Provide FCC frequency search from db entry page?

[b52hbuff]

We were discussing the possibility of some dead or changed LTR systems over in this thread:
http://forums.radioreference.com/sa...0-crystal-communications-ltr.html#post1714030

Part of the analysis is to take a look at a TRS and see the state of the underlying licenses. If you look at the system in question:
Crystal Communications (Loma Prieta) Trunking System, Loma Prieta, California - Scanner Frequencies
...and see that there is a listing of the system frequencies. There are also links to provide for user submitted FCC Callsigns for these system frequencies:
Site Map: Crystal Communications (Loma Prieta) Trunking System, Loma Prieta, California
...in this entry there are no user submitted entries.

If you want to do some research on the state of the system frequencies for this system, you need to manually open a new window and manually enter each and every frequency into the FCC search box. So for the first LCN, it takes you here:
California Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

I would like to request an enhancement to the way the database page is rendered. Would it be possible to render the system frequencies as live links into the FCC search page? I know that this doesn't definatively link a license to a frequency. But it does make researching the frequency and licensing linkage much easier...

 

[kma371]

What about just submitting the missing license for the system(s)?

 

[b52hbuff]

What about just submitting the missing license for the system(s)?

Because I'm looking for a "dynamic" research tool and not simply a "static" user submitted field. There is a place for both. In my example, the user submitted field would be a starting point. But if I go to that link and see an Expired, Terminated or Closed license, then I'm going to go do a search on the frequency to see what changed.

 

[DaveNF2G]

Seems like one more thing to "break" at the RRDB end. Why not just use the tabbing feature on your browser and have RRDB and the FCC ULS open at the same time?

 

[b52hbuff]

After spending a couple of days doing a bunch of license, frequency and location research, let me share some more observations...

First, all of these searches can be accessed here:
RadioReference.com - Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference Database

There are search boxes for:
FCC Callsign
FCC Proximity Search
Entity Name
Frequency

So those who advocate for simplicity uberalles will be correct that it is possible to navigate here and extract information from the various databases.

But...
Starting from a frequency search:
California Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference
Note that all of the callsigns are live links back into the callsign search. So instead of having to cut and paste and switch tabs, the data is easily obtained via a single click.

Click on a callsign:
WQJS507 (CRYSTAL SMR, INC.) FCC Callsign Details
And you see that Licensee Name and Proximity are also live links. Once again, you could search for it manually, but the page is rendered for your convenience as a link to get to the next search.

Click on a proximity search:
FCC Callsign Proximity Search: N 34.22756 W -118.06758 Range: 0.1

...and it renders a page where callsigns and distances are live search links.

My point is that there are already a lot of live links in page renderings to help make navigating FCC data easier. It isn't like I was the first one to think about this, nor is the frequency live search link the first element to be linked. It may or may not be a good idea. It may or may not ever get implemented. But dismissing it as something novel and detrimental to the site seems short sighted...

 

[blantonl]

I think this is a good idea. One problem is a the sheer number of hyperlinks that would be generated per page which could be pretty large.

One thing we could do is possibly provide a hover pop-up for each freq that retrieves data from the FCC database via Ajax calls.

I'll contact you offline to give you instructions for submitting a feature enhancement ticket request so we can track and manage this feature request.

Check your offline email.

Thanks,