You're scaring me...
NTIA Government Master File of Federal Frequency Assignments
- Thread starter drdispatch
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RFI-EMI-GUY
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It seemed like a number of the coordinates I checked were off inconsistently, by varying degrees. (eg. not a consistent shift)
Does NTIA use the same Datum as the FCC?
ecps92
Member
Or better yet a searchable database; of course, if it got parsed into an Excel spreadsheet, importing into a searchable database would be easy-peasy.
Not going to be me; that would definitely be a time-consuming project. If someone were to parse it into Excel I'd be glad to whip together a quick database, though.
For some reason it didn't occur to me that they are in DMS, and NAD27 to NAD83 cinched it down even further.
the funniest thing about the entire document is page 3.
I literally have an email from "KATHY SMITH" who tells me that she has no idea what the "Government Master File" is.
hilarious.
btw - there is another angle here. Keep in mind --- I do NOT have access to the classified version of this document.
I have been told that the entire GMF is "Confidential" - and (last I checked) - unless there is a really good reason, you can request a de-classification review of a Confidential document +10 years after it was created. This is the angle I tried with Kathy Smith who told me there were no such thing as a Government Master File (SMH)..... (I specifically requested the entire 2010 GMF....)
anyway.
The TSM article by Chris Parris mentions that the entire GMF is "Top Secret" - I highly doubt that is true, but I have no facts to counter his words.
My best guess would be that the entire GMF is actually a SECRET document. This would allow it to be processed via standard classified computer channels (e.g., SIPRNet, etc.) - as the requirements for a TS level network are quite restrictive. Again, I have no real world experience to offer on the matter. Just my guess.
Should you want to give yourself a headache, read: The President Executive Order 13526
The hangup has and always will be classification. Since various feeders into the GMF, especially military, can classify listings for whatever reason - location, freq, usage, etc. it will always make for a tricky document to request a de-classification review, especially when listings could reveal military capabilities / locations that are indeed "classified".
All that being said - I think it's pretty neat that at least NTIA released "something".
doug
I literally have an email from "KATHY SMITH" who tells me that she has no idea what the "Government Master File" is.
hilarious.
btw - there is another angle here. Keep in mind --- I do NOT have access to the classified version of this document.
I have been told that the entire GMF is "Confidential" - and (last I checked) - unless there is a really good reason, you can request a de-classification review of a Confidential document +10 years after it was created. This is the angle I tried with Kathy Smith who told me there were no such thing as a Government Master File (SMH)..... (I specifically requested the entire 2010 GMF....)
anyway.
The TSM article by Chris Parris mentions that the entire GMF is "Top Secret" - I highly doubt that is true, but I have no facts to counter his words.
My best guess would be that the entire GMF is actually a SECRET document. This would allow it to be processed via standard classified computer channels (e.g., SIPRNet, etc.) - as the requirements for a TS level network are quite restrictive. Again, I have no real world experience to offer on the matter. Just my guess.
Should you want to give yourself a headache, read: The President Executive Order 13526
The hangup has and always will be classification. Since various feeders into the GMF, especially military, can classify listings for whatever reason - location, freq, usage, etc. it will always make for a tricky document to request a de-classification review, especially when listings could reveal military capabilities / locations that are indeed "classified".
All that being said - I think it's pretty neat that at least NTIA released "something".
doug
jhooten
Member
The last copy I had on my desk before I retired was 4" thick and was marked FOUO.
I had access to and used the GMF from the mid 1970s when it was on microfiche through the 1980s and early 1990s when it was published on a CD-ROM. The overall classification was SECRET because some of the individual military and CIA entries were classified at that level and had "(S)" prior to their listing. The federal law enforcement agencies were classified at the CONFIDENTIAL level. Nothing in the database was at the TS level.
When the NTIA releases an RFP to pull that master database off the mainframe into a super-duper client-server RDBMS environment, I'm going to bid on the project for $212 million dollars, get the contract, and I'll disappear for a few years to do the conversion.
The next time you'll see me is on a beach somewhere in flip-flops, swim trunks, and a Philippe Patek watch on my wrist.
The next time you'll see me is on a beach somewhere in flip-flops, swim trunks, and a Philippe Patek watch on my wrist.
Doug, I could have been a little clearer - there was a federal contract job posting that mentioned the applicant must be able to hold a "TOP SECRET" security clearance in order to have access to the GMF and other information as part of the federal job.
- Chris
It has been a few years, but the freq coordinators used to be a few desks over from my desk. They had a copy of the database, and it was not that highly classified.
So who would you turn over the operations of this site to? (Assuming you would not disavow this site.)
In other words, your going "full McAfee"?
RFI-EMI-GUY
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In other words, your going "full McAfee"?
You are jumping to conclusions.In other words, your going "full McAfee"?
It's based on the 80-column punched card format, with certain columns dedicated to certain fields. Check
"MANUAL OF REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR FEDERAL RADIO FREQUENCY MANAGEMENT" for more info. The whole NTIA file can be converted to a relational database with some good old-fashioned COBOL, FORTRAN, or C programming and some hard work.
"MANUAL OF REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR FEDERAL RADIO FREQUENCY MANAGEMENT" for more info. The whole NTIA file can be converted to a relational database with some good old-fashioned COBOL, FORTRAN, or C programming and some hard work.
(Refer to picture in post #62.)
"FORTRAN.... Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time.......... A long time."
- OWK
(With apologies to Mr. Lucas.)
The problem is that the conversion to PDF screwed up some of the column alignment, inconsistently, and the conversion back to text is therefore inconsistent. It becomes far more complex to parse by looking for known values in approximate positions.
I understand your point. All of you posting on this issue are doing great work. In the 1980s, I devoted a year to transcribing all the Missouri listings from the Prelinger microfiche by hand to columnar pads, hoping someday to convert to Excel. Now ArkTex is doing it with this latest release.
