On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 5:15 AM, Harald Kliems <kli...@gmail.com> wrote:
> As there already is a database available with the relevant > information, I'd voice my usual objections towards importing this data > into OSM. The data is not verifiable on the ground (well, I guess it > theoretically is if you had appropriate measuring equipment, but > still...) Since Colin is talking about the broadcasters, it is pretty easy to have appropriate equipment to verify the frequency... a TV or radio will do that. You can locate the source with a little more equipment, like a directional antenna, and some attenuation. You can get the owner and callsign from listening to the broadcast. Power levels are a little harder to determine remotely though. > and probably changes somewhat frequently, making the data in > OSM difficult to maintain properly. The local TV and radio stations in my area don't change frequency very often. Many of the radio stations have been on the same frequency and callsign for decades. TV frequencies changed recently due to new regulations, but before that they too were static for many decades. Even when you get into commercial radio the frequencies and callsigns don't change often. Changing a frequency on a radio repeater means changing all the users on that system, a task that isn't undertaken on a whim. Industry Canada assigns the frequencies to the users, and it is a bit of a bear to change frequency assignments. > So I don't see the added benefit > of having the data in OSM. It's one of those things where the data is of interest to some people and not others. I work in commercial radio, and I have thought about adding radio towers to the database, with frequency assignments etc. It would be very handy for my purposes. My employer might not like me posting all of our frequencies and tower locations though... Not really sure since Spectrum Direct allows people to look up the information anyway. It is always difficult to know what information is of benefit to the OSM database as that is a subjective judgement call. Addresses might be of little use to some users, yet they still are being added to the database. Does their inclusion "benefit" the database? What percentage of potential users need to require the data before it becomes a benefit? If the data is not included in the database, then potential users of the data won't look at the OSM dataset as a source. If however the data is included in the database, potential new users may be drawn to the dataset. It's the old chicken vs. the egg situation, a catch-22. -- James VE6SRV _______________________________________________ Talk-ca mailing list Talk-ca@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-ca
