ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
In another message, LouMagg wrote:
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CSV file downloads are there for those people who want to bring that data down to their computers and manipulate it with spread sheet programs for their own use; it is not the method you use to import into your scanner unless you are writing your own software!
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This statement is unfortunately only half true. While it's very true you can use a CSV file in a spreadsheet (or even in a word processor such as Word), there are some programs - such as Scan Control and many of the BuTel programs - that will allow you to import CSV data to build programming files.
How well the software does it is a matter of how the author(s) have decided the import is to be handeled. As I understand it, the Win9x programs need the data to be in a specific order before it will be recognized. On the other hand, Scan Control and I think BuTel's newer releases can handle the data in any order. You need to tell the software which column fits to which data in a process often referred to as 'mapping'. The now discontinued Radio Manager from Ben Saladino also had this capability.
I've reviewed a few of these programs (and the results are on the Strong Signals website) for Uniden scanners, and the quality of the import tends to vary widely. Importing from a standardized source such as the Web Interface is certainly preferable if available. But if not, a CSV import - if the software can handle it - is the next best choice.
This is not meant as a flame or an attack of any kind - it is meant to correct a misconception and set the record straight. Experience, as they say, is the best teacher.
73s Mike
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CSV file downloads are there for those people who want to bring that data down to their computers and manipulate it with spread sheet programs for their own use; it is not the method you use to import into your scanner unless you are writing your own software!
========================
This statement is unfortunately only half true. While it's very true you can use a CSV file in a spreadsheet (or even in a word processor such as Word), there are some programs - such as Scan Control and many of the BuTel programs - that will allow you to import CSV data to build programming files.
How well the software does it is a matter of how the author(s) have decided the import is to be handeled. As I understand it, the Win9x programs need the data to be in a specific order before it will be recognized. On the other hand, Scan Control and I think BuTel's newer releases can handle the data in any order. You need to tell the software which column fits to which data in a process often referred to as 'mapping'. The now discontinued Radio Manager from Ben Saladino also had this capability.
I've reviewed a few of these programs (and the results are on the Strong Signals website) for Uniden scanners, and the quality of the import tends to vary widely. Importing from a standardized source such as the Web Interface is certainly preferable if available. But if not, a CSV import - if the software can handle it - is the next best choice.
This is not meant as a flame or an attack of any kind - it is meant to correct a misconception and set the record straight. Experience, as they say, is the best teacher.
73s Mike
