Using the Search feature

[alex]

Since I have gotten a number of questions since the upgrade, I'll eventually probably make this an FAQ as well. I'd like some of you guys to beat on this concept a bit and see how it is. Obviously, it isn't perfect, the best, or otherwise ideal, but the search ever since this forum has been setup has been funny as it stands.

The issue with searching for a terms like:

Astro Spectra
Astro Saber
Astro
XTS

etc - words that are VERY common on this forum by no stretch of the imagination, when standing by themselves, will come up and say:

The following words in your search query were ignored: astro spectra.
You must specify at least one word to search for. Each word must consist of at least 3 characters and must not contain more than 14 characters excluding wildcards.

This is not because search is blocked, or that we are trying to keep you from finding information that has been posted in the past. Here is a couple of reasons I can think of why this is an issue:

1) Use of system resources. If there are 20 users searching words like astro spectra - it has to keep track of those individual searches across all 20 users, and where the user is in reviewing the results. If it returns over 50,000 posts - do the math out. It does take a lot of resources to do that.

2) Even if it returned all 50,000 hits, the chances of you actually looking at 50,000 posts - is very very small.

You can perform a search like astro spectra cps. It will tell you it ignored astro spectra, but found you a bunch of hits based on cps. But, instead, think of what you want to know about astro spectra cps.... You really want to know about issues with talkgroups. So, place the word talkgroups in the "refine" search, and run the query again. You will notice that in this result set, astro and spectra show up in the hits as well.

While it's not the best for someone who is just looking to casually browse, thinking about the issue, wording your queries correctly, will yield the best results. I also suggest you read up on the help or other screens built in to the board should you have further questions, or use advanced search to further filter the responses you are looking for. You may not need to see hits on a portable radio - where it may have been mentioned in Vehicle Installs, for sale, and feedback related forums.

Give it a shot.

-Alex

[wb6are]

Alex,

I'm trying to serch for posts about modifying a range 1 UHF Spectra to work in the 440-450 range. I know there are a number of posts on this subject as I've seen them in the past but can't seem to find a combination of key words that will show the emails now. I liked the old search system as it did allow me to find all posts on Spectra, I read every one of them just to learn all I could about Spectras, this is not possible now.

Thanks,
Bruce

[Max-trac]

You can also use Google and limit it to this site, IE put the following in the google search box;
astro spectra cps site:batboard.batlabs.com
That returned 1,320 hits.

[ArmsonOeg]

This search system SUCKS I was looking for a Spectra for sale, under "Motorola Spectra VHF" and it comes up with Vertex radios!!........The search needs some work. or go back

[tvsjr]

This search system SUCKS I was looking for a Spectra for sale, under "Motorola Spectra VHF" and it comes up with Vertex radios!!........The search needs some work. or go back

Yes SIR! We'll get right on that!

You do realize this site is provided for the public's use, FOR FREE, and by VOLUNTEERS?

Consider being a bit nicer next time. Kthxbye.

[jwb8734]

Also another thing to consider is the software that is being used is not 100% bugged out.

Alex and his team put alot of time and work into this. SO MANY THANKS TO THEM ALL for this great info.

[ArmsonOeg]

Sorry guys, i was not being rude or mean. Just that it would not work on my searches. I would like to thank Alex and the others who are building and working on the system.

[Karl NVW]

OK, users should always remember that "If you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem."

Since I agree that the current limits make the search unuseable for any popular item, here's one suggested fix: Limit search to last N days, user to specify N not to exceed 15,?, 20?, but certainly not more than 30.

Karl NVW

[bbertrand]

I don't know if the development of the seach engine is still being worked on, but it is far less useful the way it is now that similar forum sites. While beggers can't be choosers, please let me at least comment that what it keeps as "non-common" and wipes the rest actually increases the number of hits, not decreases them. Further, they tend to be in areas I am not interested. So sorry to bite the hand that feeds me, but wanted to give some constructive feedback.

[alex]

Sadly - There isn't a lot I can do. Google DOES index this board - so another option is to punch your query into google, and see what comes back. Usually it will find what your looking for.

Search here does suck - I'm not going to debate that because I know this full well, but at this point, there isn't much I can do to fix it.

I'm going to look at rebuilding some of the search index's and we'll see if that will fix it. Maybe this weekend.

-Alex

[bbertrand]

Well, you have a great deal on your plate, and we appreciate what you do. I just thought I would add a little squeak to wheel.

Thanks Again,
Blaine

[akardam]

Here's some additional information on ways to find what you need:

There have been a number of posts lately with questions asked that have been previously asked and answered. With over 150,000 posts in the main forums, plus an additional 50,000+ in the subforums, there's a good chance your question may have already been answered.

There are two good ways of searching.

First, you can use the board's internal search function.

Second, you can use Google's advanced search. Enter your search keywords in the appropriate field, and then be sure to specify batboard.batlabs.com in the "Search within a site or domain" field a bit lower down the page. This will limit your search to the content here on batboards that Google has spidered (which is just about everything since Google respiders the boards a few times per day)

I highly recommend using Google instead, as their search algorithm is much better suited to parsing the massive database here than PHPBB's search, and it will also conserve board resources by putting the load on Google's servers instead of the one running the boards.

Even simpler, use the plain Google search window, but append "site:batboard.batlabs.com" (without the quotes) to the end of the keywords you're looking for. This will work with any site you want to limit your search to.

[ke4zdg]

Is the search broken? I keep getting this error

General Error
SQL ERROR [ mysql4 ]

You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '.post_id FROM phpbb3_posts p WHERE MATCH (p.post_subject, [1064]

An SQL error occurred while fetching this page. Please contact the Board Administrator if this problem persists.

[alex]

Thanks for pointing this out and sorry there was not more of a global announcement about this.

The search on the individual pages is "broken" on purpose. It was causing the utilization on the server to be extreamly high. We are working to fix the search but it's not going to be instant.

If you use search on the top of the page, it will work without a problem.

Sorry about this guys, I know the search feature kinda sucks (ok, it sucks) but I'm hoping it will suck just a little less once this bug is corrected.

-Alex

[Sam]

I get the same error with the top-search as well

[alex]

That you apparently do.

Ok - it's broken for the time being. It's rebuilding the indexes now, but it's a lot of posts.

When it finishes I'll do some tweaking and open it back up.

Sorry guys.

-Alex

[Copperlion]

the search on the site may be down right now, but it's still possible to use other search engines to browse the site...

I use Google or Yahoo! search, though other search engines generally use the same syntax anymore:

[searchterm] site:batboard.batlabs.com

basically, tell the search engine what you are looking for, and whatever follows "site:" tells it where to search.

Hope that helps to alleviate some of the frustration while the search tool on the page is being repaired.

[alex]

It should be fixed now. Give it a try and see if it works any better (I tend to doubt it but you never know).

-Alex