Valentin Galea Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 Hi everybody, I would like to introduce this crazy project of mine I did recently - find records in your shelf with a laser pointer! The main idea is that I organize my shelves based on my Discogs collection and then I find them with a Raspberry Pi pan-tilt laser pointer. I build an manager app and everything! The official Raspberry Pi blog was kind enough to do a write up - find all the info here: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/vinyl-shelf-finder/ (also a reddit with the full setup picture https://redd.it/70muep) The full hardware setup is harder to replicate and it's not always 100% accurate (this wasn't the idea anyway) but the app is quite cool - I use it everyday, especially for the Last.fm integration. Will be happy to answer any question and requests! Oblivions and Shitty Rambo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGhostOfRandySavage Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 (edited) Why would anyone possibly need this? I keep my records organized by: genre, artist (alphabetical), year of release. I always know where anything I'm looking for is. Seems like you're solving a non-existent problem. (at least for anyone who organizes their collection) Edited October 1, 2017 by The Ghost of Randy Savage pizza face 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentin Galea Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 This solves the "girlfriend problem" I sort my collection with my invented order, and my partner is like: "I tried to play X and such, couldn't find it!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mameeshkamowskwoz Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 9 hours ago, The Ghost of Randy Savage said: Why would anyone possibly need this? I keep my records organized by: genre, artist (alphabetical), year of release. I always know where anything I'm looking for is. Seems like you're solving a non-existent problem. (at least for anyone who organizes their collection) Mind if I ask how you divide by genre? Which genres and what do you do with artists that fall into multiple genres (or do you put their releases into those separate genres?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGhostOfRandySavage Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 2 hours ago, mameeshkamowskwoz said: Mind if I ask how you divide by genre? Which genres and what do you do with artists that fall into multiple genres (or do you put their releases into those separate genres?) Genre divisions are as follows: Emo/pop-punk Metal/punk (I also put drone and post-rock stuff here) "Modern" rock/pop "Classic" rock/pop Country Blues/Jazz Hip-hop/rap Misc. (World music, weird 60s Asian lounge music, etc.) If something could fall across multiple genres, I put it in the one I'm most likely to think of for that band, all together. So when The Appleseed Cast started adding some more post-y stuff, they still stay in the emo section. Stuff like Peter Gabriel or Bowie who were still releasing contemporary pop music I still put in classic rock/pop because that is where I most think of them. I don't divide discographies. mameeshkamowskwoz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mameeshkamowskwoz Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 20 hours ago, The Ghost of Randy Savage said: Genre divisions are as follows: Emo/pop-punk Metal/punk (I also put drone and post-rock stuff here) "Modern" rock/pop "Classic" rock/pop Country Blues/Jazz Hip-hop/rap Misc. (World music, weird 60s Asian lounge music, etc.) If something could fall across multiple genres, I put it in the one I'm most likely to think of for that band, all together. So when The Appleseed Cast started adding some more post-y stuff, they still stay in the emo section. Stuff like Peter Gabriel or Bowie who were still releasing contemporary pop music I still put in classic rock/pop because that is where I most think of them. I don't divide discographies. Gotcha. As my collection has grown and surpassed the 2000 mark I've considered doing this. Mostly because when I'm in the mood for a particular kind of music I often stick with that for the night. Plus if someone wants to put on something jazzy or alternatively aggressive, it's easier to find what you're looking for. It will just be major undertaking. I appreciate the insight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGhostOfRandySavage Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 39 minutes ago, mameeshkamowskwoz said: Gotcha. As my collection has grown and surpassed the 2000 mark I've considered doing this. Mostly because when I'm in the mood for a particular kind of music I often stick with that for the night. Plus if someone wants to put on something jazzy or alternatively aggressive, it's easier to find what you're looking for. It will just be major undertaking. I appreciate the insight. No problem. That's the entire reason I did it, honestly. Makes it easier to pick out what I want to listen to. mameeshkamowskwoz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 (edited) Alphabetical (last name first; no 'the' in band names) and chronological of original release (not actual pressing date). It seems like pure madness to do it any other way. Also, this app seems useless for anybody who doesn't have a collection less than 2K records. Edited October 4, 2017 by somethingvinyl AlexH. and stl_ben 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethereal Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 you have way too much free time on your hands One Hundred Fifty-Two 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 On 10/4/2017 at 5:17 PM, ethereal said: you have way too much free time on your hands Maybe you don't have nearly enough. It's obviously not an earth-shattering life hack, but it's fun to goof around with these platforms and invent stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentin Galea Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 You guys are way mean Also he who sorts alphabetically clearly has too much time on his hands BTW if someone has a large Discogs.com public collection, it would be interesting to stress test the app with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 On 10/6/2017 at 2:34 PM, Valentin Galea said: Also he who sorts alphabetically clearly has too much time on his hands Or is literate? It's really easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGhostOfRandySavage Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 4 hours ago, somethingvinyl said: Or is literate? It's really easy. Right? Once you make the initial time investment it's no time at all to keep it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 (edited) The only thing that remotely takes any time is an artist like The Rolling Stones or Thou. There's a ton of releases and I don't remember the exact chronological order. Edited October 10, 2017 by somethingvinyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freki Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 So do alphabetical by release title? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentin Galea Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 4 hours ago, somethingvinyl said: I don't remember the exact chronological order Sounds to me you need the Raspberry Pi Laser in your life somethingvinyl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 On 10/10/2017 at 3:48 PM, Valentin Galea said: Sounds to me you need the Raspberry Pi Laser in your life Your stupid app doesn't tell me the order to put them in. Metal Mike and nancy_raygun 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentin Galea Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 On 10/12/2017 at 4:07 PM, somethingvinyl said: Your stupid app doesn't tell me the order to put them in Why embarrass yourself like this? Let's keep it constructive! The app is not supposed to do the ordering, it's the other way around, you order them like you want and then you let the app know (via Discogs Notes fields). So even if it's alphabetical, you can still use it for long stretches of the same letter? I mainly use the app now as statistics - it's fun to look back at listening patterns, or identify records you didn't play in ages... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Yeah, I'm the one embarrassing myself! If this thing can't put a record on for me. It's useless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentin Galea Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 I added support to display heatmaps of my listening history/patterns: * intermittent play time mostly weekends; collection is older than 6 months but that's when I started keeping track * the first shelf is full of double gatefolds that's why so sparse * it took me the initial effort of mapping the records to their positions - I done goofed in the process that's why the gaps * the hot zones are: Prince, Bowie, Underworld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Hundred Fifty-Two Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 This is really dumb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 On 10/16/2017 at 10:54 AM, somethingvinyl said: Yeah, I'm the one embarrassing myself! If this thing can't put a record on for me. It's useless. I stand behind my previous thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluethumb Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 (edited) On 10/4/2017 at 2:49 PM, somethingvinyl said: Alphabetical (last name first; no 'the' in band names) and chronological of original release (not actual pressing date). It seems like pure madness to do it any other way. I'm with you, alphabetical/chronological is easiest for me - I recently purchased some shelf dividers (every 3rd letter) and it has soothed my closet OCD. If I had a collection in the thousands I may feel differently, it can already be a pain to sort through my S's alone. Edited March 6, 2018 by bluethumb somethingvinyl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicondevil Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 With the money and time you spent on this project, you could have just purchased more records. somethingvinyl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 1 hour ago, lexicondevil said: With the money and time you spent on this project, you could have just purchased more records. But then that would make them even harder to find. It’s a never-ending cycle. somethingvinyl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.