https://pathloss.com/pwiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Paulg 2026-05-01T18:52:33Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.21.11 //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Geobase 2013-04-04T19:22:49Z

<p>Paulg: /* Using CDED files with Pathloss 5.0 */</p> <hr /> <div>== GEOBASE - Canadian terrain data ==<br /> <br /> Geobase has elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> Geobase main page: '''http://www.geobase.ca'''<br /> <br /> === CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) ===<br /> <br /> The CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) is available in 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 resolution.<br /> <br /> ==== Downloading the files ====<br /> <br /> If you have not already done so, you will need to register an account. Use this page to create an account:<br /> http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/register.jsp<br /> <br /> Files can then be downloaded from: http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/data/cded/index.html<br /> <br /> Click on the desired resolution data source.<br /> <br /> Continue to click on the Map until you are fully zoomed in to the area of interest. You will know you are fully zoomed in when you see a listbox at the bottom of the page. Now as you click on the map. The map names will be added to the listbox. When you are ready to download click Submit.<br /> <br /> [[File:CDED-1.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> Select the html download links for each file and download them all in to a directory. The files are zipped so you should unzip all the files to a main directory. You should now have a folder that contains all the .dem files along with other meta data files that are not important.<br /> <br /> These must be converted to a binary format in the Pathloss program before they can be used.<br /> <br /> ==== Using CDED files with Pathloss 5.0 ====<br /> <br /> Start Pathloss 5. Click Configure - Setup GIS Configuration. Select the Primary DEM tab and follow the image below to convert the .dem files to the binary data Pathloss can use. Multi-select all the .dem files. You can safely save them in the same directory (You will be asked for the save location only once.)<br /> <br /> [[File:CDED-2.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> Close the index and click OK.<br /> <br /> ==== Using CDED files with Pathloss 4.0 ====<br /> <br /> :*Download and unzip the CDED files to your hard drive.<br /> :*In the Pathloss program select '''Configure-Terrain Database'''<br /> :*Select '''DTED-CDED indexed files''' from the Primary list<br /> :*Click the '''Setup Primary''' button<br /> :*Click the '''Set directory''' button. Set the directory to where the un-zipped CDED files are located and click '''OK'''<br /> :*Click the '''USGS to DTED''' button. A file selection dialog box will open, select the DEM files that you have downloaded and un-zipped and click '''Open'''. The files will be converted, added to the index and are ready to use.<br /> <br /> For more information see the manual under CDED-DTED indexed files.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Geobase 2013-04-04T19:22:07Z

<p>Paulg: /* Downloading the files */</p> <hr /> <div>== GEOBASE - Canadian terrain data ==<br /> <br /> Geobase has elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> Geobase main page: '''http://www.geobase.ca'''<br /> <br /> === CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) ===<br /> <br /> The CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) is available in 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 resolution.<br /> <br /> ==== Downloading the files ====<br /> <br /> If you have not already done so, you will need to register an account. Use this page to create an account:<br /> http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/register.jsp<br /> <br /> Files can then be downloaded from: http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/data/cded/index.html<br /> <br /> Click on the desired resolution data source.<br /> <br /> Continue to click on the Map until you are fully zoomed in to the area of interest. You will know you are fully zoomed in when you see a listbox at the bottom of the page. Now as you click on the map. The map names will be added to the listbox. When you are ready to download click Submit.<br /> <br /> [[File:CDED-1.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> Select the html download links for each file and download them all in to a directory. The files are zipped so you should unzip all the files to a main directory. You should now have a folder that contains all the .dem files along with other meta data files that are not important.<br /> <br /> These must be converted to a binary format in the Pathloss program before they can be used.<br /> <br /> ==== Using CDED files with Pathloss 5.0 ====<br /> <br /> Start Pathloss 5. Click Configure - Setup GIS Configuration. Select the Primary DEM tab and follow the image below to convert the .dem files to the binary data Pathloss can use. Multi-select all the .dem files. You can safely save them in the same directory (You will be asked for the save location only once.)<br /> <br /> Close the index and click OK.<br /> <br /> ==== Using CDED files with Pathloss 4.0 ====<br /> <br /> :*Download and unzip the CDED files to your hard drive.<br /> :*In the Pathloss program select '''Configure-Terrain Database'''<br /> :*Select '''DTED-CDED indexed files''' from the Primary list<br /> :*Click the '''Setup Primary''' button<br /> :*Click the '''Set directory''' button. Set the directory to where the un-zipped CDED files are located and click '''OK'''<br /> :*Click the '''USGS to DTED''' button. A file selection dialog box will open, select the DEM files that you have downloaded and un-zipped and click '''Open'''. The files will be converted, added to the index and are ready to use.<br /> <br /> For more information see the manual under CDED-DTED indexed files.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=File:CDED-2.jpg 2013-04-04T19:19:56Z

<p>Paulg: CDED Helper files.</p> <hr /> <div>CDED Helper files.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=File:CDED-1.jpg 2013-04-04T19:19:22Z

<p>Paulg: CDED helper image.</p> <hr /> <div>CDED helper image.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Geobase 2013-04-04T19:18:01Z

<p>Paulg: /* CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) */</p> <hr /> <div>== GEOBASE - Canadian terrain data ==<br /> <br /> Geobase has elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> Geobase main page: '''http://www.geobase.ca'''<br /> <br /> === CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) ===<br /> <br /> The CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) is available in 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 resolution.<br /> <br /> ==== Downloading the files ====<br /> <br /> If you have not already done so, you will need to register an account. Use this page to create an account:<br /> http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/register.jsp<br /> <br /> Files can then be downloaded from: http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/data/cded/index.html<br /> <br /> Click on the desired resolution data source.<br /> <br /> Continue to click on the Map until you are fully zoomed in to the area of interest. You will know you are fully zoomed in when you see a listbox at the bottom of the page. Now as you click on the map. The map names will be added to the listbox. When you are ready to download click Submit.<br /> <br /> Select the html download links for each file and download them all in to a directory. The files are zipped so you should unzip all the files to a main directory. You should now have a folder that contains all the .dem files along with other meta data files that are not important.<br /> <br /> These must be converted to a binary format in the Pathloss program before they can be used.<br /> <br /> ==== Using CDED files with Pathloss 5.0 ====<br /> <br /> Start Pathloss 5. Click Configure - Setup GIS Configuration. Select the Primary DEM tab and follow the image below to convert the .dem files to the binary data Pathloss can use. Multi-select all the .dem files. You can safely save them in the same directory (You will be asked for the save location only once.)<br /> <br /> Close the index and click OK.<br /> <br /> ==== Using CDED files with Pathloss 4.0 ====<br /> <br /> :*Download and unzip the CDED files to your hard drive.<br /> :*In the Pathloss program select '''Configure-Terrain Database'''<br /> :*Select '''DTED-CDED indexed files''' from the Primary list<br /> :*Click the '''Setup Primary''' button<br /> :*Click the '''Set directory''' button. Set the directory to where the un-zipped CDED files are located and click '''OK'''<br /> :*Click the '''USGS to DTED''' button. A file selection dialog box will open, select the DEM files that you have downloaded and un-zipped and click '''Open'''. The files will be converted, added to the index and are ready to use.<br /> <br /> For more information see the manual under CDED-DTED indexed files.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Geobase 2013-04-04T19:08:13Z

<p>Paulg: /* GEOBASE - Canadian terrain data */</p> <hr /> <div>== GEOBASE - Canadian terrain data ==<br /> <br /> Geobase has elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> Geobase main page: '''http://www.geobase.ca'''<br /> <br /> === CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) ===<br /> <br /> The CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 files can be downloaded from http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/data/cded/index.html<br /> <br /> These must be converted in the Pathloss program before they can be used. <br /> <br /> ==== Using CDED files with Pathloss 4.0 ====<br /> <br /> <br /> :*Download and unzip the CDED files to your hard drive.<br /> :*In the Pathloss program select '''Configure-Terrain Database'''<br /> :*Select '''DTED-CDED indexed files''' from the Primary list<br /> :*Click the '''Setup Primary''' button<br /> :*Click the '''Set directory''' button. Set the directory to where the un-zipped CDED files are located and click '''OK'''<br /> :*Click the '''USGS to DTED''' button. A file selection dialog box will open, select the DEM files that you have downloaded and un-zipped and click '''Open'''. The files will be converted, added to the index and are ready to use.<br /> <br /> For more information see the manual under CDED-DTED indexed files.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2013-01-08T17:21:27Z

<p>Paulg: /* World Databases */</p> <hr /> <div>This page lists some common sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> '''NED vs SRTM in the USA'''&lt;br <br /> /&gt;In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> ==Public Terrain data (Free of charge)==<br /> <br /> ====USGS NED Data (USA Only)====<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map Viewer for NED and NLCD data.<br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - Multi Resolution Land Characteristics for NED and NLCD data in BIL format.<br /> <br /> ====SRTM Data (USA 1&quot; resolution Worldwide 3&quot; resolution)====<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30 (30&quot; data for the world)<br /> <br /> ====Canadian Data====<br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada in GeoTiff format. <br /> <br /> ====World Databases====<br /> <br /> [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/dem3.html Viewfinder Panoramas] - Excellent resource to download free 3 second data for the world. This data is compiled from SRTM data with voids and artifacts filled in from other sources. See the [[SRTM]] section above for instructions on configuring for use in Pathloss.<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2.<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Clutter database. Pathloss 5 only)<br /> <br /> ==Commercial Terrain data ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=ASTER 2012-12-21T21:46:29Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>The main page for aster data reference is http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/gdem.asp<br /> <br /> We do not recommend this data in Canada and the US, or other areas where better data is available.<br /> Please read the following document concerning the accuracy of the ASTER (GDEM) dataset.<br /> <br /> [http://www.jspacesystems.or.jp/ersdac/GDEM/ver2Validation/Summary_GDEM2_validation_report_final.pdf ASTER GDEM Ver. 2 Validation Summary Report]<br /> <br /> ==How to Download==<br /> <br /> This page allows you to download aster data and other formats as well '''http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/'''<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 instructions ==<br /> Unzip the downloaded files.<br /> <br /> Select '''''Configure''''' from the main menu, and click '''''Set GIS Configuration'''''. Select '''''Primary''''' or '''''Secondary DEM'''''. From the drop down list on the right select '''''BIL Geographic DEM'''''. Click the '''''File Index''''' button, Select '''''Files - Import Index - ASTER Geo Tiff files'''''. <br /> <br /> Select only the files with DEM in the name. Do not select file with NUM in the name. The ASTER data is ready to use.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 4.0 instructions ==<br /> Unzip the downloaded files.<br /> <br /> Select '''''Configure''''' from the main menu, and click '''''Terrain Database'''''. Select '''''SRTM-ASTER''''' in either the Primary or Secondary drop down list. Click the '''''Setup Primary/Secondary''''' button, Select '''''Files - bil, SRTM hgt, ASTER tif'''''. Select the files and click '''''Open'''''. <br /> <br /> Select only the files with DEM in the name. Do not select file with NUM in the name. The ASTER data is ready to use.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2012-12-21T21:44:10Z

<p>Paulg: /* World Databases */</p> <hr /> <div>This page lists some common sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> '''NED vs SRTM in the USA'''&lt;br <br /> /&gt;In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> ==Public Terrain data (Free of charge)==<br /> <br /> ====USGS NED Data (USA Only)====<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map Viewer for NED and NLCD data.<br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - Multi Resolution Land Characteristics for NED and NLCD data in BIL format.<br /> <br /> ====SRTM Data (USA 1&quot; resolution Worldwide 3&quot; resolution)====<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30 (30&quot; data for the world)<br /> <br /> ====Canadian Data====<br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada in GeoTiff format. <br /> <br /> ====World Databases====<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2.<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Clutter database. Pathloss 5 only)<br /> <br /> ==Commercial Terrain data ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=SRTM 2012-12-21T20:12:53Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>All SRTM data is available directly from http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/<br /> <br /> You can also use the download tool described below to download 1x1 degree blocks by coordinates.<br /> <br /> ==Information==<br /> There are 2 versions of the SRTM files. Information regarding the diferences can be found here: http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/What_are_these.pdf. <br /> <br /> '''Always use version 2 data if available.''' Version 2 has been cleaned up and most of the blanks, spikes and wells have been fixed.<br /> <br /> ==How to download==<br /> <br /> ====Pathloss download tool====<br /> [[Image:region_definition.jpg|400px|thumb|SRTM region definitions]]<br /> Go to '''http://www.pathloss.com/mapsearch.html'''<br /> <br /> Enter your coordinates and ''be sure to uses negative longitudes in the west''. Select the desired product and click download. Data is downloaded in 1x1 degree blocks.<br /> <br /> After downloading, unzip all the files in to a common folder.<br /> <br /> ====Official SRTM Site====<br /> The main SRTM download siteis found at: '''http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/'''<br /> <br /> SRTM data are distributed in two levels: <br /> <br /> SRTM1 is 1-arc second data available for the USA only. The SRTM1 files are arranged by Regions as shown in the following graphic to the right.<br /> <br /> SRTM3 sampled at three arc-seconds available for the world. The SRTM3 files are arranged by continent. You may have to look in the neighboring continent to find the files you need (for example the Middle East is in Africa)<br /> <br /> Data are divided into one by one degree latitude and longitude tiles in geographic projection.<br /> File names refer to the latitude and longitude of the lower left corner of the tile - e.g. N37W105 has its lower left corner at 37 degrees north latitude and 105 degrees west longitude.<br /> <br /> After downloading, unzip all the files in to a common folder.<br /> <br /> == How to use the SRTM data with the Pathloss 5 program. ==<br /> <br /> Click '''''Configure''''' - '''''Set GIS configuration'''''<br /> <br /> [[File:GIS-SRTM.JPG]]<br /> <br /> Click the '''''Primary DEM''''' tab and select '''''SRTM (World)''''' from the '''''Digital elevation model''''' drop down list.<br /> <br /> Click the '''''File index''''' button and a new window will appear. In the menu of the new window click '''''Files''''' ,'''''Import index''''' and '''''SRTM hgt files'''''.<br /> <br /> [[File:SRTM-index.JPG]]<br /> <br /> Browse to locate the '''''HGT''''' files you have downloaded (You can select many HGT files at once by holding Ctrl or Shift while selecting files). Click '''''Open''''' and the files will be added to the index list.<br /> <br /> Note the edges of the SRTM file(s) and ensure that they cover the area of your project. In other words, make sure that the sites coordinates fall within the rectangle bounded by the North, South, East and West edges as listed for the SRTM file(s) in the index. <br /> <br /> You have now configured Pathloss 5 for SRTM terrain data.<br /> <br /> == How to use the SRTM data with the Pathloss 4 program. ==<br /> <br /> You will need the latest version of the Pathloss program. <br /> <br /> The SRTM data uses the WGS84 datum. Your coordinates will be transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> In the Pathloss program click &quot;Configure&quot; – &quot;Terrain Database&quot; and select &quot;SRTM&quot; from the drop down list. Click Setup Primary (or Secondary depending on your selection). Click &quot;File&quot; then &quot;BIL-HDR-BLW&quot; and browse to find and load a file with the HGT extension. The program is now setup to use the selected SRTM file.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=SRTM 2012-12-21T20:11:58Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>All SRTM data is available directly from http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/<br /> <br /> You can also use the download tool described below to download 1x1 degree blocks by coordinates.<br /> <br /> ==Information==<br /> There are 2 versions of the SRTM files. Information regarding the diferences can be found here: http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/What_are_these.pdf. <br /> <br /> '''Always use version 2 data if available.''' Version 2 has been cleaned up and most of the blanks, spikes and wells have been fixed.<br /> <br /> ==How to download==<br /> <br /> ====Pathloss download tool====<br /> Go to '''http://www.pathloss.com/mapsearch.html'''<br /> <br /> Enter your coordinates and ''be sure to uses negative longitudes in the west''. Select the desired product and click download. Data is downloaded in 1x1 degree blocks.<br /> <br /> After downloading, unzip all the files in to a common folder.<br /> <br /> ====Official SRTM Site====<br /> [[Image:region_definition.jpg|300px|thumb|SRTM region definitions]]<br /> The main SRTM download siteis found at: '''http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/'''<br /> <br /> SRTM data are distributed in two levels: <br /> <br /> SRTM1 is 1-arc second data available for the USA only. The SRTM1 files are arranged by Regions as shown in the following graphic to the right.<br /> <br /> SRTM3 sampled at three arc-seconds available for the world. The SRTM3 files are arranged by continent. You may have to look in the neighboring continent to find the files you need (for example the Middle East is in Africa)<br /> <br /> Data are divided into one by one degree latitude and longitude tiles in geographic projection.<br /> File names refer to the latitude and longitude of the lower left corner of the tile - e.g. N37W105 has its lower left corner at 37 degrees north latitude and 105 degrees west longitude.<br /> <br /> After downloading, unzip all the files in to a common folder.<br /> <br /> == How to use the SRTM data with the Pathloss 5 program. ==<br /> <br /> Click '''''Configure''''' - '''''Set GIS configuration'''''<br /> <br /> [[File:GIS-SRTM.JPG]]<br /> <br /> Click the '''''Primary DEM''''' tab and select '''''SRTM (World)''''' from the '''''Digital elevation model''''' drop down list.<br /> <br /> Click the '''''File index''''' button and a new window will appear. In the menu of the new window click '''''Files''''' ,'''''Import index''''' and '''''SRTM hgt files'''''.<br /> <br /> [[File:SRTM-index.JPG]]<br /> <br /> Browse to locate the '''''HGT''''' files you have downloaded (You can select many HGT files at once by holding Ctrl or Shift while selecting files). Click '''''Open''''' and the files will be added to the index list.<br /> <br /> Note the edges of the SRTM file(s) and ensure that they cover the area of your project. In other words, make sure that the sites coordinates fall within the rectangle bounded by the North, South, East and West edges as listed for the SRTM file(s) in the index. <br /> <br /> You have now configured Pathloss 5 for SRTM terrain data.<br /> <br /> == How to use the SRTM data with the Pathloss 4 program. ==<br /> <br /> You will need the latest version of the Pathloss program. <br /> <br /> The SRTM data uses the WGS84 datum. Your coordinates will be transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> In the Pathloss program click &quot;Configure&quot; – &quot;Terrain Database&quot; and select &quot;SRTM&quot; from the drop down list. Click Setup Primary (or Secondary depending on your selection). Click &quot;File&quot; then &quot;BIL-HDR-BLW&quot; and browse to find and load a file with the HGT extension. The program is now setup to use the selected SRTM file.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2012-12-21T20:05:24Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>This page lists some common sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> '''NED vs SRTM in the USA'''&lt;br <br /> /&gt;In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> ==Public Terrain data (Free of charge)==<br /> <br /> ====USGS NED Data (USA Only)====<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map Viewer for NED and NLCD data.<br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - Multi Resolution Land Characteristics for NED and NLCD data in BIL format.<br /> <br /> ====SRTM Data (USA 1&quot; resolution Worldwide 3&quot; resolution)====<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30 (30&quot; data for the world)<br /> <br /> ====Canadian Data====<br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada in GeoTiff format. <br /> <br /> ====World Databases====<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2.<br /> <br /> [http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/ Global Data Explorer] - Global terrain data in ASTER, SRTM 30m SRTM 90m and GTOPO30 (30 arc second).<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Clutter database. Pathloss 5 only)<br /> <br /> ==Commercial Terrain data ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2012-12-21T20:03:49Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>This page lists some common sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> '''NED vs SRTM in the USA'''&lt;br <br /> /&gt;In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Free of charge) ==<br /> <br /> ====USGS NED Data (USA Only)====<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map Viewer for NED and NLCD data.<br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - Multi Resolution Land Characteristics for NED and NLCD data in BIL format.<br /> <br /> ====SRTM Data (USA 1&quot; resolution Worldwide 3&quot; resolution)====<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30 (30&quot; data for the world)<br /> <br /> ====Canadian Data====<br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada in GeoTiff format. <br /> <br /> ====World Databases====<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2.<br /> <br /> [http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/ Global Data Explorer] - Global terrain data in ASTER, SRTM 30m SRTM 90m and GTOPO30 (30 arc second).<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Clutter database. Pathloss 5 only)<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Commercial) ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=SRTM 2012-12-21T19:59:47Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>All SRTM data is available directly from http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/<br /> <br /> You can also use the download tool described below to download 1x1 degree blocks by coordinates.<br /> <br /> ==Information==<br /> There are 2 versions of the SRTM files. Information regarding the diferences can be found here: http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/What_are_these.pdf. Basically if the data is available as version 2, use it. Version 2 has been cleaned up and most of the blanks, spikes and wells have been fixed.<br /> <br /> ==How to download==<br /> <br /> ====Pathloss download tool====<br /> Go to '''http://www.pathloss.com/mapsearch.html'''<br /> <br /> Enter your coordinates and ''be sure to uses negative longitudes in the west''. Select the desired product and click download. Data is downloaded in 1x1 degree blocks.<br /> <br /> After downloading, unzip all the files in to a common folder.<br /> <br /> ====Official SRTM Site====<br /> [[Image:region_definition.jpg|300px|thumb|SRTM region definitions]]<br /> The main SRTM download siteis found at: '''http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/'''<br /> <br /> SRTM data are distributed in two levels: <br /> <br /> SRTM1 is 1-arc second data available for the USA only. The SRTM1 files are arranged by Regions as shown in the following graphic to the right.<br /> <br /> SRTM3 sampled at three arc-seconds available for the world. (The three arc-second data was generated by three by three averaging of the one arc-second samples.) The SRTM3 files are arranged by continent. You may have to look in the neighboring continent to find the files you need (for example the Middle East is in Africa)<br /> <br /> Data are divided into one by one degree latitude and longitude tiles in geographic projection.<br /> File names refer to the latitude and longitude of the lower left corner of the tile - e.g. N37W105 has its lower left corner at 37 degrees north latitude and 105 degrees west longitude.<br /> <br /> After downloading, unzip all the files in to a common folder.<br /> <br /> == How to use the SRTM data with the Pathloss 5 program. ==<br /> <br /> Click '''''Configure''''' - '''''Set GIS configuration'''''<br /> <br /> [[File:GIS-SRTM.JPG]]<br /> <br /> Click the '''''Primary DEM''''' tab and select '''''SRTM (World)''''' from the '''''Digital elevation model''''' drop down list.<br /> <br /> Click the '''''File index''''' button and a new window will appear. In the menu of the new window click '''''Files''''' ,'''''Import index''''' and '''''SRTM hgt files'''''.<br /> <br /> [[File:SRTM-index.JPG]]<br /> <br /> Browse to locate the '''''HGT''''' files you have downloaded (You can select many HGT files at once by holding Ctrl or Shift while selecting files). Click '''''Open''''' and the files will be added to the index list.<br /> <br /> Note the edges of the SRTM file(s) and ensure that they cover the area of your project. In other words, make sure that the sites coordinates fall within the rectangle bounded by the North, South, East and West edges as listed for the SRTM file(s) in the index. <br /> <br /> You have now configured Pathloss 5 for SRTM terrain data.<br /> <br /> == How to use the SRTM data with the Pathloss 4 program. ==<br /> <br /> You will need the latest version of the Pathloss program. <br /> <br /> The SRTM data uses the WGS84 datum. Your coordinates will be transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> In the Pathloss program click &quot;Configure&quot; – &quot;Terrain Database&quot; and select &quot;SRTM&quot; from the drop down list. Click Setup Primary (or Secondary depending on your selection). Click &quot;File&quot; then &quot;BIL-HDR-BLW&quot; and browse to find and load a file with the HGT extension. The program is now setup to use the selected SRTM file.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=MRLC 2012-12-21T19:34:28Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>== Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium ==<br /> <br /> A seamless download site that has NED and NLCD data for the US in BIL format.<br /> <br /> '''http://www.mrlc.gov/viewerjs/'''<br /> <br /> ====Download the data in BIL format====<br /> <br /> Follow these steps to download the terrain data in the BIL format<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-1.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-2.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-3.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Click the download button for each data-set and wait for the extraction process to complete (Could take 5-10 minutes or longer)<br /> <br /> Unzip the files in to a folder. Use separate folders for NED and NLCD data<br /> <br /> ====Configuring Pathloss 5 to use the data====<br /> <br /> Select Configure -&gt; Setup GIS Configuration from the Pathloss 5 main menu.<br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-4.jpg|600px]]<br /> <br /> Select the top level folder that contains all the unziped NED data.<br /> <br /> Clutter is set up similarly.<br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-5.jpg|600px]]</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=MRLC 2012-12-21T19:34:04Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>== Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium ==<br /> <br /> A seamless download site that has NED and NLCD data for the US in BIL format.<br /> <br /> '''http://www.mrlc.gov/viewerjs/'''<br /> <br /> ====Download the data in BIL format====<br /> <br /> Follow these steps to download the terrain data in the BIL format<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-1.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-2.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-3.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Click the download button for each data-set and wait for the extraction process to complete (Could take 5-10 minutes or longer)<br /> <br /> Unzip the files in to a folder. Use separate folders for NED and NLCD data<br /> <br /> ====Configuring Pathloss 5 to use the data====<br /> <br /> Select Configure -&gt; Setup GIS Configuration from the Pathloss 5 main menu.<br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-4.jpg|500px]]<br /> <br /> Select the top level folder that contains all the unziped NED data.<br /> <br /> Clutter is set up similarly.<br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-5.jpg|500px]]</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2012-12-21T19:30:44Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>Below listed, are some sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> '''NED vs SRTM in the USA''' <br /> In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Free of charge) ==<br /> <br /> ====USGS NED Data (USA Only)====<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map Viewer for NED and NLCD data.<br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - Multi Resolution Land Characteristics for NED and NLCD data in BIL format.<br /> <br /> ====SRTM Data (USA 1&quot; resolution Worldwide 3&quot; resolution)====<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30 (30&quot; data for the world)<br /> <br /> ====Canadian Data====<br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada in GeoTiff format. <br /> <br /> ====World Databases====<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2.<br /> <br /> [http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/ Global Data Explorer] - Global terrain data in ASTER, SRTM 30m SRTM 90m and GTOPO30 (30 arc second).<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Clutter database. Pathloss 5 only)<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Commercial) ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=The_National_Map 2012-12-21T19:25:21Z

<p>Paulg: /* Using the Gridfloat data in Pathloss 5 */</p> <hr /> <div>'''Important Note regarding the National Map Viewer'''<br /> <br /> Because of ongoing changes to the National Map Viewer file formats we recommend using the Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium [[MRLC]] page to download elevation and clutter data in the BIL format. You can also use the prepackaged grid float format described below.<br /> <br /> The National map view page can be found at http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ (Not recommended)<br /> <br /> ==Information==<br /> The National Elevation Dataset (NED) is a new raster product assembled by the U.S. Geological Survey. NED is designed to provide National elevation data in a seamless form with a consistent datum, elevation unit, and projection. Data corrections were made in the NED assembly process to minimize artifacts, perform edge matching, and fill sliver areas of missing data. NED has a resolution of one arc-second (approximately 30 meters) for the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico and a resolution of two arc-seconds for Alaska. More info can be found at http://gisdata.usgs.net/NED/.<br /> <br /> ==Prepackaged Gridfloat 1&quot; and 1/3&quot; data download==<br /> <br /> http://cumulus.cr.usgs.gov/webappcontent/neddownloadtool/NEDDownloadTool.html<br /> <br /> Enter the coordinates for the area to be downloaded or select a state and region. ''Be sure that the longitudes are negative for the west.''<br /> <br /> Be sure to click the download links for the &quot;Pre-packaged Float format&quot; at the desired resolution.<br /> <br /> Extract all the files in to a common folder.<br /> <br /> ==Using the Gridfloat data in Pathloss 5==<br /> <br /> Click Configure -&gt; Setup GIS Configuration and configure the primary DEM<br /> <br /> [[File:Grdflt-1.JPG|600px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> Select the top level folder that contains all the DEM.<br /> Close the index and click OK. (Save the GIS file.)<br /> <br /> ==Using the seamless NED data with Pathloss 4==<br /> Decompress the dataset to its own directory. The dataset is comprised of 16 files…<br /> <br /> *.aux *.hdr METADATA.dbf Metadata.xml<br /> *.bil *.prj METADATA.prj NED DataDictionary.pdf<br /> *.bil.aux.xml *.stx METADATA.shp NED_Release_Notes_June10.pdf<br /> *.blw meta1.html METADATA.shx output_parameters.txt<br /> <br /> In Version 4.0 make sure to use NED CONUS for data in Alaska. Do not use NED Alaska.<br /> <br /> The NED (CONUS) data uses the NAD83. NAD27 Coordinates are transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> The SRTM data uses the WGS84. NAD83 and NAD27 Coordinates are transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> * In the Pathloss program click '''Configure''' – '''Terrain Database''' and depending on the dataset select either '''NED CONUS'''or '''NED Alaska''' from the drop down list. <br /> <br /> * Click '''Setup Primary''' (or '''Setup Secondary''' depending on your selection). <br /> <br /> * Click the file button and browse to find and load the file with the BIL extension. The program is now setup to use the selected BIL file.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=File:Grdflt-1.JPG 2012-12-21T19:21:20Z

<p>Paulg: Helper image for setting up gridflt GIS</p> <hr /> <div>Helper image for setting up gridflt GIS</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=The_National_Map 2012-12-21T19:18:46Z

<p>Paulg: /* Prepackaged Gridfloat download */</p> <hr /> <div>'''Important Note regarding the National Map Viewer'''<br /> <br /> Because of ongoing changes to the National Map Viewer file formats we recommend using the Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium [[MRLC]] page to download elevation and clutter data in the BIL format. You can also use the prepackaged grid float format described below.<br /> <br /> The National map view page can be found at http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ (Not recommended)<br /> <br /> ==Information==<br /> The National Elevation Dataset (NED) is a new raster product assembled by the U.S. Geological Survey. NED is designed to provide National elevation data in a seamless form with a consistent datum, elevation unit, and projection. Data corrections were made in the NED assembly process to minimize artifacts, perform edge matching, and fill sliver areas of missing data. NED has a resolution of one arc-second (approximately 30 meters) for the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico and a resolution of two arc-seconds for Alaska. More info can be found at http://gisdata.usgs.net/NED/.<br /> <br /> ==Prepackaged Gridfloat 1&quot; and 1/3&quot; data download==<br /> <br /> http://cumulus.cr.usgs.gov/webappcontent/neddownloadtool/NEDDownloadTool.html<br /> <br /> Enter the coordinates for the area to be downloaded or select a state and region. ''Be sure that the longitudes are negative for the west.''<br /> <br /> Be sure to click the download links for the &quot;Pre-packaged Float format&quot; at the desired resolution.<br /> <br /> Extract all the files in to a common folder.<br /> <br /> ==Using the Gridfloat data in Pathloss 5==<br /> <br /> Click Configure -&gt; Setup GIS Configuration<br /> <br /> ==Using the seamless NED data with Pathloss 4==<br /> Decompress the dataset to its own directory. The dataset is comprised of 16 files…<br /> <br /> *.aux *.hdr METADATA.dbf Metadata.xml<br /> *.bil *.prj METADATA.prj NED DataDictionary.pdf<br /> *.bil.aux.xml *.stx METADATA.shp NED_Release_Notes_June10.pdf<br /> *.blw meta1.html METADATA.shx output_parameters.txt<br /> <br /> In Version 4.0 make sure to use NED CONUS for data in Alaska. Do not use NED Alaska.<br /> <br /> The NED (CONUS) data uses the NAD83. NAD27 Coordinates are transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> The SRTM data uses the WGS84. NAD83 and NAD27 Coordinates are transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> * In the Pathloss program click '''Configure''' – '''Terrain Database''' and depending on the dataset select either '''NED CONUS'''or '''NED Alaska''' from the drop down list. <br /> <br /> * Click '''Setup Primary''' (or '''Setup Secondary''' depending on your selection). <br /> <br /> * Click the file button and browse to find and load the file with the BIL extension. The program is now setup to use the selected BIL file.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=The_National_Map 2012-12-21T19:14:10Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>'''Important Note regarding the National Map Viewer'''<br /> <br /> Because of ongoing changes to the National Map Viewer file formats we recommend using the Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium [[MRLC]] page to download elevation and clutter data in the BIL format. You can also use the prepackaged grid float format described below.<br /> <br /> The National map view page can be found at http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ (Not recommended)<br /> <br /> ==Information==<br /> The National Elevation Dataset (NED) is a new raster product assembled by the U.S. Geological Survey. NED is designed to provide National elevation data in a seamless form with a consistent datum, elevation unit, and projection. Data corrections were made in the NED assembly process to minimize artifacts, perform edge matching, and fill sliver areas of missing data. NED has a resolution of one arc-second (approximately 30 meters) for the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico and a resolution of two arc-seconds for Alaska. More info can be found at http://gisdata.usgs.net/NED/.<br /> <br /> ==Prepackaged Gridfloat download==<br /> <br /> http://cumulus.cr.usgs.gov/webappcontent/neddownloadtool/NEDDownloadTool.html<br /> <br /> ==Using the Gridfloat data in Pathloss 5==<br /> <br /> Click Configure -&gt; Setup GIS Configuration<br /> <br /> ==Using the seamless NED data with Pathloss 4==<br /> Decompress the dataset to its own directory. The dataset is comprised of 16 files…<br /> <br /> *.aux *.hdr METADATA.dbf Metadata.xml<br /> *.bil *.prj METADATA.prj NED DataDictionary.pdf<br /> *.bil.aux.xml *.stx METADATA.shp NED_Release_Notes_June10.pdf<br /> *.blw meta1.html METADATA.shx output_parameters.txt<br /> <br /> In Version 4.0 make sure to use NED CONUS for data in Alaska. Do not use NED Alaska.<br /> <br /> The NED (CONUS) data uses the NAD83. NAD27 Coordinates are transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> The SRTM data uses the WGS84. NAD83 and NAD27 Coordinates are transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> * In the Pathloss program click '''Configure''' – '''Terrain Database''' and depending on the dataset select either '''NED CONUS'''or '''NED Alaska''' from the drop down list. <br /> <br /> * Click '''Setup Primary''' (or '''Setup Secondary''' depending on your selection). <br /> <br /> * Click the file button and browse to find and load the file with the BIL extension. The program is now setup to use the selected BIL file.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2012-12-21T18:54:28Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>Below listed, are some sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> '''NED vs SRTM in the USA''' <br /> <br /> In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Free of charge) ==<br /> <br /> ====USGS NED Data (USA Only)====<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map viewer for NED and NLCD data.<br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - NED and NLCD 2006 data in BIL format.<br /> <br /> ====SRTM Data (USA 1&quot; resolution Worldwide 3&quot; resolution)====<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30 (30&quot; data for the world)<br /> <br /> ====Canadian Data====<br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada in GeoTiff format. <br /> <br /> ====World Databases====<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2.<br /> <br /> [http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/ Global Data Explorer] - Global terrain data in ASTER, SRTM 30m SRTM 90m and GTOPO30 (30 arc second).<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Clutter database. Pathloss 5 only)<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Commercial) ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2012-12-21T18:52:14Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>Below listed, are some sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> ==== NED vs SRTM in the USA ====<br /> <br /> In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Free of charge) ==<br /> <br /> ====USGS NED Data (USA Only)====<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map viewer for NED and NLCD data.<br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - NED and NLCD 2006 data in BIL format.<br /> <br /> ====SRTM Data (USA 1&quot; resolution Worldwide 3&quot; resolution)====<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30 (30&quot; data for the world)<br /> <br /> ====Canadian Data====<br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada in GeoTiff format. <br /> <br /> ====World Databases====<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2.<br /> <br /> [http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/ Global Data Explorer] - Global terrain data in ASTER, SRTM 30m SRTM 90m and GTOPO30 (30 arc second).<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Clutter database. Pathloss 5 only)<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Commercial) ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2012-12-21T18:49:14Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>Below listed, are some sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> ==== NED vs SRTM in the USA ====<br /> <br /> In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Free of charge) ==<br /> <br /> ====USGS NED Data (USA Only)====<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map viewer for NED and NLCD data.<br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - NED and NLCD 2006 data in BIL format.<br /> <br /> ====SRTM Data (USA 1&quot; resolution Worldwide 3&quot; resolution)====<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30 (30&quot; data for the world)<br /> <br /> ====Canadian Data====<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada. <br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> ====World Databases====<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2.<br /> <br /> [http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/ Global Data Explorer] - Global terrain data in ASTER, SRTM 30m SRTM 90m and GTOPO30 (30 arc second).<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Clutter database. Pathloss 5 only)<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Commercial) ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2012-12-21T18:46:42Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>Below listed, are some sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> ==== NED vs SRTM in the USA ====<br /> <br /> In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Free of charge) ==<br /> <br /> ====USGS NED Data (USA Only)====<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map viewer for NED and NLCD data.<br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - NED and NLCD 2006 data in BIL format.<br /> <br /> ====SRTM Data (USA 1&quot; resolution Worldwide 3&quot; resolution)====<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30 (30&quot; data for the world)<br /> <br /> ====Canadian Data====<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada. <br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> ====World Databases====<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Pathloss 5 only).<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2.<br /> <br /> [http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/ Global Data Explorer] - Global terrain data in ASTER, SRTM 30m SRTM 90m and GTOPO30 (30 arc second).<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Commercial) ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Terrain_data 2012-12-21T18:36:04Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>Below listed, are some sources for terrain data that can be used with the Pathloss program. Pathloss 4 can only use elevation and imagery data.<br /> <br /> === NED vs SRTM in the USA ===<br /> <br /> In the USA there is NED and SRTM. What is the difference? The short answer is the SRTM data tends to include land cover in its data (elevations are the tops of the tree canopy or built up areas), where the NED data tends to be bare earth.<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Free of charge) ==<br /> <br /> [[Toporama]] - 1:50,000 scale UTM projected topographic maps for Canada <br /> <br /> [[Geobase]] - Geobase elevation data (CDED), Vector data for roads etc. and satellite imagery for all of Canada.<br /> <br /> [[The National Map]] - USGS National Map viewer. Download the most current topographic base map data and products for free <br /> <br /> [[MRLC]] - NED and NLCD 2006 data in BIL format<br /> <br /> [http://cumulus.cr.usgs.gov/webappcontent/neddownloadtool/NEDDownloadTool.html NED 1 arc second and NED 1/3 arc second Download Tool] - Pre-packaged NED data in GridFloat format<br /> <br /> [[SRTM]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM elevation data.<br /> <br /> [[SRTM30]] - USGS site for downloading SRTM30 which is an upgraded version of GTOPO30.<br /> <br /> [[Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base (GLCC World)]] - Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (Pathloss 5 only)<br /> <br /> [[ASTER]] - 1 second ASTER Global DEM Version 2<br /> <br /> [http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/ Global Data Explorer] - Global terrain data in ASTER, SRTM 30m SRTM 90m and GTOPO30 (30 arc second)<br /> <br /> == Terrain data (Commercial) ==<br /> Most commercial data is supplied in a rectangular projection (e.g UTM). Be sure to specify that the data must be provided in a BIL format. Setup instructions for Version 4 are available at [http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf http://www.pathloss.com/downloads/docs/planet_utm.pdf]<br /> <br /> [http://www.siradel.com http://www.siradel.com] - 1m to 100m resolution high quality map data available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://geoimage.fr/ http://geoimage.fr/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide. <br /> <br /> [http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/ http://www.infoterra.fr/Infoterra/] - 1m to 100m resolution maps available worldwide.<br /> <br /> [http://www.vexcel.com/ http://www.vexcel.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://i3.com/ http://i3.com/]<br /> <br /> [http://igage.com/ http://igage.com/] - Igage produces imagery datasets that cover the USA.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=MRLC 2012-12-21T18:31:41Z

<p>Paulg: /* Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium */</p> <hr /> <div>== Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium ==<br /> <br /> A seamless download site that has NED and NLCD data for the US in BIL format.<br /> <br /> '''http://www.mrlc.gov/viewerjs/'''<br /> <br /> ====Download the data in BIL format====<br /> <br /> Follow these steps to download the terrain data in the BIL format<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-1.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-2.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-3.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Click the download button for each data-set and wait for the extraction process to complete (Could take 5-10 minutes or longer)<br /> <br /> Unzip the files in to a folder. Use separate folders for NED and NLCD data<br /> <br /> ====Configuring Pathloss 5 to use the data====<br /> <br /> Select Configure -&gt; Setup GIS Configuration from the Pathloss 5 main menu.<br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-4.jpg|700px]]<br /> <br /> Select the top level folder that contains all the unziped NED data.<br /> <br /> Clutter is set up similarly.<br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-5.jpg|700px]]</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=MRLC 2012-12-21T18:26:37Z

<p>Paulg: /* Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium */</p> <hr /> <div>== Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium ==<br /> <br /> A seamless download site that has NED and NLCD data for the US in BIL format.<br /> <br /> '''http://www.mrlc.gov/viewerjs/'''<br /> <br /> ====Download the data in BIL format====<br /> <br /> Follow these steps to download the terrain data in the BIL format<br /> <br /> 1)<br /> [[File:Mrlc-1.jpg]]<br /> 2)<br /> [[File:Mrlc-2.jpg]]<br /> 3)<br /> [[File:Mrlc-3.jpg]]<br /> <br /> Click the download button for each data-set and wait for the extraction process to complete (Could take 5-10 minutes or longer)<br /> <br /> Unzip the files in to a folder. Use separate folders for NED and NLCD data<br /> <br /> ====Configuring Pathloss 5 to use the data====<br /> <br /> Select Configure -&gt; Setup GIS Configuration from the Pathloss 5 main menu.<br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-4.jpg]]<br /> <br /> Select the top level folder that contains all the unziped NED data.<br /> <br /> Clutter is set up similarly.<br /> <br /> [[File:Mrlc-5.jpg]]</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=File:Mrlc-5.jpg 2012-12-21T18:17:55Z

<p>Paulg: MRLC NED and NCLD help image</p> <hr /> <div>MRLC NED and NCLD help image</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=File:Mrlc-4.jpg 2012-12-21T18:17:12Z

<p>Paulg: MRLC NED and NCLD help image</p> <hr /> <div>MRLC NED and NCLD help image</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=File:Mrlc-3.jpg 2012-12-21T18:16:53Z

<p>Paulg: MRLC NED and NCLD help image</p> <hr /> <div>MRLC NED and NCLD help image</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=File:Mrlc-2.jpg 2012-12-21T18:16:01Z

<p>Paulg: MRLC NED and NCLD help image</p> <hr /> <div>MRLC NED and NCLD help image</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=File:Mrlc-1.jpg 2012-12-21T18:15:37Z

<p>Paulg: MRLC NED and NCLD help image</p> <hr /> <div>MRLC NED and NCLD help image</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=MRLC 2012-12-21T18:11:52Z

<p>Paulg: /* Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium */</p> <hr /> <div>== Multi Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium ==<br /> <br /> A seamless download site that has NED and NLCD data for the US in BIL format.<br /> <br /> '''http://www.mrlc.gov/viewerjs/'''</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Revision_history 2010-04-14T20:10:02Z

<p>Paulg: /* Pathloss 5 - revision date April 13, 2010 */</p> <hr /> <div>== Pathloss 5 - revision date April 13, 2010 ==<br /> <br /> The copy function has been updated to allow for the copying of study and elevation legends as well as high resolution backdrop images. The copy function can be accessed from the main menu under File-&gt;Print-&gt;Copy or from the toolbar icon. The dialog allows you to select which element you wish to copy to the clipboard as well as specify a resolution multiplier. <br /> <br /> The resolution multiplier applies when you are copying a network display containing bitmap elements such as backdrop imagery and studies. It allows you to retain higher image resolution even if the image is zoomed out in the display. The higher the multiplier, the greater the image resolution.<br /> <br /> Using these methods you can make consecutive pastes in to vector or word processing software to build a network picture with legends. Note that because the clipboard data includes vectors as well as raster information, the behavior when pasting in to image editing software may vary.<br /> <br /> Network printing is still in development and more features will be added in future updates.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 24, 2010 ==<br /> <br /> === Diffraction calculations ===<br /> Corrected an error in the March 17 build which caused a program crash.<br /> <br /> === Network Display ===<br /> The status bar now contains the measurement units (kilometers-meters) or (miles-feet). Click on this button to convert between the two systems<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 17, 2010 ==<br /> <br /> The Copy/Move network operation is now able to use groups and selections to limit which files will be copied. The network will still retain all the links but only the link files in the selection or group will be copied. Any link files that are not copied will no longer be referenced by the gr5 network.<br /> <br /> === GIS Configuration ===<br /> Indexing for NLCD clutter can now be carried out for complete folders and sub folders. In the File index display, click Files - Import index - bil, hdr, blw folder- subfolder. Select the top folder containing these files to create the index.<br /> <br /> Note that this procedure cannot differentiate between bil clutter files and bil dem files. Do not use this procedure if the folders contain both DEM and clutter files.<br /> <br /> Elevation backdrops for transverse Mercator projections which included a latitude origin resulted in a distorted view. An example of this type of projection is the UK national grid.<br /> <br /> Completed Local Studies are now saved to disk in a format that will allow faster loading.<br /> <br /> Corrected a logic error that prevented the Secondary DEM from filling in any 'no data' patches left over from the primary DEM.<br /> <br /> The active link (open in pl50l design window) is now highlighted in green on the network display.<br /> <br /> Corrected bug causing variable zone projections with bounds to not display coordinates on the status bar or in Add Site dialog.<br /> <br /> Can now access design modules via a menu in the link list.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 2, 2010 ==<br /> <br /> === Antenna beamwidth - downtilt ===<br /> The multipath - reflections design section uses the elevation antenna 3 dB beamwidth and the antenna mechanical downtilt parameters in the analysis. Previously, copies of these variables were initially taken from the transmission analysis section and were not updated. The values are now the same in both design sections.<br /> <br /> === Antenna orientation calculations ===<br /> These calculations are now continuously updated for all data entries and changes.<br /> <br /> === CSV reports ===<br /> The delimiter selection (comma, tab, semicolon or other) now works. The text qualifier now allows a delimiter in an expression.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 23, 2010 ==<br /> <br /> === Create PTP/PTMP links - Design links - Edit modify links ===<br /> The windows hierarchy in these functions could result in the current window being hidden.<br /> <br /> === Terrain data section ===<br /> The survey angles function returns an error message if the cursor is on site 1 - the first point in the profile.<br /> <br /> The single structure dialog warning message &quot;Structure exists at this location&quot; has been removed from the dialog. An error message will be generated if the user attempts to add a structure at a location where one already exists.<br /> <br /> === Multipath - Reflections ===<br /> Under certain non line of sight conditions, the program would crash when the define plane function was called.<br /> <br /> === GIS configuration - Indexing NED bil files ===<br /> This can now be carried out for complete folders and sub folders. In the File index display, click Files - Import index - bil, hdr, blw folder- subfolder. Select the top folder containing these files to create the index.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 8, 2010 ==<br /> <br /> === Google Earth Export ===<br /> Local and area studies are now reprojected from the network display projection to the Google Earth plat carree projection. This improves the positioning within Google Earth, especially for large areas.<br /> <br /> === Local and Area Studies ===<br /> If the variables &quot;show local study&quot; or &quot;show area study&quot; are changed in the site list, the changes did not take effect until the local or area study was regenerated. In this program build the changes will take effect immediately when the site list is closed.<br /> <br /> === Interference case detail report ===<br /> The delete case and delete subcase buttons in the case detail report would cause a crash whenever all subcases associated with a receiver were deleted<br /> <br /> === Radio Lookup table ===<br /> The second time the radio lookup table was accessed, the radio data would not be added if the design section had changed between accesses.<br /> <br /> Local studies did not export to Google Earth unless all options were selected<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date January 20, 2010 ==<br /> <br /> === Diffraction ===<br /> If the diffraction algorithm was set in the PL50L program options, the tool bar in the the diffraction section was not reset.<br /> <br /> Switching diffraction algorithms in the diffraction section, did not completely reset the calculations resulting in some interaction between algorithms.<br /> <br /> Fixed bug in ray trace and reference plane analysis which would not show colors when printed in a batch report.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date January 13, 2010 ==<br /> <br /> === Diffraction loss ===<br /> Reflective plane definition for Longley and Rice algorithm revised for line of sight applications.<br /> <br /> Interactions between the diffraction loss calculations carried out in the transmission analysis section and the diffraction section have been eliminated<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date January 4, 2010 ==<br /> <br /> Some stability problems have been corrected in the link text import. If a file could not be saved, an error report is written and displayed at the end of the import.<br /> <br /> Reflection plane report crash.<br /> <br /> === Import text files ===<br /> The settings and column definitions can be saved and loaded. This makes it possible to handle any number of column definition formats for a particular import.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date December 23, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> New menu item Assign Thematics under the Operations menu in PL50 allows thematics (site Type, site Status, link type, link status and los status) to be assigned to a selection or group.<br /> <br /> Exporting to Google Earth now allows the local studies to be exported as a single image rather than an image for each base station. This option is shown on the export dialog.<br /> <br /> Exporting PL5 to PL4 was missing the traffic code. This has been fixed<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date December 17, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Fixed bug which caused local studies to have erroneous loss if clutter files could not be found.<br /> <br /> Fixed some minor visibility problems regarding local studies.<br /> <br /> === GIS configuration ===<br /> If a vector file (MapInfo or Shapefile) with building elevations was entered in the vector tab file list, then the program would crash when the file list was opened and the vector file was not at the specified location.<br /> <br /> === Grid ASCII conversion ===<br /> Improved error detection in grid ascii file<br /> <br /> === 3D terrain view ===<br /> The user interface has been redesigned. <br /> <br /> === Update pl5 files ===<br /> This function in the site data list will set the profile end point elevations to the values specified in the site list.<br /> <br /> === Automatic OHLOSS calculations in an interference calculation ===<br /> If the &quot;Calculate OHLOSS automatically&quot; option was checked in an interference calculation, the program calculated the OHLOSS for each case. If the addition of the OHLOSS resulted in an interfering signal less than the objective minus the margin, the interference case was discarded. In all other cases the reports showed the OHLOSS being included twice.<br /> <br /> === Radio and antenna lookup tables ===<br /> For antenna, the model and gain are the minimum requirements For radio lookup tables, the model transmit power and receive sensitivity are the minimum requirements. Minor reformatting changes were carried out to these tables.<br /> <br /> === Import link text file ===<br /> A csv file with more than 2048 characters per line would cause a program crash. Any line length can now be used.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date December 02, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Visibility of ungrouped sites and links is saved in the gr5 file. <br /> <br /> Export to shapefile and mapinfo mid/mif now allows export of groups or selections. More information exported to shapefile and mapinfo mid/mif databases.<br /> <br /> 3D Display now only shows visible network.<br /> <br /> Fixed error exporting studies to google earth from certain datums.<br /> <br /> Refinements to google earth export: More information in description, links now shown above ground at antenna height.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date November 25, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Export to google earth now allows export of groups or selection.<br /> <br /> Maximum receive signal exceeded has been added to the trasmission analysis warnings.<br /> <br /> More information is exported to mapinfo mid/mif format.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date November 17, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Profile displays now show the arrow on top of any structure or clutter at the selected point.<br /> <br /> The excess clearance display in the antenna heights design section showed the longitude hemisphere incorrectly.<br /> <br /> Erroneous base station circulator branching loss values could be generated if the Cancel (red X) button was clicked in the antenna coupling unit data entry form.<br /> <br /> Create P2P links. Joining a group (or selection) to all sites now works as it should. Previously, some links between group members were omitted.<br /> <br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date November 10, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Create P2P links ===<br /> Joining a group (or selection) to all sites now works as it should. Previously, some links between group members were ommited.<br /> <br /> Hot keys have been added to switch between the link design sections.<br /> <br /> Manual site linking direction Manual links were created in west to east direction. Links which were exactly north - south were created in a south to north direction. Using this convention, all profile displays had the westerly site on the left side.<br /> <br /> This has been changed so that the first site selected is always on left side of profile displays.<br /> <br /> Link text file import If the design frequency is not available in the import, the average channel assignments are now used.<br /> <br /> === Print profile options ===<br /> The print profile options were not saved on exiting the report printing dialog.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date October 20, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Fixed crash involving Ohloss and Diffraction Loss Reports.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date October 15, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === GIS Configuration ===<br /> <br /> ESRI header files used for indexing BIL files with out a corresponding prj file are now supported. The projection information is contained in the hdr file. The user must set the projection.<br /> <br /> === CSV Import ===<br /> The duplicate column assignments error message now identifies the specific column numbers and in the case of the &quot;Site text file&quot; import, the field name is specified.<br /> <br /> The link text import loads the antenna code if available.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date October 5, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Rain data files ===<br /> City rain data files have been added to the program. These are non proprietary rain files for US and Canadian cities.<br /> <br /> Provision has been made to use the Proprietary ATT radio data files; however these are not supplied with the program. These files must be located in the directory geo_data\rain\alu_rain.<br /> <br /> === Radio and Antenna Code Index ===<br /> Improved functionality for the find control.<br /> <br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date September 29, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Link Text Import ===<br /> Coordinates using separate columns for degrees, minutes and seconds were not importing correctly.<br /> <br /> === Station, owner and operator codes ===<br /> These site specific parameters can be used for alternate data storage and status information. These parameters can be excluded from the network<br /> * pl5 file discrepancy checking. Click Configure - PL50 Program options<br /> * Network link data checks to set these options.<br /> <br /> === Link design rules ===<br /> Field margin has been added to the link design rules. The data entry is in the reliability parameters section of the design rules dialog.<br /> <br /> === Radio and antenna code data entry. ===<br /> These can now be entered directly and deleted in the respective data entry forms.<br /> <br /> Tooltips have been added to the radio and antenna indexes.<br /> <br /> === Antenna clearance report ===<br /> If the controlling clearance criteria included a fixed height, the clearance report did not included this fixed height.<br /> <br /> === GIS Configuration ===<br /> <br /> If the vector tab included shapefile definitions, and the shapefiles were not present, the program could crash on startup.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date September 24, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Backdrops ===<br /> The Import Index - Mapinfo tab file option now supports bmp, jpg, and png in addition to tif as image formats. One bit black and white tif files are now supported.<br /> <br /> === Link text file import ===<br /> Multiple links between the same two sites can now be carried out in the link text file import<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date September 22, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Vertical Mapper Clutter files (gcd files) ===<br /> Clutter data in the MapInfo vertical mapper format may include a clutter definition table in the file. If this exists the data will be automatically entered into the clutter definition table.<br /> <br /> Note that clutter elevations do not exist in this file format. All clutter elevations have been set to a default value of zero. It is the users responsibility to assign the clutter heights. The clutter cross reference categories have been set to an &quot;open land&quot; default value. For local and area studies, the user must assign the cross references<br /> <br /> === GIS Configuration ===<br /> The Philippine reference system 1992 datum has been added. This is effectively the same definition as the existing Luzon datum, however the transformation to WGS84 utilizes the 7 parameter algorithm for the entire country, whereas the the Luzon definition uses a 3 parameter transformation and two regions (Philippines excluding Mindanao and Mindanao) The Philippine transverse mercator projection for the five zones has been added for this datum<br /> <br /> The clutter definition table now shows the clutter elevations in the units currently selected (feet or meters). Previously units were always in meters<br /> <br /> === Interference case detail report ===<br /> Headers in the performance degradation did not line up with the actual data.<br /> <br /> === PL50L Options ===<br /> The automatic diffraction algorithm selection (Pathloss, Tirem or NSMA) was not included in the PL50L option settings<br /> <br /> Obstruction Fading (transmission analysis section) The diffraction loss iterations could fail under certain conditions and return a critical value of K of 1.33. The results were completely<br /> unrealistic<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date September 15, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Passive repeaters ===<br /> Passive repeaters created in the network display had stability problems.<br /> <br /> === Vectors ===<br /> Added support for displaying ESRI shapefiles of type SHPT_ARCZ and SHPT_POLYGONZ.<br /> <br /> === Backdrop Files ===<br /> MapInfo tab files can be loaded directly in to the Backdrop index. This is a multiselect operation. If the list is empty, then the first file added sets the projection. All successive files must match this projection. If the index contains any entries, then the existing projection determines if the file can be accepted.<br /> <br /> Update PL5 file in the network display only updated one site in a link if the YES button was clicked. The Yes to all button operated correctly.<br /> <br /> === GRIDASCII ===<br /> Converting a GRIDASCII resulted in a &quot;File format error&quot; on UNIX files. The program incorrectly interpreted the 0xA end of line character.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date September 8, 2009 ==<br /> Set GIS configuration The MapInfo derived projection could cause a program crash if it was manually selected from the projection drop down list.<br /> <br /> The ERP values in watts and dBm were reversed in land mobile applications in the transmission analysis display.<br /> <br /> === Diffraction loss ===<br /> The diffraction loss calculation failed on line of sight paths with more than 6 terrain incursions into the 60% Fresnel zone radius.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date September 2, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Vertical mapper grd DEM files using 16 bit integers were not correctly read.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date September 1, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Link text file import ===<br /> If the design frequency is not specified, and channel frequency assignments are in the file, then the design frequency will be set to the average of the channel frequencies.<br /> <br /> === Define plane ===<br /> The define plane caused a crash when switching between the manual and automatic generation methods<br /> <br /> The network file consisted of two files with the suffixes gr5 and gr5ids. The gr5ids contains the site and link ids and is intended to be used on a shared file basis. The gr5ids file has been removed in this program build due to potential data synchronization problems.<br /> <br /> Rain errors were reported even when the rain calculation was switched off.<br /> <br /> The free space loss formula gave results which were 0.02 dB different than the version 4.0 results. This small difference created difficulties in comparing availability results which are formatted to five decimal places. This release changes the free space loss to the version 4 formula.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date August 26, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Minor fixes to radio and antenna lookup tables.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date August 25, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Pl50 Options ===<br /> Site Attributes, Site Label, Link Attributes and Link Labels can now be applied to a group or selection.<br /> <br /> === Set GIS Configuration ===<br /> The File index for NLCD2001 clutter did not show the clutter name on the caption<br /> <br /> === PL40 radome loss ===<br /> When a pl4 file containing a valid antenna code was opened in the standalone PL50L application, the antenna data was reloaded. This caused the radome loss to reset.<br /> <br /> Space diversity - IF combining - corrected.<br /> <br /> Changed gr5 save routine to guard against header errors.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date August 17, 2009 ==<br /> Transmission summary report when invoked from the transmission analysis menu bar always showed the distance and elevation in Miles / feet<br /> <br /> Network to PL5 discrepancy dialog. Direction arrow buttons did not function.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date August 13, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Network display - Map crossings ===<br /> The map crossing function has been implemented. This is only valid for the default network projection. First set the axis to correspond to the desired maps (Click configure - PL50 options - axis-map grid). Then right click on the link and select map crossings. If the US 1:24,000 7.5<br /> minute map scale has been selected, the report will show the actual map names.<br /> <br /> === Terrain data module ===<br /> The reverse profile did not reverse the site names on the status bar.<br /> <br /> Fixed google earth datum transformation.<br /> <br /> Fixed minor bugs related to the no data entries in clutter databases.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date August 6, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Group manager ===<br /> The visibility display rules have been changed to allow a group containing only links to be displayed. Some fixes have been made involving operations where some sites and links are hidden.<br /> <br /> === Antenna heights section ===<br /> The graphical antenna heights display now does not show the minimum clearance criteria. Previously this was show as a modification to the Fresnel zone radius. Although the results were correct, this display was somewhat confusing.<br /> <br /> The minimum clearance criteria is intended to provide clearance for close in obstructions where K and the Fresnel zone radius are very small and can lead to a grazing path. Note that when this is specified, the antenna heights cannot be less than this value.<br /> <br /> === Radio data entry form (Adaptive modulation) ===<br /> Clicking the blue button to access the adaptive modulation table, could bring up a second instance of the table which could cause a program crash.<br /> <br /> Update PL5 files has been added. This function is available on the site list menu bar. The procedure checks all associated pl5 files and compares the site data to the data in the site list. If there are any differences the user is prompted to modify the pl5 file. This is a one direction change - Network site data to pl5 file.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 31, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> NLCD2001 and NCLD2002 clutter data downloads in BIL format from the USGS site are now working. These files can be used with the July 31, 2009 program build.<br /> <br /> NED and SRTM elevation data downloads in BIL format are now in a 32 bit floating point format. We believe that this is an error as the definition of the BIL format on the USGS site states that the elevations are in a signed 16 bit integer format. The new float files are twice the size of the integer files.<br /> <br /> The July 31, 2009 program build will read the floating point files.<br /> <br /> The Group manager operation has been revised so that links can exist in a group without the associated sites being in the group. This allows the user to create a group with links only or with sites only. Combinations of sites and links in a group are still possible. In this arrangement, links can now be hidden without hiding the sites.<br /> <br /> Printing and copying the network display with backdrops produced black ares where the backdrop was missing.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 29, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Site list does not reset display unless coordinates are changed.<br /> <br /> Set GIS Configuration correctly recognizes when the projection of the display has changed.<br /> <br /> Pl5 Link Files deleted by Pathloss are now sent to the recycle bin rather than being permanently deleted.<br /> <br /> === Reports ===<br /> Fixed bugs causing columns to be out of sync and filenames to not be displayed in some cases.<br /> <br /> Antenna Usage is shown next to the antenna model in the transmission detail and transmission summary reports.<br /> <br /> === Point to point link design ===<br /> The antenna coupling unit (ACU) data entry form in the base station definition did not match up with the ACU data entry in the Link Design Rules. These are now exactly the same interface<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 24, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> The addition of new fields to site data caused a crash in the site data entry forms.<br /> <br /> Fixed error in which a group could become corrupted when importing from site text files.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 22, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Obstruction Fading ===<br /> A preliminary implementation is available in the transmission analysis design section. Click Operations - Obstruction fading. The next program build will include the documentation and the<br /> obstruction fading will be incorporated into the reports<br /> <br /> === Local and area studies ===<br /> The receive at base station option cause an error.<br /> <br /> === CSV link report ===<br /> The antenna usage field has been added. This will only appear if the<br /> antenna model is checked.<br /> <br /> === Import text links ===<br /> Quotation marks were not automatically removed.<br /> <br /> A preliminary request for frequency coordination CSV report has been added. Click Operations - Frequency Coordination report. The report format may change based on discussions with Alcatel and Comsearch. The following fields have been added to the site data structure for this<br /> report.<br /> <br /> *Antenna registration number char[16]<br /> *Zip code char[16]<br /> *Tower height with Appurtenances<br /> <br /> Under some circumstances - distance, azimuth and projected coordinates were not automatically calculated from the site coordinates.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 9, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === ASTER GeoTiff Data ===<br /> Support for the ASTER geotiff terrain elevation data has been added. This is a one arc second data base with global coverage over the latitude range 83N to 83S. This has been implemented as a BIL geographic DEM.<br /> <br /> === Radio and Antenna Cross Reference ===<br /> The radio and antenna cross reference in the link text file import has been implemented. Note that at this time there is no check on the code validity and the codes are not expanded to complete missing data entries.<br /> <br /> === Antenna lookup tables ===<br /> The default antenna lookup table was not loaded on startup.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 3, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Site text import ===<br /> Site elevation values were corrupted in the import procedure.<br /> <br /> === Local studies ===<br /> The climate region was was not being updated in both local and area studies. A continental temperate climate was used in all cases.<br /> <br /> === Network ===<br /> The move site operation did not update the azimuths in any associated pl5 files. Move site can be potentially dangerous. Additional work is underway to advise users of the full impact of the site move operation.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 2, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> The options dialog in the transmission analysis section was missing. This dialog allows the entry of water vapor density in microwave - adaptive modulation applications and the location selection for land mobile applications<br /> <br /> Time variability was not being updated in both local and area studies. A constant time variability of 50% was being used.<br /> <br /> Auto link design on PTMP links using all sites within a specified radius, did not consider the visibility state of the sites.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 30, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Group manager ===<br /> The user interface for editing groups as a list has been completely revised. The group visibility interface has also been revised.<br /> <br /> === Adaptive modulation ===<br /> The percent of time in mode is now show for the total annual throughput.<br /> <br /> === CSV Link Report ===<br /> The options for Transmission detail and Transmission summary were reversed. Site coordinates were only exported in degrees minutes and seconds format. The decimal degree option now works.<br /> <br /> === Reflective plane definition ===<br /> Continued resetting and redefining a reflective plane could cause a program crash.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 22, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Assigned antenna height ===<br /> The import site text file (csv) now includes an assigned antenna height field. The value is not displayed in the site list display. Click Edit - Edit item to view all fields in the site list including the assigned antenna height. This field is used in the following auto-design operations:<br /> create PTP links<br /> create PTMP links<br /> design links (PTP and PTMP)<br /> The Link design rules includes the option &quot;Use assigned antenna heights&quot; in the Antenna heights - tx lines setting. When this option is checked, the assigned value for a site will be used in all links from that site. If there is no value for the assigned antenna height, the tower height will be used. If both the assigned antenna height and tower height are not available, the site will not be used in the design operation.<br /> <br /> Use the &quot;Clearance&quot; display criteria to display the results of the design operation using the assigned antenna heights.<br /> <br /> <br /> PL4 files can be exported using group or selection directly from the Network display.<br /> <br /> The clearance criteria used in the link design rules were not saved once the session was closed.<br /> <br /> === Radio and antenna lookup tables ===<br /> If the default lookup table file cannot be found, the program would crash. The antenna lookup table high and low frequency values did not sort correctly.<br /> <br /> === GIS setup ===<br /> Clutter index for was not saved correctly under certain conditions.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 15, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Set GIS Configuration ===<br /> The default directory specification has been changed from a single directory to individual file directories when importing an index.<br /> <br /> Some procedures involving lookup tables and code indexes, could cause the data entry form to loose focus and go behind the network display.<br /> <br /> === Import link text file ===<br /> This procedure has been revised to include 3 antennas and 12 TX channel entries. Still outstanding are the cross references between the radio and antenna codes in the csv file and the actual codes to be used.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 26, 2009 ==<br /> The Design link function has been completely revised and divided into two functions. The Design links function only operates on links without a pl5 file association. The Edit-Modify links function only operates on links with an existing pl5 file association.<br /> === Network Operations ===<br /> The following side effects introduced in the due to the May 19 build have been corrected The Performance function caused a program crash The Add site and Move site dialogs sizes were not usable<br /> === Rain calculations ===<br /> The ITU-R P.837-5 rain data base has been added to the program. The original 837-3 has not been removed. It should be noted that the difference can be significant between the two data bases.<br /> <br /> ATT rain data files for the United States are not distributed with the program. The directory geo_data\rain\rain_usa contains Canadian rain data files in the ATT file format. The file naming convention is CURVEXX.CSV where XX is a one or two digit number. If the USA files are located in this directory, then they will be automatically used for the Crane rain algorithm<br /> === Antenna Lookup Tables ===<br /> Radome loss and antenna diameter have been added to the lookup table<br /> <br /> Radio and antenna data lookup files could cause a program crash if an arbitrary file was loaded.<br /> <br /> === Ant_rad.exe - radio data files ===<br /> If a binary radio data file was saved several times in a row, the calculated curves - TX emission mask, RX selectivity mask and the RX selectivity curver used in calculations would be duplicated.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 19, 2009 ==<br /> === Design Links - Network Display ===<br /> This has been completely revised. The operation is similar to the Create PTP / PTMP links feature. <br /> <br /> It is possible simply to view the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the network links using either the original design rules or the current design rules.<br /> <br /> A group selection criteria is provided to move the links into different groups based on these KPIs.<br /> <br /> Transmission line lengths on PTMP link designs have been corrected<br /> <br /> Data integrity checks between PL5 files and the network display. When a pl5 file was saved, the network display data was automatically updated to the PL5 data. This has been changed. If differences between the two data sets are present, the user is prompted to select the correct data.<br /> <br /> MapInfo grc files (one byte data files) were not read correctly. These files were being used as clutter data.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 7, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Create PTP and PTMP links ===<br /> Clearance has been added as a rejection criteria. This is the clearance relative to the clearance criteria. A value of 0 means that the clearance criteria has been exactly met. A positive value is the excess clearance over the clearance criteria. A negative value is the additional clearance required to meet the clearance criteria.<br /> <br /> A minimum and maximum value can be specified for each rejection criteria. In addition, the current link display can be saved to a group. This makes it possible to save the analysis into multiple groups. For example the group names could be as follows:<br /> clearance OK<br /> clearance within 10 meters<br /> clearance over 10 meters<br /> <br /> The links can be saved with the original color legend.<br /> <br /> Point to point equipment parameters now used the same standard data entry forms used in the transmission analysis section and include both lookup tables and the radio - antenna indexes.<br /> <br /> === Automatic Link Design ===<br /> Diffraction loss is calculated at three values of K (4/3, the minimum expected value of K and a K of infinity). The infinity value was used in the transmission analysis under the assumption that heavy multipath fading is coincident with high values of K.<br /> <br /> In this program build, the 4/3 value is used. Future program builds will expand on this and provide the probability of obstruction fading.<br /> <br /> === Lookup tables ===<br /> Various data entry and conversion problems with antenna and radio data lookup tables were corrected dbm to microvolt conversion on the land mobile radio data entry form did not operate. <br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date April 22, 2009 ==<br /> === Multipath - reflection ===<br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing did not correctly save in the pl5 file.<br /> <br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing on paths which were blocked at the lowest value of the earth radius factor K could cause a program crash.<br /> === Transmission analysis ===<br /> The vertical angle and azimuth were expressed as degrees minutes and seconds in report. The vertical angles were reported as positive values. These are now expressed as decimal degrees with the correct sign<br /> <br /> The report format options for microwave total time below level showed the annual rain unavailability and the total annual rain + multipath unavailability in expressed in seconds. The actual report expresses the value in minutes. This provides compatibility with ITU conventions of expressing unavailability in minutes.<br /> <br /> Loading a radio data file could could change several of the calculations options. These changes have been inhibited for the time being. The radio data files contain calculation methods such as selective outage and performance calculations in accordance with G826. A future release will prompt the user to make these changes and the changes will be immediately reflected in the radio data entry form.<br /> <br /> FCC EIRP warnings were based on dBm instead of dBW<br /> === Vectors ===<br /> A side effect of continuing development on shapefile features resulted in program crash when using vector shapefiles<br /> === Network display link list ===<br /> If the link list was closed with the last row selected, the program would crash<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 26, 2009 ==<br /> === Site list ===<br /> Corrections made to the import/export CSV files operations. <br /> <br /> Corrections made to column sorting.<br /> === Automatic link design ===<br /> Antenna height greater than the tower height link rejection criteria has been added.<br /> <br /> Tower heights have been added to the CSV report.<br /> <br /> Finalize links did not correctly limit antenna heights to the tower heights<br /> === Diffraction module ===<br /> Under some circumstances Fresnel zones could not be displayed.<br /> === Reports ===<br /> This section is now under revision. The version 4 print profile report has been added.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 10, 2009 ==<br /> Radio lookup tables can load version 4 microwave (mrd) and VHF-UHF (vrd) lookup files.<br /> <br /> CSV Link reports have been added. They can be found under the Operations menu in the network display. The report can be customized by clicking the 'Edit' button and selecting CSV Link report from the dropdown list in the report settings window. (More report settings are available in the tree list on the left.)<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 24, 2009 ==<br /> === Radio lookup tables ===<br /> This has been added as an option to using the radio code index. If a code exists in the table, the, lookup table functions the same as the radio code index.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Loading pl4 files which contained Fresnel references became corrupted when saved as PL5 files.<br /> <br /> Interference calculations for base stations without associated links has been implemented.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 12, 2009 ==<br /> === Base station sector frequency assignments ===<br /> The TX channel table and frequency plan files are now used for frequency assignments.<br /> === Point to multipoint design ===<br /> The base antenna height is not considered in the rejection criteria.<br /> === Google Earth kml export ===<br /> General improvements to the overall display. Local and area studies are now exported as separate entities for each signal level.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Metric conversion problems - (feet and miles only).<br /> <br /> Error in transmission line unit loss in ptmp link design corrected.<br /> <br /> Error in tower heights corrected.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Revision_history 2009-08-25T22:06:43Z

<p>Paulg: /* Pathloss 5 - revision date August 25, 2009 */</p> <hr /> <div>== Pathloss 5 - revision date August 25, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Pl50 Options ===<br /> Site Attributes, Site Label, Link Attributes and Link Labels can now be applied to a group or selection.<br /> <br /> === Set GIS Configuration ===<br /> The File index for NLCD2001 clutter did not show the clutter name on the caption<br /> <br /> === PL40 radome loss ===<br /> When a pl4 file containing a valid antenna code was opened in the standalone PL50L application, the antenna data was reloaded. This caused the radome loss to reset.<br /> <br /> Space diversity - IF combining - corrected.<br /> <br /> Changed gr5 save routine to guard against header errors.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date August 17, 2009 ==<br /> Transmission summary report when invoked from the transmission analysis menu bar always showed the distance and elevation in Miles / feet<br /> <br /> Network to PL5 discrepancy dialog. Direction arrow buttons did not function.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date August 13, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Network display - Map crossings ===<br /> The map crossing function has been implemented. This is only valid for the default network projection. First set the axis to correspond to the desired maps (Click configure - PL50 options - axis-map grid). Then right click on the link and select map crossings. If the US 1:24,000 7.5<br /> minute map scale has been selected, the report will show the actual map names.<br /> <br /> === Terrain data module ===<br /> The reverse profile did not reverse the site names on the status bar.<br /> <br /> Fixed google earth datum transformation.<br /> <br /> Fixed minor bugs related to the no data entries in clutter databases.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date August 6, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Group manager ===<br /> The visibility display rules have been changed to allow a group containing only links to be displayed. Some fixes have been made involving operations where some sites and links are hidden.<br /> <br /> === Antenna heights section ===<br /> The graphical antenna heights display now does not show the minimum clearance criteria. Previously this was show as a modification to the Fresnel zone radius. Although the results were correct, this display was somewhat confusing.<br /> <br /> The minimum clearance criteria is intended to provide clearance for close in obstructions where K and the Fresnel zone radius are very small and can lead to a grazing path. Note that when this is specified, the antenna heights cannot be less than this value.<br /> <br /> === Radio data entry form (Adaptive modulation) ===<br /> Clicking the blue button to access the adaptive modulation table, could bring up a second instance of the table which could cause a program crash.<br /> <br /> Update PL5 files has been added. This function is available on the site list menu bar. The procedure checks all associated pl5 files and compares the site data to the data in the site list. If there are any differences the user is prompted to modify the pl5 file. This is a one direction change - Network site data to pl5 file.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 31, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> NLCD2001 and NCLD2002 clutter data downloads in BIL format from the USGS site are now working. These files can be used with the July 31, 2009 program build.<br /> <br /> NED and SRTM elevation data downloads in BIL format are now in a 32 bit floating point format. We believe that this is an error as the definition of the BIL format on the USGS site states that the elevations are in a signed 16 bit integer format. The new float files are twice the size of the integer files.<br /> <br /> The July 31, 2009 program build will read the floating point files.<br /> <br /> The Group manager operation has been revised so that links can exist in a group without the associated sites being in the group. This allows the user to create a group with links only or with sites only. Combinations of sites and links in a group are still possible. In this arrangement, links can now be hidden without hiding the sites.<br /> <br /> Printing and copying the network display with backdrops produced black ares where the backdrop was missing.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 29, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Site list does not reset display unless coordinates are changed.<br /> <br /> Set GIS Configuration correctly recognizes when the projection of the display has changed.<br /> <br /> Pl5 Link Files deleted by Pathloss are now sent to the recycle bin rather than being permanently deleted.<br /> <br /> === Reports ===<br /> Fixed bugs causing columns to be out of sync and filenames to not be displayed in some cases.<br /> <br /> Antenna Usage is shown next to the antenna model in the transmission detail and transmission summary reports.<br /> <br /> === Point to point link design ===<br /> The antenna coupling unit (ACU) data entry form in the base station definition did not match up with the ACU data entry in the Link Design Rules. These are now exactly the same interface<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 24, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> The addition of new fields to site data caused a crash in the site data entry forms.<br /> <br /> Fixed error in which a group could become corrupted when importing from site text files.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 22, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Obstruction Fading ===<br /> A preliminary implementation is available in the transmission analysis design section. Click Operations - Obstruction fading. The next program build will include the documentation and the<br /> obstruction fading will be incorporated into the reports<br /> <br /> === Local and area studies ===<br /> The receive at base station option cause an error.<br /> <br /> === CSV link report ===<br /> The antenna usage field has been added. This will only appear if the<br /> antenna model is checked.<br /> <br /> === Import text links ===<br /> Quotation marks were not automatically removed.<br /> <br /> A preliminary request for frequency coordination CSV report has been added. Click Operations - Frequency Coordination report. The report format may change based on discussions with Alcatel and Comsearch. The following fields have been added to the site data structure for this<br /> report.<br /> <br /> *Antenna registration number char[16]<br /> *Zip code char[16]<br /> *Tower height with Appurtenances<br /> <br /> Under some circumstances - distance, azimuth and projected coordinates were not automatically calculated from the site coordinates.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 9, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === ASTER GeoTiff Data ===<br /> Support for the ASTER geotiff terrain elevation data has been added. This is a one arc second data base with global coverage over the latitude range 83N to 83S. This has been implemented as a BIL geographic DEM.<br /> <br /> === Radio and Antenna Cross Reference ===<br /> The radio and antenna cross reference in the link text file import has been implemented. Note that at this time there is no check on the code validity and the codes are not expanded to complete missing data entries.<br /> <br /> === Antenna lookup tables ===<br /> The default antenna lookup table was not loaded on startup.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 3, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Site text import ===<br /> Site elevation values were corrupted in the import procedure.<br /> <br /> === Local studies ===<br /> The climate region was was not being updated in both local and area studies. A continental temperate climate was used in all cases.<br /> <br /> === Network ===<br /> The move site operation did not update the azimuths in any associated pl5 files. Move site can be potentially dangerous. Additional work is underway to advise users of the full impact of the site move operation.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 2, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> The options dialog in the transmission analysis section was missing. This dialog allows the entry of water vapor density in microwave - adaptive modulation applications and the location selection for land mobile applications<br /> <br /> Time variability was not being updated in both local and area studies. A constant time variability of 50% was being used.<br /> <br /> Auto link design on PTMP links using all sites within a specified radius, did not consider the visibility state of the sites.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 30, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Group manager ===<br /> The user interface for editing groups as a list has been completely revised. The group visibility interface has also been revised.<br /> <br /> === Adaptive modulation ===<br /> The percent of time in mode is now show for the total annual throughput.<br /> <br /> === CSV Link Report ===<br /> The options for Transmission detail and Transmission summary were reversed. Site coordinates were only exported in degrees minutes and seconds format. The decimal degree option now works.<br /> <br /> === Reflective plane definition ===<br /> Continued resetting and redefining a reflective plane could cause a program crash.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 22, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Assigned antenna height ===<br /> The import site text file (csv) now includes an assigned antenna height field. The value is not displayed in the site list display. Click Edit - Edit item to view all fields in the site list including the assigned antenna height. This field is used in the following auto-design operations:<br /> create PTP links<br /> create PTMP links<br /> design links (PTP and PTMP)<br /> The Link design rules includes the option &quot;Use assigned antenna heights&quot; in the Antenna heights - tx lines setting. When this option is checked, the assigned value for a site will be used in all links from that site. If there is no value for the assigned antenna height, the tower height will be used. If both the assigned antenna height and tower height are not available, the site will not be used in the design operation.<br /> <br /> Use the &quot;Clearance&quot; display criteria to display the results of the design operation using the assigned antenna heights.<br /> <br /> <br /> PL4 files can be exported using group or selection directly from the Network display.<br /> <br /> The clearance criteria used in the link design rules were not saved once the session was closed.<br /> <br /> === Radio and antenna lookup tables ===<br /> If the default lookup table file cannot be found, the program would crash. The antenna lookup table high and low frequency values did not sort correctly.<br /> <br /> === GIS setup ===<br /> Clutter index for was not saved correctly under certain conditions.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 15, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Set GIS Configuration ===<br /> The default directory specification has been changed from a single directory to individual file directories when importing an index.<br /> <br /> Some procedures involving lookup tables and code indexes, could cause the data entry form to loose focus and go behind the network display.<br /> <br /> === Import link text file ===<br /> This procedure has been revised to include 3 antennas and 12 TX channel entries. Still outstanding are the cross references between the radio and antenna codes in the csv file and the actual codes to be used.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 26, 2009 ==<br /> The Design link function has been completely revised and divided into two functions. The Design links function only operates on links without a pl5 file association. The Edit-Modify links function only operates on links with an existing pl5 file association.<br /> === Network Operations ===<br /> The following side effects introduced in the due to the May 19 build have been corrected The Performance function caused a program crash The Add site and Move site dialogs sizes were not usable<br /> === Rain calculations ===<br /> The ITU-R P.837-5 rain data base has been added to the program. The original 837-3 has not been removed. It should be noted that the difference can be significant between the two data bases.<br /> <br /> ATT rain data files for the United States are not distributed with the program. The directory geo_data\rain\rain_usa contains Canadian rain data files in the ATT file format. The file naming convention is CURVEXX.CSV where XX is a one or two digit number. If the USA files are located in this directory, then they will be automatically used for the Crane rain algorithm<br /> === Antenna Lookup Tables ===<br /> Radome loss and antenna diameter have been added to the lookup table<br /> <br /> Radio and antenna data lookup files could cause a program crash if an arbitrary file was loaded.<br /> <br /> === Ant_rad.exe - radio data files ===<br /> If a binary radio data file was saved several times in a row, the calculated curves - TX emission mask, RX selectivity mask and the RX selectivity curver used in calculations would be duplicated.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 19, 2009 ==<br /> === Design Links - Network Display ===<br /> This has been completely revised. The operation is similar to the Create PTP / PTMP links feature. <br /> <br /> It is possible simply to view the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the network links using either the original design rules or the current design rules.<br /> <br /> A group selection criteria is provided to move the links into different groups based on these KPIs.<br /> <br /> Transmission line lengths on PTMP link designs have been corrected<br /> <br /> Data integrity checks between PL5 files and the network display. When a pl5 file was saved, the network display data was automatically updated to the PL5 data. This has been changed. If differences between the two data sets are present, the user is prompted to select the correct data.<br /> <br /> MapInfo grc files (one byte data files) were not read correctly. These files were being used as clutter data.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 7, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Create PTP and PTMP links ===<br /> Clearance has been added as a rejection criteria. This is the clearance relative to the clearance criteria. A value of 0 means that the clearance criteria has been exactly met. A positive value is the excess clearance over the clearance criteria. A negative value is the additional clearance required to meet the clearance criteria.<br /> <br /> A minimum and maximum value can be specified for each rejection criteria. In addition, the current link display can be saved to a group. This makes it possible to save the analysis into multiple groups. For example the group names could be as follows:<br /> clearance OK<br /> clearance within 10 meters<br /> clearance over 10 meters<br /> <br /> The links can be saved with the original color legend.<br /> <br /> Point to point equipment parameters now used the same standard data entry forms used in the transmission analysis section and include both lookup tables and the radio - antenna indexes.<br /> <br /> === Automatic Link Design ===<br /> Diffraction loss is calculated at three values of K (4/3, the minimum expected value of K and a K of infinity). The infinity value was used in the transmission analysis under the assumption that heavy multipath fading is coincident with high values of K.<br /> <br /> In this program build, the 4/3 value is used. Future program builds will expand on this and provide the probability of obstruction fading.<br /> <br /> === Lookup tables ===<br /> Various data entry and conversion problems with antenna and radio data lookup tables were corrected dbm to microvolt conversion on the land mobile radio data entry form did not operate. <br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date April 22, 2009 ==<br /> === Multipath - reflection ===<br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing did not correctly save in the pl5 file.<br /> <br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing on paths which were blocked at the lowest value of the earth radius factor K could cause a program crash.<br /> === Transmission analysis ===<br /> The vertical angle and azimuth were expressed as degrees minutes and seconds in report. The vertical angles were reported as positive values. These are now expressed as decimal degrees with the correct sign<br /> <br /> The report format options for microwave total time below level showed the annual rain unavailability and the total annual rain + multipath unavailability in expressed in seconds. The actual report expresses the value in minutes. This provides compatibility with ITU conventions of expressing unavailability in minutes.<br /> <br /> Loading a radio data file could could change several of the calculations options. These changes have been inhibited for the time being. The radio data files contain calculation methods such as selective outage and performance calculations in accordance with G826. A future release will prompt the user to make these changes and the changes will be immediately reflected in the radio data entry form.<br /> <br /> FCC EIRP warnings were based on dBm instead of dBW<br /> === Vectors ===<br /> A side effect of continuing development on shapefile features resulted in program crash when using vector shapefiles<br /> === Network display link list ===<br /> If the link list was closed with the last row selected, the program would crash<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 26, 2009 ==<br /> === Site list ===<br /> Corrections made to the import/export CSV files operations. <br /> <br /> Corrections made to column sorting.<br /> === Automatic link design ===<br /> Antenna height greater than the tower height link rejection criteria has been added.<br /> <br /> Tower heights have been added to the CSV report.<br /> <br /> Finalize links did not correctly limit antenna heights to the tower heights<br /> === Diffraction module ===<br /> Under some circumstances Fresnel zones could not be displayed.<br /> === Reports ===<br /> This section is now under revision. The version 4 print profile report has been added.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 10, 2009 ==<br /> Radio lookup tables can load version 4 microwave (mrd) and VHF-UHF (vrd) lookup files.<br /> <br /> CSV Link reports have been added. They can be found under the Operations menu in the network display. The report can be customized by clicking the 'Edit' button and selecting CSV Link report from the dropdown list in the report settings window. (More report settings are available in the tree list on the left.)<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 24, 2009 ==<br /> === Radio lookup tables ===<br /> This has been added as an option to using the radio code index. If a code exists in the table, the, lookup table functions the same as the radio code index.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Loading pl4 files which contained Fresnel references became corrupted when saved as PL5 files.<br /> <br /> Interference calculations for base stations without associated links has been implemented.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 12, 2009 ==<br /> === Base station sector frequency assignments ===<br /> The TX channel table and frequency plan files are now used for frequency assignments.<br /> === Point to multipoint design ===<br /> The base antenna height is not considered in the rejection criteria.<br /> === Google Earth kml export ===<br /> General improvements to the overall display. Local and area studies are now exported as separate entities for each signal level.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Metric conversion problems - (feet and miles only).<br /> <br /> Error in transmission line unit loss in ptmp link design corrected.<br /> <br /> Error in tower heights corrected.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Revision_history 2009-07-31T19:36:13Z

<p>Paulg: /* Pathloss 5 - revision date July 31, 2009 */</p> <hr /> <div>== Pathloss 5 - revision date July 31, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> NLCD2001 and NCLD2002 clutter data downloads in BIL format from the USGS site are now working. These files can be used with the July 31, 2009 program build.<br /> <br /> NED and SRTM elevation data downloads in BIL format are now in a 32 bit floating point format. We believe that this is an error as the definition of the BIL format on the USGS site states that the elevations are in a signed 16 bit integer format. The new float files are twice the size of the integer files.<br /> <br /> The July 31, 2009 program build will read the floating point files.<br /> <br /> The Group manager operation has been revised so that links can exist in a group without the associated sites being in the group. This allows the user to create a group with links only or with sites only. Combinations of sites and links in a group are still possible. In this arrangement, links can now be hidden without hiding the sites.<br /> <br /> Printing and copying the network display with backdrops produced black ares where the backdrop was missing.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 29, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Site list does not reset display unless coordinates are changed.<br /> <br /> Set GIS Configuration correctly recognizes when the projection of the display has changed.<br /> <br /> Pl5 Link Files deleted by Pathloss are now sent to the recycle bin rather than being permanently deleted.<br /> <br /> === Reports ===<br /> Fixed bugs causing columns to be out of sync and filenames to not be displayed in some cases.<br /> <br /> Antenna Usage is shown next to the antenna model in the transmission detail and transmission summary reports.<br /> <br /> === Point to point link design ===<br /> The antenna coupling unit (ACU) data entry form in the base station definition did not match up with the ACU data entry in the Link Design Rules. These are now exactly the same interface<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 24, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> The addition of new fields to site data caused a crash in the site data entry forms.<br /> <br /> Fixed error in which a group could become corrupted when importing from site text files.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 22, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Obstruction Fading ===<br /> A preliminary implementation is available in the transmission analysis design section. Click Operations - Obstruction fading. The next program build will include the documentation and the<br /> obstruction fading will be incorporated into the reports<br /> <br /> === Local and area studies ===<br /> The receive at base station option cause an error.<br /> <br /> === CSV link report ===<br /> The antenna usage field has been added. This will only appear if the<br /> antenna model is checked.<br /> <br /> === Import text links ===<br /> Quotation marks were not automatically removed.<br /> <br /> A preliminary request for frequency coordination CSV report has been added. Click Operations - Frequency Coordination report. The report format may change based on discussions with Alcatel and Comsearch. The following fields have been added to the site data structure for this<br /> report.<br /> <br /> *Antenna registration number char[16]<br /> *Zip code char[16]<br /> *Tower height with Appurtenances<br /> <br /> Under some circumstances - distance, azimuth and projected coordinates were not automatically calculated from the site coordinates.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 9, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === ASTER GeoTiff Data ===<br /> Support for the ASTER geotiff terrain elevation data has been added. This is a one arc second data base with global coverage over the latitude range 83N to 83S. This has been implemented as a BIL geographic DEM.<br /> <br /> === Radio and Antenna Cross Reference ===<br /> The radio and antenna cross reference in the link text file import has been implemented. Note that at this time there is no check on the code validity and the codes are not expanded to complete missing data entries.<br /> <br /> === Antenna lookup tables ===<br /> The default antenna lookup table was not loaded on startup.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 3, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Site text import ===<br /> Site elevation values were corrupted in the import procedure.<br /> <br /> === Local studies ===<br /> The climate region was was not being updated in both local and area studies. A continental temperate climate was used in all cases.<br /> <br /> === Network ===<br /> The move site operation did not update the azimuths in any associated pl5 files. Move site can be potentially dangerous. Additional work is underway to advise users of the full impact of the site move operation.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 2, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> The options dialog in the transmission analysis section was missing. This dialog allows the entry of water vapor density in microwave - adaptive modulation applications and the location selection for land mobile applications<br /> <br /> Time variability was not being updated in both local and area studies. A constant time variability of 50% was being used.<br /> <br /> Auto link design on PTMP links using all sites within a specified radius, did not consider the visibility state of the sites.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 30, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Group manager ===<br /> The user interface for editing groups as a list has been completely revised. The group visibility interface has also been revised.<br /> <br /> === Adaptive modulation ===<br /> The percent of time in mode is now show for the total annual throughput.<br /> <br /> === CSV Link Report ===<br /> The options for Transmission detail and Transmission summary were reversed. Site coordinates were only exported in degrees minutes and seconds format. The decimal degree option now works.<br /> <br /> === Reflective plane definition ===<br /> Continued resetting and redefining a reflective plane could cause a program crash.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 22, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Assigned antenna height ===<br /> The import site text file (csv) now includes an assigned antenna height field. The value is not displayed in the site list display. Click Edit - Edit item to view all fields in the site list including the assigned antenna height. This field is used in the following auto-design operations:<br /> create PTP links<br /> create PTMP links<br /> design links (PTP and PTMP)<br /> The Link design rules includes the option &quot;Use assigned antenna heights&quot; in the Antenna heights - tx lines setting. When this option is checked, the assigned value for a site will be used in all links from that site. If there is no value for the assigned antenna height, the tower height will be used. If both the assigned antenna height and tower height are not available, the site will not be used in the design operation.<br /> <br /> Use the &quot;Clearance&quot; display criteria to display the results of the design operation using the assigned antenna heights.<br /> <br /> <br /> PL4 files can be exported using group or selection directly from the Network display.<br /> <br /> The clearance criteria used in the link design rules were not saved once the session was closed.<br /> <br /> === Radio and antenna lookup tables ===<br /> If the default lookup table file cannot be found, the program would crash. The antenna lookup table high and low frequency values did not sort correctly.<br /> <br /> === GIS setup ===<br /> Clutter index for was not saved correctly under certain conditions.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 15, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Set GIS Configuration ===<br /> The default directory specification has been changed from a single directory to individual file directories when importing an index.<br /> <br /> Some procedures involving lookup tables and code indexes, could cause the data entry form to loose focus and go behind the network display.<br /> <br /> === Import link text file ===<br /> This procedure has been revised to include 3 antennas and 12 TX channel entries. Still outstanding are the cross references between the radio and antenna codes in the csv file and the actual codes to be used.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 26, 2009 ==<br /> The Design link function has been completely revised and divided into two functions. The Design links function only operates on links without a pl5 file association. The Edit-Modify links function only operates on links with an existing pl5 file association.<br /> === Network Operations ===<br /> The following side effects introduced in the due to the May 19 build have been corrected The Performance function caused a program crash The Add site and Move site dialogs sizes were not usable<br /> === Rain calculations ===<br /> The ITU-R P.837-5 rain data base has been added to the program. The original 837-3 has not been removed. It should be noted that the difference can be significant between the two data bases.<br /> <br /> ATT rain data files for the United States are not distributed with the program. The directory geo_data\rain\rain_usa contains Canadian rain data files in the ATT file format. The file naming convention is CURVEXX.CSV where XX is a one or two digit number. If the USA files are located in this directory, then they will be automatically used for the Crane rain algorithm<br /> === Antenna Lookup Tables ===<br /> Radome loss and antenna diameter have been added to the lookup table<br /> <br /> Radio and antenna data lookup files could cause a program crash if an arbitrary file was loaded.<br /> <br /> === Ant_rad.exe - radio data files ===<br /> If a binary radio data file was saved several times in a row, the calculated curves - TX emission mask, RX selectivity mask and the RX selectivity curver used in calculations would be duplicated.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 19, 2009 ==<br /> === Design Links - Network Display ===<br /> This has been completely revised. The operation is similar to the Create PTP / PTMP links feature. <br /> <br /> It is possible simply to view the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the network links using either the original design rules or the current design rules.<br /> <br /> A group selection criteria is provided to move the links into different groups based on these KPIs.<br /> <br /> Transmission line lengths on PTMP link designs have been corrected<br /> <br /> Data integrity checks between PL5 files and the network display. When a pl5 file was saved, the network display data was automatically updated to the PL5 data. This has been changed. If differences between the two data sets are present, the user is prompted to select the correct data.<br /> <br /> MapInfo grc files (one byte data files) were not read correctly. These files were being used as clutter data.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 7, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Create PTP and PTMP links ===<br /> Clearance has been added as a rejection criteria. This is the clearance relative to the clearance criteria. A value of 0 means that the clearance criteria has been exactly met. A positive value is the excess clearance over the clearance criteria. A negative value is the additional clearance required to meet the clearance criteria.<br /> <br /> A minimum and maximum value can be specified for each rejection criteria. In addition, the current link display can be saved to a group. This makes it possible to save the analysis into multiple groups. For example the group names could be as follows:<br /> clearance OK<br /> clearance within 10 meters<br /> clearance over 10 meters<br /> <br /> The links can be saved with the original color legend.<br /> <br /> Point to point equipment parameters now used the same standard data entry forms used in the transmission analysis section and include both lookup tables and the radio - antenna indexes.<br /> <br /> === Automatic Link Design ===<br /> Diffraction loss is calculated at three values of K (4/3, the minimum expected value of K and a K of infinity). The infinity value was used in the transmission analysis under the assumption that heavy multipath fading is coincident with high values of K.<br /> <br /> In this program build, the 4/3 value is used. Future program builds will expand on this and provide the probability of obstruction fading.<br /> <br /> === Lookup tables ===<br /> Various data entry and conversion problems with antenna and radio data lookup tables were corrected dbm to microvolt conversion on the land mobile radio data entry form did not operate. <br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date April 22, 2009 ==<br /> === Multipath - reflection ===<br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing did not correctly save in the pl5 file.<br /> <br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing on paths which were blocked at the lowest value of the earth radius factor K could cause a program crash.<br /> === Transmission analysis ===<br /> The vertical angle and azimuth were expressed as degrees minutes and seconds in report. The vertical angles were reported as positive values. These are now expressed as decimal degrees with the correct sign<br /> <br /> The report format options for microwave total time below level showed the annual rain unavailability and the total annual rain + multipath unavailability in expressed in seconds. The actual report expresses the value in minutes. This provides compatibility with ITU conventions of expressing unavailability in minutes.<br /> <br /> Loading a radio data file could could change several of the calculations options. These changes have been inhibited for the time being. The radio data files contain calculation methods such as selective outage and performance calculations in accordance with G826. A future release will prompt the user to make these changes and the changes will be immediately reflected in the radio data entry form.<br /> <br /> FCC EIRP warnings were based on dBm instead of dBW<br /> === Vectors ===<br /> A side effect of continuing development on shapefile features resulted in program crash when using vector shapefiles<br /> === Network display link list ===<br /> If the link list was closed with the last row selected, the program would crash<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 26, 2009 ==<br /> === Site list ===<br /> Corrections made to the import/export CSV files operations. <br /> <br /> Corrections made to column sorting.<br /> === Automatic link design ===<br /> Antenna height greater than the tower height link rejection criteria has been added.<br /> <br /> Tower heights have been added to the CSV report.<br /> <br /> Finalize links did not correctly limit antenna heights to the tower heights<br /> === Diffraction module ===<br /> Under some circumstances Fresnel zones could not be displayed.<br /> === Reports ===<br /> This section is now under revision. The version 4 print profile report has been added.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 10, 2009 ==<br /> Radio lookup tables can load version 4 microwave (mrd) and VHF-UHF (vrd) lookup files.<br /> <br /> CSV Link reports have been added. They can be found under the Operations menu in the network display. The report can be customized by clicking the 'Edit' button and selecting CSV Link report from the dropdown list in the report settings window. (More report settings are available in the tree list on the left.)<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 24, 2009 ==<br /> === Radio lookup tables ===<br /> This has been added as an option to using the radio code index. If a code exists in the table, the, lookup table functions the same as the radio code index.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Loading pl4 files which contained Fresnel references became corrupted when saved as PL5 files.<br /> <br /> Interference calculations for base stations without associated links has been implemented.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 12, 2009 ==<br /> === Base station sector frequency assignments ===<br /> The TX channel table and frequency plan files are now used for frequency assignments.<br /> === Point to multipoint design ===<br /> The base antenna height is not considered in the rejection criteria.<br /> === Google Earth kml export ===<br /> General improvements to the overall display. Local and area studies are now exported as separate entities for each signal level.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Metric conversion problems - (feet and miles only).<br /> <br /> Error in transmission line unit loss in ptmp link design corrected.<br /> <br /> Error in tower heights corrected.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Revision_history 2009-07-29T23:01:21Z

<p>Paulg: /* Pathloss 5 - revision date July 29, 2009 */</p> <hr /> <div>== Pathloss 5 - revision date July 29, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> Sitelist does not reset display unless coordinates are changed.<br /> <br /> Set GIS Configuration correctly recognizes when the projection of the display has changed.<br /> <br /> Pl5 Link Files deleted by Pathloss are now sent to the recycle bin rather than being permanently deleted.<br /> <br /> === Reports ===<br /> Fixed bugs causing columns to be out of sync and filenames to not be displayed in some cases.<br /> <br /> Antenna Usage is shown next to the antenna model in the transmission detail and transmission summary reports.<br /> <br /> === Point to point link design ===<br /> The antenna coupling unit (ACU) data entry form in the base station definition did not match up with the ACU data entry in the Link Design Rules. These are now exactly the same interface<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 24, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> The addition of new fields to site data caused a crash in the site data entry forms.<br /> <br /> Fixed error in which a group could become corrupted when importing from site text files.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 22, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Obstruction Fading ===<br /> A preliminary implementation is available in the transmission analysis design section. Click Operations - Obstruction fading. The next program build will include the documentation and the<br /> obstruction fading will be incorporated into the reports<br /> <br /> === Local and area studies ===<br /> The receive at base station option cause an error.<br /> <br /> === CSV link report ===<br /> The antenna usage field has been added. This will only appear if the<br /> antenna model is checked.<br /> <br /> === Import text links ===<br /> Quotation marks were not automatically removed.<br /> <br /> A preliminary request for frequency coordination CSV report has been added. Click Operations - Frequency Coordination report. The report format may change based on discussions with Alcatel and Comsearch. The following fields have been added to the site data structure for this<br /> report.<br /> <br /> *Antenna registration number char[16]<br /> *Zip code char[16]<br /> *Tower height with Appurtenances<br /> <br /> Under some circumstances - distance, azimuth and projected coordinates were not automatically calculated from the site coordinates.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 9, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === ASTER GeoTiff Data ===<br /> Support for the ASTER geotiff terrain elevation data has been added. This is a one arc second data base with global coverage over the latitude range 83N to 83S. This has been implemented as a BIL geographic DEM.<br /> <br /> === Radio and Antenna Cross Reference ===<br /> The radio and antenna cross reference in the link text file import has been implemented. Note that at this time there is no check on the code validity and the codes are not expanded to complete missing data entries.<br /> <br /> === Antenna lookup tables ===<br /> The default antenna lookup table was not loaded on startup.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 3, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Site text import ===<br /> Site elevation values were corrupted in the import procedure.<br /> <br /> === Local studies ===<br /> The climate region was was not being updated in both local and area studies. A continental temperate climate was used in all cases.<br /> <br /> === Network ===<br /> The move site operation did not update the azimuths in any associated pl5 files. Move site can be potentially dangerous. Additional work is underway to advise users of the full impact of the site move operation.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date July 2, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> The options dialog in the transmission analysis section was missing. This dialog allows the entry of water vapor density in microwave - adaptive modulation applications and the location selection for land mobile applications<br /> <br /> Time variability was not being updated in both local and area studies. A constant time variability of 50% was being used.<br /> <br /> Auto link design on PTMP links using all sites within a specified radius, did not consider the visibility state of the sites.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 30, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Group manager ===<br /> The user interface for editing groups as a list has been completely revised. The group visibility interface has also been revised.<br /> <br /> === Adaptive modulation ===<br /> The percent of time in mode is now show for the total annual throughput.<br /> <br /> === CSV Link Report ===<br /> The options for Transmission detail and Transmission summary were reversed. Site coordinates were only exported in degrees minutes and seconds format. The decimal degree option now works.<br /> <br /> === Reflective plane definition ===<br /> Continued resetting and redefining a reflective plane could cause a program crash.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 22, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Assigned antenna height ===<br /> The import site text file (csv) now includes an assigned antenna height field. The value is not displayed in the site list display. Click Edit - Edit item to view all fields in the site list including the assigned antenna height. This field is used in the following auto-design operations:<br /> create PTP links<br /> create PTMP links<br /> design links (PTP and PTMP)<br /> The Link design rules includes the option &quot;Use assigned antenna heights&quot; in the Antenna heights - tx lines setting. When this option is checked, the assigned value for a site will be used in all links from that site. If there is no value for the assigned antenna height, the tower height will be used. If both the assigned antenna height and tower height are not available, the site will not be used in the design operation.<br /> <br /> Use the &quot;Clearance&quot; display criteria to display the results of the design operation using the assigned antenna heights.<br /> <br /> <br /> PL4 files can be exported using group or selection directly from the Network display.<br /> <br /> The clearance criteria used in the link design rules were not saved once the session was closed.<br /> <br /> === Radio and antenna lookup tables ===<br /> If the default lookup table file cannot be found, the program would crash. The antenna lookup table high and low frequency values did not sort correctly.<br /> <br /> === GIS setup ===<br /> Clutter index for was not saved correctly under certain conditions.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date June 15, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Set GIS Configuration ===<br /> The default directory specification has been changed from a single directory to individual file directories when importing an index.<br /> <br /> Some procedures involving lookup tables and code indexes, could cause the data entry form to loose focus and go behind the network display.<br /> <br /> === Import link text file ===<br /> This procedure has been revised to include 3 antennas and 12 TX channel entries. Still outstanding are the cross references between the radio and antenna codes in the csv file and the actual codes to be used.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 26, 2009 ==<br /> The Design link function has been completely revised and divided into two functions. The Design links function only operates on links without a pl5 file association. The Edit-Modify links function only operates on links with an existing pl5 file association.<br /> === Network Operations ===<br /> The following side effects introduced in the due to the May 19 build have been corrected The Performance function caused a program crash The Add site and Move site dialogs sizes were not usable<br /> === Rain calculations ===<br /> The ITU-R P.837-5 rain data base has been added to the program. The original 837-3 has not been removed. It should be noted that the difference can be significant between the two data bases.<br /> <br /> ATT rain data files for the United States are not distributed with the program. The directory geo_data\rain\rain_usa contains Canadian rain data files in the ATT file format. The file naming convention is CURVEXX.CSV where XX is a one or two digit number. If the USA files are located in this directory, then they will be automatically used for the Crane rain algorithm<br /> === Antenna Lookup Tables ===<br /> Radome loss and antenna diameter have been added to the lookup table<br /> <br /> Radio and antenna data lookup files could cause a program crash if an arbitrary file was loaded.<br /> <br /> === Ant_rad.exe - radio data files ===<br /> If a binary radio data file was saved several times in a row, the calculated curves - TX emission mask, RX selectivity mask and the RX selectivity curver used in calculations would be duplicated.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 19, 2009 ==<br /> === Design Links - Network Display ===<br /> This has been completely revised. The operation is similar to the Create PTP / PTMP links feature. <br /> <br /> It is possible simply to view the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the network links using either the original design rules or the current design rules.<br /> <br /> A group selection criteria is provided to move the links into different groups based on these KPIs.<br /> <br /> Transmission line lengths on PTMP link designs have been corrected<br /> <br /> Data integrity checks between PL5 files and the network display. When a pl5 file was saved, the network display data was automatically updated to the PL5 data. This has been changed. If differences between the two data sets are present, the user is prompted to select the correct data.<br /> <br /> MapInfo grc files (one byte data files) were not read correctly. These files were being used as clutter data.<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date May 7, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Create PTP and PTMP links ===<br /> Clearance has been added as a rejection criteria. This is the clearance relative to the clearance criteria. A value of 0 means that the clearance criteria has been exactly met. A positive value is the excess clearance over the clearance criteria. A negative value is the additional clearance required to meet the clearance criteria.<br /> <br /> A minimum and maximum value can be specified for each rejection criteria. In addition, the current link display can be saved to a group. This makes it possible to save the analysis into multiple groups. For example the group names could be as follows:<br /> clearance OK<br /> clearance within 10 meters<br /> clearance over 10 meters<br /> <br /> The links can be saved with the original color legend.<br /> <br /> Point to point equipment parameters now used the same standard data entry forms used in the transmission analysis section and include both lookup tables and the radio - antenna indexes.<br /> <br /> === Automatic Link Design ===<br /> Diffraction loss is calculated at three values of K (4/3, the minimum expected value of K and a K of infinity). The infinity value was used in the transmission analysis under the assumption that heavy multipath fading is coincident with high values of K.<br /> <br /> In this program build, the 4/3 value is used. Future program builds will expand on this and provide the probability of obstruction fading.<br /> <br /> === Lookup tables ===<br /> Various data entry and conversion problems with antenna and radio data lookup tables were corrected dbm to microvolt conversion on the land mobile radio data entry form did not operate. <br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date April 22, 2009 ==<br /> === Multipath - reflection ===<br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing did not correctly save in the pl5 file.<br /> <br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing on paths which were blocked at the lowest value of the earth radius factor K could cause a program crash.<br /> === Transmission analysis ===<br /> The vertical angle and azimuth were expressed as degrees minutes and seconds in report. The vertical angles were reported as positive values. These are now expressed as decimal degrees with the correct sign<br /> <br /> The report format options for microwave total time below level showed the annual rain unavailability and the total annual rain + multipath unavailability in expressed in seconds. The actual report expresses the value in minutes. This provides compatibility with ITU conventions of expressing unavailability in minutes.<br /> <br /> Loading a radio data file could could change several of the calculations options. These changes have been inhibited for the time being. The radio data files contain calculation methods such as selective outage and performance calculations in accordance with G826. A future release will prompt the user to make these changes and the changes will be immediately reflected in the radio data entry form.<br /> <br /> FCC EIRP warnings were based on dBm instead of dBW<br /> === Vectors ===<br /> A side effect of continuing development on shapefile features resulted in program crash when using vector shapefiles<br /> === Network display link list ===<br /> If the link list was closed with the last row selected, the program would crash<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 26, 2009 ==<br /> === Site list ===<br /> Corrections made to the import/export CSV files operations. <br /> <br /> Corrections made to column sorting.<br /> === Automatic link design ===<br /> Antenna height greater than the tower height link rejection criteria has been added.<br /> <br /> Tower heights have been added to the CSV report.<br /> <br /> Finalize links did not correctly limit antenna heights to the tower heights<br /> === Diffraction module ===<br /> Under some circumstances Fresnel zones could not be displayed.<br /> === Reports ===<br /> This section is now under revision. The version 4 print profile report has been added.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 10, 2009 ==<br /> Radio lookup tables can load version 4 microwave (mrd) and VHF-UHF (vrd) lookup files.<br /> <br /> CSV Link reports have been added. They can be found under the Operations menu in the network display. The report can be customized by clicking the 'Edit' button and selecting CSV Link report from the dropdown list in the report settings window. (More report settings are available in the tree list on the left.)<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 24, 2009 ==<br /> === Radio lookup tables ===<br /> This has been added as an option to using the radio code index. If a code exists in the table, the, lookup table functions the same as the radio code index.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Loading pl4 files which contained Fresnel references became corrupted when saved as PL5 files.<br /> <br /> Interference calculations for base stations without associated links has been implemented.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 12, 2009 ==<br /> === Base station sector frequency assignments ===<br /> The TX channel table and frequency plan files are now used for frequency assignments.<br /> === Point to multipoint design ===<br /> The base antenna height is not considered in the rejection criteria.<br /> === Google Earth kml export ===<br /> General improvements to the overall display. Local and area studies are now exported as separate entities for each signal level.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Metric conversion problems - (feet and miles only).<br /> <br /> Error in transmission line unit loss in ptmp link design corrected.<br /> <br /> Error in tower heights corrected.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Download_and_installation 2009-05-21T15:33:26Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>==Downloading Pathloss 5==<br /> <br /> Pathloss 5 is produced by Contract Telecommunication Engineering (CTE). For information on purchasing Pathloss 5 please [http://www.pathloss.com/contact.php contact CTE]. <br /> <br /> With your purchase of Pathloss 5 you will receive a licence email. This email contains important information including your serial number and links for downloading the program as well as the updates. Keep this email somewhere safe and accessible. Use the links in the email to download the program. (This will always download the more recent release.)<br /> <br /> ====A Note on terminology====<br /> '''Installing / Uninstalling''' - This is the process of loading the program on to windows. The program is installed by running pl5_setup.exe and is uninstalled by using the windows Add/Remove Program tool from the Control Panel. A single Pathloss 5 license can be downloaded and installed on many computers, but only one of these computers can be ''initialized'' at a time.<br /> <br /> '''Initializing / Uninitializing''' - This is the process of activating a licence for use. A single Pathloss 5 license can be initialized on only one computer at a time. To move a licence from one computer to another, it must be uninitialized from the first computer before it is initialized on the second. The program need not be ''Uninstalled'' from either computer. This procedure is done from within the Pathloss 5 program.<br /> <br /> '''Update vs Upgrade''' - Update means changing to a later build of the program. The licence email contains the link to download an update, updates are always free of charge. Upgrade means adding features such as Coverage or Interference. Upgrades are purchased from CTE and activated within the program.<br /> <br /> ==Installing Pathloss 5==<br /> ===Hardware Requirements===<br /> The Pathloss program will operate on Windows 2000/XP and Vista operating systems. Overall performance will depend on the computer speed and available memory.<br /> ===Installation===<br /> The Pathloss program is packaged with the Install Shield installation program. Start the installation by running the pl5_setup.exe downloaded from the licence email. Follow the on screen prompts to install the program.<br /> <br /> '''Important Note for Vista Users:''' If the setup program can not complete, you may need to run it as Administrator. Right click on the pl5_setup icon and select Run As Administrator.<br /> <br /> ==Initializing Pathloss 5==<br /> When the installation is complete, start the program and click the '''''Initialize program''''' menu item. Enter this serial number from your licence email and click the arrow button. If the Program initialization does not expand, the serial number has not been entered correctly.<br /> <br /> An installation code is created when the serial number has been entered. This installation code must be sent to CTE and an authorization code will be returned. <br /> <br /> If an Internet connection is available, Select &quot;Internet connection&quot; and click the arrow button and the program will process the initialization automatically.<br /> <br /> If an internet connection is not available, then select one of the other installation options. The Program initialization is reformatted with instructions for the option selected.<br /> <br /> For the FAX and EMail options, click the &quot;Copy serial number and installation code&quot; button and send the information to CTE. An authorization code will be returned. Enter this code into the dialog and click the corresponding blue button to initialize the program.<br /> <br /> When the installation is complete, the program menu will be updated and the program is ready to be used.<br /> <br /> ==Uninitializing Pathloss 5==<br /> The program must first be uninitialized if it is to be installed on another computer. The user sends an uninitialization code to notify CTE that the existing installation record is now available for another installation.<br /> <br /> In the Pathloss 5 program, click '''''Configure - Pathloss program - Uninitialize Program'''''<br /> <br /> If an internet connection is available, select &quot;Internet connection&quot; and click the arrow button. The program will be uninitialized only if the communication succeeds.<br /> <br /> In all other uninitialization options, the user must first confirm the operation. This is the point of no return. The program will be uninitialized and the Uninitialize Program dialog will be reformatted with instructions to notify CTE. <br /> <br /> For the FAX and EMail options, click the &quot;Copy serial number and installation code&quot; button and send the information to CTE.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Known_issues 2009-05-20T18:17:34Z

<p>Paulg: Created page with '== Microsoft Groove 2007 == Some packages of MS Office 2007 include a program called Groove which runs in the background and conflicts with Pathloss. If it is installed and runn...'</p> <hr /> <div>== Microsoft Groove 2007 ==<br /> <br /> Some packages of MS Office 2007 include a program called Groove which runs in the background and conflicts with Pathloss. If it is installed and running on your system it will prevent pathloss from starting. No window will appear and no process will be started.<br /> <br /> There is currently no work around for this problem and Groove must be uninstalled. You can uninstall it by using the add / remove programs tool from the Control Panel. Select Microsoft Office 2007 and click the Change button. Select Add or Remove Features and click continue. Click Microsoft Office Groove and change the selection to 'Not Available'. Click continue to make the modification.<br /> <br /> It is not nessicary to remove Office 2007, only the Groove component.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5.1 2009-05-20T18:07:08Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>[[Pathloss 5 download and installation]]<br /> <br /> [[Pathloss 5 known issues]]<br /> <br /> [[Pathloss 5 where to begin]]<br /> <br /> [[Pathloss 5 revision history]]</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Revision_history 2009-05-13T22:13:18Z

<p>Paulg: Protected &quot;Pathloss 5 revision history&quot; ([edit=sysop] (indefinite) [move=sysop] (indefinite))</p> <hr /> <div>== Pathloss 5 - revision date May 7, 2009 ==<br /> <br /> === Create PTP and PTMP links ===<br /> Clearance has been added as a rejection criteria. This is the clearance relative to the clearance criteria. A value of 0 means that the clearance criteria has been exactly met. A positive value is the excess clearance over the clearance criteria. A negative value is the additional clearance required to meet the clearance criteria.<br /> <br /> A minimum and maximum value can be specified for each rejection criteria. In addition, the current link display can be saved to a group. This makes it possible to save the analysis into multiple groups. For example the group names could be as follows:<br /> clearance OK<br /> clearance within 10 meters<br /> clearance over 10 meters<br /> <br /> The links can be saved with the original color legend.<br /> <br /> Point to point equipment parameters now used the same standard data entry forms used in the transmission analysis section and include both lookup tables and the radio - antenna indexes.<br /> <br /> === Automatic Link Design ===<br /> Diffraction loss is calculated at three values of K (4/3, the minimum expected value of K and a K of infinity). The infinity value was used in the transmission analysis under the assumption that heavy multipath fading is coincident with high values of K.<br /> <br /> In this program build, the 4/3 value is used. Future program builds will expand on this and provide the probability of obstruction fading.<br /> <br /> === Lookup tables ===<br /> Various data entry and conversion problems with antenna and radio data lookup tables were corrected dbm to microvolt conversion on the land mobile radio data entry form did not operate. <br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date April 22, 2009 ==<br /> === Multipath - reflection ===<br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing did not correctly save in the pl5 file.<br /> <br /> Variable parameters calculations using ray tracing on paths which were blocked at the lowest value of the earth radius factor K could cause a program crash.<br /> === Transmission analysis ===<br /> The vertical angle and azimuth were expressed as degrees minutes and seconds in report. The vertical angles were reported as positive values. These are now expressed as decimal degrees with the correct sign<br /> <br /> The report format options for microwave total time below level showed the annual rain unavailability and the total annual rain + multipath unavailability in expressed in seconds. The actual report expresses the value in minutes. This provides compatibility with ITU conventions of expressing unavailability in minutes.<br /> <br /> Loading a radio data file could could change several of the calculations options. These changes have been inhibited for the time being. The radio data files contain calculation methods such as selective outage and performance calculations in accordance with G826. A future release will prompt the user to make these changes and the changes will be immediately reflected in the radio data entry form.<br /> <br /> FCC EIRP warnings were based on dBm instead of dBW<br /> === Vectors ===<br /> A side effect of continuing development on shapefile features resulted in program crash when using vector shapefiles<br /> === Network display link list ===<br /> If the link list was closed with the last row selected, the program would crash<br /> <br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 26, 2009 ==<br /> === Site list ===<br /> Corrections made to the import/export CSV files operations. <br /> <br /> Corrections made to column sorting.<br /> === Automatic link design ===<br /> Antenna height greater than the tower height link rejection criteria has been added.<br /> <br /> Tower heights have been added to the CSV report.<br /> <br /> Finalize links did not correctly limit antenna heights to the tower heights<br /> === Diffraction module ===<br /> Under some circumstances Fresnel zones could not be displayed.<br /> === Reports ===<br /> This section is now under revision. The version 4 print profile report has been added.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date March 10, 2009 ==<br /> Radio lookup tables can load version 4 microwave (mrd) and VHF-UHF (vrd) lookup files.<br /> <br /> CSV Link reports have been added. They can be found under the Operations menu in the network display. The report can be customized by clicking the 'Edit' button and selecting CSV Link report from the dropdown list in the report settings window. (More report settings are available in the tree list on the left.)<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 24, 2009 ==<br /> === Radio lookup tables ===<br /> This has been added as an option to using the radio code index. If a code exists in the table, the, lookup table functions the same as the radio code index.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Loading pl4 files which contained Fresnel references became corrupted when saved as PL5 files.<br /> <br /> Interference calculations for base stations without associated links has been implemented.<br /> == Pathloss 5 - revision date February 12, 2009 ==<br /> === Base station sector frequency assignments ===<br /> The TX channel table and frequency plan files are now used for frequency assignments.<br /> === Point to multipoint design ===<br /> The base antenna height is not considered in the rejection criteria.<br /> === Google Earth kml export ===<br /> General improvements to the overall display. Local and area studies are now exported as separate entities for each signal level.<br /> === Other fixes ===<br /> Metric conversion problems - (feet and miles only).<br /> <br /> Error in transmission line unit loss in ptmp link design corrected.<br /> <br /> Error in tower heights corrected.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Where_to_begin 2009-05-13T22:13:07Z

<p>Paulg: Protected &quot;Pathloss 5 where to begin&quot; ([edit=sysop] (indefinite) [move=sysop] (indefinite))</p> <hr /> <div>This step by step tutorial is intended to help a first time user get the program up and running. It is intentionally kept simple and is designed to familiarize the user with Pathloss 5's layout and basic tools. <br /> <br /> For more information refer to the in program help ''(the help menu is located on the right side of the menu bar)'' and refer back to this [[Pathloss_5]] wiki as more articles are added. <br /> <br /> == Step 1 - Enter site information ==<br /> Click '''''View - Site List''''' To bring up the Site index. <br /> <br /> We are going to manualy add two site to the project. Double click on the first cell in the Site Name Column. Enter a name for the site and press the Tab key to move the to next cell. Enter a Latitude for the site and press Tab. Enter a Longitude. This is the minimum required information for a site. Add a second site with the same method. <br /> <br /> Close the Site list and the sites will be shown in the GIS window. <br /> <br /> Sites can also me imported from a CSV file or any delimited text file. See [[Import Sites from text file]].<br /> <br /> To determine what terrain data file(s) you will need, it is helpful to see a geographic grid. Click '''''Configure - PL50 Program Options'''''. Click '''''Axis - map grid'''''. In the bottom right area, check '''''Show Geographic Grid''''' and '''''Show Labels'''''.<br /> <br /> Click the green check to accept the settings changes. Make a note of the bounding coordinates so you will know what terrain data you need.<br /> <br /> == Step 2 - Configure terrain data ==<br /> ===Download Terrain Data===<br /> Terrain data is available from many sources in a wide variety of formats. For this example we will download some terrain data from [[NASA]]. [[NASA|Click here for download instructions]]<br /> <br /> This tool may also be helpful http://www.pathloss.com/mapsearch.html.<br /> <br /> Unzip the file(s) and make a note of where you have unzipped it to.<br /> ===Setup Terrain Database===<br /> Open the Pathloss 5 program, you should see a window with a toolbar and menu. If there is a menu item called &quot;Initialize Program&quot;, you must initialize the program before continuing. <br /> <br /> Click '''''Configure''''' - '''''Set GIS configuration'''''<br /> <br /> Click the '''''Primary DEM''''' tab and select '''''SRTM (World)''''' from the '''''Digital elevation model''''' drop down list.<br /> <br /> Click the '''''File index''''' button and a new window will appear. In the menu of the new window click '''''Files''''' ,'''''Import index''''' and '''''SRTM hgt files'''''.<br /> <br /> Browse to locate the '''''HGT''''' files you have downloaded (You can select many HGT files at once by holding Ctrl or Shift while selecting fles). Click '''''Open''''' and the files will be added to the index list.<br /> <br /> Note the edges of the data and ensure that they cover the area of both sites. <br /> <br /> You have now configured Pathloss 5 for SRTM terrain data.<br /> <br /> == Step 3 - Create the links ==<br /> For this example we will manually link the sites. <br /> <br /> You should see the 2 sites marked on the screen. The mouse wheel can be used to zoom the display in and out. <br /> <br /> Select the Point to Point Link tool. This appears on the toolbar as an arrow above a single link. This tool is used to create and interact with links. <br /> <br /> Left click on one of the sites and drag to the other site to create the link. You can now left click on the link to access the modules of the link design tool. <br /> <br /> Right clicking on links or sites will allow you to adjust attributes (appearance) and access other options.<br /> <br /> == Step 4 - Design the links ==<br /> ===Generate Profile===<br /> The first step in designing the link is to generate a path profile. Left click on the link with the PtoP Link tool and select '''''terrain data''''' from the menu.<br /> <br /> This opens the terrain data module in the link design tool. Click on '''''Operations - Generate Profile'''''. Make sure Primary Terrain DEM is selected and that the terrain database set up in the first step is shown. Click the green check mark to generate the profile.<br /> <br /> Once the operation is finished, a status window will be displayed. '''Review this data carefully.''' It should display, &quot;primary usage - 100.0%.&quot; If this is not shown or the usage is less than 100%, check the file listed and the directory, make sure the file exists and is in the correct directory.<br /> <br /> Click the green check to close the status window.<br /> <br /> ===Antenna Heights===<br /> Once the profile has been generated, antenna heights can be calculated. Click on '''''Design - Antenna heights''''' to enter the antenna heights module. <br /> <br /> Click the calculate button (looks like a blue calculator) to calculate antenna heights that satisfy the clearance criteria (100%F1 at 4/3k is the default).<br /> <br /> == Step 5 - Generate reports ==<br /> From the Link Design Tool, select '''''Design - Transmission Analysis''''' <br /> <br /> Select '''''Report - Transmission Summary Report'''''. This opens the report window which is actually a robust editor similar to MS Word. Here you can make any final changes to the appearance of the report. When you are ready, click '''''File - Print''''' to print the report. <br /> <br /> Each module has its own report format. As well, you can select '''''Design - Reports''''' to create batch reports including data from any module and across multiple link files.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Download_and_installation 2009-05-13T22:12:55Z

<p>Paulg: Protected &quot;Pathloss 5 download and installation&quot; ([edit=sysop] (indefinite) [move=sysop] (indefinite))</p> <hr /> <div>==Downloading Pathloss 5==<br /> <br /> Pathloss 5 is produced by Contract Telecommunication Engineering (CTE). For information on purchasing Pathloss 5 please [http://www.pathloss.com/contact.php contact CTE]. <br /> <br /> With your purchase of Pathloss 5 you will receive a licence email. This email contains important information including your serial number and links for downloading the program as well as the updates. Keep this email somewhere safe and accessible. Use the links in the email to download the program. (This will always download the more recent release.)<br /> <br /> ====A Note on terminology====<br /> '''Installing / Uninstalling''' - This is the process of loading the program on to windows. The program is installed by running pl5_setup.exe and is uninstalled by using the windows Add/Remove Program tool from the Control Panel. A single Pathloss 5 license can be downloaded and installed on many computers, but only one of these computers can be ''initialized'' at a time.<br /> <br /> '''Initializing / Uninitializing''' - This is the process of activating a licence for use. A single Pathloss 5 license can initialized on only one computer at a time. To move a licence from one computer to another, it must be uninitialized from the first computer before it is initialized on the second. The program need not be ''Uninstalled'' from either computer. This procedure is done from within the Pathloss 5 program.<br /> <br /> '''Update vs Upgrade''' - Update means changing to a later build of the program. The licence email contains the link to download an update, updates are always free of charge. Upgrade means adding features such as Coverage or Interference. Upgrades are purchased from CTE and activated within the program.<br /> <br /> ==Installing Pathloss 5==<br /> ===Hardware Requirements===<br /> The Pathloss program will operate on Windows 2000/XP and Vista operating systems. Overall performance will depend on the computer speed and available memory.<br /> ===Installation===<br /> The Pathloss program is packaged with the Install Shield installation program. Start the installation by running the pl5_setup.exe downloaded from the licence email. Follow the on screen prompts to install the program.<br /> <br /> '''Important Note for Vista Users:''' If the setup program can not complete, you may need to run it as Administrator. Right click on the pl5_setup icon and select Run As Administrator.<br /> <br /> ==Initializing Pathloss 5==<br /> When the installation is complete, start the program and click the '''''Initialize program''''' menu item. Enter this serial number from your licence email and click the arrow button. If the Program initialization does not expand, the serial number has not been entered correctly.<br /> <br /> An installation code is created when the serial number has been entered. This installation code must be sent to CTE and an authorization code will be returned. <br /> <br /> If an Internet connection is available, Select &quot;Internet connection&quot; and click the arrow button and the program will process the initialization automatically.<br /> <br /> If an internet connection is not available, then select one of the other installation options. The Program initialization is reformatted with instructions for the option selected.<br /> <br /> For the FAX and EMail options, click the &quot;Copy serial number and installation code&quot; button and send the information to CTE. An authorization code will be returned. Enter this code into the dialog and click the corresponding blue button to initialize the program.<br /> <br /> When the installation is complete, the program menu will be updated and the program is ready to be used.<br /> <br /> ==Uninitializing Pathloss 5==<br /> The program must first be uninitialized if it is to be installed on another computer. The user sends an uninitialization code to notify CTE that the existing installation record is now available for another installation.<br /> <br /> In the Pathloss 5 program, click '''''Configure - Pathloss program - Uninitialize Program'''''<br /> <br /> If an internet connection is available, select &quot;Internet connection&quot; and click the arrow button. The program will be uninitialized only if the communication succeeds.<br /> <br /> In all other uninitialization options, the user must first confirm the operation. This is the point of no return. The program will be uninitialized and the Uninitialize Program dialog will be reformatted with instructions to notify CTE. <br /> <br /> For the FAX and EMail options, click the &quot;Copy serial number and installation code&quot; button and send the information to CTE.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Where_to_begin 2009-05-13T21:30:18Z

<p>Paulg: /* Setup Terrain Database */</p> <hr /> <div>This step by step tutorial is intended to help a first time user get the program up and running. It is intentionally kept simple and is designed to familiarize the user with Pathloss 5's layout and basic tools. <br /> <br /> For more information refer to the in program help ''(the help menu is located on the right side of the menu bar)'' and refer back to this [[Pathloss_5]] wiki as more articles are added. <br /> <br /> == Step 1 - Enter site information ==<br /> Click '''''View - Site List''''' To bring up the Site index. <br /> <br /> We are going to manualy add two site to the project. Double click on the first cell in the Site Name Column. Enter a name for the site and press the Tab key to move the to next cell. Enter a Latitude for the site and press Tab. Enter a Longitude. This is the minimum required information for a site. Add a second site with the same method. <br /> <br /> Close the Site list and the sites will be shown in the GIS window. <br /> <br /> Sites can also me imported from a CSV file or any delimited text file. See [[Import Sites from text file]].<br /> <br /> To determine what terrain data file(s) you will need, it is helpful to see a geographic grid. Click '''''Configure - PL50 Program Options'''''. Click '''''Axis - map grid'''''. In the bottom right area, check '''''Show Geographic Grid''''' and '''''Show Labels'''''.<br /> <br /> Click the green check to accept the settings changes. Make a note of the bounding coordinates so you will know what terrain data you need.<br /> <br /> == Step 2 - Configure terrain data ==<br /> ===Download Terrain Data===<br /> Terrain data is available from many sources in a wide variety of formats. For this example we will download some terrain data from [[NASA]]. [[NASA|Click here for download instructions]]<br /> <br /> This tool may also be helpful http://www.pathloss.com/mapsearch.html.<br /> <br /> Unzip the file(s) and make a note of where you have unzipped it to.<br /> ===Setup Terrain Database===<br /> Open the Pathloss 5 program, you should see a window with a toolbar and menu. If there is a menu item called &quot;Initialize Program&quot;, you must initialize the program before continuing. <br /> <br /> Click '''''Configure''''' - '''''Set GIS configuration'''''<br /> <br /> Click the '''''Primary DEM''''' tab and select '''''SRTM (World)''''' from the '''''Digital elevation model''''' drop down list.<br /> <br /> Click the '''''File index''''' button and a new window will appear. In the menu of the new window click '''''Files''''' ,'''''Import index''''' and '''''SRTM hgt files'''''.<br /> <br /> Browse to locate the '''''HGT''''' files you have downloaded (You can select many HGT files at once by holding Ctrl or Shift while selecting fles). Click '''''Open''''' and the files will be added to the index list.<br /> <br /> Note the edges of the data and ensure that they cover the area of both sites. <br /> <br /> You have now configured Pathloss 5 for SRTM terrain data.<br /> <br /> == Step 3 - Create the links ==<br /> For this example we will manually link the sites. <br /> <br /> You should see the 2 sites marked on the screen. The mouse wheel can be used to zoom the display in and out. <br /> <br /> Select the Point to Point Link tool. This appears on the toolbar as an arrow above a single link. This tool is used to create and interact with links. <br /> <br /> Left click on one of the sites and drag to the other site to create the link. You can now left click on the link to access the modules of the link design tool. <br /> <br /> Right clicking on links or sites will allow you to adjust attributes (appearance) and access other options.<br /> <br /> == Step 4 - Design the links ==<br /> ===Generate Profile===<br /> The first step in designing the link is to generate a path profile. Left click on the link with the PtoP Link tool and select '''''terrain data''''' from the menu.<br /> <br /> This opens the terrain data module in the link design tool. Click on '''''Operations - Generate Profile'''''. Make sure Primary Terrain DEM is selected and that the terrain database set up in the first step is shown. Click the green check mark to generate the profile.<br /> <br /> Once the operation is finished, a status window will be displayed. '''Review this data carefully.''' It should display, &quot;primary usage - 100.0%.&quot; If this is not shown or the usage is less than 100%, check the file listed and the directory, make sure the file exists and is in the correct directory.<br /> <br /> Click the green check to close the status window.<br /> <br /> ===Antenna Heights===<br /> Once the profile has been generated, antenna heights can be calculated. Click on '''''Design - Antenna heights''''' to enter the antenna heights module. <br /> <br /> Click the calculate button (looks like a blue calculator) to calculate antenna heights that satisfy the clearance criteria (100%F1 at 4/3k is the default).<br /> <br /> == Step 5 - Generate reports ==<br /> From the Link Design Tool, select '''''Design - Transmission Analysis''''' <br /> <br /> Select '''''Report - Transmission Summary Report'''''. This opens the report window which is actually a robust editor similar to MS Word. Here you can make any final changes to the appearance of the report. When you are ready, click '''''File - Print''''' to print the report. <br /> <br /> Each module has its own report format. As well, you can select '''''Design - Reports''''' to create batch reports including data from any module and across multiple link files.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Where_to_begin 2009-05-13T21:18:42Z

<p>Paulg: /* Step 1 - Enter site information */</p> <hr /> <div>This step by step tutorial is intended to help a first time user get the program up and running. It is intentionally kept simple and is designed to familiarize the user with Pathloss 5's layout and basic tools. <br /> <br /> For more information refer to the in program help ''(the help menu is located on the right side of the menu bar)'' and refer back to this [[Pathloss_5]] wiki as more articles are added. <br /> <br /> == Step 1 - Enter site information ==<br /> Click '''''View - Site List''''' To bring up the Site index. <br /> <br /> We are going to manualy add two site to the project. Double click on the first cell in the Site Name Column. Enter a name for the site and press the Tab key to move the to next cell. Enter a Latitude for the site and press Tab. Enter a Longitude. This is the minimum required information for a site. Add a second site with the same method. <br /> <br /> Close the Site list and the sites will be shown in the GIS window. <br /> <br /> Sites can also me imported from a CSV file or any delimited text file. See [[Import Sites from text file]].<br /> <br /> To determine what terrain data file(s) you will need, it is helpful to see a geographic grid. Click '''''Configure - PL50 Program Options'''''. Click '''''Axis - map grid'''''. In the bottom right area, check '''''Show Geographic Grid''''' and '''''Show Labels'''''.<br /> <br /> Click the green check to accept the settings changes. Make a note of the bounding coordinates so you will know what terrain data you need.<br /> <br /> == Step 2 - Configure terrain data ==<br /> ===Download Terrain Data===<br /> Terrain data is available from many sources in a wide variety of formats. For this example we will download some terrain data from [[NASA]]. [[NASA|Click here for download instructions]]<br /> <br /> This tool may also be helpful http://www.pathloss.com/mapsearch.html.<br /> <br /> Unzip the file(s) and make a note of where you have unzipped it to.<br /> ===Setup Terrain Database===<br /> Open the Pathloss 5 program, you should see a window with a toolbar and menu. If there is a menu item called &quot;Initialize Program&quot;, you must initialize the program before continuing. <br /> <br /> Click '''''Configure''''' - '''''Set GIS configuration'''''<br /> <br /> Click the '''''Primary DEM''''' tab and select '''''SRTM (World)''''' from the '''''Digital elevation model''''' drop down list.<br /> <br /> Click the '''''File index''''' button and a new window will appear. In the menu of the new window click '''''Files''''' ,'''''Import index''''' and '''''SRTM hgt files'''''.<br /> <br /> Browse to locate the '''''HGT''''' files you have downloaded (You can select many HGT files at once by holding Ctrl or Shift while selecting fles). Click '''''Open''''' and the files will be added to the index list.<br /> <br /> Note the edges of the data for the next step. <br /> <br /> You have now configured Pathloss 5 for SRTM terrain data.<br /> <br /> == Step 3 - Create the links ==<br /> For this example we will manually link the sites. <br /> <br /> You should see the 2 sites marked on the screen. The mouse wheel can be used to zoom the display in and out. <br /> <br /> Select the Point to Point Link tool. This appears on the toolbar as an arrow above a single link. This tool is used to create and interact with links. <br /> <br /> Left click on one of the sites and drag to the other site to create the link. You can now left click on the link to access the modules of the link design tool. <br /> <br /> Right clicking on links or sites will allow you to adjust attributes (appearance) and access other options.<br /> <br /> == Step 4 - Design the links ==<br /> ===Generate Profile===<br /> The first step in designing the link is to generate a path profile. Left click on the link with the PtoP Link tool and select '''''terrain data''''' from the menu.<br /> <br /> This opens the terrain data module in the link design tool. Click on '''''Operations - Generate Profile'''''. Make sure Primary Terrain DEM is selected and that the terrain database set up in the first step is shown. Click the green check mark to generate the profile.<br /> <br /> Once the operation is finished, a status window will be displayed. '''Review this data carefully.''' It should display, &quot;primary usage - 100.0%.&quot; If this is not shown or the usage is less than 100%, check the file listed and the directory, make sure the file exists and is in the correct directory.<br /> <br /> Click the green check to close the status window.<br /> <br /> ===Antenna Heights===<br /> Once the profile has been generated, antenna heights can be calculated. Click on '''''Design - Antenna heights''''' to enter the antenna heights module. <br /> <br /> Click the calculate button (looks like a blue calculator) to calculate antenna heights that satisfy the clearance criteria (100%F1 at 4/3k is the default).<br /> <br /> == Step 5 - Generate reports ==<br /> From the Link Design Tool, select '''''Design - Transmission Analysis''''' <br /> <br /> Select '''''Report - Transmission Summary Report'''''. This opens the report window which is actually a robust editor similar to MS Word. Here you can make any final changes to the appearance of the report. When you are ready, click '''''File - Print''''' to print the report. <br /> <br /> Each module has its own report format. As well, you can select '''''Design - Reports''''' to create batch reports including data from any module and across multiple link files.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Where_to_begin 2009-05-13T20:53:13Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>This step by step tutorial is intended to help a first time user get the program up and running. It is intentionally kept simple and is designed to familiarize the user with Pathloss 5's layout and basic tools. <br /> <br /> For more information refer to the in program help ''(the help menu is located on the right side of the menu bar)'' and refer back to this [[Pathloss_5]] wiki as more articles are added. <br /> <br /> == Step 1 - Enter site information ==<br /> Click '''''View - Site List''''' To bring up the Site index. <br /> <br /> We are going to manualy add two site to the project. Double click on the first cell in the Site Name Column. Enter a name for the site and press the Tab key to move the to next cell. Enter a Latitude for the site and press Tab. Enter a Longitude. This is the minimum required information for a site. Add a second site with the same method. <br /> <br /> Close the Site list and the sites will be shown in the GIS window. <br /> <br /> Sites can also me imported from a CSV file or any delimited text file. See [[Import Sites from text file]].<br /> <br /> == Step 2 - Configure terrain data ==<br /> ===Download Terrain Data===<br /> Terrain data is available from many sources in a wide variety of formats. For this example we will download some terrain data from [[NASA]]. [[NASA|Click here for download instructions]]<br /> <br /> This tool may also be helpful http://www.pathloss.com/mapsearch.html.<br /> <br /> Unzip the file(s) and make a note of where you have unzipped it to.<br /> ===Setup Terrain Database===<br /> Open the Pathloss 5 program, you should see a window with a toolbar and menu. If there is a menu item called &quot;Initialize Program&quot;, you must initialize the program before continuing. <br /> <br /> Click '''''Configure''''' - '''''Set GIS configuration'''''<br /> <br /> Click the '''''Primary DEM''''' tab and select '''''SRTM (World)''''' from the '''''Digital elevation model''''' drop down list.<br /> <br /> Click the '''''File index''''' button and a new window will appear. In the menu of the new window click '''''Files''''' ,'''''Import index''''' and '''''SRTM hgt files'''''.<br /> <br /> Browse to locate the '''''HGT''''' files you have downloaded (You can select many HGT files at once by holding Ctrl or Shift while selecting fles). Click '''''Open''''' and the files will be added to the index list.<br /> <br /> Note the edges of the data for the next step. <br /> <br /> You have now configured Pathloss 5 for SRTM terrain data.<br /> <br /> == Step 3 - Create the links ==<br /> For this example we will manually link the sites. <br /> <br /> You should see the 2 sites marked on the screen. The mouse wheel can be used to zoom the display in and out. <br /> <br /> Select the Point to Point Link tool. This appears on the toolbar as an arrow above a single link. This tool is used to create and interact with links. <br /> <br /> Left click on one of the sites and drag to the other site to create the link. You can now left click on the link to access the modules of the link design tool. <br /> <br /> Right clicking on links or sites will allow you to adjust attributes (appearance) and access other options.<br /> <br /> == Step 4 - Design the links ==<br /> ===Generate Profile===<br /> The first step in designing the link is to generate a path profile. Left click on the link with the PtoP Link tool and select '''''terrain data''''' from the menu.<br /> <br /> This opens the terrain data module in the link design tool. Click on '''''Operations - Generate Profile'''''. Make sure Primary Terrain DEM is selected and that the terrain database set up in the first step is shown. Click the green check mark to generate the profile.<br /> <br /> Once the operation is finished, a status window will be displayed. '''Review this data carefully.''' It should display, &quot;primary usage - 100.0%.&quot; If this is not shown or the usage is less than 100%, check the file listed and the directory, make sure the file exists and is in the correct directory.<br /> <br /> Click the green check to close the status window.<br /> <br /> ===Antenna Heights===<br /> Once the profile has been generated, antenna heights can be calculated. Click on '''''Design - Antenna heights''''' to enter the antenna heights module. <br /> <br /> Click the calculate button (looks like a blue calculator) to calculate antenna heights that satisfy the clearance criteria (100%F1 at 4/3k is the default).<br /> <br /> == Step 5 - Generate reports ==<br /> From the Link Design Tool, select '''''Design - Transmission Analysis''''' <br /> <br /> Select '''''Report - Transmission Summary Report'''''. This opens the report window which is actually a robust editor similar to MS Word. Here you can make any final changes to the appearance of the report. When you are ready, click '''''File - Print''''' to print the report. <br /> <br /> Each module has its own report format. As well, you can select '''''Design - Reports''''' to create batch reports including data from any module and across multiple link files.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Download_and_installation 2009-05-13T19:39:48Z

<p>Paulg: /* A Note on terminology */</p> <hr /> <div>==Downloading Pathloss 5==<br /> <br /> Pathloss 5 is produced by Contract Telecommunication Engineering (CTE). For information on purchasing Pathloss 5 please [http://www.pathloss.com/contact.php contact CTE]. <br /> <br /> With your purchase of Pathloss 5 you will receive a licence email. This email contains important information including your serial number and links for downloading the program as well as the updates. Keep this email somewhere safe and accessible. Use the links in the email to download the program. (This will always download the more recent release.)<br /> <br /> ====A Note on terminology====<br /> '''Installing / Uninstalling''' - This is the process of loading the program on to windows. The program is installed by running pl5_setup.exe and is uninstalled by using the windows Add/Remove Program tool from the Control Panel. A single Pathloss 5 license can be downloaded and installed on many computers, but only one of these computers can be ''initialized'' at a time.<br /> <br /> '''Initializing / Uninitializing''' - This is the process of activating a licence for use. A single Pathloss 5 license can initialized on only one computer at a time. To move a licence from one computer to another, it must be uninitialized from the first computer before it is initialized on the second. The program need not be ''Uninstalled'' from either computer. This procedure is done from within the Pathloss 5 program.<br /> <br /> '''Update vs Upgrade''' - Update means changing to a later build of the program. The licence email contains the link to download an update, updates are always free of charge. Upgrade means adding features such as Coverage or Interference. Upgrades are purchased from CTE and activated within the program.<br /> <br /> ==Installing Pathloss 5==<br /> ===Hardware Requirements===<br /> The Pathloss program will operate on Windows 2000/XP and Vista operating systems. Overall performance will depend on the computer speed and available memory.<br /> ===Installation===<br /> The Pathloss program is packaged with the Install Shield installation program. Start the installation by running the pl5_setup.exe downloaded from the licence email. Follow the on screen prompts to install the program.<br /> <br /> '''Important Note for Vista Users:''' If the setup program can not complete, you may need to run it as Administrator. Right click on the pl5_setup icon and select Run As Administrator.<br /> <br /> ==Initializing Pathloss 5==<br /> When the installation is complete, start the program and click the '''''Initialize program''''' menu item. Enter this serial number from your licence email and click the arrow button. If the Program initialization does not expand, the serial number has not been entered correctly.<br /> <br /> An installation code is created when the serial number has been entered. This installation code must be sent to CTE and an authorization code will be returned. <br /> <br /> If an Internet connection is available, Select &quot;Internet connection&quot; and click the arrow button and the program will process the initialization automatically.<br /> <br /> If an internet connection is not available, then select one of the other installation options. The Program initialization is reformatted with instructions for the option selected.<br /> <br /> For the FAX and EMail options, click the &quot;Copy serial number and installation code&quot; button and send the information to CTE. An authorization code will be returned. Enter this code into the dialog and click the corresponding blue button to initialize the program.<br /> <br /> When the installation is complete, the program menu will be updated and the program is ready to be used.<br /> <br /> ==Uninitializing Pathloss 5==<br /> The program must first be uninitialized if it is to be installed on another computer. The user sends an uninitialization code to notify CTE that the existing installation record is now available for another installation.<br /> <br /> In the Pathloss 5 program, click '''''Configure - Pathloss program - Uninitialize Program'''''<br /> <br /> If an internet connection is available, select &quot;Internet connection&quot; and click the arrow button. The program will be uninitialized only if the communication succeeds.<br /> <br /> In all other uninitialization options, the user must first confirm the operation. This is the point of no return. The program will be uninitialized and the Uninitialize Program dialog will be reformatted with instructions to notify CTE. <br /> <br /> For the FAX and EMail options, click the &quot;Copy serial number and installation code&quot; button and send the information to CTE.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5_-_Download_and_installation 2009-05-13T19:37:37Z

<p>Paulg: Created page with '==Downloading Pathloss 5== Pathloss 5 is produced by Contract Telecommunication Engineering (CTE). For information on purchasing Pathloss 5 please [http://www.pathloss.com/conta...'</p> <hr /> <div>==Downloading Pathloss 5==<br /> <br /> Pathloss 5 is produced by Contract Telecommunication Engineering (CTE). For information on purchasing Pathloss 5 please [http://www.pathloss.com/contact.php contact CTE]. <br /> <br /> With your purchase of Pathloss 5 you will receive a licence email. This email contains important information including your serial number and links for downloading the program as well as the updates. Keep this email somewhere safe and accessible. Use the links in the email to download the program. (This will always download the more recent release.)<br /> <br /> ====A Note on terminology====<br /> '''Installing / Uninstalling''' - This is the process of loading the program on to windows. The program is installed by running pl5_setup.exe and is uninstalled by using the windows Add/Remove Program tool from the Control Panel. A single Pathloss 5 license can be downloaded and installed on many computers, but only one of these computers can be initialized at a time.<br /> <br /> '''Initializing / Uninitializing''' - This is the process of activating a licence for use. A single Pathloss 5 license can initialized on only one computer at a time. To move a licence from one computer to another, it must be uninitialized from the first computer before it is initialized on the second. The program need not be ''Uninstalled'' from either computer. This procedure is done from within the Pathloss 5 program.<br /> <br /> '''Update vs Upgrade''' - Update means changing to a later build of the program. The licence email contains the link to download an update, updates are always free of charge. Upgrade means adding features such as Coverage or Interference. Upgrades are purchased from CTE and activated within the program.<br /> <br /> ==Installing Pathloss 5==<br /> ===Hardware Requirements===<br /> The Pathloss program will operate on Windows 2000/XP and Vista operating systems. Overall performance will depend on the computer speed and available memory.<br /> ===Installation===<br /> The Pathloss program is packaged with the Install Shield installation program. Start the installation by running the pl5_setup.exe downloaded from the licence email. Follow the on screen prompts to install the program.<br /> <br /> '''Important Note for Vista Users:''' If the setup program can not complete, you may need to run it as Administrator. Right click on the pl5_setup icon and select Run As Administrator.<br /> <br /> ==Initializing Pathloss 5==<br /> When the installation is complete, start the program and click the '''''Initialize program''''' menu item. Enter this serial number from your licence email and click the arrow button. If the Program initialization does not expand, the serial number has not been entered correctly.<br /> <br /> An installation code is created when the serial number has been entered. This installation code must be sent to CTE and an authorization code will be returned. <br /> <br /> If an Internet connection is available, Select &quot;Internet connection&quot; and click the arrow button and the program will process the initialization automatically.<br /> <br /> If an internet connection is not available, then select one of the other installation options. The Program initialization is reformatted with instructions for the option selected.<br /> <br /> For the FAX and EMail options, click the &quot;Copy serial number and installation code&quot; button and send the information to CTE. An authorization code will be returned. Enter this code into the dialog and click the corresponding blue button to initialize the program.<br /> <br /> When the installation is complete, the program menu will be updated and the program is ready to be used.<br /> <br /> ==Uninitializing Pathloss 5==<br /> The program must first be uninitialized if it is to be installed on another computer. The user sends an uninitialization code to notify CTE that the existing installation record is now available for another installation.<br /> <br /> In the Pathloss 5 program, click '''''Configure - Pathloss program - Uninitialize Program'''''<br /> <br /> If an internet connection is available, select &quot;Internet connection&quot; and click the arrow button. The program will be uninitialized only if the communication succeeds.<br /> <br /> In all other uninitialization options, the user must first confirm the operation. This is the point of no return. The program will be uninitialized and the Uninitialize Program dialog will be reformatted with instructions to notify CTE. <br /> <br /> For the FAX and EMail options, click the &quot;Copy serial number and installation code&quot; button and send the information to CTE.</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=Pathloss_5.1 2009-05-13T18:44:47Z

<p>Paulg: </p> <hr /> <div>[[Pathloss 5 download and installation]]<br /> <br /> [[Pathloss 5 where to begin]]<br /> <br /> [[Pathloss 5 revision history]]</div>

Paulg //pathloss.com/pwiki/index.php?title=SRTM 2009-05-13T18:35:45Z

<p>Paulg: /* How to use the SRTM data with the Pathloss program. */</p> <hr /> <div>ftp://e0srp01u.ecs.nasa.gov/srtm<br /> <br /> There are 2 verisons of the SRTM files. You can read all about the differences here ftp://e0srp01u.ecs.nasa.gov/srtm/What_are_these.pdf, but basically if the data is available as version 2, use it. It has been cleaned up and most of the blanks, spikes and wells have been fixed.<br /> <br /> From the NASA ftp site:<br /> <br /> ''&quot;Version 1 of the SRTM data consists of the original Digital Elevation Models produced by the SRTM project with data from the STS-99 mission in Feb, 2000, and delivered to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA.) These data are unedited and contain spurious data points in area of low radar backscatter such as water bodies.''<br /> <br /> ''Version 2 is the result of a substantial editing effort by the NGA and exhibits well defined water bodies and coastlines and the absence of spikes and wells (single pixel errors), although some areas of missing data (voids) are still present. The Version 2 directory also contains the vectorized coastline mask used by NGA in the editing, called SRTM Water Body Data (SWBD), in shapefile format.''<br /> <br /> ''Version 2 is a superior product and it is recommended for most users.&quot;''<br /> == How to download ==<br /> SRTM data are distributed in two levels: SRTM1 with data sampled at one arc-second intervals in latitude and longitude (USA only), and SRTM3 sampled at three arc-seconds. Three arc-second data are generated by three by three averaging of the one arc-second samples. The SRTM3 files are arranged by the following continents:<br /> <br /> * Africa <br /> * Australia<br /> * Eurasia<br /> * Islands<br /> * North America<br /> * South America<br /> <br /> You may have to look in the neighboring continent to find the files you need (example: Middle east is in Africa)<br /> <br /> [[Image:region_definition.jpg|thumb|SRTM region definitions]]<br /> The SRTM1 files are arranged by Regions as show in the following graphic courtesy of the NASA ftp to the right.<br /> <br /> Data are divided into one by one degree latitude and longitude tiles in &quot;geographic&quot; projection, which is to say a raster presentation in no projection at all but easy to manipulate and mosaic.<br /> <br /> File names refer to the latitude and longitude of the lower left corner of the tile - e.g. N37W105 has its lower left corner at 37 degrees north latitude and 105 degrees west longitude. To be more exact, these coordinates refer to the geometric center of the lower left pixel, which in the case of SRTM3 data will be about 90 meters in extent.<br /> <br /> The data can be downloaded at ftp://e0srp01u.ecs.nasa.gov/srtm. These files are compressed using pkzip. You will need to unzip the files before they can be used.<br /> <br /> == How to use the SRTM data with the Pathloss 4 program. ==<br /> <br /> You will need the latest version of the Pathloss program. <br /> <br /> The SRTM data uses the WGS84 datum. Your coordinates will be transformed automatically.<br /> <br /> In the Pathloss program click &quot;Configure&quot; – &quot;Terrain Database&quot; and select &quot;SRTM&quot; from the drop down list. Click Setup Primary (or Secondary depending on your selection). Click //File// then //BIL-HDR-BLW// and browse to find and load a file with the HGT extension. The program is now setup to use the selected SRTM file.</div>

Paulg