I want to become a paying and contributing member, but I am concerened with the integrity and completeness of your database. I looked up all frequencies for the ocunty I live in in New York and you list 20 frequencies for the whole county. That is incredibley incomplete and inaccurate. I'm willing to pay , but not for inforamation that's outdated, incomplete and innacurate. AM I missing something ?
DataBase accuracy
- Thread starter Wackroyd
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Wackroyd said:
Its people like you that can help complete the database. Most if not all is user submitted data.
jon_k
Member
Wackroyd said:
If your looking for completeness, then maybe RR isn't for you. This site is not "complete" and never will be. No site that is in existence will be complete or 100% accurate all the time. There are dozens of undiscovered frequencies, frequencies that have not been submitted, or frequencies that other users deemed not monitoring/submission (E.G. Why would I add the school district maintenance crew?)
If anything, the goal of this site is for ACCURACY of what is submitted, and having good descriptions of the purpose. That's the first priority, then the second priority is getting more frequencies/systems added.
This site is probably the most complete database for frequency/talkgroup information and descriptions on a hobbyist level. Every other "hobbyist" site has old and out of date info and costs an arm and a leg. The submitters here are very active at keeping everything in the database up to date as soon as changes happen. But remember, submitters are people like you and me (other members.) I've had several frequencies added for my area. We all do our best to submit things when we make a positive ID on a frequency.
The **ONLY** database in the U.S. that is guaranteed "complete" is the FCC database here: http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchAdvanced.jsp This will list every frequency registered in New York. However, you will find out very quickly that the FCC database has many flaws.
* The database takes forever to search through
* You only see what municipal/organization holds the frequency. The FCC will not reveal the purpose of said frequency (e.g. Dispatch, Patrol, SWAT will never be described in their database.)
* This database doesn't come in nice table-format that aids in the copy/paste into your scanner.
* Did I mention the queries you run against FCC database take f o r e v e r to process?
RadioReference's high points are:
* All the data in the database is available FREE to ANYONE.
* Any registered user can submit NEW DATA.
* The database is descriptive on the PURPOSE / USE of listed frequencies. Not only do you know the frequencies merely exist, but you know what they are used for.
* The format is easy to copy/paste into a scanning program. (Even easier with the formats available to you with a subscription.)
* The site runs much quicker than manually running queries against the FCC database.
* It is organized in a format specifically to ease searching for data in your area.
If you subscribe, you're showing your support for the future development of this site. If this site is not useful to you in any fashion, then do not subscribe.
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Yes... You don't have to pay to contribute.Wackroyd said:
And by contributing, you make it a good reason for you and others to pay the fee.
Perhaps your county only really uses 20 frequencies for public safety. And paying really only helps if downloading files into a programing file for a scanner or printing out reports, or doing a quick search, though I use the FCC site more often myself.
And since you "know" they inaccurate and incomplete, then by all means contribute. You'll be better for it, and the database will be up to date. And I know in my area, all the frequencies in use are not listed... but the ones listed are very accurate and kept up to date. And that is worth the money to me.
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Wackroyd said:
The integrity of this database is only as good as those people who take their time to submit information that is correct and accurately reflects that percentage of frequencies in a given area that are active... I can say with confidince that radioreference.com IS the compendium of active freqs for the United States.
The particular database for your county might be inaccurate because there is no one who monitors there and, thus, no one has submitted accuarte information. There are rr.commers who submit information to me with regularity who have unidentified freqs loaded into thier scanners so they can add them to the database for their area... If there are only 20 freqs listed for your county that could be your challenege to search for additional freqs and, when you have identified them, submit them for inclusion in this data base... the strength of radioreference.com is all of the people in THEIR hometowns who monitor and submit; there is no better person to tell me what a freq is than someone who listens to it in use on his street.
Whereas previous posters have pointed out that you can help by submitting updates and/or corrections for your area, you will note that you got all the information for your area and didn't "pay" anything other than your time. That is because the information is free, has always been free, and will always remain free. If you wish to contribute information we will be appreciative, if you wish to contribute money we reward you with some extra benefits.Wackroyd said:
Have you considered that some frequencies in your area are actually used by the STATE, some by the FEDERAL government and some may be in neighboring counties? How about the fact that some agencies don't have a license from the FCC (because they don't need one)? The issue you raise is actually quite complex as it depends on your sepcific area/etc. Also did you check the RadioReference database under "FCC licenses"?Wackroyd said:
D
DaveNF2G
Guest
Are you sure your county actually uses more than 20 frequencies? There are still at least a couple of counties in this state with more cows than people.
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