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/Publisher            \      /
COMMtronics Engineering/World Scanner Report     \    /
Box 262478 ~ San Diego ~ CA ~ 92196-2478          \  / 
Voice: 619-578-9247 (1:30-5:30pm, PST, weekdays    \/
  Fax: 619-578-9247 (any time)                     /\ 
E-mail:  bcheek@cts.com                           /  \
ftp://ftp.cts.com/pub/bcheek                     /    \
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bcheek /      \
------------------------------------------------        --

Copyright (c) 1998 by Bill Cheek, December 6, 1998
=====================[End of Article]===============================







