Computer-Assisted Radio Monitoring

Frequency Database and Logging—Part I

by Joe Cooper <joe@provcomm.net> 

This is Fineware’s Radio Listener’s Data Base
(RLDB) program. It uses a database file to
display information about shortwave broadcast
schedules. Those broadcasting at a specific time
are displayed; then the data can be used to tune a
compatible radio. This month’s column will show
you how database files are created and used
 with computer software like this one.

Since starting this column, the one topic that I have received the greatest number of questions about has been how to create and use a database file of radio frequencies. The main reason why so many people have asked these questions is due to the simple fact that they do not have the proper background knowledge about the subject.

This lack of knowledge is not surprising. Most of the time when one goes looking for information on the subject it is unnecessarily complicated. Worse, you often have to wade through far too much theory in order to get to the practical techniques that you need to create and use database files.

So in this and next month’s columns I will provide you with the necessary information to properly understand what a database file is and how it is used with a variety of radio monitoring software programs. I’ll try to do so in the simplest terms.

What I hope by the time you have finished reading you’ll understand how files of radio frequencies are created and stored, and how to use them in a variety of software programs, particularly CAT (Computer Assisted Tuning) and logging programs.

Some of the software programs we’ll mention here are ones that we have looked at in some of the earlier columns. They include Computer Aided Technologies’ Scancat-Gold and Fineware’s Radio Listener’s Data Base (RLDB). Each of these programs (and several others) is able to make use of files of radio frequencies in different ways.

Some, like Scancat-Gold, use the files to scan groups of frequencies. The scanning can be done one frequency after another, which is called sequential order scanning, or over a range of different frequencies, or random order scanning. We will take a look at how these files of frequencies are made up and how they are used.

Other programs, such as RLDB, do not perform scanning. Rather, they sort and order the information found in the data file so that specific information is found quickly. Say, for example, you want to find out all of the shortwave broadcast stations that were on the air at 0100 hours UTE. You could “ask” the software program to do that, and it would quickly show you a list of all of those stations that were broadcasting at that time. Likewise, you could also sort out additional information, such as all of the stations that broadcast on one particular frequency or in a particular language.

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