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doc: Link to the tocall search tool, clarify policy a bit #281

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hessu merged 1 commit into from
Mar 31, 2026
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doc: Link to the tocall search tool, clarify policy a bit #281

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17 changes: 10 additions & 7 deletions ALLOCATING.md
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Expand Up @@ -86,6 +86,13 @@ These issue tickets are public, and the discussion, any clarifying questions
are and their answers are public as well. This way everyone can see how the
requests are processed. This makes the process open and accountable.

You may propose which tocall identifier you'd prefer to receive. Before
making a request use the [TOCALL Search](https://aprsorg.github.io/aprs-deviceid-web/)
tool to confirm it is available and does not match an existing
wildcard/prefix allocation. Note that you might be assigned with another
identifier instead of the preferred one, due to existing allocations or
conventions.


Allocation criteria
----------------------
Expand All @@ -100,10 +107,6 @@ transmit APRS packets on behalf of APRS users, such as protocol converters
Device identifiers are not allocated for generic radios and TNCs which are
used together with with APRS software.

Manufacturers and developers distributing multiple models or variations can
also be allocated a 4- or 5-letter prefix, allowing the last 1 or 2
characters to identify models.

To reduce maintenance workload and database size, new identifiers are not
allocated to unique experimental applications which are only used by the
developer, and not published for others to use. They can be conveniently
Expand All @@ -122,9 +125,9 @@ As per the APRS specification, all prefixes start with 'AP'.

The normal length of a device identifier is six ASCII characters.
Manufacturers and developers distributing multiple models or variations can
also be allocated a 4- or 5-letter prefix, allowing the last 1 or 2
characters to identify models. As there are only 676 4-letter prefixes,
specific 5-letter prefixes are allocated for new requests.
also be allocated a 5-letter prefix, allowing the last 1 character to
identify models. As there are only 676 4-letter prefixes, specific 5-letter
prefixes are allocated for new requests.

It is a good practice to use letters for the prefix and numbers for the last
characters, to allow for a fast visual distinction between the manufacturer
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7 changes: 3 additions & 4 deletions README.md
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Expand Up @@ -47,10 +47,9 @@ tocalls.yaml is the unmodified source file from the git repository. The
other files are generated by the validator script, and contain an additional
metadata segment.

The XML and JSON files were previously published in the `generated/`
directory of this repository. Since they're actually build products they do
not belong in the source code repository. The copies in the repository are
no longer updated, and have been removed in April 2025.
The [TOCALL Search](https://aprsorg.github.io/aprs-deviceid-web/) tool loads
the fresh JSON database and allows quick searches. Use it to check for
collisions before requesting an allocation.


Licensing
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