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WARNING ************ Read the READ_ME.1ST file ************ WARNING
The Thank Yous :
I am going to take this chance to thank all the people involved
with the development of this software.
Philip Moore
Perry Jordan
Frank Thomason KD4DBH
Billy Stewart WA4PVI
And a special THANK YOU to
Tim Dowell
Pure Energy BBS Home of
Fido # 1:151/907 Scanner Frequency Manager
(919) 786-5549 24 Hours/4 Gig/USR 16.8 DS
Bill Cheek
Hertzian Intercept BBS Home of the HB-232
Fido # 1:202/731
(619) 578-9247 6pm-1pm PST
Wayne Ashworth W4HG
North Carolina EMS BBS Using RBBS-PC Version 17.4
Fido # 1:379/308 In Operation Since Nov 1986
(704) 633-8024
Even after my imposing many alphas, betas, and gammas upon them,
bouncing many ideas off them, hours of messages back and forth,
and all generously given out of their busy schedules. At a time
when they probably wanted to tell me to forget the whole thing,
they have agreed to carry the latest Scanner Manager and related
files on their BBSs
They have made this software what it is today. If you like what
you see here, it's because of all their efforts and time.
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 1
The License :
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 is Freeware.
The Scanner Manager Release 5.0 program, all related programs, and
documentation are hereby and herein referred to as the "software" :
You are free to use this software under *NO* obligation to register,
donate, or purchase. You are free to distribute this software as
long as you distribute this software, with all of its components and
all unmodified. You may NOT charge the consumer for the software nor
for the use thereof. You are hereby granted license for the private
use of this software. This software is copyrighted by and the author
fully retains all rights and ownership of the software, all related
programs, and documentation.
Use of this software signifies agreement to this license.
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 2
The Warranty :
Every attempt has been made to make the Scanner Manager a stable and
safe program to use. However, the author, nor any related parties
assumes NOR may be held liable for any losses and/or damages arising
from the use of this software. The consumer ( you ) assumes ANY and
ALL responsibility for any damages and/or losses.
In other words ... I (the author) nor anyone else (any other related
parties), except You, are liable for whatever this software does.
System Requirements :
IBM PC, XT, AT, EISA, MC or compatible with 512 K ram free. MSDOS 2+
Color Monitor Strongly Recommended but not required. Hard Drive also
not required, but strongly recommended.
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 3
Using the Scanner Manager :
Generic Information :
Pressing F1 displays Help information relating to the current screen
Pressing F8 allows the you to change the color of the current screen
With a tabular listing displayed :
Pressing INS allows the user to add a record.
Pressing ENTER allows the user to edit the highlighted record.
Pressing DEL allows the user to Delete the highlighted record.
With a data entry form displayed :
Press CRTL+ENTER on a record entry form will accept all the current
information and verify all the required informational fields.
********************************************************************
Scanner Manager 5.0 MUST have be able to open 23 files under MS-DOS.
If you receive an '????????: TOO MANY FILES OPEN' error message,
then check the FILES=## line in your CONFIG.SYS file ( where the ##
is a number between 1 and 99 ). If you do not have a FILES=## line,
then add it with the ## being 40. If you already have a FILES=##
line, then increment the ## number by the quantity in the table :
If the ???????? is then add
------------------ --------
SCANLIST 20
INFOFILE 15
CALLCODE 15
SCANNERS 10
SCANFREQ 10
SCRNCLRS 5
********************************************************************
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 4
Frequency :
Frequency Generic Information :
While a listing is displayed :
F2 will display a listing of the Call Codes for the highlighted
Licensee and Type of Service.
Pressing INS allows the user to add a record.
Pressing ENTER allows the user to edit the highlighted record.
Pressing DEL allows the user to Delete the highlighted record.
While a data entry form is displayed :
Press CRTL+ENTER on a record entry form will accept all the current
information and verify all the required informational fields.
Frequency
Displays a listing of all records in order of frequency.
Licensee
Displays a listing of the records for a specific Licensee in order
of Frequency
City
Displays a listing of the records for a specific City in order of
Frequency
County
Displays a listing of the records for a specific County in order of
Frequency
State
Displays a listing of the records for a specific State in order of
Frequency
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 5
Frequency (Continued) :
Query
Under the Frequency Module ... You'll find a query menu option. This
allows the user to query the frequency database for any combination
of information. The Frequency fields are limits upper and lower ...
inclusive, all other fields are EXACT matches. If a fields is left
empty ... then it is not checked in the query. To display a list of
valid entries enter a ? ( or any invalid identifier ) and a table of
valid entries will pop up for each field, ( except the two frequency
fields). Once the Queried table is displayed ... F9 will generate a
Fixed Record Length or Comma Delimited ( Your Choice ) ASCII file of
all records in the Frequency File that match the Query .... suitable
for sharing. F10 will generate a printed report of all records in
the Frequency Database that match the query. This Query module is
EXTREMELY SLOW, it is doing a comparison of every entered field in
the query against every field of every record in the file.
Call Codes
From the main menu
Displays a listing of all the call codes in the file
By pressing F2 on a displayed listing of Frequencies
Displays a listing of the Call Codes for the highlighted Licensee and
Type of Service.
Maintenance
The maintenance module allows you to add, update, or delete specific
tables of information. Such as Licensees, Scanner Names, Cities,
Counties, Types of Service, Area of Service, or any of the eight
user definable tables.
If you want to change the name of one or more of the user definable
tables then perform the following steps :
At the Main Menu select Maintenance
When the system prompts you for the Table Identifier to
modify make sure the entry field is empty and
press Enter
The system will display a listing of tables within the system
Highlight One of the user defined tables and press
CTRL+ENTER. This is to press the CRTL key
and hold it while pressing the ENTER key.
A screen will pop up allowing you to change the name of the
table.
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 6
Scanners
This option will display a listing of table of scanners.
Highlighting a listed scanner and pressing F3 will display a table
of the scanner's channels and their programming.
Highlighting a listed scanner and pressing F9 will generate a comma
delimited ASCII file ready for downloading into the scanner via the
HB-232 interface.
For more information on the HB-232 Computer / Scanner interface ....
Contact Bill Cheek at the Hertzian Intercept BBS or at
Commtronics Engineering
World Scanner Report
Post Office Box 262478
San Diego, California 92196-2478
One note here .... If you want to store multiple channel programming
configurations for the same scanner. Then, enter the same scanner
with different identification codes. This will allow you to maintain
different channel programming configurations for the same scanner.
For example, let's say you have a XYZ1 scanner with 100 channels.
Then identify the scanner as XYZ1a with the name XYZ1 My Scanner (a)
with 100 for the number of channels. Then, identify the same scanner
again as XYZ1b with the name of XYZ1 My Scanner (b), again with 100
as the number of channels. This will allow you to store 100 channels
for the scanner under the identifier XYZ1a and 100 more channels for
the same scanner under XYZ1b.
Translate
This module allows Importing and Exporting of selected files to an
ASCII structure.
********************************************************************
********************************************************************
When Scanner Manager imports a file, it WILL ADD a record for every
CR / LF combination it finds in the import file. If the import files
are NOT in the proper format. Then a lot of garbage will be added
to your file. So it is a good idea to make a BACKUP copy of your
data files prior to importing any information into them.
********************************************************************
********************************************************************
When the system imports a file ..... it will generate the "internal"
identifiers for the fields. If the user does not like the internally
generate ids, then the user can be change the id in the Maintenance
module. When an identifier is modified, the system will maintain the
file referential integrity automatically.
When an identifier is deleted under Maintenance .... the referential
integrity is ** NOT ** maintained. I did not feel this was a good
idea, due to the fact that this ability could possibly delete master
records that were not intended to be deleted.
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 7
The Fixed Length record structures are :
Frequency File Start Length
( Due to ASCII 254 Length limit, I was unable to include the User
definable fields 5 through 8 in this structure. Also, to maintain
compatibility between structure types, I left the same fields out
of the Comma-delimited structures. )
Frequency 1 9
Licensee Name 10 20
City 30 20
County 50 20
State 70 20
Call Sign 90 9
Usage Level 99 5
Type of Service 104 20
Area of Service 124 20
User Field 1 144 20
User Field 2 164 20
User Field 3 184 20
User Field 4 204 20
Example :
15.3 FORTIS CORPORATION KING Stokes +
North Carolina KFC-735 Business County Wide Service +
Test 11 Test 12 Test 13 Test 14
24.15 PILOT FREIGHT CARRIEWINSTON-SALEM Forsyth +
North Carolina KA-65430 Local Radio +
Test 22
25 REISENWEAVER COMMUNIWINSTON-SALEM Forsyth +
South Carolina KNEB-276 Business +
Test 33
25 CAROLINA COMMUNICATIWINSTON-SALEM Forsyth +
KNES-452 Business +
Test 44
27.43 HELMS, FLOYD MONROE Union +
Some Where KYY-703 Business +
Test 51
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 8
The Fixed Length record structures are (Continued) :
Call Codes File Start Length
Call Code 1 10
Code Description 11 30
Licensee Name 41 20
Type of Service 61 20
Example :
10-55 DWI Driver SURRY, COUNTY OF Local Government
10-50 Accident SURRY, COUNTY OF Local Government
Scanners File Start Length
Scanner Id 1 20
Channel Number 21 3
Frequency 24 08
Licensee Name 33 20
Type of Service 53 20
Receive Mode 73 3
Delay 76 1
Lockout 77 1
Comments 78 25
Example :
Bearcat 500 XL 1 15.3 FORTIS CORPORATION Business +
nfmYNScanner Comments Field
Bearcat 500 XL 2 158.745 SURRY, COUNTY OF Local Government +
am NN
Bearcat 500 XL 3 155.28 SURRY, COUNTY OF Special Emergency +
nfmNN
Bearcat 500 XL 10015.3 FORTIS CORPORATION Business +
wfmYY
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 9
The Comma Delimited record structures are :
Frequency File
( Due to ASCII 254 Length limit, I was unable to include the User
definable fields 5 through 8 in the fixed file structure. Also, to
maintain compatibility between structure types, I left the fields
out of the Comma-delimited structures. )
*** Note - Frequency is NOT enclosed in quotes ***
Frequency,"Licensee Name","City","County","State","Call Sign",
"Usage Level","Type of Service","Area of Service","User Field 1",
"User Field 2","User Field 3","User Fields 4"
Example :
15.3,"FORTIS CORPORATION","KING","Stokes","North Carolina","KFC-735","",+
"Business","County Wide Service","TEST1","","",""
24.15,"PILOT FREIGHT CARRIE","WINSTON-SALEM","Forsyth","","KA-65430","",+
"Local Radio","","","","",""
25,"REISENWEAVER COMMUNI","WINSTON-SALEM","Forsyth","","KNEB-276","",+
"Business","","","","",""
25,"CAROLINA COMMUNICATI","WINSTON-SALEM","Forsyth","","KNES-452","",+
"Business","","","","",""
27.43,"HELMS, FLOYD","MONROE","Union","","KYY-703","","Business","",+
"Test 51","","",""
Call Codes File
"Call Code","Code Description","Licensee Name","Type of Service"
Example :
"10-55","DWI Driver","SURRY, COUNTY OF","Local Government"
"10-50","Accident","SURRY, COUNTY OF","Local Government"
Scanners File
( Due to ASCII 254 Length limit, I was unable to include the User
definable fields 5 through 8 in the fixed file structure. Also, to
maintain compatibility between structure types, I left the fields
out of the Comma-delimited structures. )
*** Note Channel Number and Frequency are NOT enclosed in quotes ***
"Scanner Id",Channel Number,Frequency,"Licensee Name","Type of Service",
"Receive Mode","Delay","Lockout","Comments"
Example :
"Bearcat 500 XL",1,15.3,"FORTIS CORPORATION","Business","nfm","Y","N",+
"Scanner Comments Field"
"Bearcat 500 XL",2,158.745,"SURRY, COUNTY OF","Local Government","am","N",+
"N",""
"Bearcat 500 XL",3,155.28,"SURRY, COUNTY OF","Special Emergency","nfm","N",+
"N",""
"Bearcat 500 XL",100,15.3,"FORTIS CORPORATION","Business","wfm","Y","Y",""
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 10
I realize that I am unable to provide fields for everyone's scanning
needs. So, I have added 8 user definable fields. The first 4 of the
User Fields are Importable and Exportable ... the last 4 are not. So
keep this in mind. * ALL * of the fields are available in the Query
module.
One final note ... Scanner Manager 5.0 uses a "single file overlay"
method of conserving RAM. What this means is that, not all of the
SCANMNGR.EXE file is loaded into RAM at the same time. As modules
are needed by the program, they are loaded into RAM. The program
with not properly execute as a compressed executable.
I realize that this a short manual, but the Scanner Manager Release
5.0 has been designed for easy use. I've tried to display all the
available features for each screen on that screen. Enjoy .....
I ask one thing of you ... Please drop me a line with your ideas. I
want to know what you like, dislike, and/or what you would like to
see added to the program. I want to continue to improve the program.
But without your suggestions, I have no idea what to do next. Even
if you only send me a note just to say that you like what you see, I
everyone that uses this software will have an opinion about it, and
I want to hear it ... is that too much to ask ??????????
Please send your comments and suggestions to :
Mike Thompson
316 Forest Knoll Drive
Mount Airy, North Carolina 27030
If you wish to "register" your copy of the Scanner Manager 5.0, then
give $20.00 to your favorite church or charity .. (but not yourself)
I've toyed with the ideas of what to charge for registration, taking
Scanner Manager 5.0 into over-the-counter packaging, and / or making
it crippleware. However, I'm releasing this software into the Public
Domain as Freeware. My reasons are, the Scanner Manager does not do
everything I want it to do, and in the way I want it to perform. I
will do my best to respond to all reasonable questions and concerns,
but it will have to be by Fido Netmail or US Mail. All comments and
suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated. Be sure to pass along your
appreciation to the beta-testers and PLEASE direct all your comments
to me.
THANK YOU !!!
Mike Thompson
********************************************************************
Wayne Ashworth ( one of the beta testers for Scanner Manager 5.0 and
sysop of the NC-EMS BBS ) has made the suggestion that should there
be a "standard" format for scanner databases. I agree, however, the
only way any "standard" will develop and be adhered to, is for the
scanning hobbyist (YOU and your friends), to ban together and demand
it from the scanner frequency database software developers and the
frequency vendors. Get involved ... don't just take what is "forced"
upon you. Only you know what you want and what your needs are. Let
your needs be known and demand they be met .......
********************************************************************
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 11
Some Thoughts on the Relation Model and Scanner Manager .....
Scanner Manager utilizes a database design that is a de-normalized
third normal form under the Relational model from Date and Codd. For
everyone that is familiar with the relational model, then this will
be a review of some of the features of a normalized data design, as
I extol the virtues of the relational model.
How often do you find that you misspelled an entry that you've made
over and over ? Not often, but when it does occur .... it is a PAIN
to fix. You have to search through each entry you've ever made to
find all the misspellings and correct them. Under the relational
model this is easily fixed for ALL entries at the same time. Under
Scanner Manager, you will enter the item one time and reference it
each time you need the same item thereafter. If you ever find that
you need to change (or correct) an item, then the Maintenance module
provides you access to all the fields in each of your records. When
you make the change to the item in the Maintenance module, then that
change is reflected in each record that uses that item.
How often do you find that Licensee, licensee, and LICENSEE are all
sorted or are reported on as different titles ??? To insure such an
event never occurs under a "flat" file design, you have to be VERY
careful that you enter the item EXACTLY the same ..... over and over
and over again. However, under the relational model, you enter the
item one time .... and just reference it each time you need the same
item thereafter. This is the way Scanner Manager works .. each time
you come to an item that you have not entered into the item file ...
you enter it for the first time ... after that ... you just refer to
the item. Anytime you want to sort or report on the item ...... you
select it, and the Scanner Manager will sort by or retrieve all of
your records that refer to the item you selected.
These abilities may make the record entry forms look strange in the
Scanner Manager. What you see are the "identifier" fields. These are
the places that you will "refer" to the items that you have already
entered into the item file. If you want to refer to an item that you
have already entered ..... then just press the ENTER key, highlight
the item you want to refer to again, and press the ENTER key. What
will be brought back into the original record entry form is the item
identifier ... also the Scanner Manager will display the item itself
in the area next to the identifier field. If you want to add a new
item to the item file ... when you get to the field to reference the
new item ... press the ENTER key ... a listing of the items you have
already entered .... to enter a new one press the INS key .... enter
the Identifier you want to refer the item as, and enter the Item
itself, then highlight the item you have just entered and press the
ENTER key. The new item will be inserted into the item file, ready
for later reference and referred to by the current record.
All of this is nice. But is it worth the extra size in executable,
additional load time ( albeit small, but it is there ), more files,
and far more complex source development. Alone ... NO !!! The main
benefit from a relation design is the saving of disk space. Scanner
Manager 5.0 allows the user to maintain over 350 bytes of data about
each entry. * IF * Scanner Manager used a flat file structure, then
the data for a 3,000 frequency file would consume over 1,000,000
bytes. But by using a relational design, Scanner Manager can store
the same information if as little as 240,000 bytes. Of course in the
real world your savings will not be as dramatic as this. But, this
example shows why I developed the Scanner Manager with a relational
file structure, why the executable SCANMNGR.EXE is fairly large, and
some of the benefits you receive from it's use.
Scanner Manager Release 5.0 Page 12