Review of the Master Frequency Guide

[trunktracking]

The Master Frequency Guide is a new digital PDF product that will will enable you to quickly and easily identify stations and assigned frequency information without having to drill down by querying databases.

There are 10 volumes that are broken down by geographical area of the United States. For each volume, there is a main file that is sorted by licensee, and another file that is a cross reference sorted by frequency. There are also two versions of the guide. One for public safety radio licenses and the other for industrial/business radio licenses. There is also a national LF/MF/HF guide as well as some free samples and supplemental information.

The guide’s website and electronic PDF files quickly download and properly format using either your desktop computer, smart phone or tablet.

The pricing is $14.95 for the business guide, $19.95 for the public safety guide, and $29.95 for both as a packaged item. The national LF/MF/HF guide is $19.95. I feel that it is well worth the investment.

I like to think of it as a modern and improved version of the old ‘Police Call’ books, which used to be sold at your local Radio Shack stores.

As a scanner radio hobbyist of 42 years, I highly recommend the Master Frequency Guide.

I purchased the guide from the Master Frequency Guide's website at http://masterfrequencyguide.selz.com

Joe Mattern, WX4ADX
Trunked Public Safety Scanning Expert

 

[6079smithw]

I loved the old Police Call! Where might one find this website?

 

[trunktracking]

Master Frequency Guide Website

I purchased the guide from the Master Frequency Guide's website at http://masterfrequencyguide.selz.com

Joe Mattern, WX4ADX
Trunked Public Safety Scanning Expert

 

[rk911]

what is the sourcecof the data? how old is the data? which data for digital systems is included? how often will it be updated?

 

[bob550]

"Everything old is new again."

 

[mule1075]

I will pass.

 

[jonwienke]

what is the sourcecof the data? how old is the data? which data for digital systems is included? how often will it be updated?

These are the key questions. And none of them are addressed by the web site. it's slick and cool looking, but without some explanation of where the data comes from and how it's vetted (you can't just pull and repackage FCC license data, as digitalfrequencysearch demonstrates) I wouldn't pay money for their product.

 

[K5MPH]

Yeah reminds me of the old Police call books cool stuff.....

 

[jcardani]

Answers to questions

Hi All,

I'm sorry for the delay, I was waiting for confirmation from RR Admin for permission to post.

First off the data comes from the FCC database so it is complete and accurate. The data is as of April, 2018 and the reports were created in June. I gave a few months to get the kinks out of the queries and formatting. I expect future updates to have a smaller lag time, mainly because of the manual process stated below.

I initially planned to offer updates 2X a year but if there is demand I will increase it. But it is not a rebadged version of the data; it is not just a simple automated process to generate the reports. It's mostly manual on the back end, and I spot check the detail for accuracy.

I recently made a change so those that anyone that purchased the guide can download any new updates for a year.

As for information on what is included in the format, anyone can download samples or some supplemental reports free.

The advantage of these reports vs. simple queries of the FCC data is that the pertanant data is properly formatted and fits single width on the report. And information is available in one easy to read spot, instead of having to keep drilling down for the information. And it's in PDF format which can be saved or read on any device. And some prefer the already known format.

I do plan on updating the site to answer these questions and more that may come up. I just started the page a few weeks ago, so please be patient.

Lastly, I know that haters will hate, comments (positive and negative) are appreciated, but I think for the greater good please be civil. this may work for some and that is great but it may not work for others. And that is great too. I just wanted to provide a complementary product that works.

thank you,

Joe

 

[jonwienke]

First off the data comes from the FCC database so it is complete and accurate. The data is as of April, 2018 and the reports were created in June. I gave a few months to get the kinks out of the queries and formatting. I expect future updates to have a smaller lag time, mainly because of the manual process stated below.

FCC license data doesn't cover talkgroup LCN, or RAN/Color/NAC information on trunked systems, and individuals and companies often license frequencies for multiple emission types (analog FM, P25, DMR, NXDN, etc) but may only use one. Additionally, a trunked site may have more licensed frequencies than are actually in use. If your data is sourced directly from the FCC, how do you resolve these issues? How is your product different than the free reports offered by https://digitalfrequencysearch.com/index.php, which can be imported directly into Sentinel EZScan, and other common scanning software?

My experience is that FCC license data offers a starting point for searching and discovering undocumented trunked systems, but no more than that, for the reasons outlined above. Knowing that a list of frequencies is licensed for a particular site is a starting point, but there's a lot more work that needs to be done and blanks filled in before you have enough data to properly scan the system. How do you deal with that?

 

[RayAir]

Does this guide specify the emission type (DMR, NXDN,etc)?

How is the information broken down for a state? By county?

And, do you accept user submissions for any updates?

Thanks for your hard work. Certainly looks interesting. I will consider buying one and I will submit a review.

 

[Archie]

FCC Data

Anybody know how far back FCC license data can be accessed either by FOIL request or an in person visit to their Gettysburg location??

Could only go as far back as 1978 in their database.

Many Thanks

 

[jcardani]

Does this guide specify the emission type (DMR, NXDN,etc)?

How is the information broken down for a state? By county?

And, do you accept user submissions for any updates?

Thanks for your hard work. Certainly looks interesting. I will consider buying one and I will submit a review.

Hi Ray,

Thanks for the questions!

Great question on the emission codes. I did look into adding this codes. To be complete I would have to add the codes either horizontally by column or vertically adding rows. The former would increase the width substantially because the file is variable and be many. The later will double the already size of the guide in pages. Volume 9 business for example is almost 7400 pages! But I am still considering alternate ways around this.

The main guide is sorted by State first (ascending) then by licensee (ascending). The cross reference is sorted by State (ascending) then frequency (ascending), except for the national LF/MF/HF where it's sorted by frequency (ascending).

Since the data comes directly from the FCC database, there would be no need for updates.

Thanks again!

 

[jcardani]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the questions!

At this time I don't plan to add any information about tones or trunked radio information to the guide. I want it to be purely from the FCC data. With the exception that you can mainly tell trunked systems because a Y precedes the service code. And I am still considering adding emissions in the future if it does not increase the size of the reports or confuse the readability (see my response to RayAir above).

As to how this guide differs from digitalfrequencysearch, first the formatting is different. Also you can see all types of information in one place instead of running separate reports for P25, NXDN, DMR. I also did not notice an analog search feature, but I could have missed it. Lastly my guide's reports are in PDF format a little easier to work with.

I also don't plan to add any functionality to export data to scanners. There are plenty of other ways to do that such as digital frequency search and Radio Reference. And if you want talk group or systems info, Radio Reference is the best place for that.

Finally like I mentioned above, I don't plan on competing against any other product, my goal is to simply complement them.

Thanks!

FCC license data doesn't cover talkgroup LCN, or RAN/Color/NAC information on trunked systems, and individuals and companies often license frequencies for multiple emission types (analog FM, P25, DMR, NXDN, etc) but may only use one. Additionally, a trunked site may have more licensed frequencies than are actually in use. If your data is sourced directly from the FCC, how do you resolve these issues? How is your product different than the free reports offered by https://digitalfrequencysearch.com/index.php, which can be imported directly into Sentinel EZScan, and other common scanning software?

My experience is that FCC license data offers a starting point for searching and discovering undocumented trunked systems, but no more than that, for the reasons outlined above. Knowing that a list of frequencies is licensed for a particular site is a starting point, but there's a lot more work that needs to be done and blanks filled in before you have enough data to properly scan the system. How do you deal with that?

 

[jcardani]

Hi Archie,

That's a good question. Certainly a FOIA request may work. But I think the info then was on microfiche. I would live to see Philly's PD's licenses pre UHF days!

Anybody know how far back FCC license data can be accessed either by FOIL request or an in person visit to their Gettysburg location??

Could only go as far back as 1978 in their database.

Many Thanks

 

[ecps92]

I remember the days of visting the FCC [Boston then the move to Quincy] and spending days going thru the Microfiches

I think folks just need to remember that this is just one of the many sources available and knowing the EXCELLENT work you did in Phili this should be interesting

Hi Archie,

That's a good question. Certainly a FOIA request may work. But I think the info then was on microfiche. I would live to see Philly's PD's licenses pre UHF days!

 

[jonwienke]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the questions!

...

Finally like I mentioned above, I don't plan on competing against any other product, my goal is to simply complement them.

Thanks!

Fair enough. Not trying to bash you, just want to understand exactly what you're offering, and the pros & cons vs other data sources.

 

[lbrown13]

As a newb, how will I know if I am going to get what I want? Not sure what it would be listed as

 

[rk911]

Anybody know how far back FCC license data can be accessed either by FOIL request or an in person visit to their Gettysburg location??

Could only go as far back as 1978 in their database.

Many Thanks

FOIL?? do you mean FOIA...freedom of information act?

 

[rk911]

As a newb, how will I know if I am going to get what I want? Not sure what it would be listed as

what are you looking for?