Coming soon! Please see announcement for details...

[W4GPL]

Callsign Lookups, QSL Management, Logbooks, and more!

http://forums.hamisland.net/announcement.php?a=5

Discuss amongst yourselves.. :)

[W2NAP]

cool.

we await

[KG4CGC]

Oooooh. That's going to leave a mark. Maybe cause steam to come out of someone's ears.

[PA5COR]

I can feel the pain allready for another site....
If you need another contribution.... :)

[W2NAP]

Oooooh. That's going to leave a mark. Maybe cause steam to come out of someone's ears.

it may turn into total rage mode.

[W3WN]

Forget other sites. They will do as they feel they need to do without input from us, so why worry about them?

[PA5COR]

Might be a good time to remember to put some money in the kitty to build up some "war" funds...
Getting the checkbook out as i speak.

[KJ3N]

Oooooh. That's going to leave a mark. Maybe cause steam to come out of someone's ears.

Where's the Eye-Poke icon? This one :stickpoke: just doesn't do justice. :rofl:

[PA5COR]

Ordernumber 5CU43735YP977233V
Donated 50 USD.

LOL

[kb2vxa]

I don't think you're sticking it to HamCall (;->) but let's see how this pans out.

[KG4CGC]

Forget other sites. They will do as they feel they need to do without input from us, so why worry about them?
Been saying that for months already

[KG4CGC]

Where's the Eye-Poke icon? This one :stickpoke: just doesn't do justice. :rofl:http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/Repubscopy-1.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/RepubsTeethcopy.jpg

[PA5COR]

I rather spend money here as buying in on qrz for their lousy service.
Most members there on their database filled in their own data, they "sell it" and even call it a "service'
I call that Rip Off written large.
So i put my money where my big mouth iis.
Next...

[W4GPL]

Ordernumber 5CU43735YP977233V
Donated 50 USD.

LOL:heart:

Thanks, as always..

You all are reading into things way too much if you think we're sticking to anyone. After being pushed into doing this for years, I finally have the right motivation. :)

[W4GPL]

PS - I need someone who has strong AJAX/Javascript skills.. if anyone is up for volunteering.

[NQ6U]

Oh, right on, Daddy-o! Now all I have to do is figure out how to point my HRD logbook auto-lookup feature to Ham Island once you get things rolling.

Will be sending another donation as soon as I can manage it.

[KB3LAZ]

Cool!

[N8YX]

Dat's sweeeet!My coding skills have gotten a mite rusty in the two languages you need help with but if push comes to shove I'll break out the reading materials and re-familiarize myself.

[W1GUH]

Real hams log with pencil and paper! :twisted::evil::neener:

[PA5COR]

Do you accuse me of being a........ k...
( hiding paper log and pencil...)


Real hams log with pencil and paper! :twisted::evil::neener:

[N2NH]

Do you accuse me of being a........ k...
( hiding paper log and pencil...)

I'm Sure he meant these guys Cor, The Pilot Knob ARC (No Kidding). (http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/pilot-knob-amateur-radio-club)

[NQ6U]

I'm Sure he meant these guys Cor, The Pilot Knob ARC (No Kidding). (http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/pilot-knob-amateur-radio-club)

A club which nobody knows about because they can't mention it on teh Zed.

[PA5COR]

" shaking head" ...

[W9JAM]

If there is anything I can do to help with the website please let me know. I know a bit about Linux and have setup webhost before for asp.net, php, mysql, and others... Shall we email the developer of HRD and let him know once the service is up and running?

[kb2vxa]

" shaking head" ...

Big one or little one? Speaking of teh ZOO, I haven't logged in there in so long they deleted my membership as if I care. The last time I checked the callsign database I found this; "Login is required for additional detail." with the only thing available being the profile as if that matters so I deleted the URL from my bookmarks. No problema, when things get organized here I won't need another.

[W4GPL]

Update: We have the US callsigns online, still working on the machine parsable options (XML).. once that's working, I'll integrate the Canadian stations and then the rest. More to come.. :)

[W3WN]

I'm not familiar enough with the languages (I'm a dBase programmer... don't laugh, they pay me quite well for being an expert in an obsolete application!), but if there's anything I can do...

Will there be, at some point, a way to automatically query the database? That is, a "hook" so that as I'm looking at my log, or after pulling a log extract for QSL purposes, I can have my system directly query the database (via SQL I presume) and have the address information returned to me? [I don't expect that initially, but it would be nice. Nor do I expect it to be free, but it would be well worth it!]

[W4GPL]

In short.. yes. That's idea behind having the XML access...

Something like http://lookup.hamisland.net/callsign=w4gpl&output=xml -- will produce a clean machine parsable ad free output that your software can integrate with. I'm hoping to make it compatible with existing services so that all you'd have to do is redirect the DNS lookup (via your hosts file) to the our server IP rather than others.

And thanks again to everyone who has offered to help. I have the PHP/MySQL side pretty well down pat, but I'd really like to integrate some snazzy AJAX stuff eventually, but my Javascript-fu is weak.

[W3WN]

In short.. yes. That's idea behind having the XML access...

Something like http://lookup.hamisland.net/callsign=w4gpl&output=xml -- will produce a clean machine parsable ad free output that your software can integrate with. I'm hoping to make it compatible with existing services so that all you'd have to do is redirect the DNS lookup (via your hosts file) to the our server IP rather than others.

And thanks again to everyone who has offered to help. I have the PHP/MySQL side pretty well down pat, but I'd really like to integrate some snazzy AJAX stuff eventually, but my Javascript-fu is weak.Linky no worky...

"Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage"

...or did I flub up and use a sample link that doesn't actually work (red faced)

[W4GPL]

Yeah, just a sample, not intended to work yet. :) Sorry for the confusion.

[W2NAP]

personally id keep is simple. stick with PHP/MySQL

I have javascript

[NQ6U]

Yeah, just a sample, not intended to work yet. :) Sorry for the confusion.

The [noparse] tag is our friend.

[W4GPL]

personally id keep is simple. stick with PHP/MySQL

I have javascriptNot embracing JavaScript at this point is like saying this internet thing is just a fad. There are plenty of sites doing JavaScript/AJAX the 'right way'. Between server side compiled JS and the upcoming real time communication systems that Chrome is implementing, you can't avoid it nor should you.

[W4GPL]

And if JS can do this.. http://bellard.org/jslinux/

:drool:

[NQ6U]

I don't have any problem with Javascript except that too many Web developers use gobs of it where plain HTML will do. My real Web bugaboo is gratuitous use of Flash.

[W4GPL]

I don't have any problem with Javascript except that too many Web developers use gobs of it where plain HTML will do. My real Web bugaboo is gratuitous use of Flash.Agreed. I mostly want to implement real time search results.. much like Google's main site does. It's not terribly difficult if I just want to lift someone else's examples, but I don't have enough experience to know all the best practices.

[ad4mg]

And if JS can do this.. http://bellard.org/jslinux/

:drool:
GTFOH! That's just slicker than eel shit right there!

Oh, and file system needs to be checked ...;)

[KC9ECI]

Cool. I can't wait to see this working.

[mw0uzo]

Ha this is excellent, well done :)

[W4GPL]

Like all software developers, I overestimated the amount of time I would have to accomplish my goal.

But we've moving along.. text lookup of the FCC database is now available. JSON and XML lookups to follow.

http://www.hamisland.net/api.php?callsign=w4gpl

[N1LAF]

Is it something you can build into the forum, be part of the forum code, or will it work external, like a new tab?

I opened a new tab, and entered the link, replacing your call with mine, and it worked.

[NQ6U]

Like all software developers, I overestimated the amount of time I would have to accomplish my goal.

Or contractors or plumbers or auto mechanics or...

If you hadn't, I would have figured for you for an amateur.

[W4GPL]

Is it something you can build into the forum, be part of the forum code, or will it work external, like a new tab?

I opened a new tab, and entered the link, replacing your call with mine, and it worked.Yes, that's step 2. Building the API so that any application can access the data, including our own website.

[W3WN]

Like all software developers, I overestimated the amount of time I would have to accomplish my goal.

But we've moving along.. text lookup of the FCC database is now available. JSON and XML lookups to follow.

http://www.hamisland.net/api.php?callsign=w4gplCool!

Will there be a way to query the database directly from my apps? (I understand that this may not be right away, of course!) It would be nice, for example, to have a way of pulling address information directly when I go to print QSL cards, so that I don't have to manually look up & retype address information for envelopes.

[W4GPL]

Yes, eventually. I'm not going to make any promises to when right now (scope creep), but I do have a clever idea for interfacing with pre-existing apps.

[KC2UGV]

Yes, eventually. I'm not going to make any promises to when right now (scope creep), but I do have a clever idea for interfacing with pre-existing apps.

Looks good so far, and looking forward to Alpha or RC1 :)

[W3WN]

Yes, eventually. I'm not going to make any promises to when right now (scope creep), but I do have a clever idea for interfacing with pre-existing apps.Understood.

For my purposes, something relatively simple... such as submitting a list of calls, getting back a .CSV file of address information... will do. But first things first, of course.

[sirdrakejr]

Well, I am not a programmer but wonder if simple is best. I ask because I am wondering if you could just connect a link directly to the FCC database without a lot of scripting. It sounds good to me but then like I said, I am not a programmer.
Frank

PS - do you take donations? seriously.

[W4GPL]

Well, I am not a programmer but wonder if simple is best. I ask because I am wondering if you could just connect a link directly to the FCC database without a lot of scripting. It sounds good to me but then like I said, I am not a programmer.
Frank

PS - do you take donations? seriously.You can't "link" to the FCC update. You have to download delimited text files and import them into a database and then download the daily transactional files from them as well. That's what the above script does automatically.

Donations? Always. ;) There's a donate link at the bottom of the forums. Thanks!

[KC2UGV]

If you are using Linux, and want a quick command-line option to use hamisland's lookup feature:



#!/bin/bash
#************************************************* ****************************
#*
#* Callsign Lookup using Hamisland.net
#* Corey Reichle (c) 2011, GPL vr 2 or later
#*
#*
#* Version: 0.5
#* Date: 10.11.2011
#*
#* Arguments: callsign
#* When -f is passed
#* -f {input file} {output file}
#*
#* Requires: curl (Will install if needed)
#* bash (Sorry, can't help you there)
#* tesseract-ocr (Will install if needed)
#* wget (Will install if needed)
#* convert (Will install if needed)
#*
#* Exit Codes:
#* 5 No input file given, but needed
#* 4 Input file provided, but does not exist
#* 2 Required package is not installed
#* 1 Nothing passed in, help displayed
#* 0 Success
#*
#************************************************* ****************************


#************************************************* ****************************
#*
#* Changelog
#*
#* 10.05.11 Initial creation
#* Stripped out any suffixes on call
#* Stripped out HTML
#* Checked for curl
#*
#* 10.06.11 Added simple routine to prompt if user wanted the script
#* to install curl.
#*
#* 10.07.11 Added a new routine, and command line flag to accept input
#* files
#* Code cleanup
#* Added usage if nothing passed
#*
#* 10.10.11 Added a more standard invalid options help text.
#*
#* 10.11.11 Needed a bunch of packages, so re-factored the package check
#* and install procedure
#* Added routine to enable hamcall.net.
#* Refactored all of the code.
#* Made Hamcall.net the backup call lookup DB.
#************************************************* ****************************


#************************************************* ****************************
#*
#* Known Bugs: If no callsign exist, it inserts a double linefeed. Could
#* cause issues with CSV file imports. I don't know. Will fix
#* when the server-side API outputs a better output for it.
#*
#************************************************* ****************************


#************************************************* ****************************
#*
#* If you like this program, and it's useful for you, please donate at:
#*
#* http://goo.gl/jJZGu
#*
#************************************************* ****************************


usage () {
cat << EOF
call-look vr 0.5
Usage: call-look [-f] [input file] [output file] callsign
-f Perform a call sign look up, using a list of line separated callsigns. Requires an
input file. The output file will be the same name, with a CSV suffix.


callsign An amateur radio callsign to look up. Any suffix will be removed for the lookup.


Known Bugs: If no callsign exist, it inserts a double linefeed. Could
cause issues with CSV file imports. I don't know. Will fix
when the server-side API outputs a better output for it.

If you like this program, and it is useful to you, please donate at: http://goo.gl/jJZGu
EOF
exit 1
}


hamcall_lookup ()
{
export call_sign=$1
wget -q -E -nd -H -k -K -p -l1 -np -e robots=off -Ada*.*.png,gr*.*.png,na*.*.png "http://hamcall.net/call/$1"
if [ ! -e "*.png" ];
then
export result="Files could not be downloaded!"
return
fi
for i in `ls *.png`; do
convert $i -resize 1000% -colorspace Gray tif:$i.tif
tesseract $i.tif $i.txt > /dev/null 2>&1
done
export result=`cat *.txt`
rm *.tif > /dev/null 2>&1
rm *.png > /dev/null 2>&1
rm *.txt > /dev/null 2>&1
rm *.ppm > /dev/null 2>&1
rm *.pbm > /dev/null 2>&1
}


hamisland_lookup ()
{
export call_sign=$1
curl -s "http://www.hamisland.net/api.php?callsign=`echo $call_sign | cut -f 1,1 -d'-'`" | sed 's/<[^>]*>/\n/'g > /tmp/$0.out
export result=`cat /tmp/$0.out`
rm /tmp/$0.out
}




# This is the list of required packages. CLI command, then container package
export req_packages='convert;imagemagick\ntesseract;tesse ract-ocr\nwget;wget\ncurl;curl'


# No options? Display the help, and exit with a 1
if [ "$1" = "" ]
then usage
fi


#Let's make sure our needed packages are here, before proceeding.
for i in `echo -e $req_packages`; do
export j=`echo $i | awk -F";" '{print $1}'`
export k=`echo $i | awk -F";" '{print $2}'`
hash $j 2>&- || {
echo >&2 "I require '$j', but it's not installed. Would you like me to install?"
select yn in "Yes" "No";do
case $yn in
Yes )
echo "I'm going to try a couple of ways to get $j installed... When prompted, enter your password for sudo. If all of these fail, you'll need to do it manually. I can handle apt, yum, and emerge."
sudo apt-get -y install $k > /dev/null 2>&1
sudo yum -y install $k > /dev/null 2>&1
sudo emerge $k > /dev/null 2>&1
break;;
No )
exit 2;;
esac
done
}
done




# We're going to check our options now. Are we doing a file of calls,
# or a single call sign?
mode=s
callsign=
while getopts "f:" opt; do
case $opt in
f)
export input_file=$OPTARG
export output_file="$OPTARG.csv"
export mode="m"
if [ ! -e $input_file ]; then
echo "Input file does not exist!"
exit 4
fi
;;
?)
echo "call-look: invalid option -- '$OPTARG'."
echo "Try 'call-look' for more options."
exit 5
;;
esac
done


lookup()
{
hamisland_lookup $callsign
result=`tr '\r' ' ' <<< $result`
if [ "$result" = 'Callsign not found. ' ]; then
hamcall_lookup $callsign
return
fi
}
case $mode in
s)
callsign=$1
lookup $callsign
echo -e $result
;;
m)
echo Performing lookup...
> $output_file
for callsign in `cat $input_file`; do
lookup $callsign
echo $result >> $output_file
done
;;
esac


exit 0




Requires curl, wget, tesseract, and imagemagick to be installed. I'll try to keep this up-to-date as Jeff updates the API.

Tesseract, imagemagick, and wget are now needed for the fail safe call lookup (Hamcall.net). If the calls are gotten from hamcall.net; they can be quite unreliable, as it requires some OCR work.

[W4GPL]

Nice Corey.

FWIW, don't assume anything about the scripts just yet. I plan on implementing http://api.hamisland.net soon. The script will now query callsigns out side of the ULS database and get the data from either the HamIsland forum user accounts or other Internet sources.

[NQ6U]

Nice Corey.

FWIW, don't assume anything about the scripts just yet. I plan on implementing http://api.hamisland.net soon. The script will now query callsigns out side of the ULS database and get the data from either the HamIsland forum user accounts or other Internet sources.

You should considering throwing in the occasional easter egg, such as returning funny responses for lookups of call signs associated with a certain other amateur radio Web site...

[WØTKX]

Well, I always thought PL1CK would be a good callsign. :lol:

[W3WN]

Well, I am not a programmer but wonder if simple is best. I ask because I am wondering if you could just connect a link directly to the FCC database without a lot of scripting. It sounds good to me but then like I said, I am not a programmer.
Frank

PS - do you take donations? seriously.Oh, if one only could. * sigh *

The FCC has the data in downloadable formats. The catch is, you have to figure out how everything relates. There is a primary set of tables that would be the "base", with follow-up transactional files. So you can put together a nice history of a call sign's renewals and other actions, starting from the base. If you can figure it all out.

More power to AE7Q, N4MC, and others for having the time to do so. I wish I did, but right now I don't.

[W3WN]

You should considering throwing in the occasional easter egg, such as returning funny responses for lookups of call signs associated with a certain other amateur radio Web site...Do it as an optional "fun fact" -- if there's an entry for that call in a "fun" table, display it along with the address information.

For example, under KG4CGC, add "best Island bartender to ever distribute a miniature umbrella"

[KC2UGV]

I updated the script to include a changelog, donate link (To HamIsland), and will try to install the required externals if desired (Works on yum, deb, and emerge distros. PM me if you would like something else).

[KC2UGV]

Understood.

For my purposes, something relatively simple... such as submitting a list of calls, getting back a .CSV file of address information... will do. But first things first, of course.

Ron, if you are running Linux, check out the new update to the script I did :)

[KC2UGV]

Another update to the script: Added a fall-back call lookup, in the case it does not exist on hamisland's lookup.

[KA9MOT]

And if JS can do this.. http://bellard.org/jslinux/

:drool:

Very cool... gonna have to go work on my command line......

[kb2vxa]

"You should considering throwing in the occasional easter egg, such as returning funny responses for lookups of call signs associated with a certain other amateur radio Web site..."

Easter eggs are laid by the Easter bunny but there is a bunny for every occasion.