tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956123571240657762024-03-13T05:34:15.843-07:00RadioReference BlogEverything happening in the RadioReference Community, authored by Lindsay Blanton - Owner and Operator of RadioReference.com.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-27543287824497917612011-12-15T16:28:00.000-08:002011-12-15T16:45:48.750-08:00New User Profile, Shack Photos and Amateur Radio Features Released<div style="text-align: left;">Recently, we released these new Amateur Radio related features to the community:</div><div><div><ul><li>Amateur Radio Callsign lookup and search support, prepopulated with all US Amateur Radio call signs and updated weekly</li><li>Amateur radio operators now have a new badge identifying them as Amateur Radio Operators in the forums</li></ul>Additionally, we released these new features for all of our registered members on the site:</div></div><div><ul><li>Members can upload up to 5 photos of their radio shack / desk / mobile setup to be displayed in their user profile</li><li>Members can add a short biography about themselves to be displayed in their user profile</li><li>Members can upload a profile picture that is displayed on your user profile page</li><li>Members whose username is their Amateur Radio callsign automatically have their callsign information linked to their profile</li><li>Members may manually link their Amateur Radio callsign to their profile if their username is different from their callsign</li></ul><div><div>To get started with the shack photos feature, head on over to your account page and click the "Shack" tab.</div><div><ul><li><a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/account/?tab=shack">Your Account - Shack</a></li></ul><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 403px; height: 241px;" src="http://s.radioreference.com/news/2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>To get started with the biography and user profile picture features, head on over to your account page and click the "Bio" tab.</div><div><ul><li><a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/account/?tab=bio">Your Account - Bio</a></li></ul><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 436px; height: 262px;" src="http://s.radioreference.com/news/3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>To get started using the Amateur Radio callsign lookup and search features, click the "Databases" drop down menu item at the top of the page, then click the "Amateur Radio Database" entry.</div><div><ul><li><a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/ham/">Amateur Radio Callsign Database</a></li></ul><div style="text-align: left;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 599px; height: 349px;" src="http://s.radioreference.com/news/1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div>To manually link your amateur radio callsign to your RadioReference.com username, open your account profile and fill in your amateur radio callsign in the appropriate field. If your callsign does not exist in our callsign database, you will be given the opportunity to submit your callsign details to the database.</div><div><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 369px; height: 504px;" src="http://s.radioreference.com/news/4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div><br /></div><div>Enjoy!</div>Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-6320173864979977252011-12-08T16:46:00.000-08:002011-12-08T17:02:23.424-08:00Lots of traffic<span class="Apple-style-span"><div>Many have inquired why the site was running so slowly this afternoon. Well, there was a double homicide shooting incident on the Virginia Tech campus today which resulted in tens of thousands of listeners flooding in to the audio portions of the site within a period of about five minutes. Virginia Tech is a highly technical community so they are more online than most.</div><div><br /></div><div>The site was mentioned by students being interviewed on CNN, as well as numerous viral posts in the social media circuit (Facebook, Twitter etc), which drove a large amount of traffic to the site in a short period of time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Luckily, we learned an important lesson a few months ago when CNN mentioned us during the east coast earthquake, so we put in place "throttles" to prevent too much traffic from taking the site down until we could provision new servers. On that day when CNN mentioned us on the air, so much traffic so quickly to RadioReference caused our database servers to crash under the load and we were down for over 45 minutes! Running a platform that can instantly see tens of thousands of people flocking to it out of nowhere can be challenging since it is difficult and costly to keep servers constantly provisioned and prepared for such traffic. But, the good thing is the site stayed up and running, albiet slowly, and we were able to provision new servers to better handle the additional traffic we were seeing. </div><div><br /></div><div>For those that want the nitty gritty on what happened today - we have a proxy server that load balances requests across our Web servers and also throttles requests so if we hit a traffic spike like we did today, we won't overwhelm what is already running. We currently throttle to 2000 req/sec and we were maxed out for most of the afternoon. After the news hit we brought up 2 additional Web servers and a database replica server to handle the load and things are back to reasonable levels of performance. </div><div><br /></div><div>With that said - for those of you that were having trouble getting your RR fix this afternoon, our apologies.</div></span>Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-33027176537289867832010-08-20T16:19:00.002-07:002010-08-20T16:41:23.554-07:00The monthly bill<div>Has anyone ever wondered what RadioReference's monthly costs are to provide our services? I figured I would take a moment to share with the community what we pay each month in hosting expenses. We obviously have other expenses, like taxes, payroll, commissions, etc, but our largest expense is our Web hosting hosts (servers, bandwidth, etc).<div><br /></div><div>Our primary Web hosting partner is <a href="http://aws.amazon.com/">Amazon Web Services</a>, which provides a fantastic cloud computing model which is critical for our ability to scale up and down based on demand, and pay only for what we use. We have also partnered with <a href="http://www.serverbeach.com/">ServerBeach</a> to provide a server external to Amazon Web Services for mail and monitoring activities.</div><div><br /></div><div>Below is our latest invoice for the month of July's hosting on Amazon Web Services... (click the picture to see the invoice full size)</div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/TG8P-IfkG3I/AAAAAAAAAGg/tpxgkN0_c6w/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-08-20+at+6.28.49+PM.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/TG8P-IfkG3I/AAAAAAAAAGg/tpxgkN0_c6w/s400/Screen+shot+2010-08-20+at+6.28.49+PM.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507638429403585394" /></a><div>That's right, right about $<b>8,285.00</b>. We also paid ServerBeach approximately $200 for a server hosted with them. That means on a typical busy month we are looking at ~ $8500/month in hosting and bandwidth costs. </div><div><br /></div><div>How does all this break down? </div><div><br /></div><div>- $2700/month in server costs (web, database, archive, audio, and management servers)</div><div>- $1300/month in storage costs (audio archives, backups, databases, files etc)</div><div>- $4500/month in bandwidth (all those audio feeds)</div><div><br /></div><div>Hopefully this gives a good perspective as to what it costs to run a high traffic, bandwidth intensive Web property.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next up... our technical architecture. Ever wondered how many servers we have, what they do, and what software we run? Stay tuned!</div><div><br /></div>Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-88123826772636682162010-05-15T07:18:00.000-07:002010-05-15T07:19:27.621-07:00Coming in early June, Premium Feed Broadcaster OfferingWe are excited to announce that in early June we will release a premium feed broadcaster offering. This is primarily intended for public safety agencies and commercial entities, however any feed broadcaster could upgrade their feed. The features include:<br /><br />1) 90 day archive retention<br />2) Ability to automatically trim dead air from archives<br />3) Brand free set of Web players<br />4) No ads on your Web players or feeds<br />5) User defined lead-in audio feature<br />6) Private Feed support with delegated administration (you can restrict access to your feed to only users that you specify)<br />7) Complete access to all mount points and server details - do what you want with your feed, anywhere, anytime.<br />8) Full archive access via API to display archive files and lists on your sites/systems.<br />9) Full downloadable statistics<br /><br />Our current offerings will not change, and you reserve the right to switch between being a normal RR feed broadcaster or a premium broadcaster at any time. <br /><br />The cost for this offering will be $14.95/month per feed.<br /><br />Look for more details coming soon, including the release date.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-36515063867271376092010-02-12T09:39:00.000-08:002010-02-12T09:53:57.935-08:00Listening to RadioReference Live Audio Feeds using the Logitech SqueezeBox<div style="float: right;"><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=radioreference-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B002LARRDK&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /></div>As you probably know, RadioReference has over 1800+ live audio feeds of public safety communications from all over the world. With the recent release of the <a href="http://www.scannerbox.us/">ScannerBox plug-in</a> for the Logitech Squeezebox, you can now listen to all of those feeds directly from this full featured Wifi enabled music player.<br /><br />If you aren't familiar with the Logitech Squeezebox, this device is a dedicated internet radio station player. With the release of the <a href="http://www.scannerbox.us/">ScannerBox plug-in</a>, you can now instantly listen to all of RadioReference's live audio feeds on this great "appliance."<br /><br />For more information, on the plug-in, see the links below and watch the YouTube video.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.scannerbox.us/">ScannerBox Plug In</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LARRDK?tag=radioreference-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B002LARRDK&adid=0P4X7AEBYPK12N66QNC0&">Logitech Squeezebox</a><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8GM_xWwv5KY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8GM_xWwv5KY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-67738065852717860542010-02-11T07:10:00.000-08:002010-02-11T07:12:51.509-08:00RadioReference and Incident Page Network (IPN) Announce Incident Syndication PartnershipRadioReference is pleased to announce that we have formed a partnership with <a href="http://www.incidentpage.net/in.cgi?ID=RADIOREF">Incident Page Network (IPN)</a>, the world's premier incident notification network, to syndicate incident alerts on RadioReference Live Audio County pages. Most incidents displayed will be delayed up to 2 hours, however critical and large scale incidents will be displayed in real time.<br /><br />In addition, existing IPN subscribers will be soon be able to associate their RadioReference.com Username with their IPN profile, allowing all incidents to be displayed on RadioReference.com pages in real time for existing IPN subscribers.<br /><br />More details and information on this partnership can be seen here:<br /><br /><a href="http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Incident_Page_Network" target="_blank">Incident Page Network - The RadioReference Wiki</a><br /><br />These new features will be rolled out during the evening of Monday, February 8th 2010<br /><br />Enjoy!Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-48730587792977477352009-09-02T06:07:00.001-07:002009-09-02T06:08:52.698-07:00RadioReference Infrastructure Updates Coming For SeptemberI wanted to spend some time this evening to document out for you some<br />of the cool infrastructure updates that we have coming for RadioReference.com.<br />We've seen tremendous growth this year so this is really<br />necessitated. We are planning to move our entire hosting platform<br />over to Amazon Web Services, which is a cloud based computing<br />environment that lets us build our infrastructure on demand, and pay<br />for what we use. It is a little more expensive that traditional<br />hosting providers, but it provides tremendous flexibility for us. <br />You can see more information on Amazon Web services here:<br /><br /><a href="http://aws.amazon.com/" target="_blank">Amazon Web Services</a><br /><br />With what we have architected moving forward, we can scale within<br />minutes to support millions of visitors to our site - something that<br />isn't quite so easy with our current architecture. In fact we<br />recently in the last 6 months moved to a much larger infrastructure<br />environment, only to exceed the capacity at times after all the<br />growth..... and during the summer no less, which is the slowest time<br />for our business. Clearly, we need to take significant action.<br /><br />So, what do we have planned? What are the technical details? For<br />those of you that like this stuff... Here is what the site will look<br />like after the switch in the next few weeks. We will have:<br /><br />1 Web Proxy Server. This server will proxy all requests to back end<br />Web servers, allowing us to load balance requests to LOTS of Web<br />servers versus the two that we have today. It will be a front end to<br />the entire back-end infrastructure of Web and database servers, and it<br />will have a hot standby that can come up quickly (in minutes) in case<br />of a failure.<br /><br />3 Web servers... to start. The proxy server above will balance<br />requests across each of these, on round-robin basis. These Web<br />servers are the cloned the same so I can literally bring online as<br />many of them as I want and add them to the Web proxy server<br />configuration. Understand that the bottlenecks that we sometimes see<br />in site performance happen at the back end Web servers and/or database<br />servers. A single proxy server could easily funnel 5,000 requests a<br />second to a back end infrastructure without even breaking a sweat. We<br />will also look at deploying, on demand, additional servers just for<br />the forums so that when they get busy from 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM we can<br />add servers to support the requests, and then bring them down when<br />things get quiet. If we get a huge influx of traffic, I could bring<br />up 30 servers if I needed to.<br /><br />1 Master database server. This thing will be a monster, with 8<br />virtual cores and 16GB of RAM. All database writes will go to this<br />server. Meaning anytime something needs to be changed in the<br />database, this sucker is going to handle it.<br /><br />2 Slave Databases... to start. A slave database server replicates all<br />information from the master listed above but functions in a read only<br />mode. One will be a primary slave server responsible for offloading<br />read requests from the master server (the master will still serve a<br />lot of read requests, but this is a start). Another slave database<br />will be dedicated solely for database backups and snapshots. If we<br />have to bring up a bunch of Web servers because of increased demand,<br />we can also bring up slave database servers to serve those Web servers<br />all their read requests. Again, we can bring up as many of these as<br />we need to. we are also looking at advanced caching techniques for<br />the database servers as well (memcached).<br /><br />1 NFS Server. NFS stands for "network file system", and allows us to<br />put all of our Web content on a single server and let all the Web<br />servers reference it. That way we only have to put things in one<br />place and if we have 100 Web servers they can all reference the same<br />data.<br /><br />1 Management Server. This server will update statistics on all the<br />servers, monitor each of the servers for problems, and alert us when<br />something goes bad. No more dead server at 11pm and it gets fixed at<br />7am.<br /><br />2 Master Audio Servers- These servers will receive all of the audio<br />feed broadcasts that are hosted on the site. Our plan is to have one<br />master server for every 1000 audio feeds. We can grow this as needed.<br /><br />2 Relay Audio Servers... to start. Relay servers are what you connect<br />to when you listen to a live audio feed. We can add as many of these<br />as we need to support all the listeners, up to millions of listeners. <br />Our plan is to have 1 relay server per 3000 listeners.<br /><br />3 Audio Archive Servers. The audio archive servers, well, archive all<br />the audio. Each are connected to a 1TB disk store. Our plan is to<br />have one archive server per 500 feeds.<br /><br />So many will ask, how much will this cost per month? I would estimate<br />that our charges per month will exceed $4,000/month. If we have to<br />scale to meet additional demand we will pay for what we use. But, the<br />benefits far outweigh the costs and we will be prepared to scale up to<br />large events and traffic that are invariability going to come our<br />way. We don't have a choice but to invest, and our existing services<br />are costing about $3000/month so this is a great business move for us.<br /><br />And... many will ask, when is this going to happen? Well, half of our<br />audio infrastructure is already on the new system, and we've moved all<br />of the static Web content (logos, images, styles, etc) to Amazon's<br />Cloud Front. The rest of the infrastructure is already up and<br />running, but going through load testing to make sure things go<br />smoothly when we switch. I would expect that by the end of <br />September, we will be fully moved over to this new environment, and we<br />will be welcoming hoards of new visitors and users.<br /><br />Thank everyone for your support, and I welcome your feedback.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-19197283319292775692009-06-01T10:19:00.000-07:002009-06-01T10:20:51.278-07:00RadioReference Spring 2009 CD-ROM Released<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SiQN647n54I/AAAAAAAAAF4/c0fkAVaH704/s1600-h/RR_CDROM_Spring.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SiQN647n54I/AAAAAAAAAF4/c0fkAVaH704/s200/RR_CDROM_Spring.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342410363334289282" border="0" /></a>RadioReference.com announced on April 15, 2009 that the April 2009 release of the RadioReference.com Database CD-ROM is now available for sale through ScannerMaster.<br /><br />Priced at $29.95, the CD-ROM provides a complete off-line copy of the RadioReference Database and wiki, including conventional and trunked frequencies assignments for all United States cities, counties, and states, and a select set of international locales. In addition, maps, images, 10 codes lists, and other data are included for selected areas.<br /><br />New for this release is an updated style and look, as well as the complete copy of the RadioReference Wiki for offline access to this reference source.<br /><br />The CD-ROM is now in stock at ScannerMaster, and can be ordered at the following location:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.scannermaster.com/RadioReference_Database_CD_ROM_p/42-521310.htm" target="_blank">RadioReference Database CD-ROM</a><br /><br />More Information on the CD-ROM can be found here:<br /><br /><a href="http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/RR_CD_Apr2009" target="_blank">RR CD Apr2009 - The RadioReference Wiki</a>Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-51498450547659368382009-04-24T14:55:00.000-07:002009-04-24T14:56:15.617-07:00RadioReference Mobile Interface Feature UpdatesNew features have been rolled out for the mobile interface at:<br /><br />http://m.radioreference.com<br /><br />1) Retrieve Frequencies/Information based on Zip Code (US Only)<br />2) Frequency Search by State<br />3) Additional frequency details display for individual frequency entries (inputs,etc)<br />4) System ID and Custom Frequency Table information now available for trunked systems.<br /><br />I've got more features and functionality planned - but these are some of the more highly requested updates that we make.<br /><br />Enjoy!Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-37274097033941470142009-04-22T09:13:00.000-07:002009-04-22T09:14:01.539-07:00RadioReference.com Acquires ScanAmerica.us, Adds 500+ Live Public Safety Audio FeedsSan Antonio, TX -- April 21st, 2009 --RadioReference.com LLC (RadioReference) announced today its acquisition of ScanAmerica.us, the Web's leading provider of online radio communications and public safety scanner audio feeds. This acquisition adds over 500+ live public safety scanner feeds to the RadioReference platform and provides a future foundation for the tremendous growth and popularity of listening to public safety communications online.<br /><br />"Live public safety communications being broadcast online have experienced tremendous growth over the past two years and RadioReference has explored many avenues for offering this feature to our members," says Lindsay Blanton, president of RadioReference. "The ScanAmerica team has done a tremendous job of building their online community and their technology is well architected and top notch. This is a perfect fit with our strategy of adding additional content to the site."<br /><br />ScanAmerica is the web's leading provider of online police and fire scanner feeds. Founded in 2008, the site quickly amassed over 550 feeds from all over the United States and receives visits from over 220,000 people per month.<br /><br />"This transition to RadioReference is perfect for the online scanner community," says Gordon Edwards, owner of ScanAmerica. "The combination of our best-of-breed broadcasting services along with the RadioReference database will result in tremendous benefits for both communities - most importantly being increased audience and visibility."<br /><br />ABOUT RADIOREFERENCE.COM:<br /><br />RadioReference.com is the world's largest radio communications data provider, featuring a complete frequency database, trunked radio system information, and FCC license data. With over 210,000 members, RadioReference provides the most comprehensive collaboration platform for scanner listeners and public safety communications professionals.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-22975398984793354322009-04-09T16:01:00.001-07:002009-04-09T16:03:40.226-07:00New Features and Changes for 4/9/2009I'm pleased to announce two new features and updates to the Web site:<br /><br />1. Premium Subscribers can now set their default display for input frequencies. See the "Database" tab under your <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/account">account settings</a> page.<br /><br />2. We will now be moving all unstructured content (links, maps, logos, code lists, files etc) to the Wiki for each county/agency/trs page. Each entity's new wiki page can be accessed by clicking the "Collaboration" tab on any agency, county, or trunked system page. For information on this can be found here: <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/forums/wiki-forum/141548-collaboration-project-your-help-needed-new-post.html">Collaboration Tab</a>.<br /><br />Hopefully these changes will make it not only easier to view data in the database, but also easier for every person in the RadioReference community to contribute all kinds of revelvant information for their areas. Don't forget, anyone with a RadioReference.com account can edit and add content in the Wiki, so please use this resource to its fullest.<br /><br />Enjoy!Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-34117346120186654792009-03-30T15:45:00.000-07:002009-03-30T15:46:04.444-07:00RadioReference.com 2009 Spring Updates<p> <span style="font-size: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-family: arial; line-height: 110%; font-weight: bold;">RadioReference 4.0 is Live!</span><br />After months of hard work, the new complete site redesign, titled <i>RadioReference.com 4.0</i> was recently released to the community. This new version of the site highlights the most important and significant changes to RadioReference.com since inception. <br /><br />Some of the new features and functionality with the 4.0 release include: </p><ul><li>A complete new theme, graphics set, and common design across all site components.</li><li>Users can now see their submissions and status at the <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/account/?tab=subs">Your Account - My Submissions</a> page.</li><li>New common top menus for easier navigation across different site components.</li><li>FCC license display settings are remembered on county FCC license listing pages for Premium Subscribers.</li><li>Premium Subscribers have a better view of their subscription status across the site.</li></ul> ...and many other features. If you haven't already seen the new design, <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/">stop by and take a look</a>! <p> <span style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;">RadioReference Senior Leaders</span><br />Because of our significant growth over the past year, we recently announced three leadership positions on RadioReference.com. These three individuals, all highly experienced folks in our community, take responsibility for key components of RadioReference. They are: </p><ul><li><a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/user/?uid=2971">Eric Carlson (ericcarlson)</a>, who takes lead responsibility for the <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db">RadioReference Database</a>.</li><li><a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/user/?uid=37">Wayne Hayes (wayne_h)</a>, who takes lead responsibility for the <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/forums">RadioReference Forums</a>.</li><li><a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/user/?uid=1295">Mike Agner (ka3jjz)</a>, who takes lead responsibility for the <a href="http://wiki.radioreference.com/">RadioReference Wiki</a>.</li></ul> For more details on their activities and responsibilities, see the <a href="http://radioreference.blogspot.com/2009/01/radioreference-senior-leadership.html">Blog Post</a> regarding this announcement. <p> <span style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;">Database Team Updates</span><br /><span style="font-size: 10px; font-style: italic;">From <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/user/?uid=2971">Eric Carlson</a>, Lead Database Administrator and Manager</span><br /><br />The RR Database continues to expand its coverage of conventional and trunked data around the world. Additionally, we are continuing to supplement existing data with alpha tags, function tags and geographic tags. All three types of "tags" are intended to make it much easier to program scanners via computer software. If you see missing tags in any area of the database, please let us know what we're missing by clicking the "Submit Info" link on the toolbar at the top of any page.<br /><br />Also, you may have noticed we are now tracking Project 25 trunked system zone IDs separately from site IDs and also showing all trunked site IDs in both decimal and hexadecimal format. These enhancements allow us to properly track site information and help mitigate confusion that arises from different scanners showing site IDs in different formats.<br /><br />In addition, we've heard from many asking "Where have input frequencies gone?" in the new release of the database. Don't worry, they are still present. You can enable viewing of input frequencies by choosing the "Enable Input Frequencies" option at the top of any frequency list in the database.<br /><br />The database administration team is also steadily moving toward standardizing the database organization across all regions. We are developing internal standards and documentation to facilitate a consistent structure to the database as you browse from region to region. Please bear with us as we continue to improve the quality of the database. The database administrator "handbook" will be posted shortly for you to review if you wish to see exactly what our policies and procedures are. </p> <p> <span style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;">Forums Team Updates</span><br /><span style="font-size: 10px; font-style: italic;">From <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/user/?uid=37">Wayne Hayes</a>, Lead Forums Moderator and Manager</span><br /><br /> With the growing interest of the <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/forums">RadioReference forums</a> and our dedication to being the source for radio related discussions, we've added many new topic areas. Areas such as Amateur Radio, New Scanner Users, GMRS and subdivided the Tavern (formerly "The Wasteland"), to name a few. It's an overwhelming expansion but with growth comes reorganization. Stop by, maybe there's something new that will pique your interest. </p> <p> <span style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;">Wiki Team Updates</span><br /><span style="font-size: 10px; font-style: italic;">From <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/user/?uid=1295">Mike Agner</a>, Lead Wiki Administrator and Manager</span><br /><br />We have heard a number of comments about how the wiki is very difficult to navigate, and how the current Wiki homepage is cumbersome. While we tend to agree, it does link to and categorize a number of topics. As this is being written we have well over 1200 articles making it the single largest radio related wiki in the world.<br /><br />With the new implementation of 4.0, a new dropdown menu structure has been implemented for navigation. If you examine the blue toolbar at the top of each page, you will see a "Wiki" menu item in the center of the toolbar. The topics in this dropdown menu are good starting points, and far simpler to navigate than the huge first page. From time to time, we may move topics in and out of the dropdown menu to give a little variety to what is presented. Your suggestions as to what topics you would like to see presented are solicited.<br /><br />In addition, some months ago, with a release of a popular freeware software package for the Uniden DMA scanners called FreeScan, a user manual was developed to advertise the package as well as to create a user-maintained reference manual. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first scanner software application to have its documentation placed into a wiki. Since the wiki is all user generated content, every RadioReference subscriber has the opportunity to contribute additional content to this online manual.<br /><br />Finally, don't forget that the Wiki can be edited by <i>anyone</i> with a RadioReference user account. You are encouraged to use the wiki to document local content, scratchpad information about a trunked system or communications network, or start your own reference source for something radio related. See the <a href="http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/New_Article_Guidelines">New Article Guidelines</a> page for information on how to create and edit articles on the wiki. </p>Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-67561960609815673272009-03-22T15:14:00.000-07:002009-03-22T15:15:47.023-07:00XML1.1 Web service deprecation pushed out to July 30th, 2009At the request of a few software developers, I've agreed to push out the<br />retiring of the existing "1.1" version of the Web service, currently in use<br />primarily by Starsoft and Butel. The new deprecation date is now <span style="font-weight: bold;">July 30th,</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2009</span>. This push back should hopefully give these application developers the<br />time they need to convert to the new Web service, which provides additional<br />features and functionality.<br /><br />It is important to note that this will be the only push out of the date.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-26302924567168961152009-01-26T17:23:00.000-08:002009-01-26T17:24:18.254-08:00RadioReference Senior Leadership Position AnnouncementsRadioReference Members,<br /><br />As you know, RadioReference has grown from a small radio communications oriented Web site to one of the larger sites on the Internet, requiring a tremendous amount of care and feeding to keep growth strong and participation high. There is no doubt that RadioReference is the "go to" destination for anyone looking to participate online regarding scanning and radio communications.<br /><br />With this in mind, I've decided to form and staff 3 new senior leadership positions reporting to me that will take on formal responsibilities for different components of the Web site. This will allow us to have a group of individuals that will help drive how we bring great features, functionality, and a good end user experience across the database, the forums, and the wiki.<br /><br />I take great pleasure in announcing the appointment of these three individuals into the following positions:<br /><br /><b>Lead Database Administrator and Manager - Eric Carlson (ericcarlson)</b><br /><br />Eric has agreed to take the position of Lead Database Administrator, and will be responsible leading our database administration team, developing and formalizing policies and procedures for database management with your involvement and mine, and recruiting and making sure that our approach results in quality and accuracy in the database.<br /><br /><b>Lead Forums Moderator and Manager - Wayne Hayes (wayne_h)</b><br /><br />Wayne has agreed to take over the head moderator position for our fast growing and very active forums. He'll be responsible for leading our team of moderators, making sure that we are on top of rules in the forums, and recruiting a team of focused and localized moderators that can make sure that the forums remain a friendly and welcoming environment. Expect to see great changes in the near future in the forums as we focus more time on improvement and growth.<br /><br /><b>Lead Wiki Administrator and Manager - Mike Agner (ka3jjz)</b><br /><br />Mike has agreed to take the lead on wiki administration duties, which he's already been doing very well. The Wiki has become a very important and go to reference source for radio related information, and Mike will be working to better promote the use of this important reference source so that more folks participate and we continue to integrate more components of the Wiki into the overall Web site.<br /><br />Please join me in welcoming these folks to their new formalized roles, and support them as much as possible as they begin to execute on their responsibilities over the next few months.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-72388859871519100022009-01-17T15:38:00.000-08:002009-01-17T16:02:10.540-08:00RadioReference Records It's 200,000th Registered UserRadioReference.com reached an important milestone on January 12th 2009 registering it's 200,000th member.<br /><br />Some other notable statistics for 2008 include:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">11,926</span> submissions of radio communications data were sent and processed<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">53,124</span> new members<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">277,254</span> posts to the user forums<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">41,220,258</span> page impressions<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">244,082</span> changes to the RadioReference Database<br /><br />2009 will bring even more exciting statistics and changes for RadioReference, as we release a new branding and Web site, new features and functionality, and a better overall user experience!Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-56804366285117251602008-12-23T14:43:00.000-08:002008-12-23T14:46:33.883-08:00XML 1.1 Web service deprecation noticeThe existing REST based RadioReference.com web service (XML 1.1) will be formally deprecated on April 1st, 2009. The script will be removed from service at midnight on that date.<br /><br />I encourage all developers of applications that are using this interface to to migrate support to the new SOAP based Web service, documented at:<br /><br /><a href="http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/RadioReference.com_Web_Service3.1">http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/RadioReference.com_Web_Service3.1</a><br /><br />The WSDL for the SOAP based Web service is at:<br /><br /><a href="http://api.radioreference.com/soap/?wsdl">http://api.radioreference.com/soap/?wsdl</a><br /><br />We are deprecating the REST based Web service because it makes no sense for us to duplicate maintenance and new feature releases across multiple Web service types.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-19032070766931233652008-10-30T13:12:00.000-07:002008-10-31T09:01:57.848-07:00VHF/UHF Spectrum Analysis using the RF Space SDR-14One of the most impressive developments in the radio communications community over the past few years is the advent of software defined receivers, which can provide great tools for spectrum analysis. Hobbyists today can not only view entire swaths of spectrum at one time to view activity, but can also record entire spectrum chunks for later playback and analysis using SDR tools.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scannermaster.com/SDR_14_Receiver_p/43-501311.htm?Click=20907"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 97px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQoYLnTqHDI/AAAAAAAAADc/ljuH8ItfpbU/s200/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263045702344907826" border="0" /></a><br />This article will walk through the RF Space SDR-14 software defined receiver, and review how it can be used to analyze different user segments in the VHF/UHF spectrum.<br /><br />To start, an introduction is in order. The RF Space SDR-14 is a 14-bit software defined radio receiver that operates in the 0.5-30 MHz band. It provides not only extensive spectrum analysis capabilities but also functions as a great receiver with numerous demodulation capabilities for the HF spectrum. Since the SDR-14 is a software defined radio, all controls and interfaces with the radio is done using software applications installed on a PC. The most popular application written to exploit the SDR-14 is SpectraVue.<br /><br />As mentioned above, the SDR-14 functions as an HF software defined receiver, however it can be configured to accept the 10.7 MHz IF output from another receiver, and tune that receiver, to combine as a very powerful monitoring station and spectrum analysis platform for any band range. I have been using an AOR5000A in conjunction with the RF Space SDR-14 with excellent results, allowing me to click on certain portions of the spectrum and automatically tune the AOR receiver.<br /><br />Showing some of the capabilities of this combination or AOR receiver and RF Space spectrum analysis tools, I'll review some annotated screen shots of different monitoring targets. You can click each screenshot to view the full size image.<br /><br />The first we will review below is a screenshot of the SpectraVue application monitoring a 250 KHz wide chunk of spectrum between 260.350 and 260.600 MHz - where US Military UHF communications satellites have downlinks. The RF Space can realistically monitor about 10 MHz of spectrum from another radio's IF, however the narrow swath of 250 KHz allows us to monitor military satcom transponders transponders and see what is happening within each of them.<br /><br />In this screenshot, we can see the 4 Active UHF SATCOM transponders:<br /><br />1. Relaying unknown data bursts on 260.375<br />2. Relaying a Spanish bootlegger's communications on the 260.425 transponder but comms centered on 260.430 MHz. The transponder is 25 KHz wide so the communications come through loud and clear.<br />3. Relaying 16 KHz VINSON encrypted US Military voice<br />4. Relaying a Spanish bootlegger's communications on the 260.525 transponder but comms centered on 260.530 MHz.<br /><br />It is interesting to note that Spanish, Portuguese, and Asian bootleggers at times use all the 25 KHz wide transponders, with communications in LSB, AM, and FM.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQogzZUuHdI/AAAAAAAAADs/rxVhCmJ2Mew/s1600-h/satcom1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQogzZUuHdI/AAAAAAAAADs/rxVhCmJ2Mew/s200/satcom1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263055181879057874" border="0" /></a>Next, let's take a look at the 5 KHz transponders on the Gapfiller Military SATCOM satellites. This screenshot shows (13) 5 KHz wide transponder in action, annotated with different traffic occurring on those. You can clearly see in the screenshot weaker active transponders for a different satellite on the left, and the 13 stronger transponders for the target satellite.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQsgChSAVYI/AAAAAAAAAD0/9SnJLzZIgm0/s1600-h/satcom2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQsgChSAVYI/AAAAAAAAAD0/9SnJLzZIgm0/s200/satcom2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263335817178273154" border="0" /></a>Now that we have reviewed some advanced monitoring targets, we can take a look at some more common monitoring targets that hobbyists focus on. Below is a screenshot of a 10 MHz wide section of spectrum in the VHF aircraft band. This shows a key benefit of using the SDR for spectrum analysis -- you can watch almost the entire VHF aircraft band on one screen, and click to tune a specific transmission on the AR5000 radio.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQsg3Krk2UI/AAAAAAAAAD8/ChG5GQEIp1s/s1600-h/VHFAir.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQsg3Krk2UI/AAAAAAAAAD8/ChG5GQEIp1s/s200/VHFAir.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263336721644575042" border="0" /></a><br />Further, why search the federal government VHF land mobile spectrum on a standard scanner when you can watch the entire band in one window? Below is a screenshot of the SDR monitoring 162-172 MHz, providing the ability to see all activity and click to tune the AOR radio to specific transmissions:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQshgcqx98I/AAAAAAAAAEE/EMbezDXE2MI/s1600-h/VHFFed.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQshgcqx98I/AAAAAAAAAEE/EMbezDXE2MI/s200/VHFFed.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263337430847715266" border="0" /></a><br />And finally, where I live, the federal UHF band in San Antonio TX is quite busy with a large wide area military trunking system active between 406-411 MHz. The screen capture shows activity over time in that spectrum, showing active data and voice channels.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQsiA3IltmI/AAAAAAAAAEM/bVy5XKPaH2Q/s1600-h/feduhf.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SQsiA3IltmI/AAAAAAAAAEM/bVy5XKPaH2Q/s200/feduhf.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263337987707876962" border="0" /></a><br />In summary, you can see that the RF Space SDR-14 opens up a whole realm of possibilities for radio communications enthusiasts. The ability to watch entire blocks of spectrum and then point and click to tune an transmission makes finding new and unknown monitoring targets a breeze.<br /><br />For those that are interested in adding this fine piece of communications equipment to their shack, Scanner Master offers the RF Space SDR-14 for sale on their fantastic Web site. Click the link below for more details on how to order.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.scannermaster.com/SDR_14_Receiver_p/43-501311.htm?Click=20907">RF Space SDR-14 on Scanner Master</a><br /><br />Next up, we'll review the RF Space SDR-14 monitoring the HF bands. Utility, broadcast, and Ham listeners and operators will get a whole new perspective on how HF Spectrum is used.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-73292250882744283762008-09-22T14:07:00.000-07:002008-09-22T14:09:03.166-07:00RadioReference.com and Scanner Master Corp. Renew and Extend their Partnership<span style="font-weight: normal;">RadioReference.com, the Web's premier resource for radio communications information, and Scanner Master, the nation's oldest and largest Scanner-only dealer, today announced the renewal and extension of their joint-marketing partnership.<br /><br />Through this partnership, the most comprehensive line of scanners, software, antennas and communications-monitoring accessories, sourced from around the world, are offered to the world's largest online community of two-way radio users. RadioReference is also developing exciting new products services which will be marketed through Scanner Master starting later year.<br /><br />Richard Barnett, president of Scanner Master Corp., remarked, "Our partnership with RadioReference.com is our most important. It allows us to present scanners and accessories to an enormous audience of dedicated radio professionals and hobbyists. Through this relationship, we strive to provide unmatched service and a wide product mix to the RadioReference.com audience through our strict focus on scanners and scanner users.<br /><br />Lindsay Blanton, president of <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/" target="_blank">RadioReference.com</a> LLC, said, "Scanner Master is widely recognized in the radio communications community as the leading provider of scanners and communications equipment to the industry. This, coupled with their leadership in innovating new products and offerings for the industry means that this partnership will continue to grow and be very successful."<br /><br />With its extensive frequency and trunking databases, news sections and user forums, RadioReference.com is the one-stop repository of radio communication information.<br /><br />For over 30 years Scanner Master has served the radio community through its line of popular Scanner Master and Monitor America books as well as through the sales and service of scanners, accessories, software, antennas and other custom products. </span>Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-54194360167909332332008-07-08T13:56:00.000-07:002008-07-08T14:06:24.909-07:00VHF Low Band Skip - Tips and Tricks to monitoringNow that the summer months are upon us, VHF Low Band Skip reports have been coming in fast and furious on the RadioReference Skip Forum. This article will give you some tips and tricks on how to monitor public safety and military communications from all over North America with a simple antenna and scanner. The trick is timing, and patience.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SHPVrSx3ipI/AAAAAAAAACw/S9ucM2yn1L4/s1600-h/560250_antena_cluster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SHPVrSx3ipI/AAAAAAAAACw/S9ucM2yn1L4/s200/560250_antena_cluster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220751332804627090" border="0" /></a>VHF Low Band Skip is caused by a phenomenon called Sporadic E skip. Sporadic E skip occurs when patches in the E layer of the ionosphere, about 65 miles above ground, become ionized. This layer normally refracts shortwave and mediumwave signals but is transparent to VHF radiation. When patches of the E layer become ionized, great skip opportunities from 28 MHz to 75 MHz occur, allowing you to monitor communications in this band cross-country, and sometimes worldwide when "double-hop" skip occurs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hunting for skip.</span><br /><br />One very valuable tool for looking for E skip patch openings is the <a href="http://www.vhfdx.net/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&Map=NA&mycall=&myloc=&freq=&prop=">DX Sherlock 1.7 - V-UHF QSO real time maps</a> tool. This tool, provided by vhfdx.net, shows real time contacts made by amateur radio operators on 6 meters (50-54 MHz). Usually, when a number of contacts are being made cross country, a sporadic E skip opening is occurring.<br /><br />Another valuable tool is of course your scanner. Some precursors to sporadic E skip come from meteor scatter transmitter sites which broadcast near 40 MHz for telemetry and weather reporting. Meteor scatter transmissions are similar in nature to sporadic E skip transmissions, except the radio communications broadcast bounces off on ionized trails from naturally occurring meteors vaporizing in the atmosphere. These vaporization trails allow ground stations to communicate over long distances from remote areas. Some frequencies commonly used by Meteor scatter systems include:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">40.53 </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOTEL">SNOTEL</a><span style="font-family:courier new;"> - Snowpack Telemetry in the Western States</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">44.20 </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?cs=wpce422">Meteor Communications Corporation</a></span><br /><br />Plug those frequencies in and scan them often. If you hear data (you'll know it when you do, it is a loud buzzsaw sounding data transmission) on these frequencies, chances are a nice band opening is occurring.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Common Reported Skip</span><br /><br />Some of the more commonly public safety agencies that show up on skip across the nation include:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">42.00 - 43.00 MHz Missouri Highway Patrol</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />42.00 - 43.00 MHz Tennessee Highway Patrol</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />33.90 Hamilton County (Cincinnati) Fire / EMS Dispatch</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />39.00 - 40.00 MHz California Highway Patrol</span></span><br /><br />Some of the more commonly heard Military stations include:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SHPWBNE4fYI/AAAAAAAAAC4/Ep7AWM2b2So/s1600-h/34624_blackhawk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SHPWBNE4fYI/AAAAAAAAAC4/Ep7AWM2b2So/s200/34624_blackhawk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220751709230890370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">30.45 Fort Hood Range Control</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />38.90 Fort Irvwin CA Range Control / Fort Knox TN Range Control</span></span><br /><br />In addition to those public safety agencies and military operations, there are numerous other fire departments, police departments, SOs, pagers, Mexican taxi drivers, military range controls, military helo towers, public works, and other operations that occur.<br /><br />The full set of low band allocations in the United States are:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">30.0000 to 30.5500 U.S. MILITARY</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">30.5800 to 31.9800 PARK SERVICE</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />32.0000 to 33.0000 U.S. MILITARY</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />33.0200 to 33.1000 HIGHWAY SERVICE</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />33.1200 to 33.4000 BUSINESS RADIO</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />33.4200 to 33.9800 FIRE DEPARTMENTS</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />34.0000 to 35.0000 U.S. MILITARY</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />35.0200 to 35.6800 PAGERS</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />35.7000 to 35.9800 BUSINESS RADIO</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />36.0000 to 37.0000 U.S. MILITARY</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />37.0200 to 37.4200 POLICE</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />37.4400 to 37.8800 BUSINESS RADIO</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">37.9000 to 37.9800 HIGHWAY SERVICE</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />38.0000 to 39.0000 U.S. MILITARY</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">39.0200 to 39.9800 POLICE</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />40.0000 to 42.0000 U.S. MILITARY</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />42.0200 to 42.9400 POLICE</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />42.9600 to 43.1800 BUSINESS RADIO</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">43.2000 to 43.6800 PAGERS</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />43.7000 to 44.6000 BUSINESS RADIO</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />44.6200 to 46.0400 POLICE AND PARK SERVICE</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />46.0600 to 46.5800 FIRE DEPARTMENTS</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />46.6000 to 47.0000 U.S. MILITARY</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />47.0200 to 47.4000 HIGHWAY SERVICE</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">47.4200 to 47.6600 EMERGENCY SERVICES</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">47.6800 to 49.5800 BUSINESS RADIO</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />49.6000 to 50.0000 U.S. MILITARY</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />50.0000 to 54.0000 HAM RADIO 6 METERS</span></span><br /><br />Search through those frequency ranges and see what you hear! Most Sporadic E Skip occurs from sun up to sun down, however some of the best sporadic E skip openings can occur well till midnight.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Antennas</span><br /><br />You might ask, what antenna do I need on my receivers to pick up this skip? Well, most people reporting activity have received low band skip just using a rubber ducky on a handheld scanner, however using a <a href="http://www.kwarc.org/ant-calc.html">dipole wire antenna</a> cut for 40 MHz will probably give you the best results.<br /><br />Whatever you hear, whenever you heard it, be sure to post your findings and logs to the <a href="http://www.radioreference.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=96">Skip / Tropospheric Ducting Forum</a> on RadioReference.com.<br /><br />Have fun!Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-612165812061118932008-06-15T07:19:00.000-07:002008-06-15T08:12:35.643-07:00Decoding NOAA APT Weather Images<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUxVnB4vYI/AAAAAAAAACo/jLANkj_vKfQ/s1600-h/Picture+13.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUxVnB4vYI/AAAAAAAAACo/jLANkj_vKfQ/s200/Picture+13.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212126391075126658" border="0" /></a>There are a lot of things in the radio communications hobby that are exciting... but for many monitoring satellite communications is at the top of the list. One of the more interesting satellite monitoring targets are the NOAA low earth orbit satellites, which fly in sun-synchronous polar orbits around the earth and continuously transmit satellite photos. These picture transmissions occur in the 137 MHz band and are easily monitored with a scanner and easily decoded with free software. In this post, I'll review how I was able setup a process to receive and decode these pictures using an AOR AR5000 Radio, a computer with a sound card, and free decoding software.<br /><br />Currently, there are 3 production NOAA satellites, NOAA 15, 17 and 18. They transmit on the following frequencies:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">NOAA 15 137.500</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">NOAA 17 137.620</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">NOAA 18 137.100</span><br /><br />The transmission mode is FM, with a bandwidth of 30 KHz. There are very few scanners and communications receivers that have a IF bandwidth selection of 30 KHz, however you can still receive the signal using the standard mode selection of FM for your radio.<br /><br />To get started, you will want to dedicate a receiver for satellite monitoring - the receiver should have a good outdoor antenna with a clear view of the sky. The easiest method is to use a discone antenna, or other roof mounted antenna. There are antennas that are designed specifically for the circular polarization of the NOAA Satellite signals, however a standard discone or other common outdoor scanner antenna should work fine.<br /><br />Next, you will want to download and install the <a href="http://www.poes-weather.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&Itemid=53">APTDecoder software package</a>. APTDecoder is a free software package for recording and decoding signals transmitted by NOAA APT enabled weather satellites. It runs on Windows and is a very powerful tool for decoding the NOAA APT signals.<br /><br />Your next step is to determine what your current station's latitude, longitude, and altitude is. This is important, since the NOAA satellites are in orbit around the earth, and you'll need to use APTDecoder to <span style="font-style: italic;">predict</span> when the satellite passes overhead. Write these three pieces of important information down for input into APTDecoder.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Configuration of APTDecoder</span><br /><br />After starting APTDecoder, launch the application and click <span style="font-style: italic;">Settings -> General Settings</span>. You will want to <span style="font-style: italic;">enable the auto-recording and processing</span> feature which starts the decoding process for you when a satellite comes into range.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUnpcAsDoI/AAAAAAAAABI/r2UwOn4yRZY/s1600-h/Picture+10.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUnpcAsDoI/AAAAAAAAABI/r2UwOn4yRZY/s320/Picture+10.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212115736598417026" border="0" /></a><br />Next, choose the <span style="font-style: italic;">Image Properties</span> Tab and the <span style="font-style: italic;">Enhancements</span> sub-tab and choose the <span style="font-style: italic;">Histogram equalize</span> option. This will help to lighten the picture after decoding so it is more easily viewed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUoHISZ7mI/AAAAAAAAABQ/uDd2LWRVyo0/s1600-h/Picture+11.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUoHISZ7mI/AAAAAAAAABQ/uDd2LWRVyo0/s320/Picture+11.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212116246700093026" border="0" /></a><br />There are a number of other features that can be enabled, such as auto radio control and more picture settings, but the above settings should get you started.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUoeYW0xpI/AAAAAAAAABY/95pM4j8IoZc/s1600-h/Picture+7.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUoeYW0xpI/AAAAAAAAABY/95pM4j8IoZc/s200/Picture+7.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212116646150588050" border="0" /></a><br />The next step is to define your ground station particulars. Choose <span style="font-style: italic;">Settings -> Ground Station</span>, and enter your Latitude, Longitude, and Altitude. Then click <span style="font-style: italic;">Add</span>, then scroll through the list to find your new entry and click <span style="font-style: italic;">Select</span>.<br /><br />Now that your ground station is configured, you'll need to download the latest Keplerian elements for the satellite orbits. Keplerian elements are 2 line text data sets which describe how a satellite is orbiting the earth. These are updated often and need to be refreshed to ensure accurate predictions on satellite passes. Click the <span style="font-style: italic;">Satellite -> Keplerian</span> elements menu item, highlight the first URL entry, and click the <span style="font-style: italic;">Download</span> button on the right. The modified timestamp should show an updated timestamp for the current date and time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUo9d7C6tI/AAAAAAAAABg/6N3Ia5WQz10/s1600-h/Picture+12.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUo9d7C6tI/AAAAAAAAABg/6N3Ia5WQz10/s320/Picture+12.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212117180220631762" border="0" /></a>Now that you have configured the software, it's time to connect your receiver to the computer. If a satellite is actually overhead and in range, APTDecoder will start recording immediately. If this happens, just click cancel.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Connecting Your Scanner to the Computer</span><br /><br />APTDecoder uses the sound card installed in your computer to decode the transmissions from the scanner. Connect an audio cable from the headphone or audio out jack on your scanner to the mic in jack on your sound card. Then, to set the audio level properly, choose the Tools -> Check audio level menu item in APTDecoder and follow instructions in the meter to set the audio level properly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Decoding a Satellite Pass</span><br /><br />With the application configured, APTDecoder is now tracking each of the 3 NOAA Satellites and is providing predication and tuning information to you in the interface. It is time to prepare for one of those passes and decode the transmitted data.<br /><br />At the top of the APTDecoder window interface, you'll notice the phrase "Tracking NOAA-## on 137.620 MHz....." This top line is telling you the next satellite that is about to come into range (or is in range), on which frequency, and the specific time that the satellite will pass over your ground station. At the bottom, you'll see a line that says "Next: NOAA xx on 137.620 .........", this is the next satellite pass AFTER the one that is being tracked (sort of the "next, next" pass).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUsOH97rXI/AAAAAAAAAB4/cUM_c66pUNA/s1600-h/annotate.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUsOH97rXI/AAAAAAAAAB4/cUM_c66pUNA/s400/annotate.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212120764919819634" border="0" /></a>Reading the top line on the interface, tune your scanner to the frequency that APTDecoder says the next Satellite will be on. Remember, this line is telling you which satellite will be next, on which frequency, and when. In the following example below:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUscZZJZVI/AAAAAAAAACA/CEwatOTh-6k/s1600-h/Picture+9.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUscZZJZVI/AAAAAAAAACA/CEwatOTh-6k/s400/Picture+9.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212121010115536210" border="0" /></a><br />This tells us that NOAA 17 is next, transmitting on 137.620 MHz, and will come into range (AOS = Aquisition of Signal) at 17:06 UTC. The current time is 15:11 UTC, so we have about 2 hours before the next pass. To see where exactly each of the 3 NOAA Satellites are in relation to the earth, you can choose the Flat Earth Monitor tool (Tools -> Flat Earth Monitor).<br /><br />To setup and decode the pass, tune your scanner to the proper frequency as indicated on the top line, plug in the audio cable, adjust the audio levels, and wait.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >NOTE: Remember that NOAA APT transmissions on the 137 MHz band have a bandwidth of 30 KHz. If your radio has the capability to change the IF Bandwidth to 30 KHz, you should enable that setting. There are very few radios that have this capability (the Icom R9500, Icom R9000, and the AOR AR5000 are the ones I am aware that can), however it is reported that most scanners in standard FM mode (typically 15-20 KHz) will work OK, but don't expect a perfect decode unless you have a wider 30 MHz bandwidth. </span><br /><br />When the satellite comes into range, APTDecoder will immediately start decoding, and you should begin to see each line decode and scroll. In the beginning of the pass, don't worry if there is a lot of noise, the satellite may need a few more minutes to get into range. The initial decode of the picture will be very dark looking, however after the <span style="font-weight: bold;">entire pass finishes</span> the decode will look just fine.<br /><br />Each NOAA Satellite transmits two photos - a visible earth image on the left, and an infrared image on the right.<br /><br />Start of decoding will look like the below. Don't forget, the initial picture will look very dark, however when the pass finishes the software will auto-process the image for proper light levels.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUs0cskV1I/AAAAAAAAACI/FP54cFVj5hA/s1600-h/Picture+5.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUs0cskV1I/AAAAAAAAACI/FP54cFVj5hA/s320/Picture+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212121423319160658" border="0" /></a><br />Still decoding...with the Flat Earth Monitor enabled showing the satellite transmit footprint around my ground station (you can enable this during the decode):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUtxu24cmI/AAAAAAAAACY/ZmUSYAG45Nc/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUtxu24cmI/AAAAAAAAACY/ZmUSYAG45Nc/s320/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212122476166279778" border="0" /></a><br />Finished. You can see both the visible image on the left, and the infrared image on the right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUuJRFTEaI/AAAAAAAAACg/iIO8pvr297E/s1600-h/Picture+3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SFUuJRFTEaI/AAAAAAAAACg/iIO8pvr297E/s320/Picture+3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212122880490541474" border="0" /></a><br />That's it. Once that decode finishes the next upcoming satellite pass details will be displayed on the top line and you'll want to adjust the scanner frequency if needed.<br /><br />I hope this was an enjoyable post, and that if you've never been able to decode NOAA Satellite transmissions this will be a good first step for you.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-31208697295634254532008-05-30T16:20:00.000-07:002008-05-30T16:23:34.611-07:00Progressing the service tagging of frequency and talkgroup dataAs many are aware, back in January of 2008, we released a new set of functions to allow our database administrators to begin tagging frequency entries and talkgroup entries in the database with a number of new fields, mainly location information, service tags, updated alpha tag functions, and other attributes. One of the most important components of those new functions were service tags, which is a predefined set of 30 different tags that can identify how a frequency or trunked system talkgroup is used.<br /><br />One of the most important reasons why service tagging has been released is to prepare the RadioReference database for the eventual ability to respond to more natural language queries, such as "<span style="font-style: italic;">show me all fire dispatch frequencies in my area</span>." This is an important distinction from how most reference sources are queried today and should speed the rate of innovation and delivery of services from RadioReference.com.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SECMJqo83SI/AAAAAAAAABA/uPfOc0U5RLw/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SECMJqo83SI/AAAAAAAAABA/uPfOc0U5RLw/s200/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206315266933054754" border="0" /></a><br />Tagging all new and existing frequencies and talkgroups in the database is a tedious task, and to facilitate the adoption of tagging, RadioReference is now going to allow <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">any registered user </span>on the RadioReference.com Web site the ability to tag any frequency and talkgroup with one of the predefined 30 tags if a tag does not already exist. This does not mean that our admins are not doing their jobs, but it does mean that they need assistance in tagging existing data that is very extensive and very tedious. 170,000 people are better than 80 to get this structured and extensive process completed.<br /><br />Expect the release of this new functionality to happen the weekend of May 31st 2008. For those registered users who are interested in participating, please see the <a href="http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Tags">Services Tags and Guidance for Use</a> article, which outlines how tags should be implemented.<br /><br />Your help is needed, and we look forward to seeing the results!Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-1502738936462708682008-05-23T13:57:00.000-07:002008-05-23T14:05:05.778-07:00Explaining the Data Removal Policy Change on RadioReference.com<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDcwNqo83QI/AAAAAAAAAAw/FrpvqQcHDUY/s1600-h/1003545_metal_lock.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDcwNqo83QI/AAAAAAAAAAw/FrpvqQcHDUY/s200/1003545_metal_lock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203680905792380162" border="0" /></a>It is well known to many members of RadioReference.com the data removal policy that was put in effect around the 2002 time frame. At that time, the political climate in the United States was at times very worrisome - especially after September 11th. After some drawn out discussions with multiple people within the Federal Government and US military, I decided that it was in the best interest of RadioReference.com, and myself, to allow US Federal and Military officials an opportunity to formally request that I remove data from the site, only under certain conditions. Basically, an "out", and the ability to stay off the radar of some folks that were looking to cause trouble. It is important to note that policy did not under any circumstances provide for the removal of data from the site for state and local government, or businesses, even though we had had received many requests to do so.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDcwYao83RI/AAAAAAAAAA4/mkos3L5tMjY/s1600-h/951486_darts.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDcwYao83RI/AAAAAAAAAA4/mkos3L5tMjY/s200/951486_darts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203681090475973906" border="0" /></a><br />At the time, many wondered why I "caved" in to the US Military and Federal government, and I was strongly criticized for implementing this policy. I even wrote a lengthy position statement that helped explain the approach we were taking. However, in looking out for the best interest of RadioReference.com community and my family, with the political climate as it was at the time, I had decided to implement a removal policy to keep such a large target from becoming "shot at."<br /><br />Moving forward though, now that the political climate has calmed and it has been very apparent that the 10 or so requests that I had to remove data did nothing to actually remove the information from the public domain - and frankly it is a well known fact in the security industry that security-by-obscurity does not work. Therefore, effective May 19th 2008 I made the conscious decision to rescind the policy and not remove <b>any</b> data from the site unless ordered to by a court that has jurisdiction over the site.<br /><br />I'm sure that even this "policy change" will result in criticism, and I welcome the discussion. But remember, at the end of the day if something is important enough to be requested for removal, then it is important enough to either be encrypted or not broadcast over the air.Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295612357124065776.post-14246775880078275782008-05-20T05:30:00.001-07:002008-05-20T06:04:50.598-07:00Dayton Hamvention 2008<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDLLuiTOU1I/AAAAAAAAAAY/BpC9HSDnNaA/s1600-h/IMG_0259.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDLLuiTOU1I/AAAAAAAAAAY/BpC9HSDnNaA/s200/IMG_0259.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202444519908201298" border="0" /></a>How much more relevant could a first post to this blog be than to talk about Dayton 2008. For those that don't know, the <a href="http://www.hamvention.org/">Dayton Hamvention</a> is the worlds largest convention for Amateur Radio Operators and Radio Communications enthusiasts. Each year, I've always "wanted" to attend, but never had the time or patience to sit down and plan a trip. Well, this year was different as I had some time, enough frequent flier miles, and patience to make the trip. At the last second, I decided to make plans to attend.<br /><br />I arrived on Thursday into Dayton at around Noon, and promptly drove out to Columbus to visit Universal Radio's facility in Reynoldsburg OH. Since I was 12 years old, I used to gawk at their catalog and dream about owning a room full of HF radio equipment - so it was only natural for me to head out there and check out their showroom. Later that evening, I had dinner with Rich Barnett, President of <a href="http://www.scannermaster.com/">ScannerMaster.com</a> who RadioReference has a well established relationship with, and Gommert Buysen, the author of the popular <a href="http://www.butel.nl/">Butel</a> line of scanner programming software. After a fantastic steak, a Martini, and two bottles of wine, it was time us hit the sack and rest for the next day festivities.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDLL5yTOU2I/AAAAAAAAAAg/ulYsagO7fx8/s1600-h/IMG_0255.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDLL5yTOU2I/AAAAAAAAAAg/ulYsagO7fx8/s200/IMG_0255.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202444713181729634" border="0" /></a><br />I arrived at about 9:00 AM at the Hara arena and was struck by two things - the sheer amount of people that were participating, and how much of a dump the Hara arena is. It was evident that this event was easily 10 times larger than I had anticipated, and the Hara arena probably bulges at the seams when no one is there, so the place looked like it could come down in a cloud of dust at any minute. I immediately bought a ticket and decided to peruse the outdoor flea market first so I could keep and eye on the building's structural integrity before entering. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun seeing all equipment for sale.<br /><br />At the flea market, I was shocked at how many people were selling stuff, and how much junk was out in the lot. After two long grueling hours I headed in-doors to the ScannerMaster booth to spend some time there to meet some of our regular members and administrators. I wasn't disappointed. Almost immediately we were non-stop bombarded with RadioReference subscribers and admins. Since I have never had the opportunity to meet any of the subscribers (and our admins) - it was a refreshing and very rewarding experience. Mark Meece, Tom Swisher, Chris Dees, Mike O, and numerous others all spent some time at the booth. I also got to speak with many folks that had never heard of RadioReference.com, and those who were purchasing a scanner for the first time. Cool!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDLMICTOU3I/AAAAAAAAAAo/3LShC-_XLxU/s1600-h/IMG_0261.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_3mDp1Zyy2kY/SDLMICTOU3I/AAAAAAAAAAo/3LShC-_XLxU/s200/IMG_0261.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202444957994865522" border="0" /></a><br />After working the booth for a few hours, I headed out to see everything indoors. My first stop was by the GRE booth, where I met the legendary <a href="http://www.starrsoft.com/">Don Starr of Win96/Win500 Software</a> fame. Don had to be the best dressed buy at Dayton, and was demoing his fantastic software suite for the GRE Scanners. I've spent a lot of time working with Don online, so this was a special treat. Next, I went and twiddled the knobs on an Icom R-9500, saw the line-up at the AOR booth (the new <a href="http://www.aorja.com/sr2000e.html">SR-2000A</a> is really cool), and stopped by the RF Space booth to review their SDR (Software Defined Radio) line-up.<br /><br />All in All, Saturday was the same as Friday, with lots of shaking hands, fighting crowds, and looking at radios. I stopped by the Batlabs table to meet Alex, PJ, and the other Motorola equipment crew. In the end, I dropped some cash for an <a href="http://www.rfspace.com/SDR-14.html">RF Space SDR-14 panoramic receiver</a> and prepared for my Saturday afternoon flight home.<br /><br />In summary, the show was far more than I expected, and I most definitely plan on attending next year!Lindsay Blantonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03708164368685961845noreply@blogger.com0