ISSUE 2000 NUMBER 13 | Posted: November 3, 2000 | LAST UPDATE: 04/24/2000

TIPS
To help with collecting and trading

COLLECTING TIPS:

PICK ONE OR TWO COLLECTIONS AND FOCUS!
You will NEVER complete a collection unless you focus in on it. Don't try to build more than three collections at a time. By choosing two or three collections, you can move with the natual eb and flow of newsgroup postings (some days you see more coverage on one collection than another)

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LOOK AT YOUR IMAGES
Take the time to actually view your images. Remember we are collecting IMAGES not just FILE NAMES.

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GET A FAST MODEM
Downloads are the name of the game in scan collecting. JPEG files are almost ALWAYS over 100k in size. If it is supported in your area and you can afford it, go with ISDN. Otherwise get a 56k modem.

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GET A GOOD ISP
There can be a great deal of difference in connect speeds from one ISP to another. Find an ISP that will provide you with consistent connect speeds. You should not have to settle for 24400 conects when you have a 28.8 or 33k modem.

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DOWNLOAD AT NIGHT
Vists newsgroups and websites after 11:00 pm. The Internet is less busy and downloads will execute faster.

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GET A GOOD NEWSREADER
Newsgroups are the heart and soul of scan collecting, A good newsreader can make life much easier. I use MS-Outlook Exxpress.

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GET A GOOD JPG IMAGE VIEWER
Once the scans have been downloaded, you need to look at them. I have found that a small quick image viewer is better than using a large graphics editor. I use ACDSEE  available from ZD-NET.

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TRADE WITH OTHERS AND FILL REQUESTS
It is almost like magic. Helping others with images actually accelerates the completion of your own collections.

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GET A REMOVABLE HARD DISK DEVICE LIKE ZIP, JAZZ or a DITTO TAPE DRIVE
It will really hurt if you loose a collection that it took MONTHS to build. Backup your collections frequently to a ZIP, JAZZ or DITTO device. ZIP and JAZZ devices are also ideal for storing completed collections, thus freeing your primary hard drive for incomplete collections.

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GET OUTSIDE FOR SOME SUN
Don't become a shut-in. Get outside and enjoy the REAL WORLD (I've heard there are REAL WOMEN out there). The scans are'nt going anywhere.

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TRADING TIPS:

TRADE WITH NO MORE THAN THREE PEOPLE AT A TIME
As with collections, trading with more than three people at a time creates a management problem. You cannot keep track of what you are trading with who. There is a good chance that one of your trading partners will NOT get what they deserve. Concentrating on one, two or three partners will allow you to focus on their collections and vice versa.

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DON'T TRADE MORE THAN TEN SCANS AT A TIME
Anything over ten is hard to manage. Most experienced traders even draw the line at five scans at a time.

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DON'T SEND .ZIP FILES CONTAINING MORE THAN FIVE SCANS
If you ZIP your scans before mailing them, don't place more than five scans in a .ZIP file. Many mail servers have trouble with files over 1MB. Remember, the JPEG format is itself a compressed format so you will get very little reduction in size. Use .ZIP files for grouping purposes only.

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DON'T SEND YOUR 'MISSING' LISTINGS TO YOUR TRADING PARTNER
These lists are for YOUR USE. they fall out of date so quickly that giving them to trading partners is useless and a waste of time to email.

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