New Manual Database is in Progress

[dennismiller55 4,080]

I have asked to be the Manual Database Manager.  I have finally figured out how to add back all the manuals.  With the help of wrf (Wayne) we will get this important site resource back on the site and available to all.  This is a work in progress and you should see manuals added daily.  If you need a specific manual that is not listed please send a PM to Wayne or myself and we will add that one right away.  

 

Our goal is to get what we have posted as soon as possible.  Then we will work on replacing poor copies with new high res copies as they become available.  I already have a large number of new files.  I will also buy original manuals from eBay for those manuals that I don't already have.  

Edited February 4 by dennismiller55

[jeffs 780]

Thanks Dennis!

[Charlie 14,098]

[Sk1Bum 6,355]

[Dennis47 381]

@dennismiller55 and @wrf  thanks for taking this task on...👍 

[Brian_at_HHH 1,214]

Fantastic!   Not sure if I can help anywhere, but if so, ask.  This is one of the most important points of this site - especially the hard to find service manuals.

 

I'm sure you have most, if not all of the manuals that were there, but just in case, I do have some of the manuals ratholed away.  Probably not any that may be missing, but definitely put out the request for anything missing - I'm sure one or more of us have them.

[Nahash5150 6,327]

Finally we're making progress again! I extend my hope that Wayne and Dennis can handle the complication.

 

Just FYI - what we're working on now is an interim format until I can splice in some custom code to use the engine's style formatting and searching power. This interim project will allow us to organize all the changes and updates so that when it comes time to building the real manual pages, it'll look nice and clean and have a shit ton of features like pictures, notes, revisions, search options and even feedback comments. 

[Dadvw 1,348]

9 hours ago, dennismiller55 said:

I will also buy original manuals from eBay for those manuals that I don't already have.  

If you can let me/us know what newer copies are needed and how you want them scanned, I will be glad to scan and share what I have from original copies.

Edited February 5 by Dadvw

[BrianD 374]

Thanks for your work on this guys.  Without these manuals, keeping our old carver gear running would be difficult.  Looking for a manual is what originally led me to the carver site.

[AndrewJohn 2,953]

22 hours ago, dennismiller55 said:

[…]

Our goal is to get what we have posted as soon as possible.  Then we will work on replacing poor copies with new high res copies as they become available.  I already have a large number of new files.  I will also buy original manuals from eBay for those manuals that I don't already have.  

 

Just in case, once you have a list/index going, I can cross-check it with the dozens that I have scanned (from my, and other's libraries) and sent over to @Zumbini, over the years.  I likely have back-ups if they were misplaced in the transition.

 

One thing that the old library had which was quite interesting, was the original "List Price" of various Carver Gear..., while current market resale prices are more challenging, that original price list was a pretty cool data point - I hope we keep.  (not trying to make the project more complex..., but, 😉 )

[wrf 1,745]

Just getting my feet wet on this.  Looks like its going to be a somewhat tedious process.  

 

We are starting to get rolling, so be patient.  Progress will be in fits and starts as we have time available.

 

You are in the unique position of peering in over our shoulders watching things get built.  I suspect we will declare success from time to time on various portions, but until then, be assured that work is ongoing and testing will be done.  One stinking typo and you get no manual or the wrong manual.  Patience.  Hold any bug reports until some level of success had been declared.

 

More later.

[Nahash5150 6,327]

@wrf @dennismiller55 Perhaps appoint an official bug checker? That way, you'll be getting feedback from only one, dependable source.

 

[Dadvw 1,348]

On 2/4/2020 at 10:39 AM, Dennis47 said:

@dennismiller55 and @wrf  thanks for taking this task on...👍 

+1

[B-Man 2,526]

On 2/4/2020 at 10:01 AM, dennismiller55 said:

<Snip>  I will also buy original manuals from eBay for those manuals that I don't already have.  </Snip>

 

Dennis - thanks for everything. This is something that is appreciated by most of the folks who visit / reside here.

 

Please let me know about cost - I am happy to contribute $$ to your manual purchasing effort.

[Will Meyer 226]

Dennis,

 

I've got a DPL-20 that I was playing with.  I saw a Service Manual on eBay. 

Can you tell me if the site has a copy?

 

If so, I'll wait until the manual get posted - I'm in no hurry.

However, if there site doesn't have a copy in the library, I'll pick it up off eBay and donate it to the site.

 

Please let me know.

 

Thanks,

Will

 

Btw...

Like B-Man, I'm willing to donate $ to the manual effort too.

Edited February 7 by Will Meyer

[dennismiller55 4,080]

I looked through all of our collected files and I did not see that manual (either owner or service).  If you do purchase one this site would welcome and appreciate a scanned copy.

[Brian_at_HHH 1,214]

Once you have all the manuals set up, we should come up with a list of missing ones, and have someone coordinate so various of us can acquire and scan them.

 

Like others, I would be willing to buy and scan manuals for the site, or just contribute towards you folks doing it.

 

Thanks, again, for the work on this - it's a really important aspect of TCS!

[Will Meyer 226]

I just purchased the DPL-20 Service Manual off ebay.  Its due to arrive 14FEB.  When it comes in, I'll scan it and send it to you.

[AndrewJohn 2,953]

13 hours ago, Will Meyer said:

I just purchased the DPL-20 Service Manual off ebay.  Its due to arrive 14FEB.  When it comes in, I'll scan it and send it to you.

 

Just a couple suggestions - @dennismiller55 may have additional suggestions.

 

When I was doing scanning, I used scanning software on my Epson scanner, that applied OCR.  That is Optical Character Recognition.

 

Post-processing your scan with OCR, ensures that the resulting scan is "searchable"  … that is to say, you can search on a word, and it will find it's occurrence in the scanned document.

 

Without that post-process, the scans are like scanning a raster image..., and, they are not searchable.  

 

Understandably, the graphics, images and schematics in the manual when OCR is applied, do not turn into words, (although, some really smart OCR software DOES tag annotation in a schematic into text that can be searched, I have found.

 

i think the suggestion here is aligned with @dennismiller55's stated intent to improve the scans as we can.  Many are very poor raster images with low level of legibility.  Although, I have not asked Dennis directly - I believe this is a good idea.

[wrf 1,745]

Dennis and I have achieved something of a milestone with the manuals.  There are now about 200 Carver manuals available here on the site.  They are mostly the same manuals that were available on the old site, but a few have been added or replaced with higher quality scans.

 

Over the coming days we will be posting the new manuals folks have donated over the past few years.  There are quite a few.  We will also be posting the higher quality scans that have been provided.  It remains an ongoing project, so be patient.

 

One we get the tools we need, the Phase Linear and Sunfire material will also be posted.  This will include the elusive Sunfire schematics.

 

Many thanks to the members that have worked over the years to collect, organize and maintain this material.  It represents an incredible body of knowledge as well as many man hours of work.

 

Enjoy the Manuals.....

[Will Meyer 226]

I will see if my Samsung scanner has OCR. When I scanned 2 manuals in January and sent them to Greg they were huge and I was concerned about the size but he was able to work with them.  I'll play with the settings and get this figured out.

 

Another point...

I don't care if I have an original manual, as long as I have an electronic copy.  I'm ok with posting the hardcopy to an archivist and letting them maintain ownership and just keeping a scan. If that would be pefered, just let me know.

 

Btw...  i saw a Service Manual on eBay for the TD-1200/TD-1400 Cassette Player. I have a 1400 and want to get the manual. Can you tell me if the site has a copy?  If not, I'll pick it up and contribute it to the archives.

[Dadvw 1,348]

17 hours ago, Brian_at_HHH said:

Once you have all the manuals set up, we should come up with a list of missing ones, and have someone coordinate so various of us can acquire and scan them.

 

Like others, I would be willing to buy and scan manuals for the site, or just contribute towards you folks doing it.

 

Thanks, again, for the work on this - it's a really important aspect of TCS!

+1

[RPA-1 Man 339]

Thank you Dennis and Wayne.

[dennismiller55 4,080]

2 hours ago, Will Meyer said:

Btw...  i saw a Service Manual on eBay for the TD-1200/TD-1400 Cassette Player. I have a 1400 and want to get the manual. Can you tell me if the site has a copy?  If not, I'll pick it up and contribute it to the archives.

 

 

We do.  And it is one of the new manual scans provided by another manual.  I just added it to the Manual Database.  So you should be able to download it now.

[Brian_at_HHH 1,214]

Folks, I have a small cosmetic request.

 

Looking at the way the manuals display, I find the black on dark grey is often hard to read.  Would it be possible to use a lighter grey to improve the contrast? 

 

 Beyond that, it looks great!