Ham Radio - SOFTWARE INNOVATION IS DYING !!  

My was in the database within a few days. Contact your volunteer examiners and see if they can help.

Okay, I'm going to take you up on that, I'm getting some stuff together that will allow people to help !!

It would be cool to have a review feature or the ability for users could add info / reviews. who uses them,net info , all-star / echolink etc. I really love what you have done and what you're saying about technology in ham radio.

If enough of us have accounts that can upload local repeater information would that be a solution to the data issue and also build a supportive community of active hams?

I am putting that together, a way for folks to help populate the database ... more to come

@@magwhyte I am putting that together, a way for folks to help populate the database ... more to come

Email me at support@whiskeyniner.com

@WhiskeyNiner-HT 3 days ago Email me at support@whiskeyniner.com

Ya, I wish, there's just no way to reach those guys, I've thought of that, and hoped they'd get wind of this issue. You know, this is absolutely a huge deal and there is no way that the FCC would be in favor of this.

@@WhiskeyNiner-HT Those guys have a pretty active discord community. It's easier to reach them than you think. While I can't speak for them, I'd believe they'd be all for this.

I am not giving up, in fact, going into high gear, creating an API to let folks help populate the data

Thank you !!

I completely agree, I hope that some of these comments aren't truly from the Ham Radio community? The fact that they cannot recognize that two people (only 1 of which is a software developer) will literally own, yes own, all of the repeater data and refuse to let anyone else write software for the Ham Radio community is a big deal. Instead, they're concerned that I might screen scrape some data? BTW that is how RepeaterBook obtained their data, it's stated right on the FAQ page, how the hell do these people think they obtained it originally? If they're so pure let them look at the Frequency Coordinator Sites and key the info directly into their radio via the radio menu system. Also, RepeaterBook runs Google Ads and are not a non-profit company as far as I know. So, the Frequency Coordinators are turning their data over to a group that is already preventing other software developers from using that data, I would say "our" Ham Radio data, and potentially making a profile while doing so and people are saying to me "You suck man". So ya, I would agree. No wonder our hobby is tanking. We have no tech and no-one cares ...

I'm not, this has given me renewed energy !!

Exactly!!

If only the boomers involved could understand that.

@@someguy782 Yes, that is why we are struggling. They largely had no technology skills, and now we're way behind, not sexy to the younger folks, and the only reason we even have a chance at all is the prepper crowd has bought millions of hand helds.

You have the face of someone who would think this way.

@@someguy782you have the face of someone who's mother cried herself to sleep every night.

The problem with this line of thinking is that while it's true the hosting of that data isn't free, the information IS free. They didn't send me a check when I added my repeater data to their site. If you can't make a superior product that people want to buy.... all you have left to do to make money is stamp out the competition. If they suck at running their business and lose (yes, that's how it's spelled) funds then perhaps they should have made a sustainable business.

You are sorely mistaken, I never broke their license agreement. I downloaded their data, used it to write my application as a "proof of concept", never released it to a single person, used it only for personal use. Then, I showed the two people at Repeater book my prototype and asked them if I could publish the application for the public to use, 100% free. They said NO, you're a competitor. So, I stopped using their data at that point, my application never left my hands with their data. I did not steal anyone's data. Now, my code reads their JSON files they return, I could easily publish a version that lets you download their data yourself and have my application simply import the files you downloaded, thus I would not be publishing their data. However, I believe that breaks their license and I'm just not going to go that route. I think eventually, this is going to be settled in the courts in that Repeater information is not subject to copyright laws, it is public information, merely facts, and cannot be claimed to be part of a copyright.

Have you read Feist Publications, Inc., v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991)? I think until a judge evaluates whether that precedent applies to a list of repeaters, the way it applied to a list of phone numbers, I don't think we would know whether the data is stolen or not. But to be honest, what a colossal waste of resources that would be. I'm personally creating another app, Repeater World, and I'm avoiding Repeater Book because I don't want to waste resources like that. I hope the community helps me rebuild that data and Repeater World's data is free and open, so if Whiskey Niner wants to use it, they can.

Screen name checks out.

@@WhiskeyNiner-HT regarding facts and copyright, you might be disappointed. Not sure about the US, but in the EU and UK we have what are called 'sui generis' database rights, which are like copyright protection for databases of non-original or non-copyrightable content where there has "been a substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the data". In other words, while the data for a specific repeater would not be subject to copyright, the total collection / database at Repeater Book probably would be.

You missed the point, the information is becoming more and more unavailable as State Frequency Coordinators are hosting their data on RepeaterBook itself?

I can see your point but in my case RB didn't have to 'work' to get my data. I'm the one that did the work typing in the info for my repeaters. I'm not saying they should hand over all of their data but I'm not sure how I feel about them gatekeeping MY repeater information. Maybe let me decide if it's 'shareable'. I don't know. I can see both aspects of this. I think I'm more upset about the State Frequency Coordinators thinking their data shouldn't be made freely available to the amateur radio community. "Someone might make money off of this data". Well, wtf do you think RB is doing? I think you should check the pockets of the Frequency Coordinators for cash with RB fingerprints on it.

Ya, exact same thing, that's totally bogus, I agree 100%