9/11/20 - Fixed a bunch of stuff that broke due to changes at GPO. Fixed fetch and parse of daily text version. Fixed fetch of pdf version. Fixed latest rule change list. Getting ready to freeze October 1, 2020 version. Daily data now saved in 2021.
12/15/07 - Made local copies of pdf versions of rules and changed links to point to these instead of gpo.
12/24/05 - Fixed bfp.php (build from part) that was improperly overwriting section 25.104 with the next reserved section.
12/14/05 - Noticed that many people are putting search terms in the "Get it now" box (which normallyy just accepts a rule number). Modified section.php to request a search if a non-numeric is put in the Get It Now box.
4/20/05 - Fixed pdf references to link to latest available.
4/2/05 - Cleaned up Table of Contents for each part.
12/26/04 - Added Recent Rule Changes summary of Federal Register entries.
12/14/04 - Added daily updates of rules.
3/14/04 - Finished updating to October 1, 2003 version of rules.
12/20/03 - Installed new ad server. Moved archive of old rules to hallikainen.org, keeping only most current rules on hallikainen.com.
7/4/03 - New php scripts and rules (as of October 2002) put on line.
1/26/03 - Rewrote scripts using php and keeping local copy of html version built by scripts. Added search rules by year
1/2/02 - Added search box that calls FCC search engine
4/15/01 - Added hint boxes on links (doesn't work with all browsers). These provide info on links using a mouseover. Also added a message board discussion area and news search for news on the FCC.
3/9/01 - Made direct links to pdf version of rules work. Removed extraneous GPO images.
11/18/00 - CiteFind now indexes pdf documents at www.fcc.gov. Improved Word Perfect and Word to html converter.
10/13/00 - Added links to previous and next rule section.
8/25/00 - Added search engine to do free text search of FCC website. Consolidated all search tools on a search page.
8/17/00 - Added search engine to do free text search of FCC Rules. Also added drop down menu of "tools" at the FCC website.
2/6/00 - Found that the GPO changed the filenames on the table of contents of each part of the rules causing us to return error messages. Changed the filename references in our main page and in the scripts. Note that this was discovered by reviewing system logs. I'd appreciate an email from users who find any problems so the problems can be fixed quickly. Thanks!
2/1/00 - Updated main table of contents to reflect changes published by GPO as of 10/1/99, since the updated publication is now available. Cleared cache so updated rules returned.
1/18/00 - Added Microsoft Word (DOC) files to CiteSearch.
1/16/00 - Added links to PDF version of all Federal Register cites to volume 60 (1995) and later.
1/15/00 - Added "Clear cache and reload" to bottom of each page. To speed response, we cache info from the FCC and GPO. Sometimes these servers return blank pages or cannot find a particular section of the rules. This erroneous page has been held in our cache, making it difficult for users to get the correct info. Now, if you see an erroneous page, hit reload to clear that entry from the cache and try again. The reloaded page is generally fixed, and held in the cache.
1/13/00 - Added front page link to Henry Crawford's AllSearch front end to FCC data.
11/8/99 - Added index of FCC documents. About once each week, we'll index all the html, text, and Word Perfect files on the FCC's web site (about 30,000 URL's, some of which are "duplicates" or the same document in different formats). See How To Use for more info.
8/26/99 - Modified added links to delete year in query string except for when year is specified (typically thru previous and next year links at the bottom of a rule page). Although the GPO server generally handled an empty year field, it would sometimes return a section not found message. Deleting the &YEAR= from the link generated by addlink.pl seems to have fixed the problem. Cleared the system cache so all new requests will include these modified links.
8/22/99 - Added more FR links. Note that, for now, I'm only adding links to the Federal Register for volumes 60 and later (1995 on). The GPO only archives back to 1994, and the 1994 archive cannot be searched by page number. For stuff prior to 1995, I'll probably scan and OCR from the microfiche version. That'll be slow! Note that any time you click on an FR link that is not yet set up, the cite you requested is logged. On occasion (like today), I go through the log and set up the links to the GPO FR archive. Eventually, I'll do the scan and OCR.
8/19/99 - ISP modified server configuration files so the server side include on the main page stopped working... Fixed it!
8/10/99 - Added SearchString. Users can now link either to a specific rule (such as 73.1400 using the URL http://hallikainen.com/cgi-bin/section.pl?section=73.1400 to go to a specific section, or can cause (javascript capable) the browser to scroll to and highlight specified text (for example, 73.1400(b) discusses unattended operation of broadcast transmitters). Clicking the link brings up the page and scrolls to and highlights the specified text. The URL for the above link is http://hallikainen.com/cgi-bin/section.pl?section=73.1400&SearchString=Unattended_operation. The string specified in the SearchString is not case sensitive. Spaces are replaced with underscores. Have fun!
4/24/99 - Added "Get it now" and rearranged cache operation.
4/16/99 - Added FCC rule violation analysis for 1988 and 1997 to part 73 (broadcast).
3/27/99 - Added FCC broadcast checklists with links to cited rules. Changed to new Table of Contents for each part as provided by the GPO. Note that this TOC provides, to the left, a "text" link and a pdf link. These will take you directly to the GPO. The rules returned do not include links to other cited rules. However, if you continue to click on the part of the rule after the decimal point, you'll get the rule section with links to other cited rules. Clicking on the part before the decimal point returns the rule in pdf format. Finally, the indices, where available, have been found, and the links updated.
3/12/99 - Previously (not on LA Law), the GPO returned an index when the last section of certain parts of the rules were returned. This is how we got the index for part 73. As of today, this does not happen any more. You can get the 1997 index by going go the bottom of the page that does come up and selecting 1998 version, then 1997 version. Note that the GPO is currently also not properly returning the 1998 version of a rule (which is the current one) when it is selected. We'll try to work that out.
3/11/99 - The GPO has just updated their copy of the FCC rules to those in effect as of October 1, 1998. So that you get the most recent version, the local cache was cleared. It will take a little longer to get requested rule sections until the cache is refilled. Also, the table of contents and index for each section are still the October 1, 1997 version. New TOC and indices will be produced as time permits (this is a by hand operation!).
1/26/99 - Added a cache so you don't have to wait for the GPO server on commonly access pages.
10/3/98 - Added GPO server timeout message. Added HotBot search of FCC web site, which seems to be a bit more complete than Alta Vista
10/1/98 - Note that the GPO currently releases a new issue of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (that portion of the CFR which contains the FCC Rules each year showing the rules that had been adopted as of October 1. The Rules currently in print, and returned by this service, are those rules in effect as of October 1, 1997. You can do a search of the Federal Register (use the search button at the bottom of each rule) for changes since that date. It typically takes a few months for the GPO to release the new rules. Once they are released, this service will automatically return the rules adopted as of October 1, 1998. However, it will take a little time to update the tables of contents and the indecies, since this is done by hand (the GPO does not yet have a way of directly accessing the Table of Contents for a specific part of the CFR). Watch this page for news on the Rules update and the TOC update.
10/1/98 - Added research service.
8/18/98 - Added links to prior year versions of rules.
8/14/98 - Added code to get rid of most rule section false links. Added all Federal Register requests from log that are archived at GPO. There are lots more, but I'll have to scan and OCR them.
8/13/98 - Added Federal Register search
8/12/98 - The table of contents for all rule sections has been rebuilt using the pdf files available at the FCC. Added search of FCC web site for documents referencing specific rule sections.
Send your comments to harold@hallikainen.com.