The current catalog thread has the basic information; it would be great if that info was instead a PDF of the catalog itself rather than simply the base information, and was supplemented with a picture of two of the actual piece and maybe the schematic.
Think about it like this; if the current catalog link had EVERY catalog instead of just 1968 and 1979, and the schematic link had EVERY schematic, the museum has EVERY piece represented, and so on.
Again, as I see it, this resource would NOT be the place for speculation, more of a reference guide that could be added to as new OEM info becomes available; the “bottom line” as far as the factual information available for the gear we all love.
EdBass - that's exactly what I'm envisioning. Hard facts, delivered from OEM specs, supported by catalogs and photos. I think there's also room to expand on the catalog info, but only in a strictly factual sense (such as front/rear panel data). I know you're one of the most knowledgeable active members here, and I will definitely be coming to you for information, as well as to make sure we're on the right path as things develop. I also agree that this should not be a competing entity, but rather a supplemental one that links back to this site and forum. Ideally this would be part of the current site, but I'm under the impression that that's not possible.
all - do any of you have the interest and ability to handle the actual site creation? this will be time intensive, and there's no way I could handle it all by myself. getting a core of people together to do this part may be the biggest challenge.
once a group is in place to take this on, we will set up a system to receive catalog and handout images from those willing to contribute them, and start transferring model data to the new grid.