This article is copyrighted (c) 1998 by Bill Cheek. Permission to reprint for FREE access and FREE use by others is automatically granted so long as this entire article, including signature box at the end are retained intact and unaltered. A TUTORIAL ON THE CE-232 SCANNER/COMPUTER INTERFACE'S AUTO-LOOKUP FUNCTION INTRODUCTION ============ The CE-232 Scanner/Computer Interface is a 2.5" x 3" electronic board that goes between an IBM-PC/compatible computer and a VHF-UHF scanning receiver for a host of powerful capabilities. The CE-232 is a -smart- RS-232 Interface controller and data acquisition system for some scanners and at least a drudgery-free automatic programmer and remote controller for all supported scanners. The CE-232 eliminates a lot of the drudgery and labor in scanning by its ability to "AutoProgram" up to 999 memory channels from a plain ASCII text file in a short time, error-free and exactly the way you want the scanner configured. The CE-232 also allows REMOTE control of the scanner from the computer keyboard; a strong +plus+ for handheld scanners and those with hard-to- operate keyboards like the PRO-43, PRO-2035 and PRO-2042! The CE-232 is a one-way controller and AutoProgrammer like described above for MANY scanners, including the PRO-2042, PRO-2035, PRO-2022, PRO-43, PRO-39, PRO-37, PRO-34, PRO-26, etc. The CE-232 is a TWO-WAY controller, AutoProgrammer and data acquisition system for the time-honored PRO-2004, PRO-2005, and PRO-2006 scanners which have unique circuitry that allows the CE-232 to do MUCH more than just AutoProgram and Remote Control, including AutoLog data on "hits", AUTO-REJECT undesired signals, AUTO-LOOKUP data about a certain frequency, and much more. AUTO-LOOKUP OVERVIEW ==================== ** CE-232 offers a LOOKUP feature for ID of signals! ** The CE-232 sports a LOOKUP function to display data in a screen table for the active frequency every time the scanner STOPS on a signal! Your previously prepared AutoProgram (*.APF) File can do nicely for this file, if it contains the kind of information useful for a LookUp function. It will display whatever is in that file for that frequency! Great for instant identifications of the signals received by your scanner! AutoLookUp is PRO-2004/5/6 feature only. AUTO-LOOKUP DETAILS =================== The AutoLookUp function searches a LookUp file (when SQuelch breaks) for the frequency in the scanner's LCD display at that moment and shows a section of the LookUp file including the line that contains THAT frequency. The line containing the active frequency is high- lighted for maximum visibility. The below Figure is a reasonable facsimile of the LookUp screen of the CE-232's display when the scanner stops on a frequency found in the LookUp file: ================================================================================= | * CE-232 SCANNER/COMPUTER INTERFACE PROGRAM * | |_________________________________________________________________________________| | __________ Scan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 _________ | || OUTPUT | Bank X _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | INPUT || || STATUS | 26 ch 47.5000 Mhz | STATUS || || 0100 | Delay nfm | 101001 || |_________________________________________________________________________________| | -------------- LOOKUP SCREEN -------------- | | | |,023, 37.9000,,D,,,,,,EMRG,CIVD,SDG,Civil Defense, F-2, secondary; input to 37.9 | |,024, 37.9800,,D,,,,,,EMRG,CIVD,SDG,Civil Defense, F-1, primary,,, | |,025, 47.4200,,D,,,,,,EMRG,EMRG,NAT,Red Cross; F-1; pri; Ops/Disasters; KGB-223; | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |,026, 47.5000,,D,,,,,,EMRG,EMRG,NAT,Red Cross,,, | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |,027,153.7400,,D,,,,,,STAT,EMRG,SDG,Calif Disaster Preparedness Office; Statewi | |,028,153.7550,,D,,,,,,STAT,PRIS,SDG,Calif Dept of Corrections; Security; Fallbr | |,029,154.9800,,D,,,,,,STAT,EMRG,SDG,Calif Disaster Preparedness Office; Rptr IN | | | | Use Ctrl + Arrow Keys to Scroll Left and Right | |_________________________________________________________________________________| | __F1__ __F2__ ___F3___ __F4___ ___F5___ ___F6___ ___F7___ __F8__ __F9__ __F10__ | | HELP MISC LOOKUP APRGM SCRIPT CONFIG REJECT TOOL ALOG PAGE | | on | ================================================================================= Obviously, the LookUp feature is not especially useful for SEARCHing unless either you have one monstrous database/LookUp file (the RF spectrum is huge!), or you do small and narrow searches that can be covered more easily by a LookUp file. Frankly, no one of whom I'm aware uses the AutoLookUp function for Searches, but we use the heck out of it for scans. AutoLookUp is ideally suited for SCANs when the frequencies are first AutoProgrammed into the scanner from a *.APF file. In this case, the *.APF file can also serve as the LookUp file. Remember that an AutoProgrammer file consists of a plain ASCII comma-delimited text file and the CE-232 requires only the first six fields (commas), so you are free to add amore fields to suit your heart's content. The Figure above shows a display of seven records from my AutoProgrammer file. The scanner had stopped on Channel 26, at 47.5000 MHz, and the AutoLookUp function called up the file and positioned it so that the entry for 47.5000 MHz is in the middle of the screen and highlighted by a contrasting color (not shown here.) We see that 47.5000 MHz is what I call an EMERGency frequency and is used NATionwide by the Red Cross. As soon as the scanner takes off and stops on a new channel, the scenario is repeated with a display for that new signal. It happens very quickly, usually faster than you can think about it. The only time-delay in LookUps that I ever noticed were when I ran my CE-232 on an old PC-XT/clone running at 4.77 MHz. Even so, it was still pretty fast. 386 computers and better perform like lightning on AutoLookUps, so you're probably well fixed in that department. Pressing F3 pops up the LookUp Menu. Available selections include: Enable LookUp - Toggles the LookUp feature on and off. A LookUp file must be designated before enabling this function. If no file is designated you will be asked to pick one. Designate File - Allows the user to pick a file in which to perform LookUps. If a file is already designated, a new file may be chosen with this selection. Option: ignore trailing 0's - This option, if enabled, strips the trailing zeros from the scanner's frequency & search the file again if no match was found the first time. This is useful if your LookUp file lists frequencies without trailing zeros (eg: 120.5Mhz instead of 120.5000 Mhz). The LookUp Page is automatically displayed whenever a match in a file is found. For starters, an AutoProgram File (*.APF) can serve admirably as a LookUp File, too! Just make sure it has all the desired data that you need, organized however you like, AFTER the 6th comma (everything before the 6th comma belongs to the CE-232). Any text file may be designated as a LookUp file and enabled from the LookUp menu (F3). This feature works best with a hard drive, small LookUp files, and frequencies exactly like the scanner displays, (padded to 4-decimal places with trailing zeros). If the "ignore trailing zeros" option is enabled, the function searches the file for an exact match with the freq in the scanner's format then searches the file again with the trailing zeros removed. If the searched frequency is 156.750 then this option will find 156.755 if it occurs in the file before 156.750 since it is actually looking for 156.75. Note: The file must be a text file. Other formats, including databases, contain embedded control characters that cause unpredictable results and probable errors. AutoLookUp Limitations The LookUp file must be a plain text file (no embedded control characters other than CR, LF, & Tab). It has been tested up to a file size of 280K. It took approx 3 seconds to find the last entry and display it, using an old Amiga computer running in MS-DOS mode. The larger the file the longer it will take to find freqs near the end of the file. The test file was an AutoLog file, block copied, over and over, to the largest possible size and a unique entry put in last. Squelch was broken on the last freq in the file and an approximation made on how long it took to find it. Slow computers (XT's) will take longer; fast ones (386SX & up) are like lightning. It is also possible to create a RAM disk in Extended Memory and run your LookUp, Reject & *.APF files from there for somewhat better performance, especially compared to floppy & hard disks. There is no need to use a RAM disk with 386DX and faster computers. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ====================== The CE-232's AutoLookUp function will quickly search and display from your frequency database a record for the active frequency in the scanner's LCD display. A quick glance at the highlighted finding on the monitor lets you see whatever information is associated with that "event", "hit", or stop by the scanner. EPILOGUE ======== The utilitarian functionality of the AutoLookUp feature is largely dependent on the quality of your frequency databases. If you don't have any information, then the computer can't find what isn't there. Therefore, it is incumbent on the operator to prepare good files, and fortunately it's not the difficult task it may once have been. The PerCon Corporation sells the FCC Database on CD-ROM and they include a utility to convert desired data to the CE-232's *.APF format, lightning quick, no fuss, no muss. There are a number of other tools to make life easier when it comes to preparing and compiling your own frequency databases. Two of which come to mind include Reid Drummond's APFTOOLS and Computer Aided Technologies' MAGIC. Either of these programs will zip through a disorganized text file of frequency information and output a neat, clean, and ready-to-go *.APF file for the CE-232. For info on MAGIC, contact: scancat@scancat.com To download APFTools: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bcheek/apf40.exe Another great tool for database work is Microsoft's WORKS for Windows, now in v4.0. WORKS comes with an integrated word processor, database manager, and spreadsheet, just the prime ticket for working with larger volumes of data. WORKS is very inexpensive, too, and has the power to run a small business from stem to stern, so it has plenty of power for the hobbyist. ======================================== Bill Cheek - President/CEO COMMtronics Engineering Box 262478 ~ San Diego ~ CA ~ 92196-2478 ======================================== Copyright (c) 1998 by Bill Cheek, February 7, 2000 =====================[End of Article]=============================