SoftWright LLC - TAP Tips
Developers of the Terrain Analysis Package Software	Fall 2008

News in this issue Examine Path Profiles in Google Earth SoftWright Survey Plot Multiple Earth Curvatures Plot Space Diversity Links TAP Engineering Seminar - April 20-21, 2009 Las Vegas in March Examine Path Profiles in Google Earth We have added a new capability in the Terrain Analysis Package Software (TAP)tm to give you the ability to view any proposed path profile in Google Earth. In order to use this feature you must have the 3D Display module licensed on your TAP software and a maintenance subscription expiration date later than September 30, 2008. After setting up the path profile in the usual way to see it plotted on the screen, with one click, TAP creates the necessary data file with the path and Fresnel zone information and then will open your copy of Google Earth installed on your local machine. You can then view the path in Google Earth. Not only are you able to see the line of sight plotted, but also the vertical plot of any specified Fresnel zone. It will also plot the horizontal Fresnel Zone on both sides of the path profile. When there is an obstruction on the path, the colored plot on Google Earth will be blocked out as shown in the real example above in the screen print. Using the very powerful resources of Google Earth, you can start at the transmitter end of the link and "fly" down the path to the end of the link, rotating and examining the terrain all along the path. This is particularly helpful if you find significant ground clutter, buildings, water, or terrain obstructions anywhere along the path. Discoveries such as this will empower the link designer to seek solutions to path obstructions very early in the design process or identify the location of obstructions that render an existing link unreliable. With the TAP design tools and Google Earth you can eliminate these problems and provide a more reliable link. For details about the this new capability click here ...

Greetings from SoftWright! SoftWright Survey    We would welcome your taking about two minutes and take our short anonymous survey. Please click here to access the survey. Plot Multiple Earth Curvatures    When you design a microwave link, it is important that both the line of sight and the 0.5 or 0.6 Fresnel zone #1 be completely clear. Any blockage by terrain, vegetation or buildings along the path in this region will produce a significant reduction in received signal level. Since radio waves bend slightly differently from light over the earth's surface due to the atmosphere, it is important to make a curvature correction of the actual terrain elevation in order to comply with the traditional modeling of these links. This effective earth curvature can also vary throughout the year and in different environmental conditions. In the past you had to prepare two separate plots with different specified curvatures in order to prepare a conservative link design. Now both of the curvatures can be plotted on one profile to greatly facilitate analysis of the path. For details as to how to plot multiple earth curvatures click here... Plot Space Diversity Links    You can now plot space diversity microwave links in TAP and see paths to the two receiving antennas. For the FAQ that shows you how to plot both paths on a profile, follow the instructions below. For details about plotting Space Diversity links click here ... TAP Engineering Seminar - April 20-21, 2009    Our first quarterly TAP Engineering Seminar for 2009 is scheduled for April 20-2 at the SoftWright Conference Center in Aurora CO. If you have not attended a TAP seminar in several years, you would benefit greatly from the interactive training approach that we have developed. You will run much of the TAP software and solve a number of design problems using a wide diversity of the TAP software tools. For more details and registration for our upcoming TAP Engineering Seminar... Las Vegas in March    SoftWright will once again be enjoying the lights of Las Vegas in the spring at the International Wireless Communication Expo - IWCE March 18-20, 2009. Mark your calendars and stop by our booth, if you will be attending this large trade show.

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