Changes to RadioReference Database

I'll probably get fussed at for harping on this topic, but I think implementing it would be very beneficial.

The structure of the database (RR and subsequently the download to Uniden) should be modified. A "Date Changed" field should be added to each row of data.

Doing so would give folks a better idea of when a given entry was modified/added so they can act upon the new/changed information as desired.

Several people keep asking for the database to be modified. Since DB administration is part of my job, I can assure you that it is not as simple as people think to accomplish such a task.

Perhaps one of you folks that insist it be modified would like to take on the task yourself?

I'd like to see the description that is downloaded to the radios limited to whatever the max number of characters is that can be displayed by radios now. I believe the x36 series has the ability to display the most characters. It does me no good when I am in an unfamiliar area to load the full database and then have most of the descriptor cutoff on the display. If Uniden and RR are serious about the long-term viability of the hobby, this seems like a no-brainer.

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Sentinel Database Update

captaincraig44 said:

I'd like to see the description that is downloaded to the radios limited to whatever the max number of characters is that can be displayed by radios now. I believe the x36 series has the ability to display the most characters. It does me no good when I am in an unfamiliar area to load the full database and then have most of the descriptor cutoff on the display. If Uniden and RR are serious about the long-term viability of the hobby, this seems like a no-brainer.

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Click to expand...

Which scanner do you want us to limit the description field to?

Uniden or Whistler?

Which particular model?

What about software programs such as Unitrunker that have longer descriptions available?

What about newer scanners that come out with longer displays? Do we leave it based on the one manufacturer/model you picked or go back and edit all the descriptions for the longer length? Somehow I don't think that's going to happen.

Keep in mind that RadioReference has told the scanner manufacturers how many characters are in the description. It's up to the manufacturer as to how many characters they decide to use.

We need to get the 2 letter state abbreviation consistently applied to the System/Departments in the global database.

It is crazy when you are driving along areas like the East Coast where you may be withing 10-20 miles of 3 or 4 states with many, many small towns and Boroughs that you have never heard of before and do not have the ability to figure out if you are even going to be passing through these areas. I am sure there are plenty of other areas in the country, but if you happen to be in the middle of TX, Kansas, Montana or any of the larger mid-Wes states this may not be an issue, but anywhere else in the US there are too many systems in different states that you cannot differentiate between the areas easily.

Now with the HP databases these scanners whether it be configuring by GPS, Zipcode or by finding Systems, I truly believe the 2 letter state abbreviation should proceed the System/Department names in the global database.

What about Canada and California?

Sorry, I was reading his post too literally and was thinking "finding systems" in "global database".

I believe the original poster was asking about the "Sentinel" database. I'd like to ask if there will be a way to save column width and settings in Sentinel.

There are a lot of inconsistencies in how things are labeled in Sentinel. You have city and county names listed as "Berkeley" or "Martinsburg" without any way to distinguish that "Berkeley" is a county (at least in WV) and "Martinsburg" is a city.

It would be nice if county names were consistently listed as (county name) Co., and cities as (city name) otherwise it is difficult to distinguish between cities and counties that share the same name. This would also eliminate duplicates where some things are labeled "Berkeley" and others "Berkeley County" or whatever.

MikeOxlong said:

Which scanner do you want us to limit the description field to?

Uniden or Whistler?

Which particular model?

Click to expand...

(etc)

I don't want to see "Description" limited, but I'd like the 12-character limit on "Alpha" to be increased to 16. I was told back in the days when I was an admin that "Alpha" was limited to 12 characters because that was the number of characters of a specific scanner's display (I have no idea which one; every scanner I've ever used that supported alpha tags has been a minimum of 16 digits "wide").

ofd8001 said:

I'll probably get fussed at for harping on this topic, but I think implementing it would be very beneficial.

Click to expand...

Yup, you'll get harped on. Next time please don't hijack someone else's thread. Thanks.

Since the topic and subsequent topics brought up have more to do with the RadioReference Database and not Sentinel, I've moved this topic to the Database Discussion forum.

It kind of, is all ready there

What I was told about the 12 vs 16 character ...

Jay911 said:

(etc)

I don't want to see "Description" limited, but I'd like the 12-character limit on "Alpha" to be increased to 16. I was told back in the days when I was an admin that "Alpha" was limited to 12 characters because that was the number of characters of a specific scanner's display (I have no idea which one; every scanner I've ever used that supported alpha tags has been a minimum of 16 digits "wide").

Click to expand...

Jay, I completely agree with transitioning to 16 character alpha tag fields and have voiced this before.
Lindsay told me that alpha tags were being kept at 12 characters due to amount of Pro-96/2096 scanners
still out there and increasing alpha taq fields to 16 characters would cause the 12 character folks
to have truncated tags, etc. I have a 10 year old 12 character Pro-96 and never use it and have
many times wondered just how many Pro-96/2096 users actually do RRDB imports vs custom program
them.

Bottom Line: Does it really make sense today in 2014 given all the 16 character models now out there,
for say 98% of us to have the EXTREME HASSLE of manually editing ALL our tags in our loads or
for the TINY 2% minority to have to edit/shorten/ their alpha tag fields ????

PS ~ How cool and interesting if all the RR members listed their ACTIVE scanners somewhere
inside their profile and the data could be toggled "Visible or Hidden" via a tab in their RR profile info.
Further, maybe if a users profile tab had a radio model equipment survey using only radio buttons,
this data could be tabulated and displayed in a statistics chart for all our morbid curiosities anytime

Just imagine seeing a bar graph chart summary page that would be viewable to all of us hobbiest !
How interesting it would be to see the equipment trends and which models enjoy what marketshare !
Hmm, just think what all this info would have potentialy in guiding and influencing users and marketers
such as Uniden, Whistler and Radio Shack. ie A brand might perhaps see trends and or needs and act