Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Aug 24, 2015 13:28:59 GMT -5
>>> THIS POLL AND INQUIRY IS CONCLUDED ... SEE BELOW <<<
This post is to gauge interest in a possible publicly available software tool described here. I would like to know if the folks here are interested in having a copy of the software and on what basis.
Background:
Having been a software and website developer most of my professional career (now retired), I like to use software to solve problems whenever possible.
As a rock tumbler I have been experiencing one particular problem with the managment of tumbling. That is, I sometimes setup a tumbling run and then get busy doing other things and forget to pull the run to reset for the next grit until days past my original estimated pull date. This problem has become more accute as I add more machines. The result is removing much more material than planned and ending up with a smaller batch of rocks instead of a larger batch.
The logical solution was to setup a timer that will handle multiple machines and barrels. Enter, "TumbleTimer".
The Software:
"TumbleTimer" is a Windows system tray application that runs in the background at all times. It is designed to be extremely simple to use. It uses a database to record literally any number of pending tasks. Then the software scans the database periodically on a user defined cycle rate. If it detects that a task date and time has been reached, then it pops up a reminder screen that the task is due. You can dismiss the reminder permanently, or you can close the reminder and let it pop up again later. Tasks are easily added or removed from the database. It consumes almost ZERO CPU time, quite literally, so you don't have to worry about its constant presence on the task bar. The only CPU used is a one second shot of 1% CPU each time it scans the task list. The timer survives over reboots, and it doesn't matter how far in the future a task is due. It will always remind you at that future time. The only time it won't is when your computer is off, obviously, but then it will remind you of any due tasks once you start your computer again.
If you would be interested in having such a tool on some basis, either reply to this thread or take the poll or both. If it is made available it would either be freeware with basic support "maybe" available by e-mail, or it would be donation-ware with support available by e-mail or phone, and user access to future upgrades and the ability to request custom features. In case you are not familiar with the concept, "donation-ware" means you can optionally send a donation in the amount of your choice which helps support future enhancements and efforts on my part. In this case a donator would receive a code that enables additional software features and enables support not available to non-donators.
>>> FOLLOW-UP: 8/31/15
Thanks to everyone who replied or answered the poll. I see that most everyone has their own method of keeping track of when to change their tumbling runs.
Although there are a few folks who expressed interest in having a copy of the software, unfortunately the interest level is not high enough for me to justify the effort to make the software legally safe for me to release to the public.
Thanks again to all responders.
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,771
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Post by Mark K on Aug 24, 2015 14:34:28 GMT -5
You can do the same thing with Outlook email.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Aug 24, 2015 15:27:01 GMT -5
I use a Mac, so I couldn't use this. Besides that, I change grit once a week which is easy to remember. Thanks for the offer though.
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boutoo
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2015
Posts: 62
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Post by boutoo on Aug 24, 2015 15:37:25 GMT -5
I have a memory like a sieve, especially when I'm busy. Can I have it on either my Windows or Android phone too?
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Aug 24, 2015 19:08:09 GMT -5
Rotary tumbling only requires one thing to remember per week and I am always itching to open the barrels every weekend to take a look so I cant imagine forgetting to that. Very nice gesture to to offer up your goods though. When I first started I had excel documents to track progress on my first couple batches before I realized there is no method to the madness. They tumble till there done period. No schedule.
Chuck
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Aug 24, 2015 23:54:57 GMT -5
Too funny, a year or several ago I purchased the tumbletimer.com domain with the same intent, but I wanted more flexibility in presets so each person could create their own tumbles, with stages and tailor all the grits etc, then share those so new folks had a better way to learn and easier way to follow recipes.
I got bogged down and haven't done it but maybe I should resurrect the project, I wanted to do web because it is universal and easy to update.
Good work though, looks like you got something nice going.
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Post by orrum on Aug 25, 2015 5:36:51 GMT -5
I only rotary tumble the first step of 46/70 for a month or if it sounds good two months or six weeks etc. It works great and cuts way back on grit usage. I think it's a great offer for folks that have a type A mindset! My girlfriend the sweet Susan would love it!
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boutoo
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2015
Posts: 62
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Post by boutoo on Aug 25, 2015 7:38:20 GMT -5
I had think about this last night & as a new spelunker, my thinking is that help with grit amounts would be of more use. So, if I had something I could enter stone type & weight to & then get back info on which grit & how much to use it would help more
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Aug 25, 2015 10:51:50 GMT -5
I have a memory like a sieve, especially when I'm busy. Can I have it on either my Windows or Android phone too? The software runs on a Windows desktop or laptop, or a Windows tablet. There isn't a phone version. It could be made, but there isn't any functional equivalent to a system tray app on a phone. The software could always easily be accidently shut off and that defeats the purpose. With a PC system tray app you would have to deliberately stop the program so unless you want it stopped it is always there to remind you.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Aug 25, 2015 11:08:39 GMT -5
Rotary tumbling only requires one thing to remember per week and I am always itching to open the barrels every weekend to take a look so I cant imagine forgetting to that. Very nice gesture to to offer up your goods though. When I first started I had excel documents to track progress on my first couple batches before I realized there is no method to the madness. They tumble till there done period. No schedule. Chuck At the moment I have four barrels running at any one time, each with different materials and tumbling time, overlapping. So I don't have a situation where everything comes due on the weekend or any specific day. Soon I will have six barrels running, then eight, ten, and so on. That's why I created the software. Even at four barrels it was easy to lose track. I also have a spreadsheet where I document exactly what is happening with each machine and barrel by number. That way I have a detailed record of what worked, how long each grit needed and the results. That way I can use that as a recipe the next time I run a given stone in a given barrel size. I went through a lot of trial and error trying to run glass cullet so the final recipe has been a life saver and subsequent batches have been successful using the recipe. Now the software helps me keep all barrels running and on track and I know at a glance which ones are freeing up when. When I run something like blue apatite, I discovered that missing the 90 grit runtime target by even a couple of days has drastic results on the size and shape of the stones. So between the spreadsheet recipe and the timer I can have more consistent results and less waste.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Aug 25, 2015 11:48:46 GMT -5
Too funny, a year or several ago I purchased the tumbletimer.com domain with the same intent, but I wanted more flexibility in presets so each person could create their own tumbles, with stages and tailor all the grits etc, then share those so new folks had a better way to learn and easier way to follow recipes. I got bogged down and haven't done it but maybe I should resurrect the project, I wanted to do web because it is universal and easy to update. Good work though, looks like you got something nice going. Isn't that the way it goes? Usually people get the same ideas at the same times even down to the name. That's the universe for ya. I have been a software and web developer since the 80's. One thing I can tell you is that nowadays, commercializing small vertical market software like this is nearly impossible. The rise in use of apps on phones and tablets has changed the public consciousness about where value lies. Because of the way smart phone and tablet app stores work, people now expect that all software should be free, even for PCs where developers can spend thousands of hours on a program. Anywho, I never intended to try to commercialize this particular software. Donation-ware really isn't a significant monetization scheme because the hit rate is so low. But donations do reveal users with a sense of commitment so it can be easier to justify giving them more whistles and bells. If I ever published this it wouldn't be on a custom domain. I'd just plop a page on my main website. Hey, I see by your signature that you have an Etsy shop. So do I. You can see it here: ResonantEnergies.etsy.com/How do you like Etsy? I have been selling stones on eBay, Amazon and my own website since 2006. I opened an Etsy store back in 2009, but back then the turnover was very small so I put the store on hold. Last month I reopened the store and today it is a much better system. It is taking over and outpacing everything else. I now use Etsy as the eCommerce engine for my website and save a lot of overhead bucks, and I am phasing down eBay. I'd love to dump Amazon (a horrible selling marketplace experience) but Amazon is still probably 60% of my overall sales. Thanks for your thoughts.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Aug 25, 2015 11:55:51 GMT -5
I had think about this last night & as a new spelunker, my thinking is that help with grit amounts would be of more use. So, if I had something I could enter stone type & weight to & then get back info on which grit & how much to use it would help more What you are describing is a tumbling recipe catalog and is apples and aardvarks in comparison to the timer software. They would usually be two different applications and not mutually exclusive. A recipe catalog would be a difficult and frustrating application to build since everyone seems to have their own recipe that works for them and doesn't necessarily work for anyone else. I think a lot of us do that now using a spreadsheet. Thanks.
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stonemaster499
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since July 2014
Posts: 97
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Post by stonemaster499 on Aug 26, 2015 11:18:50 GMT -5
Hi Enigman. My concerns, as others stated: many multiple timer applications already exist that run in the system tray (set time, action, frequency/ duration, alarm etc.). But, most new apps run in the clouds; so they can sync across any device you want on and offline (if you loose connectivity), and you can never loose data. With a windows based app, If your computer goes down.... I use google calendar (on any device) and use a calendar widget app called Pure Grid Calendar that syncs live with GC. Each timed event is dedicated to the machine, not the process (eg - Barrel #2, or Vibe #3). Tracking is critical when you have 3 or more processes at once. So, if your solution offers anything beneficial, or actions beyond what I currently have - I'm interested! thanks for sharing!
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Post by captbob on Aug 26, 2015 11:57:46 GMT -5
My tumbler timer software = 3x5 index cards if it ain't broken...
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,771
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Post by Mark K on Aug 26, 2015 16:41:24 GMT -5
Oh, and since no one has said it, we do appreciate your idea and the fact that you put it forth to us to ponder. The fact that most of us would not find it useful does not diminish the fact that you made the effort for our benefit. Maybe a database to keep track of our rough and finished items would be more on track with the folks here.
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Post by orrum on Aug 26, 2015 17:35:51 GMT -5
X2 Mark!!! Yes thanks for showing us!!!
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Aug 27, 2015 9:01:56 GMT -5
But, most new apps run in the clouds; so they can sync across any device you want on and offline (if you loose connectivity), and you can never loose data. With a windows based app, If your computer goes down.... Thanks for your feedback. Just one thought on "the cloud". I'm an old time techie/engineer with various experience stretching back to the Jurassic (it feels like). Back in the 80's and 90's, the concept of a "cloud network" was already around, but only those of us who designed network infrastructure knew what it was. Back then it was considered to be a fallback design option that was sometimes a necessary evil. The term "Cloud" meant, "a place where your data goes from point A to point B and you don't know what happens to it or who sees it along the way". That is still true today and the true nature of the cloud has not changed since then. When industry began designing smart phones, and more directly tablets, designers had to overcome the lack of significant storage for those devices by using a necessary evil, namely "The Cloud". (Industry has NO problem foisting evils on the consumer base.) But now to make that seem like a good thing, they reved up their Madison Avenue advertising and PR firms and made the cloud sound like the best thing since "Happy Endings". The younger "we don't need to think things through" public ate it up. So much so that beyond simply storing and syncing programs through the cloud, people began storing EVERYthing in the cloud as if it is some bullet proof safe deposit behind the gates of Narnia with Unicorns as system admins. We are now reaping the down-side rewards from that oversight in the form of data security breaches and private photos ending up on media websites and so on. We haven't seen the worst of it yet. I'm just saying ... watch what you do with "the cloud". You might as well store data on a bus bench in Times Square if you use the cloud for anything important. Personally, you won't find me on the cloud in any sense ... but that's just me ... an old guy with experiences. Thanks again.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Aug 27, 2015 9:10:18 GMT -5
My tumbler timer software = 3x5 index cards Wow. Impressive array of equipment. I wish I could get into it that far. But living in an apartment with no garage shop space makes it tough. BTW, what are those white bins under the tumblers? Are those sand beds for noise isolation? I have mine in a shallow closet with sliding doors. There's a wire rack shelf unit. I lay cardboard on the shelf, then a double layer of bathroom mats and the machines on top of that. That shuts them right up and they still stay cool.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Aug 27, 2015 9:14:24 GMT -5
Oh, and since no one has said it, we do appreciate your idea and the fact that you put it forth to us to ponder. The fact that most of us would not find it useful does not diminish the fact that you made the effort for our benefit. Maybe a database to keep track of our rough and finished items would be more on track with the folks here. Thanks for the kind words. I actually do have an inventory database application that I made. But it is so specifically taylored to my business that it wouldn't be useful to anyone else without serious retuning to be more generic. Thanks again.
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Post by captbob on Aug 27, 2015 9:47:36 GMT -5
My tumbler timer software = 3x5 index cards Wow. Impressive array of equipment. I wish I could get into it that far. But living in an apartment with no garage shop space makes it tough. BTW, what are those white bins under the tumblers? Are those sand beds for noise isolation?I have mine in a shallow closet with sliding doors. There's a wire rack shelf unit. I lay cardboard on the shelf, then a double layer of bathroom mats and the machines on top of that. That shuts them right up and they still stay cool. Thank you. Yes, kind of. I built frames with 2x4s which each tumbler fits exactly on so they can't move. Then, the frames sit on/in kitty litter in the Rubber Maid bins in case of a lid blow out. The bins sit on beach towels for padding on the shelves. BUT... the vibrations still carry through into the concrete block wall supporting the shelves and the entire house "hums". You get used to it...
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