Thank you for your interest in our software and services.   We desire to place a great deal of information before you so that you can make an informed decision about your RF system design software needs.  There is no "standard" TAP system.  Every system is configured to do your particular tasks.  Some customers do only one thing over and over, other customers do a wide variety of rf designs ranging from SCADA, microwave, VHF links, two-way radio, and HD Television.  Many persons start with three or four modules of the TAP software and add additional modules as the need arises with expanding projects.  Each module is individually priced.  However, a new TAP system purchase will receive a 10% discount on all software modules (not data).  If multiple TAP systems are purchased at the same time there will be a 40% discount on all subsequent software systems configured the same as the first system, that are purchased at that same time.   A discount is not offered on software maintenance subscriptions, individual support contracts, Basic Mapping - only purchase nor training.

The following information outlines some of the TAP module applications, data files and costs.  In order to do propagation modeling studies you will need both software and topographic data files (digital elevation models - DEMs.)  This page will give you examples of how you might wish to configure your TAP software system.  After reviewing it, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you in making your final selection.  We  also offer annual software maintenance subscriptions to provide ongoing enhancements to the software.  Training in how to use the software is offered both via the web as well as individual support options, including four engineering seminars per year. 

Software

If you need to produce only path profiles you must purchase the Basic Mapping Module (BM).   To produce a radio coverage map you must have the Basic Mapping (BM), RF Facilities (RF) modules and at least one  propagation module such as the Bullington (BU), Longley-Rice (LR) or Okumura (OK) modules.  For assistance in selecting which propagation models you prefer click here.

You might want to include the Aggregate Coverage (AC) Module, if you perform simulcast and best server applications or you wish to plots regions of carrier to interference (C/I).

For plotting both terrain in 3D as well as 3D coverage maps draped over the 3D terrain, you need to add the TAP 3D Display (3DD) software.

You might be interested in the Shadow Map (SM) Module for either remote microwave site location or fixed point to pint locations. 

You might consider Pattern Distortion (PD) Module if you side-mount omni-directional antennas on metal towers.  This will allow you to model the distortion that the tower causes in the horizontal radiation pattern, when you do coverage predictions.

For the FCC filings  you may need the Broadcast (BC) and the Carey (CC) propagation modules.  If you are designing co-linear vertically polarized stacked antennas, such as are used by FM and TV translators, you might consider the Stacked Antenna Module (SA).

For your link budget calculations you may want the Microwave (MR) and/or VHF/UHF (VUR) Reliability Modules . The Reflection Analysis (RA) module may also be of particular interest to you for microwave link design.  The Antenna Elevation (AE) will allow you to automate the determination of antenna heights above ground to provide suitable obstacle clearance for paths.

If you need to prepare a large quantity of path profiles, you might consider the  AutoPath (AP) module .

The Land Use (LU) Module will allow you to increase the accuracy of your rf design work by allowing use of the USGS Land Use/Land Cover information.  It is used by both path profile application and area coverage studies.

To perform  intermodulation studies you will want the Intermodulation Products (IM) module.  This module can work independently of all other TAP modules, if this is all you need to do.  It is fully integrated with all TAP databases, should you have other modules.

The Asset Manager (AM) module will keep track of information of your facilities, equipment and maintenance items and allow you to generate many reports based on your data.  It, too, can operate either independently or fully integrated in your TAP system.

For more details about each of these modules please see our TAP brochure, Intermodulation Products brochure or our Asset Manager brochure.  Our on-line order form may be viewed here.

For detailed information about our maintenance and support options and costs please review SoftWright Can Assist You - Sales, Software Subscription, Training and User Support. As with any quality tool you need to maintain it; and to be most productive you will need to seek out additional services and applications provided by this asset. We believe our software maintenance and support services are the best in our industry, and will at the very least meet or exceed your engineering expectations.

Topography Data

United States

The newest terrain data for the US 50 states to include Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico is the 1-second NED data set. Have a look at this link to see the areas covered.  The cost is $3,300 (On USB Hard Drive) for the entire data set, $2,300 (On USB Hard Drive) for the lower 48-states, or $150 per area-CD as shown in the graphic.  The terrain data, digital elevation models (DEMs),  is also available in a 3-second (about a 90 meter grid), or 30-meter (a fixed 30 meter grid) resolution database.

 Canada

The terrain data for Canada is a 3-second resolution (about a 90 meter grid) and costs $3,000 USD for the entire country, about $500 per province or $45 per square degree.

Mexico

The terrain data for Mexico is a 3-second resolution (about a 90 meter grid) and costs $1,500.00 USD for the entire country or $45 per square degree.

Other Countries

We have 3-second resolution (about 90 meter grid) for almost every country in the world.  Click here to find out details about availability.  We can prepare a price quotation upon request.  The terrain data, digital elevation models (DEMs), for most of the world is also available in a much lower resolution of 30-second  (about a 900 meter grid). CDs with this 30-second data for large geographic areas of the world cost $200.00 USD each.   If you require digitization of paper maps for your reason, we work with several map digitizing companies locally that can provide DEMs from topo maps supplied by you at a cost from $700 to $1200 per map.

If you have your own library of DEMs in a format that is not encrypted (it is known), but is in a format we can open and 'see', for a fee we can convert that data to the TAP Binary format. Our DEM formats are described on our web site and free sample files (http://www.softwright.com/demdown.html) are available for immediate download.

Training, Support and Software Maintenance

We do have a number of options available for learning the TAP software. We have provided an FAQ that will assist you in running the TAP demo. 

We provide an on-line  "Training Outline" for your reference should any questions arise.

We also have quarterly TAP engineering classes at our office in Aurora Colorado. Please, have a look at the following link for more details: Training and TAP Engineering Seminars - SoftWright.

On the SoftWright home page is a search engine that you can use to find more specific FAQs and articles of interest via a key word search. This is a great way to search the hundreds of FAQs and technical articles on our web site.  We can also provide individual support on a prepaid hourly basis.

We are always in process of enhancing the TAP software with new technology, user interfaces and regulatory changes. Therefore, we ask you to consider purchasing an optional annual Software Maintenance Subscription.  Those who are on the Software Maintenance Subscription automatically receive these enhancements as they are released.  This will always make available the latest enhancements without having to go through a procurement process except once per year.  Multiple year subscriptions are also available.   The cost for an annual software maintenance subscription is always 20% of what the current purchase price is for all modules in your TAP system.

Examples of TAP System Configurations

A basic TAP system to predict and plot area coverage will consist of at least three modules: Basic Mapping, RF Facilities and your choice of at least one propagation module.

A basic system for microwave path design will consist of three modules: Basic Mapping, RF Facilities and Microwave Reliabiltiy Module.

A more advanced system for doing land-mobile radio system design might be configured as follows:

How SoftWright can assist you with training, product support and ongoing software maintenance

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