Re: [PERFORM] OSS database needed for testing

> I'm quite familiar with RadioSoft.  Can't afford any of the software;
> familiar
> with the products... :-)
>
> I've been putting together open source tools to do much of the same
stuff.
> With the release of the FCC's Fortran source, I've been able to do
> virtually
> everything I need to do.
>
> But while the LMR dataset is larger, the MB dataset is just as varied.
> I'm
> interested in both, however.

Peter's my father!   At RadioSoft I worked over that same fortran code
you talked about.  We ported most of it to C.  Of course, I would prefer
not to write any software that would compete with my father's company,
free or no :)
I can tell you, though; the land mobile database is much more
complicated.  Getting it to run decently on pc hardware is a significant
engineering challenge.  OTOH, the broadcast database isn't too bad.  For
example, the last time I checked there were about 40k tv stations in the
cdbs, compared with about 4m frequencies in the land mobile private.
Also the lm database has a much wider scope of function.  The
requirements for broadcast have changed (like the nature of broadcast
technology itself) very little in the last 50 years, except for the
ill-fated DTV rollout and the failed AM stereo.  It's a conservative
industry.

Merlin