CellTrack 1.18

for Symbian OS Series 60

Symbian 3rd/5th Generation Info v1.0
CellTrack

CellTrack is a program to collect some phone information about the cell you are connected to - like the net monitor. For more information about GSM net search the web.

Main window

The main screen shows the GSM information.

  • Cellid
    the id from the actual cell
  • LAC
    the Location Area Code from your cell
  • Net
    the net you are moving in - e.g. 262 for Germany and 02 for Vodafone. If  a W-CDMA/UMTS cell is present is shown here. The number has still 4 digits.
  • Name
    the name of the cell. This is shown by an algorithm when you select 'Cell Name from Id' in the settings. Or from the cell broadcast when you have turned 'Cell Name from CBS' on and have defined a service number. Otherwise one a '-' is shown. If both is turn on the CBS overwrites the generated name.
  • Signal
    shows the quality of the receive signal. The percentage value is taken from the Nokia phone API. The dBm values is covered with an at command (CellTrack62) or the newer API (CellTrack70).
  • Battery
    should show the capacity of your battery
  • Description
    shows the information from the database.
  • Diagram
  • shows the dBm values as green and the percentage as black line. The red lines a cell changes


The direction to the cell is generated from the cell id. E.g. the cell looks to the north direction so you see it in the south.  See this page home.iprimus.com.au/cridland/  (archive link only)

If you like use my application Sun Compass via the menu 'Call Compass' It helps to find the North direction.

View Cell 2

View Cell picture

Other Views in main window

Tab on the key up or down (navigation button) to see more views.
  • Cell 2 - holds a little bit more info. If  a W-CDMA/UMTS he number has 8 digits.
  • Cell Pic - shows you a picture of your cell. You have to place it first in the pics directory in your CellTrack path. The picture has a name like this:
    256301FE26202.jpg if you cell is 2563 in LAC 01FE in country 262 by provider 02 (Cell (hex.) + LAC (hex.) + country + net).
  • Phone - some infos about your phone


Cell list

This view shows a list from the cached cells.
From here you go to edit the cell description.
Only when the cell name is edited it goes to the database.

Config

Settings


Select your configuration here.
  • Log Mode - handles the different modes for logging. Press the fire key for manual log.
  • Direction means: get the direction from the cell id. There a three systems reported to me:
    • the Direction is build from  123 and 789 carries the information
    • the first digit has the direction information with 01, 23 or 45 as the same view
    • the Direction is build from the last digit but 123 and 567 carries the same information
    • the Direction is build from the last digit but 123 and 456 carries the same information
  • Direction digit Position - tells the application how to handle the direction. The position of the digit start from the back side. E.g. a cell id 24712 and the digit position of 1 has 2 as result. On a position 2 the result is 1.
  • Cell names from id generates a name like German D2 net. This works from the cell id, e.g. 9571 becomes HXB957 A. In side the German O2 net the same cell id is given as010300571.
  • Cell names from CBS fills the name with the broadcast service for cell name. When this option is selected with the 'Cell Changes' option the log writer waits for receiving the name before saving.
  • CBS service number is the required number for this service (e.g. Vodafone Germany 833, Vodafone Australia 50).
  • View Bar as - the bar can contain the dBm or the percentage value (the graphic is always for the dBm values)
  • Beep on unknown cells
  • Beep on cell signal better or equal -53 dBm
  • Show short Cell Id - the first view shows the long cell id for WCDMA
  • Database compress. Please generate a new database when change this  mode. In compressed mode the database saves the space but the saving of the edit costs a lot of  time when it is a large database (>2000 cells).
  • Import data as ASCII or UTF-8 string - the change to this feature needs a new generation of the database.
  • Second search - The database is search by id and lac. If nothing was found there can be an other search without lac
  • Light always on stops at 30% battery power


Log file and log modes


The log modes are:
  • No Log - nothing is done
  • New Cells only - all visited cells are saved in a dbx.clf file. An old file is overwritten.
  • Cell Changes -  logs all visited cells in a trace.log file. This works additive.
  • Signal Changes - logs all changes in the trace.log file.
  • Log Manual - log to trace.log only when the fire button is pressed.

The log files are save in the ?:\Nokia\Others\CellTrack directory.

Log file formats:

1. trace.log - continues logging - tab separated
Date, time, cell (dec.), LAC (dec.), country, net, signal, signal dBm, cell name, info

20030918 0442 9571 510 262 02 80% -88 HXB957A no info

2. dbx.clf - used for new station logs - tab separated
This log file is only saved when the program closes - use trace.log first and change your configuration before you close to get both log files.
Cell (hex.) + LAC (hex.) + country + net, info

//cell list exchange format v2.0//
256301FE26202<TAB>my cell

Also version 2.1 is supported. this contains decimal cell id and lac.

Cell database

The clf file format is also used to show cell information. All databases are stored in ?:\Nokia\Others\CellTrack. Belongs to the installation. Use country and net for filename (e.g. 26202.clf for German D2 net). The clf file is converted to an internal database to have a fast search engine. It is not editable because the database is compressed. Select in the database menu 'Generate DB' (takes a little time).
The database only holds the cell id and the description. The description can have 100 characters (notice that in a UTF-8 clf file the characters can have up to 3 bytes).

The input clf format can also have the new clf verson 2.1 (decimal id and lac)

//cell list exchange format v2.1//
095710051126202<TAB>my cell

The file names for the database can have more than 5 characters but the first 5 numbers have to be the carrier (e.g. 26202north.clf for the north part of 26202). So you can hold more informations in the back. It is save to the 26202 database. Please notice: the export goes still as 26202.clf

You will find clf files on this address Senderliste (German page but contains also links to international sites)

Cell database new format and new clf format

The format is activated by selecting 'Version 3.0' in the settings.
The new clf format uses more information about a cell:

MCCMNC;CID;LAC;RNC;POS-LAT;POS-LON;POS-RAT;DESCRIPTION;RFU

Hex version looks like

//cell list exchange format v3.0//
26202;0x2563;0x01FE;0x0000;0;0;0;my cell;0

Decimal version looks like

//cell list exchange format v3.0//
26202;09571;00510;00000;0;0;0;my cell;0

Notice: All clf sentences have to be sorted. Otherwise they will not be found.

The position are decimal values like the GPS will deliver it (WGS84 most hardware). If the position is an exact value the POS-RAT goes to -1. If the position is a combination between GPS and signal value the POS-RAT value becomes positive as the signal value. (this part is not ready)
RFU is reserved for later use - the value 0 is generated now.

The problem is the old clf doesn't know the RNC info. So the converting would write this

in : 1234ABCD26202 my cell
out: 26202;0xABCD;0x1234;0x0000;0;0;0;my cell;0

When the 'second search' setting is on CellTrack will also find cells with RNC values other then zero.
The second search also finds cells with unknown LAC. Set the LAC to zero. (Takes a longer time)

The new database is stored as 'indexed text' now and not as SQL database. The uncompressed version of the SQL database has a very large filesize.

Use the translater (perl script) clf2to3.zip to get your old files ready.

















      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

Problems

This program offers only the values shown on the screen. Other possible parameters  like neighbor cells, frequencies, TA or so on are not available for the APIs I can use.

Cell pictures are loaded very slow.
Not working on Sendo X - use version 1.18 CellTrack62
Not runnig on 7650 since version 1.06
6680 - problems with CBS reported, must switch on first
For Panasonic X700 use the version CellTrack62 - it can handle the signal problem
The cell information is not updated  during a  call.

On database generation with very large clf files (>3000 entries) the program runs into a conflict when the screen saver starts running. Please give more time for the screen saver activation. - should be better with the version 1.13

This program is tested only with the 3650, 6600 and 6630.
(6600, 6260 - has problems with battery, no CBS available, slow answering) there are 2 versions now
SX1 - problems with the percentage signal strength.
N-GAGE - no problems reported, work like 3650
N-Gage QD - ok
6630, 6680 with UTMS - ok
N70 - ok
N90 - problems with cbs



Historie:

  • 1.18 - March 2006
    • option to set light on when charging
    • add features for SendoX
    • fixed: no bitmap on direction off
    • fixed: inserting after phone reset

  • 1.17 - December 2005
    • add selectable sounds
    • add new clf format
    • new database format (used with new clf only)
    • new layout: navigation left or right brings you to the next screens
    • scalable refresh rate
    • fixed a SX1 problem


  • 1.16. - October 2005
    • added D2 LACs as reported
    • repair German O2 direction
    • add direction indicator on 012
    • display RNC (Radio Network Concentrator) when 'Show short Cell id' is off
    • saving cell change on leaving the cell (brings more information about)
    • Light is always on when charging
    • repair signal problems for SX 1

  • 1.15 - September 2005
    • modified cell name for German D2
    • add cell name generator for German O2
    • free position for the direction digit

  • 1.14 - September 2005
    • define beep at signal value (-51 to -99 dBm)
    • display long cell id on first view (selectable)
    • long cell id in trace.log
    • different sound for good signal and new cell
    • error on manual logging fixed

  • 1.13 - August 2005
    • splitt into two versions (OS 6.2 and OS 7.0 6600 and higher)
    • CBS info for cell names in all versions
    • Area added from CBS (message id 50 or 100)
    • Database menu in first Option menu moved
    • Database loaded from file dialog
    • Database export from selected database
    • add clf  file format version 2.1 (decimal cell ids)

  • 1.12 - January 2005
    • started but never released

  • 1.11 - January 2005
    • Add a historical view on the signal quality

  • 1.10 - December 2004
    • Different cell direction indicator (systems for 123 and 789 or 567 possible)
    • Problem with 6260 solved

  • 1.09 - December 2004
    • Generate better cell names from id (up to id 61993)
    • Show an indicator for W-CDMA and long cell ids on 2nd page

  • 1.08 -September 2004
    • 7610 recognizing
  • 1.07 - August 2004
    • Beep on manual tracking
  • 1.06 - August 2004
    • Manual logging enabled
    • Scrolling cell information for one line display
    • When cell name from CBS selected the log is waiting for the cell name before saving
    • Cell direction on the first digit (e.g. O2 in Germany)

  • 1.05 - June 2004
    • Problem with beep on good signal solved
  • 1.04 - April 2004
    • Small font changed to bold
    • Beep on unknown cell
    • Beep on cell signal  or equal -53 dBm
    • New database format (all old databases need a new generation)
    • Database is editable now, but only edited cells are saved
    • Text length for description is 100 bytes
    • Database is editable now - so and export menu is found at the settings menu
    • Fixed some problems with the edit mode.
    • The fishing for cells routines went to the background now and will work also when in cell editing or in config dialog.
    • Database can be compressed or not. Compressed saves space - not compressed speeds up the edit mode. Default is compressed so old databases will work. Delete them if you change the mode.

  • 1.03 - January 2004
    • A database from the *.clf file is build when no *.db file is found. This speeds up the search of the cell info
    • The clf file could be greater then 64K now.
    • The cell name is shown from cell broadcast service (if supported)
    • This version should run with 6600 (no cbs info with this hardware)
    • A new view for cell pictures (JPEG) installed. Place your picture in a directory \Nokia\Others\CellTrack\pics with a name like this: Cell (hex.) + LAC (hex.) + country + net (256301FE26202.jpg)
    • New sign in the description field: '?:' means no database found for this net, '*:' data found without a correct LAC. (sometimes a cell list is found without LAC so use it this way 2563FFFF26202 and correct it later)
    • Log problems fixed
    • Generate database moved to the config menu
    • clf file format now as tabulator or blank separated usable
    • Hex values in cell id can be lower case in the clf file
  • 1.02 - December 2003
    • Show signal quality in dBm
    • Convert clf file to database to speed up the cell search
    • More infos with page up/down
    • Call the Sun Compass program from the menu
  • 1.01 - November 2003
    • Cell name from cell id generation enabled for all providers - if supported
    • Cell direction from cell id is shown - if supported by your provider
    • new log modes - be careful with the new modes the log file will grow very quickly
    • Cell information is shown from file
    • notification for battery charging
  • 1.0 - August 2003
    Initial program start
Freeware download (71k) for OS version 6.2 or Freeware download (71k) for OS version 7.0/8.0
zip download (139k both files)
older  version 1.06 (47k)
  
MapTool  (16k) a perl script to gather GPS coordinates and tries to plot them using gnuplot. By Harry Brueckner
trace.xls - a sheet to draw a curve from your log file. By Kenan Atasoy
26202N.clf  my cell list around Hannover
or 26202N30d.clf for version 3.0
perl script to translate clf version 2.0 to 3.0 clf2to3.zip
25099.clf  / 25099_v30.clf Russian cell list for Beeline base stations in Moscow (UTF8). By Hugh

CellTrack91 - Version for S60 Symbian 3rd, 5th Generation and Symbian^3


The work on the version for the 3rd generation of the Symbian finished. This version also runs on the 5th generation and the Symbian^3 hardware (tested on N8-00).

It needs to be signed for your phone. Since March 2008 the Open Signing web site of symbiansigned.com offers online signing.

Notice: I can't help you with this process, so please don't ask.

When you are sure you understand this please try this file: CellTrack91 and give me your feedback.
This version should als run on the 5th generation phones (with little problems on the tap).

Files are now at this location: ?:/Data/Others/CellTrack

Screens with 176x208, 208x176, 208x208, 240x320, 320x240, 352x416, 416x352 are available.
And now 5th generation or Symbian^3 screen 360 x 640.

Most things are equal to the old version for the 2nd Edition
New things:
  • using internal or external GPS, select in settings and restart the software

Problems at the moment:
  • no CBS functions available - not available in this phone api or not found at the moment
  • bitmap as picture for the cell are not shown
  • WCDMA signals seems a little bit of frozen - that's what the telephone api gives back
  • bitmap for the signal values are only scaled so in some screen sizes it doesn't look very nice

Andere Software some other software
 Java:   JDBC/HTML/XML  |  dispServ  |  Sailing  |  search  |  VRML
 Pilot:   Astronavigation  |  MorseTrainer  |  Satellite  |  TTMobil  |  XMLTree
 SymbianOS:   Sun Compass  |  TimeTrack  |  CellTrack  |   AFTrack

A. Fischer, afischer at dbServ.de
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