10. FCC Database Lookups

Beginning with version 2.1, existing FCC data can be used to supplement the global history database used to fill in the candidate registration form. Since the VEWD history data actually contains more information than is available in the FCC database, various amounts of manually entered data will still be necessary. The combination of the history and FCC data, however, tends to make registration a breeze for all but unlicensed candidates that have never tested at one of your sessions before. The data not available from the FCC database includes:

There are currently two accepted formats for the FCC data, an internal VEWD format, and the QRZ! CD­ROM format, either on CD or on disk

10.1 VEWD Format FCC Data

The VEWD format of the FCC database is generated directly from the weekly FCC Amateur database. By using this data you can have up to the week information available to support your session. The sequence of steps to generate VEWD format data is:

  1. Create the needed directories
  2. Download the desired FCC database files
  3. Uncompress the files
  4. Run the FCC2VEWD program
  5. Run VEWDFCC to generate the callsign key file.
  6. Copy the VEWD format files to the computer used for registration

To use VEWD format data select the VEWD option for the "FCC Database Lookup" option on the "Session Defaults" screen and set the "FCC Database Pathname" to the directory where the CALLSIGN.DAT and FCCDATA.DAT files are located. Figure 10-1 shows a sample session defaults screen with appropriate settings.

10.1.1 FCC data directories

It is best to keep the FCC data in a directory separate from the VEWD files. Since this data is large and can be updated often the risks of accidentally deleting VEWD data is minimized if the FCC data and VEWD generated FCC database files are kept separately. The files can also be located on a different drive. Create a directory like \FCCDB or \HAM\FCCDB to store the downloaded FCC database files. Create a subdirectory underneath this called VEWD. This is where the files generated by FCC2VEWD are stored.

Any directory names can be used and the VEWD application directory can be used. However, the FCC2VEWD program assumes that the files it generates will be stored in a VEWD directory below the default directory. The remaining steps assume that C:\HAM\FCCDB and C:\HAM\FCCDB\VEWD were selected and that the VEWD application resides in C:\HAM\VEWD.

ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º                           Session Options                          º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º          Configuration   :WW1Y Test/Debug with printers            º
º                                                                    º
º Use Last VE's on Signature fields             :Y Y N               º
º Require Full Address At Registration          :N Y N               º
º Close Code Slots when time is past            :N Y N               º
º Add New Cities from Candidate Record          :N Y N               º
º                                                                    º
º When done automatically print...         CSCE :N Y N   610  :N Y N º
º Fill in Candidate Record from...     Callsign :Y Y N   Name :Y Y N º
º Fill in City, State, Zip from...         City :Y Y N   Zip  :Y Y N º
º                                                                    º
º Backup Interval:11:22:33  Command: VEWDBACK                        º
º                                                                    º
º FCC Database Lookup  :VEWD   None VEWD QRZ                         º
º FCC Database Pathname:C:\HAM\FCCDB                                 º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º                       Record will be Changed                       º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Figure 10-1
VEWD data disk settings

10.1.2 Downloading FCC database files

The FCC database is made available on the Internet at the Federal Communications Commission's Web site. This site can be accessed either with a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client or a Web browser. An FTP client is recommended since the files are quite large and the FTP protocol provides better time-out and recovery mechanisms than the Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP). The Universal Resource Locators (URL's) are:

If you're using an FTP client, connect using anonymous FTP to host ftp.fcc.gov, and go to directory /pub/XFS_AlphaTest/amateur.

You must download the indiv.zip file and at least one of the AppzipX.zip files. You may download as many of the AppzipX.zip files as you desire, but unless you a running an exam session at a major national convention the file for your local area should be sufficient. The remainder of this section was extracted from the README file at the above site. It describes the files. For information on the format of the files, see the actual README file.

21 October 1997

This file explains the Amateur data files posted to the Internet by the FCC. …

Amateur data as found on the Internet consists of two portions. The entire Amateur database is made available weekly, while update transactions are made available daily.

Weekly, the Amateur database is posted as one file for each small table in the database; plus one file each for zip codes 0 through 8, 90 through 94, and 95 through 99 for the l_appl table. They are refreshed before 12:00 noon (EST) every Monday.

The daily transaction files are named for the day of the week that the transactions take place (such as mon.zip, tue.zip, etc.). The files are posted on the Internet each "night" (after 12:01 AM EST).

All files will remain for one week, at which time they will be overlaid. As files are created, they will overlay the same file from the previous week.

An estimate of average file sizes are:

Zip CodeFile ZippedUnzipped
0xxxxAppzip0.zip 2.4 Mb7.5 Mb
1xxxxAppzip1.zip 2.3 Mb7.1 Mb
2xxxxAppzip2.zip 2.1 Mb6.6 Mb
3xxxxAppzip3.zip 3.3 Mb9.6 Mb
4xxxxAppzip4.zip 2.8 Mb9.6 Mb
5xxxxAppzip5.zip 1.2 Mb3.8 Mb
6xxxxAppzip6.zip 1.7 Mb5.4 Mb
7xxxxAppzip7.zip 2.3 Mb7.0 Mb
8xxxxAppzip8.zip 1.7 Mb5.2 Mb
90xxx-93xxxAppzip90.zip 2.6 Mb8.0 Mb
94xxx-99xxxAppzip94.zip 2.9 Mb8.8 Mb

All files are zipped and each line of data ends with a carriage return and line feed. The zip code .dat files each retain their own unique name.

The files of the Amateur database are:

TABLE DESCRIPTION FILE
l_applapplication appl.dat
l_indivindividual indiv.dat
l_alienalien alien.dat
l_crmclubs, races, military crm.dat
l_adminadministrative notes admin.dat

These tables correspond to the same number of purge tables, each starting with the letter "p" (p_appl, for example). As a callsign is deleted, canceled or otherwise ruled invalid, the data is moved from the live tables, after the requisite time period to the purge tables. Refer to the data layout below, since there are some differences.

The purge.zip file contains all the purge tables for the Amateur database. The daily files also contain the day's purges.

The indiv.zip file tends to run about 2.6 Mb zipped and over 13.5 Mb unzipped. It is the only place that the operator class is located.

Once the indiv.zip and desired application Zip Code files are downloaded, uncompress them with PKUNZIP or an equivalent decompression program. PKZIP and PKUNZIP can be obtained from PKWARE at http://www.pkware.com. Freeware decompression programs that support Zip files can be obtained from many sources, including the VEWD distribution disk and Simtel.Net at http://oak.oakland.edu/simtel.net/ or The Coast to Coast Software Repository at http://ftp.coast.net/Coast/.

10.1.3 Running FCC2VEWD

The FCC2VEWD program reads the indiv.dat and any ApplX.dat files in the current directory and generates two files in the VEWD subdirectory:

From Windows 3.1 - From the Program Manager, Select "File", then "Run" and enter the pathname to the FCC2VEWD program. If the program is not the same directory as the FCC data use additional command line parameters (see below) to specify the data directory. Alternately create a program item that specifies the working directory to be where the FCC data is located.

From Windows 95/Windows NT - From the Task Bar Start Button, Select "Run" and enter the pathname to the FCC2VEWD program. If the program is not the same directory as the FCC data use additional command line parameters (see below) to specify the data directory. Alternately create a shortcut that specifies the working directory to be where the FCC data is located.

FCC2VEWD accepts the following optional command line parameters:

10.1.4 Generating the callsign key file

When FCC2VEWD runs it deletes the CALLSIGN.K01 file in the VEWD subdirectory if it exists. A new index file must be created by the VEWDFCC program. This should be done before the start of the session since generating the key file for the entire amateur population can take many minutes.

Make sure that VEWD or VEWDFCC is not running when you run FCC2VEWD. If so, the old CALLSIGN.K01 file might not get deleted. This would result in all sorts of strange lookups

VEWD does not try to open the callsign file until the first time it is needed. This would be the first time a callsign was entered in the candidate registration screen that was not found in the global history data. If the callsign key file does not exist the message in Figure 10-2 is displayed. Further VEWD FCC data lookups are disabled until VEWD is restarted. To use the VEWD format FCC data at this point, exit the VEWD application, run VEWDFCC, bring up the callsign list, then exit VEWDFCC and run VEWD again. The lookups will now occur.

10.1.5 Running VEWDFCC

This DOS program does lookups on the VEWD format FCC data, and will rebuild the callsign key file if it is needed. To start VEWDFCC just type the program name at the DOS prompt. Figure 10-3 shows the main menu. The following paragraphs describe each of the functions provided.

"Set Path" specifies the location of the CALLSIGN.DAT and FCCDATA.TXT files. If you store them in a non-default location you must set the path before selecting the "Callsign List" item. If you don't you will have to restart VEWDFCC and set the path before you can lookup data or rebuild the callsign key file. Figure 10-4 shows the set path display

"Callsign List" displays a scrolling list of the callsigns contained in the VEWD FCC data. If the callsign key file does not exist, it is rebuilt at this time. While the "REBUILDING KEY FILE FOR CALLSIGN" message is displayed no other processing can be done. This can take many minutes if you have chosen to use a large amount of the FCC database or are using a slow computer or disk drive. The appropriate path to CALLSIGN.DAT and FCCDATA.TXT must be set using the "Set Path" choice before selecting this item. Figure 10-5 shows the scrolling callsign list and locator field. Scroll to the desired callsign or enter it in the locator field and press enter. Figure 10-6 show the result of a lookup. Note that the defaults for FCC2VEWD excludes the data for Amateur Extra class licensees.

"Exit" does just what you'd expect

ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º                                                                º
º          CALLSIGN.K01 needs rebuilding.  Use VEWDFCC.          º
º                    Press Escape to continue                    º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Figure 10-2
Missing key file error
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º    FCC Amateur Database Lookup   º
º     Version 1.5   (01/01/98)     º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º                                  º
º           Callsign List          º
º                                  º
º             Set Path             º
º                                  º
º               Exit               º
º                                  º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Figure 10-3
VEWDFCC Main Menu
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º                           Set path                          º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º                                                             º
º FCC Database Path: G:\FCCDB\VEWD\                           º
º                                                             º
º                                                             º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Figure 10-4
VEWDFCC Set Path Display
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º       Callsign list       º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º                           º
º  Callsign      Offset     º
º  KA1RWZ                 1 º
º  KA1SIE                51 º
º  KA1SOA               103 º
º  N1FT                 150 º
º  N1KZO                219 º
º  N1MEO                278 º
º  N1MNF                342 º
º  N1NHS                389 º
º  N1NYT                492 º
º  N1OEZ                553 º
º  N1ONC                601 º
º  W1DES                665 º
º  W1FI                 726 º
º  WA1TYB               784 º
º  WW1Y                 824 º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º      Callsign: ww1y       º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Figure 10-5
VEWDFCC Callsign List
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º           Lookup from FCCDATA.TXT          º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º                                            º
º  Call   :WW1Y                              º
º  Offset :      3,696,235                   º
ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĶ
º  LAST   :Heedles                           º
º  FIRST  :James                             º
º  MI     :M                                 º
º  SUFF   :                                  º
º  ADR    :6 Birch Dr                        º
º  CITY   :Amherst                           º
º  STATE  :NH                                º
º  ZIP    :03031                             º
º  DOB    :  /  /                            º
º  CLASS  :E                                 º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º          Press Return to continue          º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Figure 10-6
VEWDFCC data lookup

10.2 QRZ CD-ROM Format FCC Data

The QRZ! CD-ROM is a bit simpler to use. Simply insert the QRZ! CD-ROM into the CD drive on your computer and set the appropriate session defaults. Figure 10-6 shows the proper settings if the QRZ! CD-ROM is install and the CD-ROM drive is D. If you don't have a CD-ROM drive on your session machine, or just prefer the faster response you can copy the QRZ! data to your hard drive. Copy the three files: \QRZ.EXE, \CALLBK\CALLBKC.DAT, and \CALLBK\CALLBKC.IDX to the same directory. Preferably not the VEWD directory. Figure 10-7 show the proper settings if these files were placed in the HAM\FCCDB directory of the C drive.

ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º                           Session Options                          º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º          Configuration   :WW1Y Test/Debug with printers            º
º                                                                    º
º Use Last VE's on Signature fields             :Y Y N               º
º Require Full Address At Registration          :N Y N               º
º Close Code Slots when time is past            :N Y N               º
º Add New Cities from Candidate Record          :N Y N               º
º                                                                    º
º When done automatically print...         CSCE :N Y N   610  :N Y N º
º Fill in Candidate Record from...     Callsign :Y Y N   Name :Y Y N º
º Fill in City, State, Zip from...         City :Y Y N   Zip  :Y Y N º
º                                                                    º
º Backup Interval:11:22:33  Command: VEWDBACK                        º
º                                                                    º
º FCC Database Lookup  :QRZ  None VEWD QRZ                           º
º FCC Database Pathname:D:\                                          º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º                       Record will be Changed                       º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Figure 10-7
QRZ! CD-ROM settings
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º                           Session Options                          º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º          Configuration   :WW1Y Test/Debug with printers            º
º                                                                    º
º Use Last VE's on Signature fields             :Y Y N               º
º Require Full Address At Registration          :N Y N               º
º Close Code Slots when time is past            :N Y N               º
º Add New Cities from Candidate Record          :N Y N               º
º                                                                    º
º When done automatically print...         CSCE :N Y N   610  :N Y N º
º Fill in Candidate Record from...     Callsign :Y Y N   Name :Y Y N º
º Fill in City, State, Zip from...         City :Y Y N   Zip  :Y Y N º
º                                                                    º
º Backup Interval:11:22:33  Command: VEWDBACK                        º
º                                                                    º
º FCC Database Lookup  :QRZ  None VEWD QRZ                           º
º FCC Database Pathname:C:\HAM\FCCDB                                 º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º                       Record will be Changed                       º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Figure 10-8
QRZ! on disk settings

10.3 Important FCC Database lookup Warning

If you use the VEWD Format FCC database you need to be aware of a potentially serious problem. Occasionally, after entering a callsign in the "Register Candidate" screen the VEWD program will abort with an error message similar to the one shown in Figure 10-8. The message may vary somewhat. In particular the one character filename (A.DAT) can be any letter. This is a bogus filename, not used in the VEWD program. The error is in the underlying program libraries of the package used to develop VEWD and that package is no longer supported by its manufacturer. So the problem will not be fixed.

The serious part of this error is that it damages the key files for the VICTIMS database. This can cause your session data to be corrupted!

If this error occurs during you session the recovery process is:

  1. Delete the VICTIMS.K01, VICTIMS.K02, and VICTIMS.K03 files in the VEWD directory. Do not delete any other files.
  2. Restart the VEWD program.
  3. Register the candidate that's waiting while you've been panicking.

Note that if the candidate is in the VEWD Format FCC data, the lookup will succeed this time. There seems to be no particular rhyme or reason to the failure. Over 25 sessions have been run using this feature, including Division conventions and Hamfests. The problem has occurred three times.

ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º     Program Stop  Version 2.1 Release 2105     º
º                                                º
º        'D:\HAM\VEWD\A.DAT'                     º
º        'ERROR CODE:2 FILE NOT FOUND'           º
º                                                º
º  Press Esc to quit program, Enter to continue  º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Figure 10-9
FCC lookup abort display

Be sure to delete the VICTIMS.K0n files before restarting VEWD!



Last Modified: 01 January 1998
Jim Heedles: heedles@ww1y.mv.com