Subject: FCC License Data Sources
Date: 1 Apr 1996 10:01:01 GMT

[last changed 03-Jan-96]

Changes preceeded by "|".  Please e-mail corrections and additions to me.

The latest version of this file can be accessed via anonymous ftp to
agora.rdrop.com in /pub/users/billmc/fcc_sources or via my web page at:
http://www.rdrop.com/users/billmc

  INTRODUCTION

  This is a list of FCC license data sources available to scanner
  hobbyists.  The FCC master contains a wealth of data about every
  non-government license in the United States (over three million
  records).  Most of the sources listed contain a subset of this data,
  although a few contain all or nearly all of it.  Government licenses are
  not administered by the FCC, and the data is not available to the
  public.

  If you are interested in purchasing FCC data, you might want to consider
  forming a co-op of people in your area to share the cost.  As far as I
  can tell, this is legal since the information is in the public domain.
  However, the software supplied to view or manipulate the data is usually
  copyrighted and must be purchased separately by each user.

  Prices are rounded to the nearest dollar and include shipping, if known.


  C.E.T.

  CET sells records of all stations inside a 30-mile radius for $80.
  (Major cities cost extra.)  A 70-mile search costs $178.  The data is
  provided on floppy disks and is available in ASCII columnar and
  comma-delimited formats.

  CET does not provide data for licenses that do not contain specific
  geographic coordinates (i.e., mobile-only systems) or specific operating
  frequencies (e.g., amateur radio).

  To do the search, CET requires the latitude and longitude of the center
  of the 30-mile radius.  I calculated mine from a USGS topographic map I
  obtained at a local nautical supply store.  Alternatively, you can obtain
  the coordinates for your town from the University of Michigan's
  geographic name server.  Run "telnet 141.212.99.9 3000" and enter your
  zip code.  For my area, the server returned the coordinates of the main
  post office.

  CET can be reached at 800-445-0297.


  GROVE

  Grove sells FCC data on CD-ROM and floppy.  The CD-ROM covers the entire
  US and is available with or without mapping support.  The mapping version
  brings up a map with the requested station plotted on it.  The regular
  version is $104, and the mapping version is $174.

  Floppies are available by state for $44 per state (add $10 for CA, FL,
  TX).  The disk comes with a database search program.  Grove Enterprises
  can be reached at 800-438-8155 (voice) or http://www.grove.net/ (WWW).


  MICROFICHE

  The Bearcat Radio Club sells the FCC master by state for $15.  Bearcat
  Radio Club can be reached at P.O. Box 291918, Kettering OH, 45429.


  PERCON

  PerCon sells FCC data on CD-ROM.  The Spectrum CD covers the entire US
  and comes with a simple database search program.  Regional CDs cover
| subsets of the US but come with a more powerful database manager and
| provide more detail about each license.  Also available is a Ham callsign
| and repeater database CD.

| Spectrum costs $37, and the Ham and Repeater Database is $21.  Regional
| CDs are $137 for the first CD, $102 each additional CD ($560 for the
| entire 6 CD set).  Data is updated twice a year.  PerCon can be reached
| at 716-386-6015 (voice), 716-386-6013 (fax), support@perconcorp.com
| (email), or http://www.perconcorp.com (WWW).  The Spectrum database can
| be searched free of charge via Percon's WWW page.


  POLICE CALL

  This is probably the most cost-effective source of public service license
  information.  The detail is limited, but the information that is there is
  often more useful than the FCC master.  For example, an entry in Police
  Call that reads, "Portland Police, Net 3, North Precinct," reads,
  "Portland, City of" in the master.

  Police call is available in 9 volumes covering different regions of the
  US.  It can be purchased at Radio Shack stores for $10 per volume.


  RADIOMAP SERVICE

  Developed by long-time Usenet contributor Bob Parnass, this service
  provides a custom report of frequencies, callsigns, and licensee names
  for a specified area in any of the 50 states.  Coverage areas of 4 to 256
  square miles will be chosen by Bob depending on transmitter site
  density.  The report includes a color plot with transmitter sites
  marked.

  To create the report, Bob requires the latitude and longitude (or nearest
  street intersection) of the center location.  Reports are $26 each.
  Write to Bob Parnass at 2350 Douglas Rd, Oswego, IL, 60543, or call him
  at 708-554-3839 between 6-10 PM central time.


  SCANWARE ASSOCIATES

  ScanWare Associates sells a PC-based database program called the FCC
  Frequency Retrieval System V2.x.  It comes with FCC data for one state,
  covering all services and all frequencies.  Data is updated approximately
| every six months.

  Cost is $35 for the first state and $20 for each additional state.
  Updates cost $30 per state.  (Add $5 for CA, FL, TX, NY.)  Quantity
  discounts available.  Fully working shareware copy (FCC215.ZIP)
  downloadable from their BBS at 360-871-4228 (below 9600) or 360-871-4591
  (9600-28.8k).  ScanWare Associates can be reached at 360-698-1383
  (voice), 360-698-8207 (fax), scanware@sincom.com (e-mail), and
  http://cutter.sincom.com/~scanware/index.html (WWW).


  US SCANNER PUBLICATIONS

  Similar in style to Police Call, this series of directories covers ALL
  radio services between 30 MHz and 2 GHz.  Each volume covers one state
  and costs between $14 and $29, depending on the state.  The volume for
  California is 820 pages.  Contact US Scanner publications at 800-890-6999
  (voice) or 503-233-5176 (fax).


  APPENDIX

  Here is table of data fields in the FCC master.  Fields provided by
  various products are indicated by "#" or the field length, if known.

.
|                                             PERCON  PERCON POLICE SCAN
| DESCRIPTION                 SIZE CET GROVE SPECTRUM REGION  CALL  WARE
| Frequency (or Lower Limit)    16  11  12      16      16      #    11
| Upper Frequency Limit         16                      16           11
| Callsign                      10   8  10      10      10      #    10
| Service Code                   2   2   2       2       2      #     2
| Licensee DBA Name             40  32          30      40      #    40
| Licensee State                 2   2                   2            2
| Licensee Zip                   9   5                   9            9
| Licensee Address              35  30                  35
| Licensee City                 20  15  12              20           20
| Licensee Name                200      40             100       
| Applicant Phone               10                      10
| Transmitter Latitude           6   6   6       6       6            6
| Transmitter Longitude          7   7   7       7       7            7
| Transmitter Elevation          5   5                   5            5
| Transmitter Height             5   5                   5            5
| Transmitter HAAT               5                       5            5
| Transmitter Effective Height   5                       5            5
| TX Antenna Structure Height    5                       5            5
| Transmitter Address           80                      80
| Transmitter City              20  10          20      20      #    20
| Transmitter County            30  10  20      20      30           30
| Transmitter State              2   2   2       2       2      #     2
| Class of Station               4   4           4       4      #     4
| Type of Message Service        1                       1
| Area of Operation              1                       1
| Radius of Operation            4                       4            4
| Antenna Type                  10                      10
| Antenna Elevation Angle        6                       6
| Antenna Azimuth                6                       6
| Antenna Polarization           3                       3            3
| Antenna Gain                   4                       4
| Antenna Path Length            6                       6
| Antenna Beam Width             8                       8
| ERP Out                        8   4                   8            8
| ERP Units                      2   1                   2
| ERP Indicator                  1                       1
| Power Out                      8   4                   8            8
| Power Out Units                2   1                   2
| Power Out Indicator            1                       1
| Emissions                     15                      15           15
| License Issue Date             6                       6
| License Expiration Date        6   4                   6
| Operation Begin Time           4                       4
| Operation End Time             4                       4
| Number of Vehicle Mobiles      4   4           4       4      #     4
| Number of Portable Mobiles     4   4           4       4      #     4
| Number of Aircraft Mobiles     4   4           4       4      #     4
| Number of Marine Mobiles       4   4           4       4      #     4
| Number of Pager Mobiles        5   4           5       5            5
| Originating Database ID        1                       1
| Authorization Type             1                       1
| CP Authorization Number        2                       2
| Area of Operation Descript.  100                     100
| Paint & Lighting Specs        33                      33
| Special Conditions           100                     100
| TX Latitude Direction          1                       1
| TX Longitude Direction         1                       1
| Type of Last Contact           1                       1
| Date of Last Contact           6                       6
| Number of Units                4                       4
| Reverse Azimuth                6
| Path Connection Latitude       6
| Path Connection Longitude      7

  CP = Construction Permit, ERP = Effective Radiated Power,
  HAAT = Height Above Average Terrain

-- 
Bill McFadden   Tektronix, Inc.  P.O. Box 500  MS 50-350  Beaverton, OR  97077
bill.mcfadden@tek.com     http://www.rdrop.com/users/billmc     (503) 627-6920
CAUTION: Don't look into laser beam with remaining eye.
The opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of Tektronix, Inc.
