RadioReference Import

RadioReference Import

Scanner Manager can pull channel rows straight from RadioReference.com in two modes, depending on what's available.

Modes

HTML scrape (no account needed)

Paste any public RadioReference URL and Scanner Manager parses the page. Works for:

• Conventional frequency categories (/db/aid/... / /db/sid/... conventional pages).
• FCC callsign pages.
• Trunked talkgroup listings.

Login isn't required for HTML scraping but RadioReference rate-limits aggressive scraping - don't hammer it.

SOAP API (requires an RR account)

If you have a RadioReference premium subscription, Scanner Manager can talk to the official SOAP API via zeep:

1. Settings → RadioReference account - enter your username + password. They're stored in the OS credential vault (Windows Credential Manager / macOS Keychain / Secret Service on Linux) via keyring. Scanner Manager never writes credentials to disk in clear text.
2. The Import dialog will prefer the SOAP API when credentials are present, falling back to the HTML scraper only if the API is unreachable.

SOAP is more reliable for trunked systems with many TGIDs and for bulk pulls; the HTML scraper is handy for one-off categories.

The import dialog

1. Click Import from RR....
2. Paste a URL.
3. Scanner Manager loads and parses, then shows a two-column diff:
   • Left: what's currently in the HPD.
   • Right: what RR has.
4. Tick the rows you want to add or overwrite; leave the rest alone.
5. Apply.

How the import is recorded

Instead of logging hundreds of separate edits, the whole import is recorded as a single entry in the Change History. That means:

• Imports stay fast and don't bloat the change log.
• One Revert click rolls the entire import back in one go.
• The RadioReference refresh data you most care about - the rows that were added, updated, or deleted - is captured as a single summary you can undo cleanly.

Reconciliation with user edits

When you re-run an import later:

• Your Delete flags are preserved.
• Your service-type overrides are preserved.
• Renames you've made are preserved when RR can still be matched by frequency or TGID.
• New RR rows are added.
• RR rows you deleted stay deleted.

See Architecture for how the event replay logic backs this up.

Encrypted talkgroups

The BearTracker 885 can't decode encrypted audio, so Scanner Manager defaults to keeping these out of your HPD:

• New imports skip encrypted TGIDs entirely.
• Refreshes of an existing system delete any existing entries that RadioReference has since flagged encrypted. Those deletions are bundled into the same Change History entry as the import, so one Revert click restores everything.
• Override: the import dialog has a "Include encrypted talkgroups (not recommended)" checkbox for power users who want the entries in the tree anyway. The choice is remembered per-system.

Troubleshooting

• "Unusable page" - double-check the URL. A .../db/sid/... that shows talkgroups should work; a site index page won't.
• Slow / stuck loading - the SOAP API has better per-request throughput than scraping; consider entering RR credentials.
• Login errors - clear the credential via Settings and re-enter.