Does Anyone Keep Field Books?

[Bucket Lister]

First, I'm not talking about field guides (or reference works like John Oliver's or Merrill Kazanjian's Dēus II target guides); I'm referring to what some might call journal notes or log books--records of finds/recoveries.

I found a bunch on Amazon, but frankly, they looked kind of... amateurish(?) (if I can say that about a primarily amateur pursuit! 😎)

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away... I worked in surveying & construction inspection, where we kept both daily logs and field books. That was my introduction to "Rite in the Rain" (RitR).

So I'm thinking about picking up a RitR field book to document my finds & recoveries (those worth recording), and wondering if anyone else does this (it would appear so from the plethora of log books on Amazon) and what kinds of details, etc. (maps?) do you document for posterity (or otherelse)?

Anyone willing to post an example page?

THX

 

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[Almy]

I wait until I get home, clean up the finds, ID them or try to. Then I log them in a spreadsheet which contains columns for date and location. Under each location, I typically have categories like coins, personal, military, buttons and so on. In other columns I note characteristics such as dates for coins. Retrieving the information is easy and I am not so likely to lose it as if it were in physical books. I have many years of finds so books would take up a lot of space and be hard to locate things in. My spreadsheet is only a few pages.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

I do, I use an accounts and records book, But I only coin shoot and jewelry. I note older coins (silver and wheats) and jewelry and where it was found. Been doing the finds log since 2013.

 

[dognose]

I log all sites, and finds

many years ago I designed a relational database application for my finds.

I had a table of sites joined to the finds. I kept weather and field conditions also for site hunts or when scouted. in that way over time I could predict when certain sites would be best for hunting and such.


I stopped using the application after a few code updates since it was costly. I transferred the data to an excel spreadsheet which I now use. the separate tables are now tabs in the spreadsheet and the columns the old data fields. I can't post images like I could before and the forecasting is almost impossible but it works.

I would use excel again over a store bought journal since you can customize the data tracked.

 

[Bucket Lister]

I wait until I get home, clean up the finds, ID them or try to. Then I log them in a spreadsheet which contains columns for date and location. Under each location, I typically have categories like coins, personal, military, buttons and so on. In other columns I note characteristics such as dates for coins. Retrieving the information is easy and I am not so likely to lose it as if it were in physical books. I have many years of finds so books would take up a lot of space and be hard to locate things in. My spreadsheet is only a few pages.

Yes, that's the kind of thing I'm looking for. Can you post or PM me a PDF of a sample page? THX

 

[Bucket Lister]

I do, I use an accounts and records book, But I only coin shoot and jewelry. I note older coins (silver and wheats) and jewelry and where it was found. Been doing the finds log since 2013.

I log all sites, and finds
....
I would use excel again over a store bought journal since you can customize the data tracked.

Sample pages?

 

[Bucket Lister]

Here's where I'm at so far. I set up an Excel spreadsheet to simulate the field book and play around with ideas without messing up the "real" field book.



Anything left out? Suggestions?

It's been almost 50 years since I did one of these, and those were for sewer construction. 😖

 

[michael NY]

First, I'm not talking about field guides (or reference works like John Oliver's or Merrill Kazanjian's Dēus II target guides); I'm referring to what some might call journal notes or log books--records of finds/recoveries.

I found a bunch on Amazon, but frankly, they looked kind of... amateurish(?) (if I can say that about a primarily amateur pursuit! 😎)

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away... I worked in surveying & construction inspection, where we kept both daily logs and field books. That was my introduction to "Rite in the Rain" (RitR).

So I'm thinking about picking up a RitR field book to document my finds & recoveries (those worth recording), and wondering if anyone else does this (it would appear so from the plethora of log books on Amazon) and what kinds of details, etc. (maps?) do you document for posterity (or otherelse)?

Anyone willing to post an example page?

THX

I do keep records. I was given a program designed by a fellow detectorist who put a lot of thought into it keeping track of finds uploading pictures and tons of useful information. Date time even batteries locations cereal #-‘s for machines.

 

[Bucket Lister]

I do keep records. I was given a program designed by a fellow detectorist who put a lot of thought into it keeping track of finds uploading pictures and tons of useful information. Date time even batteries locations cereal #-‘s for machines.

Yes. Can you post or message me a sample page?

 

[michael NY]

Yes. Can you post or message me a sample page?

I do it when I get home it’s on my laptop.

 

[delnorter]

Yes Bucket Lister, I used the “write in the rain” field books for many years performing land surveys. Often in very remote locations of the Pacific Northwest.

Heaven help you if you lost one of these field books. This was before electric calculators and computers.

All field measurements were recorded in them and reduced to actual true measurements at the end of the day in camp or later in the office.

Mike

 

[michael NY]

I do it when I get home it’s on my laptop.

This is a couple pictures I took with my phone the program is on my laptop.

 

[Bucket Lister]

Wow. Very nice (from someone who's done some programming in Excel).

I think it may be overkill for me, but some interesting ideas. If I were younger.... 🤔

 

[Almy]

BL: My spreadsheet is simpler than the impressive examples here. I just started a new file, labelled about 5 columns (Site code, Category of find, Find including date if coin, Description of find, Date of find) and began entering data as I made finds. At the bottom of the spreadsheet are "Notes" which describe details of each site to which I have given a code, including the coordinates of the sites. Category of finds includes coins, military, household, miscellaneous. This keeps all my essential data in a small, simple, easily-saved format and allows me to scrutinize quickly and easily. I can also abstract and combine categories, for example coins, to get a complete picture of that category over all sites when I am trying to write something about it.

 

[Bucket Lister]

I would use excel again over a store bought journal since you can customize the data tracked.

Yes, but either you record data in the field on something else and transfer it into your spreadsheet, or you have a smart phone (or similar) to access your database in the field, right?

I don't have another $1000 to spend on a smart phone just for this one app., and I have a solution for customizing--an eraser. 😁

I don't begrudge anyone whether they do or don't, or what medium they use. I'm old, and I guess somewhat "old-school", but a field BOOK makes the most sense to me, as it's contemporaneous, transportable, won't get fried in the rain, and perhaps most importantly, fits my "style". What I do with the data LATER is another issue that I think some may be jumping to(?)

 

[Bucket Lister]

First, I'm not talking about field guides (or reference works like John Oliver's or Merrill Kazanjian's Dēus II target guides); I'm referring to what some might call journal notes or log books--records of finds/recoveries.
....

OK, to reiterate--FIELD BOOKS--not databases, spreadsheets, PAs or whatever...

Somehow this thread went a tad astray--mea culpa. Love the spreadsheets, and ideas that I can incorporate/include in the field book are also appreciated, but I can't take Excel, etc. into the field with me. 😟

BotB, may I see a sample page or 2?
delnorter, are you using anything now?

THX

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

OK, to reiterate--FIELD BOOKS--not databases, spreadsheets, PAs or whatever...

Somehow this thread went a tad astray--mea culpa. Love the spreadsheets, and ideas that I can incorporate/include in the field book are also appreciated, but I can't take Excel, etc. into the field with me. 😟

BotB, may I see a sample page or 2?
delnorter, are you using anything now?

THX

My computer is messed up and I can't put any pictures in it. Otherwise I would.

 

[Almy]

I just take my finds home and record them there. No need to record in the field. I want to use my limited field time hunting.

 

[jws845]

My wife is a crafter who makes journals and she made me a "Pirate" journal to keep track of my finds.

 

[qtrs-xcite-me]

Each time I come home from a hunt, I wash off my finds, lay them on an old towel on the washing machine and take a photo. I transfer the photo to my computer and label it "treasure xxx" where xxx is a sequential number representing how many hunts I have made. I use a small pocket spiral notebook to record the same treasure hunt number, date, location(s) and list all items found including the specifiics of each coin, and entries like "4 pop tops" and "6 bottle caps". The junk then goes in the trash or recycle bin and the coins move to clean up mode. I also maintain a word processing document that lists the date and dollar value of all clad coin finds and lists the date found for unique finds such as the rare silver or foreign coin.