice to include a sound clip when posting a music review. Sure would help to give everyone a feel for the LP or CD. I realize that doing something like that would probably place to much overhead on the site and even a 30sec. clip would probably still piss off the industry. But maybe there could be a rule that you could only upload a single 30sec. MP3 clip per review at a low to med resolution. Anyway, just a thought.

-Dave

[Wired]

An online library of user and service manuals would be nice. I'm sure that people would not mind scaning and uploading manuals to the site. It would be a very usefull resource.

[Don C]

A place specificaly to upload or browse vintage brochures would be nice. Somethging like hifilit, but more open to different eras. I have a few things I could contribute. It would be a bandwidth hog.

[merrylander]

Well I have some manuals and a scanner. As to tutorials on how to approach dead vintage, while I don't think that I am in anything like Echo's class, I do write for a living (even if my posts don't always reflect it - sometimes the left hand gets ahead of the right hand) Would be happy to contribute what I can.

Rob

I am Dyslexic of Borg - your a** will be laminated (A sig line I saw on the net somewhere)

[Haoleb]

The uploading manuals sounds great. The only problem with that though is some people might print it out, make copies and start selling them on ebay :(

[grumpy]

We have talked about a Lit area before. Would be a lot of work but it is possible. I think the biggest problem that arose last time around was Theft of the manuals by unscrupulous Ebayers and such. We also talked about water marking them and a few other safe guards. You guys do know that we already have a fair amount of Pioneer Brochures in the gallery already don't ya ? I have more then a few to contribute myself.

Grumpy

[House de Kris]

Thanks Grumpy for asking for our opinions. I'll share, and I'll speak my mind. I think the forums are just fine. But, the gallery just bugs me. In the "Main" category we have "The Tube Gallery" to 'show us your tubed gear', the "DIY" for 'do it yourself audio', and "Bottleheads Gallery" for 'DIY/Kits from Bottlehead Corp.'. With these three, I fail to see the reason for the Bottleheads Gallery. If it is DIY, then put it into the DIY section. Or, if we feel we need a gallery for just Bottlehead stuff, put it into the "Manufacturers Library" catagory.

But wait, there's more. In the "Equipment Library" catagory, there is yet another "Tube Gallery". Now there are two galleries for tube stuff. More than likely, it all comes down to my not being able to differentiate between the intents of the "Main" catagory and the "Equipment Library" catagory.

With so many explicitly tube oriented galleries, does anyone else see a need for a "Solid State Gallery" just for parity? Oh wait, that's not my point. Basically, why "The Tube Gallery" AND "Tube Gallery"? Also, why is "Bottleheads Gallery" under "Main"?

[gonefishin]

House de Kris...as for the two tube galleries...it is a little confusing. The main category is for equipment that you own (and want to show off)...and the "Equipment Library" category is for stuff you may just like. I have been thinking about making a few minor changes to the gallery categories. One such change would be a section for your components. You could still post the pic of your system in the members systems cat...but you would also post various shots of your components in the "my components" gallery. I was also thinking of possibly making some other changes...You certainly bring up a good point.

After the changes are made...please be sure to offer any other advice or comments.

As for the Bottlehead section...that was made to appeal to a specific group...much like the Pioneer or Marantz...etc.

thanks!

[mech986]

Now that you asked, there is one thing I'd like to see which is related to the service manual type stuff but perhaps not so extensive and bandwith hogging.

I'd like to see a service area where only a selected portion of the service manual is posted - the primary part would be how and where to adjust the DC offsets and set the bias on amps and amp sections. This would be a great first step in trouble shooting and for many of us with functional amps, could assure us that, as a first pass, the basic functions are working OK. So instructions could either be typed in or scan in the 1 or 2 pages that are relevent. Of course, any photo or drawing of the specific test points and trim pots should be included.

My bet is that a lot of us have service manuals for various components that others would like a specific part of. Usually, scanning an entire manual is very time consuming and lengthy.

As for more complex troubleshooting, my guess is the tuner alignment instructions would be next, although I'll bet many of us don't have the right equipment to do a proper job.

Once you get into more involved troubleshooting that need full schematics, parts lists, and board layouts, then the whole service manual is needed.

I've got a few manuals where the specific info could be ripped from.

Regards,

Bart

[DingusBoy]

On a more Whsimsical note, It'd be nice to have something along the lines of the shout feature for "today's tunes" threads.

I love seeing what music others are enjoying on their system.

[merrylander]

The comments have been very good, and yes, unscrupulous folk could copy and sell manuals. So here is another thought, taking the comments about simple needs like DC offsets, etc.

I am the family historian, something like 10,000 name in our database so far. Part of this is that my e-mail is posted in a few genealogical research forums, stating what data I have and what lookups I would be willing to perform.

So, to copy this idea we could post a list on service manuals we each possess (mine are mainly Yamaha as you might imagine) and the fellow AK'ers with a unit to restore, or simply assure themselves that all is adjusted to spec, could PM whoever to get the data.

Good idea? Bad idea?

Rob

[THOR]

My feet when I am standing up :(

[omer]

a car audio forum! :D :huge: :stupid: :bigok: :nutz: :naughty: :thmbsp: :hdphones: :yes:

[grumpy]

Omer

I would not hold my breath on a car audio forum just yet :p:

[THOR]

I think a car audio forum would be fine, we just boot any annoying teeny boppers that come in ;)

[WhiteSE]

Check out www.carsound.com

I hang out there a lot, because most of the members are SQ oriented, and many industry guys like from JL Audio, Adire audio, and others contribute there quite a bit....

Many smart people there! not including me of course...

Maybe some of them can hang out here and offer good advice/

[gonefishin]

WhiteSE...guys...how about throwing them on our link page. Even if we don't have a car audio forum...it would be good ta know of a decent one...that way when someone asks a question we could answer best we can, but we could also provide them with a link to a "whiteSE" approved forum. ;)


whatcha's think?

[WhiteSE]

The links idea is a good one...

this link is better than the other one i included...Carsound forums (http://www.carsound.com/cgi-bin/UBB_CGI/ultimatebb.cgi)

[heathkit tv]

How about either a test equipment forum where folks can kibitz about how to use or repair same?

Maybe a forum with short histories on the various brands?

I could see some sort of FAQ on any number of topics, with a safety related/what not to do forum leading the list.

Just my overpriced 2 scents.

Anthony

[WhiteSE]

Stripper show???:D :dunno:

[Dave918]

Originally posted by THOR
My feet when I am standing up :(

LOL! You and me both Thor!

[Dave918]

I would really like to see a spell checker on the forums. I'm the world's worst speller (grammer ain't so hot either) and it gets tiring cutting and pasting a post to a word processor to check the spelling. Noticed that they have one over at Steve's Hoffman's site today. Just a suggestion :)

-Dave

[gonefishin]

dave...what I use is iespell (http://www.iespell.com/) for internet explorer. You just highlight the are you want to spell check...then right click...and select check spelling...

worcks fore mee

[Dave918]

Looks good GF, but I tossed IE long ago. My primary platform is a Mac using the Safari browser.

-Dave

[Rob]

Originally posted by Dave918
I would really like to see a spell checker on the forums. I'm the world's worst speller (grammer ain't so hot either) and it gets tiring cutting and pasting a post to a word processor to check the spelling. Noticed that they have one over at Steve's Hoffman's site today. Just a suggestion :)

-Dave

Dave,

Ever heard of a dictionary? Just keep it by the computer. They used to make these out of trees. Keeps the brain cells sharper too than relying on a spell checker.

The trouble with instant gratification is for most folks nowadaze it isn't fast enough!

[Dave918]

Yeah I know what a dictionary is Rob, yes I own one, and yes I even use it from time to time.

-Dave

[grumpy]

dictionary ?????????


OH YEAH it was that big book that I used to lite my smokes with :p:

[heathkit tv]

I use mine to shim up a wonky leg on a table, also use that muslim koran (quran?) as substitute TP.

Please don't squeeze the koran. Or I'll commit jihad on you infidels! :screwy:

Anthony

[opt80]

Originally posted by Rob
Dave,

Ever heard of a dictionary? Just keep it by the computer. They used to make these out of trees. Keeps the brain cells sharper too than relying on a spell checker.

The trouble with instant gratification is for most folks nowadaze it isn't fast enough!

Rob,didn't you start to read the dictionary but the plot kept changing on you?Didn't you think it was about an AArdvark who ended up in a zoo?

:D

Alan

[heathkit tv]

Did you know that every book ever written or to be written is contained inside the average dictionary? Talk about high storage capacity!

Anthony