Networking :: help with network detection using wlanctl-ng

Hi all, old to debian, new to dsl and i have a somewhat complicated question...

Here's my situation:
i have a prism2 usb wireless device, and have it working quite well with my hdd install of dsl.
This computer is intended for a mobile application, so the network will have to switch configurations in the following manner:
when a certain AP is within range, i need the machine to associate with it....otherwise it has to fall back into ad-hoc mode.

Here's the part I need help with:
how can I test to see if a certain ssid is within range?
how can I test to see if there is an active ad-hoc connection?
(I assume wlanctl-ng can do this without interupting the current network connections)

thanks,
+matt

original here.