guesses?

[bobcat]

Are the Alpha Tags and Descriptions in the database just guesses or is there a way to obtain them?

 

[rwier]

Are the Alpha Tags and Descriptions in the database just guesses or is there a way to obtain them?

Let's play pretend. Suppose you (Bob Cat) acquires a pair of two-way radios. Let us suppose that their frequency is 400 Mz. You use them to communicate back and forth with family members.

Now, also suppose, that an RR Member, using something resembling "Close Call", discovers your transmissions on 400 Mz. After much listening he comes to realize that he is listening to the Bob Cat Family.

To make this knowledge available to the other RR Members, he submits "Bob Cat Family 400 Mz" to the appropriate RR DB Administrator.

After sometime, this info shows up in the RR DB as "Bob Cat Family 400 Mz".

Now, a RR Member asks "Is this Alpha tag a guess?" or "How can I find out the
'real' Alpha Tag?"

Now you, Bob Cat, is asked "What is your 'real' Alpha Tag? Your answer will be "Say what?" Of course, you have no Alpha Tag, you are simply using two radios to talk to your family.

Of course, there is no "real" Alpha Tag, and is the name determined by the RR Member ("Bob Cat Family") a guess?

You see, your question/s is/are, in fact, not answerable.

 

[phask]

I'd say - "It depends" Some places I know for a fact are exactly as the system's radios - others could be anything., and / or a mic of both.

 

[ecps92]

Reading between the lines... Yes and No

Some people might have had ACCESS to an Official Radio at one-time or another and made a submission

Others are a Guess, Approximation based on spending time monitoring the channels

One person might say Alpha Tag (hypothetical) it one way, where-as another says...
example
483.1625 Boston Fire Channel One which is their Dispatch
Someone might use BFD 1, someone might use BFD Disp
others might want to show more of Boston in the Alpha tag, as they also listen to many BFD's and not all Boston (Boston, Brookline, Belmont, Burlington, Bedford etc) who all could be (your preference) a BFD

Are the Alpha Tags and Descriptions in the database just guesses or is there a way to obtain them?

 

[Voyager]

And some submissions are rejected because the real alpha tag does not meet the RR guidelines. In those cases, the alpha tag shown is made up by someone. I would estimate most alpha tags are similarly made up.

 

[mciupa]

Maybe now is a good time to review the purpose of the Database Discussion Forum:

"Database Discussion Forum - This forum is for questions about the database such as how to use it, layout or usability issues or suggestions for improvement. It is not for pointing out wrong information or getting help with programming."


Anyone have any positive suggestions for improvement rather than pointing out shortcomings?

 

[wa8pyr]

The official word. . .

In response to the question posed by the OP, anything you see in RadioReference should be treated as unofficial information. While we're flattered that some public agencies use RadioReference as a source for programming information, and we strive to ensure that its as accurate as possible, we make no guarantees as to the accuracy of the data, and anything used for official radio programming purposes should always come from the appropriate agency.

While it's true that many alpha tags in our database are the actual "official" alpha tags, it's also possible that they're a variation of the "official" tags created to make them more user-friendly.

For example, Podunk PD's actual dispatch talkgroups might be DISPATCH 1, DISPATCH 2, DISPATCH 3 and so on. However, someone not from the area might wonder who that is. So, the alpha tags could be altered to read PPD DISP1, PPD DISP2, and PPD DISP3.

And as Voyager notes, some "official" alpha tags are so cryptic as to be unintelligible, unless one were to know these things. So, such alpha tags would be edited to be more scanner-friendly.

That being said, we encourage use of the official alpha tags wherever possible to avoid confusion for the user between what's heard on the radio and what's seen on the display, but reserve the right to edit as needed for clarity.