Inventory Control (was Re: "No name" S-100 computer)

From: Frank McConnell <fmc_at_reanimators.org>
Date: Sat Jun 27 21:11:40 1998

Doug Yowza <yowza_at_yowza.com> wrote:
> Well, the DMV seems to have solved this problem -- I can never get my
> license plate stickers off, even after 10+ years :-)

Ha! I got an 8-year stack off mine late last year. Not because
the adhesive let go though, the reflective paint on the plate did!

But while I don't mind sticking that stuff on my license plates (after
all, they're DMV property), I don't think I'd want to use it directly
on artifacts! On storage bins/boxes, bags, and tags would be OK
though.

> And there's always good card stock tags and steel wire.

Good choice, though I've been using the ones with string (vs. wire) to
tag printed-circuit boards and some other things that look
susceptible.

> For the most part, I'm getting by
> now with cardboard boxes and magic markers, but that renders my barcode
> scanners useless, and it means that I usually stop short of writing the
> entire contents on the box (due to laziness).

Y'know, I've thought about barcode tagging a little bit, and I'm not
sure how it would help, besides saving me from keying an object's item
number to find the database record for this thing which I must be able
to at least see, after all I can scan its barcode tag, right?

> > OK, that said, the schema of my database looks something like this
> [...]
>
> Looks good. I'll probably steal this, if you don't mind.

No problem. If you have ideas for improvement feel free to share.

Right now I'm thinking about whether the "notes" field should be split
out into several note/memo fields for notes about relationships with
other items, condition, work needing to be done, and other miscellany.
That I lumped all this together in one note was part lack of knowledge
about how I was going to use the note field in practice, and part
architectural limitation of the in-ROM database software on the
100LX/200LX (which won't let you have more than one note field per
record).

> I'm a portable, wireless, and web zealot. I'll probably run the database
> on one of my home Linuxboxen, which I can talk to via various
> wireless-networked portables. (I have to admit that most of the wireless
> portables are non-classic, but one of them is an early NEC CP/M portable
> with a late 80's AirShare device.) This would free you from the memory
> constraints of your HP200LX. (Did I mention that I have some PCMCIA
> wireless LAN cards available for sale or trade?)

Memory constraints? Don't be fooled by that "2MB RAM" logo above the
screen, this 200LX has a 32MB RAMdisk daughterboard from Times2Tech.
It's like having a turbo PC/XT in the palm of my hand.

I'll give you points for using k00l technology to solve your problem,
but I don't think it'd work for me. Most of my collection is not
stored where I live, and between the storage locations, home, work,
and some of the places I go in pursuit of Stuff, I think it'd be hard
to pull off a "wireless LAN". They just aren't that local, nor are
they line-of-sight in any way, nor are they all inside coverage areas
excepting maybe cellphone coverage.

Not that I care much -- my solution is aimed at answering my
decaying-neuron questions, namely "have I got any of these?", "where
are they?", and "are they so screwed up that I should be looking for
another example?" As it happens it also will work pretty well for
answering "what's in this box?" because I've got the box's ID in the
location field, so can pull up all the records with a given box ID to
get my answer.

Well, it'd work that way if I actually had the inventory *done*.
That's the other part of the problem, I think I'm less than 1/5 there,
and what is done is in several pieces that correspond to various
points in the evolution of this thing. The further I go, the more
I learn.

-Frank McConnell
Received on Sat Jun 27 1998 - 21:11:40 BST