- Terrain Analysis Package - Technical
Information Publication
- TAP
Tips
- Volume
14 - Number 1 - Summer 2002
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- Russian Engineers
use the new SoftWright Conference Center
- New Quarterly Engineering
Seminars
- Release of OverSite
Software Announced
- New Software Subscriptions
- New Product Support
Options
- New One Second Terrain
Database Soon Available for ALL of US
- Frequently Asked Support
Question
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- Russian Engineers use the new SoftWright
Conference Center
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SoftWright has expanded
their office space in their Colorado headquarters to include
a newly installed conference center. The SoftWright Conference
Center is equipped with hotel-like conference training facilities
and video projection. It is used to provide instruction on how
to use all the SoftWright radio design software products in classes
throughout the year. The inaugural training in the new SoftWright
Conference Center was provided to a group of Russian Engineers
who recently came to Denver for a week long training on the use
of TAP. The group had the benefit of two English/Russian translators
who worked both during the engineering sessions as well as on
several field trips to nearby centers of RF technology. These
Russian engineers are responsible for the design of radio communication
systems that are part of the security systems that protect nuclear
weapons against terrorist attack there. Here are a few photographs
of that training.
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- New Quarterly Engineering Seminars
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- Since 1990 SoftWright has held an annual
engineering seminar for our customers to teach how to use our
software for RF system design as well as how to provide a sound
engineering basis to form the necessary judgments for good engineering
design. For several years, we have been requested to have more
than one per year, because certain persons cannot attend in the
early fall, when we have traditionally held our seminar. We have
completely redesigned our instructional program. Now four times
each year we host a two day engineering conference for training
customers in how to operate the Terrain Analysis
Package(tm) software to perform rf system design. We also
hold a one-day conference in how to use OverSite(tm)
to help with the engineering management of radio transmitter
sites. Training is done in the SoftWright Conference Center at
our offices located in the metropolitan Denver area. The dates
for the next four seminars are:
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- September 16-17, 2002 (TAP Engineering
Seminar)
September 18, 2002 (OverSite Enginneering Seminar)
December 9-10, 2002 (TAP Engineering Seminar)
December 11, 2002 (OverSite Engineering Seminar)
March 3-4, 2003 (TAP Engineering Seminar)
March 5, 2003 (OverSite Engineering Seminar)
June 9-10, 2003 (TAP Engineering Seminar)
June 11, 2003 (OverSite Engineering Seminar)
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- These engineering seminars in no way resemble
a trade show. There are two agendas for the seminars. First of
all we conduct engineering sessions on many areas of RF system
design. The faculty is selected from the support staff of SoftWright
and sometimes also includes academic and industry professionals.
Secondly, we have hands-on training where you will see the TAP
and OverSite software demonstrated, as well as run the software
under the direction of our support staff, to make certain that
you know how to operate the TAP system with confidence. We encourage
you to bring your notebook computer, with TAP and OverSite installed
to use during your instruction. If you do, when you return home,
you will have all the seminar examples on your computer to review
as you desire.
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- The informal environment will allow you
to meet many engineers throughout the world, who are also using
SoftWright tools for their RF system design and radio site administration.
A broad scope of industries will be represented. We can accommodate
20-25 users in our new conference facility. This smaller class
size permits more direct interaction with our staff than was
possible in the hotel setting with much larger groups held only
once per year.
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- Click here
for details of our next Quarterly TAP Engineering Seminar and
fill out an on-line form to register. We have already had persons
register for the September and December seminars.
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- Release of OverSite Software Announced
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- SoftWright has released a new suite of
software that is designed to help those responsible for managing
radio transmitter sites. OverSite
has two modules available, Asset Manager and Intermodultion Products
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- Asset Manager will help you manage all
the administrative details about your radio equipment site within
one database. You can archive and retrieve digital graphics such
as photographs or scanned drawings. You can include complete
frequency databases of sites, space lease information, equipment
maintenance logs and a great deal of other critical information
that is not conveniently recorded elsewhere.
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- With our Intermodulation Products Module,
you can create and use a database of transmitted and protected
(received) frequencies and transmitter and receiver specifications
to prepare different types of intermodulation products studies
in house. These studies can be important for resolving existing
site interference problems as well as preventative by examining
potential problems should a particular new frequency be added
to an existing radio site.
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- New Software Subscriptions
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- For many years SoftWright has developed
and released the annual software upgrade in its products. The
prices for the upgrade varied quite a bit from year to year.
Waiting for the release of new major features was necessary pending
the new software release. We have now changed our policy to no
longer be once a year for upgrades. We have instituted a software
maintenance subscription policy. All new major and minor change
enhancements will be released into use by all customers, who
are on one of the two software maintenance subscription programs
as soon as development and beta testing are completed. You no
longer have to wait for the next year's verison to be released
to have access to these capabilities. You are never obligated
to subscribe to either plan, but should you wish to always have
access to the latest enhancements and new technology that we
include in the software, there will be no delay in having access
to these new capabilities.
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- There are two options for those who wish
this service. You can subscribe to only minor changes or to all
changes including all version increases. You can, of course,
continue to download bug fixes from our web site at anytime at
no charge. Details for these plans can be found on our web site
at http://www.softwright.com/softwaremaintenance.html.
his subscription has replaced our historic annual software upgrade.
If you are not on the current version of TAP, you will need to
purchase and upgrade to that version at the time you start your
subscription. In addition to the ongoing upgrades that will now
be available by downloading from our web site, you will automatically
receive periodic CDs throughout the year with the latest version
of TAP and Oversite as well as updated documentation.
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- New Product Support Options
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- We have also implemented three levels
of product support. We are continually expanding our on-line
support with FAQs and technical articles. These can be browsed
from your hard disk or on our web site at www.softwright.com.
We have an extensive site search engine that will assist you
find all documents that contain any key words that you use, searching
from the home page or other locations on the site. For those
who prefer this level of support, there is no fee. However, individual
access to our support department will no longer be available
without an annual subscription to receive this personalized support.
Again, we do have two fee-based levels from which you may choose.
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- Details about these options can be found
at http://www.softwright.com/usersupport.html.
For each person who has received training by SoftWright within
the past two years, the fee-based support will be extended a
discount, when you select the support option desired.
For an overview of how SoftWright can assist
you please check out http://www.softwright.com/assistyou.html
on our web site.
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- New One Second Terrain Database Soon Available
for ALL of US
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- The release by SoftWright of the a new
1-sec topography data set is expected late this summer. This
is an entirely new topography database. The National Elevation
Dataset (NED) is a seamless raster product produced by the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS). The NED provides elevation data coverage
of the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and the island
territories in a seamless format with consistent projection,
resolution, elevation units, and horizontal and vertical datums.
The USGS has significantly slowed down the development of the
30 meter DEMs, unfortunately leaving some areas where there is
no high-resolution digital elevation data. In these regions one
must presently rely on the 3" database, which has much lower
density of data points and was also generated using much larger
scaled and less-detailed paper maps. This new data set will be
of major benefit to those customers needing better topographic
data for Alaska and these diverse regions throughout the US where
no 30 meter data will be produced. This new database will be
the best of all databases throughout the county. This NED data
set has been developed by merging the highest-resolution, best-quality
elevation data available across the United States into a seamless
raster format. NED is the result of the maturation of the USGS
effort to provide 1:24,000-scale Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
data for the conterminous US and 1:63,360-scale DEM data for
Alaska. The 1-sec database will be on grids that are similar
to the 30 meter files, but the coordinate system is completely
different.
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- We are finalizing the modifications of
all our software to incorporate the benefit of easy use of this
new data set. In addition we are greatly simplifying the configuration
of multiple data resolutions that TAP already supports. At the
same time we are authoring master data files for the entire US
in this new resolution. They will be released once the required
changes in TAP are complete and tested. When this is completed,
this capability to read the new data format will be automatically
added to those TAP systems who are on the Gold Maintenance Subscription
plan.
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- If you would like to be notified by SoftWright
when this new data set is available, please let us know. For
any questions about any of these items, please contact Mr. Curt
Alway at sales@softwright.com
who can respond with detailed answers.
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- Frequently
Asked Support Question
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- Question: How can I improve the presentation
of the coverage studies I compute in TAP?
- Answer: Click
here.
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- This TAP Technical Information
Publications (TIPs) provides suggestions and updated information
to users of SoftWright's Terrain Analysis Package (TAP)tm software.
Questions should be sent to SoftWright by fax or email.
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- This information in TAP TIPs
provides a valuable supplement to the TAP UUser's Manual. Please
print a permanent copy for your records.
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- Terrain Analysis Package and
TAP are trademarks of SoftWright LLC.
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- Copyright 2002 by SoftWright
LLC
- 1010 South Joliet Street - Suite
204
- Aurora, Colorado 80012 USA
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- 303-344-5486 - sales - sales@softwright.com
- support - support@softwright.com
- 303-261-1505 - fax
- http://www.softwright.com
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