Pathloss 4.0 Terrain Data OVERVIEW seared eenter's oa vest gs Hercites sertonree warts sterner as MANUAL DATA ENTRY SITE COORDINATES ante meEiER Geographic Defaults ....... . i UTM Coordinates cee Geographic Coordinates Format Inverse Coordinates : Forward Coordinates ...... Coordinate Transformation NADCON OPERATIONS ...... ‘Measurements . Delete Points Reverse Profile Match End Point Survey Angles ....... Strip Redundant Points ............ Expand Flat Terrain .........0.606 STRUCTURES AND GROUND TYPES......... # ul Single Structure... Structure Range ... Off Path Structure ..... Ground Type ......+5 FILE CONVERSION Convert Text File .. DIGITIZER OPERATION Digitizer Buttons Initial Preparation: Digitizing Procedure Sixteen Button Cursor . Switch SettingsTerrain Data Pathloss 4.0 iiPathloss 4.0 Terrain Data OVERVIEW A terrain profile consists of a table of distances and elevations along the great circle arc between two sites. On most practical paths less than 150 kilometers, the difference between a straight line and the great circle arc is negligible. The Terrain Data module is used to create a terrain profile using any of the following methods: + manual entry of distances and elevations taken from topographic maps. + direct entry of distance - elevation data from topographic maps using a digitizing tablet. * conversion of distance - elevation data in text files from other sources. + direct entry of distance - elevation data from a terrain data base. Optional structures and ranges can be added to the path. The Terrain Data display shows the terrain data entry form at the top and the profile display at the bottom. Once the second point has been entered, the pro- file will be drawn and will be continually updated as the data entry proceeds. ‘To move toa specific point on the profile, click on the profile display. The first point past the mouse cursor will be selected. Alternately, you can click on a line in the terrain data entry form. ‘The Home, End, PgUp, PgDn keys, the up and down cursor keys and the vertical scroll bar are used to move through the profile. MANUAL DATA ENTRY ‘Type in the entries as requested by the prompt. The left, right, up and down cursor keys and the Enter key will register the data in the form. If the numeric key pad is used with the Enter key, the hilited bar will au- tomatically advance to the next distance or elevation field. This is the fastest method for manual data entry. ‘To edit an existing entry, place the hilited bar on the item and press the F2 key. Alternately, you can double click on the item. Distance entries can only be edited within the range of the previous and next distances. There are no restric~ tions on elevations. To insert a point, the distance-elevation must be entered as the last point in the form. The new point will be inserted at the correct location in the terrain data entry form. To delete a point, place the hilited bar on the line, hold down the Ctrl key and press the letter SITE COORDINATES Site coordinates can be entered in either a geographic or grid coordinate format. The choice of grid coordi- nates is made in the Geographic Defaults dialog box. Page 1 of 18Terrain Data Pathloss 4.0 Geographic Defaults Select Configure - Geographic Defaults from the Pathloss menu bar to access the Geographic Defaults dialog box. Use Datum or Ellipsoid An ellipsoid is defined by its major and minor Blond Clarke 1886 axis. These are used to calculate distance and az- Datum [North American 1527 = imuths from the geographic coordinates and to gipsod— convert geographic coordinates to grid coordi- Gages] nates such as UTM. A datum defines the hori- “=~. ~ at zontal measurement plan. Each datum is based Laltude <7) Lengiude poe on an ellipsoid, and contains measured correc- __{ Norhein Hemiephete | (© Wester Hemieph | Daum | tion factors to allow geographic coordinates de- © SeushemHenishers C EastanHeméshare | | Elio fined in one datum to be transformed to another. Gusraopate In mosteases, the “Use Datum” option should be [Unveca TeneveseMercain UTM) =] selected. This will allow coordinate transforma- SeéondsFomat tion between datums. (e.g. NAD-27 ¢2 NAD- _ [Neate 001 Second = 83). This is important when using terrain data- yar cones bases with a horizontal datum different from the : topographic maps. A typical example is a DTED on Cancel tls terrain database which uses the WGS-84 datum SSS and site coordinates referenced to the NAD-27 atum, If the user has specified the NAD-27 datum, then the site coordinates will be automatically trans- formed to WGS-84 to generate the profile. ‘The "Use Ellipsoid" option is required to handle specialized regional mapping. An example of this is Swit- zerland, which generally uses the European Datum of 1950. This datum uses the International (1924) ellip- soid. The Swiss grid coordinate system on the other hand uses the Bessel 1841 ellipsoid. In this case, the “Use Ellipsoid” option should be used. Datum Selection First select the datum and then select the specific region for the datum. The requirement for the region se- lection is necessary because there is no general equation to transform coordinates from one datum to an- other. The transformation uses data to determine the new coordinates. The breakdown of regions within a datum is a compromise between the transformation accuracy and the number of regions. Note that a datum. selection automatically defines the ellipsoid, Ellipsoid Selection If the "Use Ellipsoid” option has been checked, select the specific ellipsoid from the drop down list. Latitude Formats If the latitude format is set to the northern hemisphere, a minus sign before the degrees will change the entry to a southern latitude. If the southern hemisphere is selected, the opposite is true. Alternately, the let- ters ‘N’ and ‘S’ can be used to specify a northern or southern latitude respectively. In UTM coordinates, the northing entry must be a negative number for a southern latitude. Page 2 of 18Pathloss 4.0 Terrain Data Northern Hemisphere Selected Southern Hemisphere Selected Data Entry Result Data Entry Result 49.3224 493224.0N 493224 49322408 -49 3224 4932.24.08 -49 32.24 493224.0N 4932248 4932 24.08 493224N 493224.0N Longitude Formats Ifthe longitude is set to the western hemisphere, a minus sign before the degrees will change the entry to an eastern longitude. If the eastern hemisphere is selected, the opposite is true. Alternately the letters ‘E” and ‘W’ can be used to specify a eastern or western longitudes respectively. Wester Hemisphere Selected Eastern Hemisphere Selected Data Entry Result Data Entry Result 115 32.24 115 3224.0 W 115 3224 11532. 24.0B “1153224 11532240 -115 32 24 11532. 24.0W 1153224E 115 32240E 115 3224W 115 3224.0 W Precision Geographic coordinates can be formatted to the nearest second, nearest 0.1 second or the nearest 0.01 sec- ond. This does not affect the calculations, because the coordinates are saved as double precision numbers. Grid Coordinate System A grid coordinate system represents the simplest method of taking coordinates from a topographic map and guarantees a high degree of repeatability. The following grid coordinate systems are currently support- ed: Universal Transverse Mercator Gauss conformal (South Africa) New Zealand grid UK grid ‘Swiss Grid Irish grid Gauss Kruger WGS-84 to MGI Austria WGS-84 to HGRS87 Greece ‘The data entry forms for inverse and forward coordinates will be formatted for the selected grid coordinate system, UTM Coordinates ‘The UTM coordinate system divides the world into 60 zones, each zone covering 6 degrees of longitude. ‘The zone numbers increase eastwards, starting at the international date line. The central meridian of each zone is the backbone of the system for that zone. Along the central meridian, the Y coordinate or northing of a point, is the distance from the equator in kilometers. Page 3 of 18Terrain Data Pathloss 4.0 East-west grid lines are attached to the central meridian at right angles and follow great circle paths away from it. These are lines of constant northing and do not follow parallels of latitude, since parallels of latitude are not great circles. The X coordinate or easting is measured along these grid lines relative to the central ‘meridian, which by definition has an easting of 500,000 kilometers. Finally, the north-south grids are drawn as lines of constant easting. If UTM coordinates outside the above definition are entered, they will be converted to the standard defini- tion. If the "Allow non standard UTM zones" option is checked, the original data entry will be preserved. Geographic Coordinates Format Latitudes and longitudes are entered in degrees, minutes and seconds separated by a space, or in decimal format or any combination of these two methods. The following examples illustrate the format: DataEntry Format Geographic Defaults Settings Latitude 49 049.00 00.00 N__ northern hemisphere - nearest 0.01 second 49.5 04930 00S southern hemisphere - nearest second 493001 049 3001.0N northern hemisphere - nearest 0.1 second 49 30.5 (049 30 30.00S southern hemisphere - nearest 0.01 second -49 049.00 00.00 S__ northern hemisphere - nearest 0.01 second 49.5 049 30.00.00. N southern hemisphere - nearest 0.01 second Longitude 122 122.00 00.00 W__ western hemisphere - nearest 0.01 second 122.5 1220000E eastern hemisphere - nearest second 1221202 122 1202.0 W_ western hemisphere - nearest 0.1 second “122145 122 1430.00 E western hemisphere - nearest 0.01 second ‘The format defaults to the hemisphere setting in the Geographic Defaults dialog box. A negative sign must precede the degrees to format the entry for the opposite hemisphere. The number of decimal places of the seconds is also set in the Geographic Defaults dialog box. This has no effect on the accuracy, because co- ordinates are saved as double precision numbers. Page 4 of 18Pathloss 4.0 Terrain Data Inverse Coordinates Select Coordinates - Inverse from the Terrain Data menu bar. Coordinates for both sites are centered in the inverse coordinates data entry form. The path distance and the azimuths are [Tattude 561417 00N calculated. Coordinates may be entered in ei- | Longitude 11715 45.00 ther geographic or the selected grid format. True azimuth () 644145) 2449277 | The program automatically converts between | Distance (km) aaari the two systems. Easting (km) 445.2364 463.7278 “Northing (kr) —aRia ana 888 0B Forward Coordinates UTM zone TIN TiN ‘The Site 1 coordinates, azimuth and path Brownvele Latitude. | length are entered in the forward coordinates data entry form. The Site 2 coordinates are cal- culated. The Site 1 coordinates can be entered in either geographic or the selected grid format. The program will convert between the two systems. Distance is entered in either miles or kilometers depending on the measurement system. The azimuth is entered in degrees from true north. Coordinate Transformation Select Coordinates - Transform from the Terrain Data menu bar to access the coordinate transformation di log box. Select the new datum and region and click the Trans- form button. Click the Accept button to use the trans- formed coordinates. The datum will also be changed. NADCON The Pathloss program uses the NADCON data to transform latitudes and longitudes between the North, American Datum of 1927 (NAD27) and the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). The transforma tion is only valid in the United States territorial limits NADCON is the United States Federal standard for NAD27 to NAD83 datum transformations. The following operations are affected: Transform Coordinates Trantor Brownvale Peace Rivet Laltude 56042400N 96 1411.00 Longitude 1175247.00W 11715 4500W Flom Datun _Naith Amescan 1827 i Bich Cola) TeDatum Noth American 1963 x Region Laltude 5042401N 981411.05N Longitude 117525174W 11715 4967W Uncestanly X= +10 meters Y= 19meters Cancel eco | (sea co * Coordinate transformation between the NAD27 and NAD83 datums in the Coordinates - Transform procedure in the Terrain Data module. * All terrain database operations using the USGS 7.5 minute - 30 meter DEMS including: - single profile generation - radial profiles generation in the Coverage Module - network backgrounds - terrain view Page 5 of 18Terrain Data Pathloss 4.0 If the NAD83 datum has been specified, then a copy of the user’s coordinates will be automatically trans- formed to the NAD27 datum to read the database. ‘Transformation Procedure To transform coordinates between the NAD27 and NAD83 datums, the following settings Us must be made in the Geographic Defaults dialog box: © Dom “Use Datum” must be checked in the Use Datum or Ellipsoid dialog box. © Elipsoid Either the NAD27 or NAD3 datum must be selected. Datum [Ranh American 1527 jEGH CONUS, Haver Fisto Rice and Vion In the case of the NAD27 datum, the NADCON re- en eee ene ane: Select the NADCON region. gion is an all encompassing term and includes the fol- lowing specific datums and regions: CONUS (lower 48 states) North American datum of 1927 Hawaii Old Hawaiian datum Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Puerto Rico datum St. Laurence Island, Alaska (Old Island datum within Alaska St. George Island, Alaska Old Island datum within Alaska St. Paul Island, Alaska Old Island datum within Alaska Alaska North American datum of 1927 ‘The transformation data is contained in seven files. The program will automatically select the correct file based on the coordinates. Coordinate Transformation Coordinate Transformation is carried out in the Ter- rain Data module. Select Coordinates - Transform. To access this procedure, a datum must be selected and coordinates for at least one site must be entered. Set the “To Datum" to either NAD27 or NAD83 and. then select the NADCON region. Click the Transform button to carry out the coordinate transformation, ‘The Accept button changes the site coordinates to the transformed coordinates. NADCON and the USGS 7.5 minute (30 meter) Ter- rain Database. When the USGS 7.5 minute quad (30 meter) terrain database has been selected, and the input coordinates Page 6 of 18Pathloss 4.0 Terrain Data are in the NAD83 datum, the coordinates will be transformed to NAD27 for the specific database operation, This transformation will always be carried out for any of the region selections available under the NAD83 datum. Primary and Secondary Terrain Database Operation Given the situation below: + User coordinates are in NAD83. + The primary terrain database is set to USGS 7.5 minute (30 meter). + The secondary terrain database is set to the USGS 3 second compressed, GIOPO30 ot any of the DTED selections. These are all referenced to the WGS84 datum. + Due to incomplete coverage of the USGS 7.5 minute database, the secondary database will be used for part of the profile. ‘What region should be selected for the NAD83 datum? ‘The NADCON region should not be selected. Instead use the specific region (i.e. CONUS, Hawaii, Alaska excluding Aleutian Is or the Aleutian Islands). When the program reads the USGS 7.5 minute database, the coordinates will be automatically transformed to NAD27 using NADCON. When the program reads the secondary database, the transformation to WGS 84 will be carried out for the specified region. NADCON Description In addition to the Conterminous United States, the NADCON data is also used to transform data originally expressed in old island datums that exist in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands into data referenced to NAD 83. However all datums, including these, are referred to as NAD 27. The procedure automatically chooses the proper transformation; the user does not need to know the specific name of the original datums ‘Transformation Accuracy At the 67 percent confidence level, the transformation introduces the following uncertainties: + approximately 0.15 meter uncertainty within the conterminous United States (CONUS) + 0.50 meter uncertainty within Alaska + 0.20 meter uncertainty within Hawaii + 0.05 meter uncertainty within Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In areas of sparse geodetic data coverage NADCON may yield less accurate results, but seldom in excess of 1.0 meter. In near offshore regions, results will be less accurate but seldom in excess of 5.0 meters. Farther offshore NAD 27 was undefined. Area File Latitude Longitude Conterminous US (lower 48 | conus.ned 20N-SONW | 63W-131W | 0.25 states) Page 7 of 18Terrain Data Pathloss 4.0 ‘Area File Latitude Longitude Grid-deg ‘Alaska including the Aleutian | alaska.ned 46N - 77N 128W - 194w | 0.125 oe Islands St. Lawrence Is., Alaska - Old | stlrne.ncd 62N-64N | 168w-172W | 0.05 Island Datum within Alaska St. George Is., Alaska-Old | stgeorge.ned | 56N- 5N 169W -171W | 0.01667 Island Datum within Alaska St. Paul Is., Alaska - Old stpaul.ned S7N-58N | 169W- 171 | 0.05 Island Datum within Alaska Puerto Rico and the Virgin | prvined 1IN-19N | 64W-68W | 0.05 Islands Hawaiian Islands hawaiined | 18N- 23N isaw-161w | 0.025 St. George Island and St. Paul Island are part of a region known as the Pribilof Islands. There were two separate datums, one for each island, before NAD 83. The old island datums differ significantly from NAD 27. Data input into NADCON must be consistent with the identified transformation data sets. The trans- formation of misidentified data can result in very large errors (as much as hundreds of meters). The CONUS file covers an area from 20 to 50 degrees north latitude and from 63 to 131 degrees west lon- gitude, The Alaskan file covers an area from 46 to 77 degrees north latitude and from 128 to 194 degrees west longitude. The CONUS and Alaskan files overlap between 46 to 50 degrees north latitude and 128 to 131 degrees west longitude. In this area, the CONUS and Alaskan files agree within 2 centimeters. For those cases requiring precision greater than this, the CONUS file is considered correct. In this overlapping region the CONUS file will always be used in the Pathloss program. Transformations based on NADCON data should be used only within the U.S. territorial limits. OPERATIONS ‘The following functions are implemented in the Operations menu selection: ‘Measurements Select Operations - Measurements from the Terrain Data menu bar to access the Measurements dialog box. Alternately, press the F4 key. System Select either kilometers-meters or miles-feet as the units of measure, The ‘measurement system can be changed at any time. All data in the program is automatically converted to the new system. The measurement system can also be changed using the F5 key or by clicking the left mouse button on the units box in the status bar. Page 8 of 18Pathloss 4.0 Terrain Data Seale Units - Map Scale ‘The scale units and map scale set the conversion between the scale distance and path distance. As an ex- ample, using centimeter units and a map scale of 50000 (150,000), a one centimeter entry in the scale col- umn is converted to 0.500 kilometers in the distance column, ‘These settings are critical when a digitizing tablet is used to enter terrain data and whenever distances are taken from a map in inches or centimeters. Delete Points ‘The following terrain point deletion options are provided: Selected Point Only This selection deletes the current point only. Alternately, hold down the Ctrl key and press the letter "Y" to delete the current point. © Selected oie to End Cabot ee Selected Point to End This selection deletes all points after the selected point. The selected point wil terrain data entry form. become the last point in the Alll Points All terrain points are deleted. Note that all other parameters, including site names, coordinates and the worksheet data are unchanged. Reverse Profile Select Operations - Reverse Profile from the Terrain Data menu bar. The profile is reversed from left to right. All data including the site names, antenna heights, coordinates and the worksheet is also reversed. Match End Point Select Operations - Match End Point from the Terrain Data menu bar. This is used to compare the path length calculated from the coordi-_Caelsted Distance (km) 42.44 nates with the path profile length. The path profile length is the dis- Profile Distance {km} 42:34 tance of the last point on the profile. Cheementend HA sy ‘The profile length can changed to the calculated length by simply changing the distance of the last point in the profile or by proportion- ally changing the distance of each point in the profile. The difference between the calculated and actual length must be less than five percent of the actual length to make the change. If the end point distance is to bbe changed, the calculated path length must be greater than the distance of the second last point in the pro- file. Page 9 of 18Terrain Dats Pathloss 4.0 Survey Angles The survey angles data entry form calculates the eleva- tion difference derived from the measured and calcu- 9 Sere# HP lated vertical angles from Site 1 to a point on the Lettuce (09.73 profile. Select Operations - Survey Angles fromthe | Longitude 7171554730 Terrain Data menu bar. The cursor must not be posi- | KforLight - 1167 tioned at Site 1 trument Height (m) 180 56 1409.73 The following entries are required: ‘+ The height of the instrument above ground level. ‘The default height is 1.6 meters. Measured Angle (d-m-s): | + The value of K for light. The default value for opti- cal K is 716. * The vertical angle measured from the zenith. This can be entered in degrees minutes seconds or as a decimal ‘The data entry form shows the calculated latitude and longitude of the selected point, the calculated vertical angle and the elevation difference derived from the measured vertical angle. Strip Redundant Points Calculation times and memory requirements increase when there are more than 500 terrain data points. ‘Many of the intermediate points do not improve the overall accuracy of the calculations. Profiles generated from a terrain data base can have over 1000 points. If the path crosses over water, there will always be a series of points with identical elevations. Select Operations - Strip Redundant Points from the Terrain Data menu bar. The user is prompted to enter percent tolerance which is denoted by P. The points are removed from the profile according to the fol- lowing algorithm: ‘The maximum and minimum elevations on the profile are determined aS Ejay ANd Ein. An elevation tol- erance, E, is defined as: a Peaks, valleys and points with a structure are always retained. The algorithm scans the profile, examining three successive points in tun with elevations E7, 2 and £3. If E3 - E2 and £2 - El are less than E, then the central point will be marked in red for deletion. ‘To actually remove these points from the profile, select Operations - Accept-Reject from the Terrain Data ‘menu bar. ‘The default tolerance is 0 percent which will remove a point if its elevation is exactly equal to those of the adjacent points. A tolerance of 5 percent is considered extreme. Page 10 of 18Pathloss 4.0 Terrain Data Expand Flat Terrain ‘Terrain profiles developed from topographic maps often have flat top hills and valleys. This effect occurs when the profile crosses the last closed contour. The result may be a lack of clearance or lower values of diffraction loss depending on the application. Additional points can be added in these areas using the ex- pand flat terrain feature. Select Operations - Expand Flat Terrain from the Terrain Data menu bar. The user is prompted to enter a percent of the contour interval. This determines the elevation of the new points. ‘The profile is first scanned to determine the contour interval. If several maps with different contour inter- vals were used to generate the profile, each section will be expanded using that contour interval. Whenever two successive equal elevations are encountered in the profile, a central point is added. The elevation of the central point is increased (or decreased) by the minimum of the specified percent of the contour interval or the value determined by the slope of the hillside. ‘The new point is marked in red for insertion. If the ground type of the first point has been identified as salt or fresh water, the point addition will not take place. To insert these points permanently into the profile, select Operations - Accept-Reject Changes from the Terrain Data menu bar. STRUCTURES AND GROUND TYPES Single Structure Single trees, buildings and water towers can be added to the Seti Hecht in) [100 terrain profile. Only buildings are allowed at the ends of the path. Ifa tree or water tower is added, it will be removed when | Location ka) [7-100 the Terrain Data module is closed. at i i — Place the hilited bar on the structure field at the desired point and press Enter or double click on the structure field. Select ee | Cancel | Hep Single to open the Single Structure dialog box. Select either tree, building or water tower as the structure type. The location field is the distance in kilometers or miles from Site 1. The default value is the distance of the currently selected point; however, any distance can be specified. If required, the program will insert a new point in the profile using linear interpolation. Using this feature itis possible to move an existing structure. Enter the structure height. The height can also be entered or changed directly in the height column of the terrain data entry form. An optional description of the structure can also be entered. To delete a single structure, click the delete button or enter a zero in the height column of the terrain data entry form. This procedure can be bypassed to enter trees only. Enter the tree height in the height column and the struc- ture will default to a tree, Page 11 of 18Terrain Data Pathloss 4.0 Structure Range A continuous range of structures along the path can be specified. Wi = Overlapping ranges are not allowed; however, a single or off path | VF ence Hagin) [2 structure can be located within a range © Bulking Statol Rarge tho)? Place the hilited bar on any structure field and press Enter. Alter- 4{ | at nately, double click on any structure field. Select Range to bring cdaheuealtt— up the Structure Range dialog box. Two arrows appear om the pro- . es OK cic | Cancel | Help file, marking the start and end of the range. Enter the start and end distances of the range or use the horizontal scroll bars to position the arrows at the desired point. The start and end points of an existing range can be edited in the same manner. Select either a tree or building as the structure type. Enter the height of the range. The height can also be entered or changed directly in the height column at the start of the range (SR). To delete a range, click the delete button or enter a zero in the height column at the start of the range (SR). Entering a zero at the end of the range (ER) has no effect. Off Path Structure Off path trees, buildings or water towers can be added to the terrain profile. An off path structure cannot be located at the Stucke Height fn [2 ends of the path. The clearance report in the Antenna oe | Ditenee Off Path fn) [00 Heights module calculates the horizontal clearance to the off sce th; CO Woates Tower Elevation fm) [0.0 path structure. set Tone | Location in FOS a Tae Place the hilited bar on the structure cell at the desired point and press Enter or double click on the structure cell, Select Off Path to open the Off Path Structure dialog box. Select either a tree, building or water tower as the structure type. ‘The location field is the distance in kilometers or miles along the path. The default value is the distance of the currently selected point; however, any distance can be specified. If required, the program will insert a ‘new point in the profile using linear interpolation. Using this feature it is possible to move an existing off path structure. Enter the off path structure height in feet or meters. The height can also be entered or changed directly in the height column of the terrain data entry form. Enter the off path distance in feet or meters. This is a mandatory entry. The remaining two entries, the ground elevation at the off path structure and the description are optional and are for information purposes only. Page 12 of 18Pathloss 4.0 Terrain Data To delete an off path structure, click the delete button or enter a zero in the height column of the terrain data entry form, Ground Type Ground types are classified as poor, average, good, salt water or fresh water. The terms, poor, average and good referto the agricultural properties ofthe ground, Rocky terrain or desert conditions are classed as poor ground while fertile soil is characteristic of good ground. These classifications set the surface conductivity and the relative dielectric constant for the terrain. These parameters are used to calculate the theoretical re- flection coefficient. ‘The default ground type is the same as the last point. In a new file, the default ground type is average. Place the hilited bar on the ground field at the desired point. Press the Enter key or double click on the ground field and select the ground type. The ground type of all succeeding points will be changed to the selected type. FILE CONVERSION Convert Text File A text file containing a listing of distances and elevations can be converted to a Pathloss data file provided that the file does not contain multiple distances and elevations on the same line. The size of the file must be less than 12 kilobytes. Select Text File from the Convert menu on the Terrain Data menu bar. The pro- cedure is given in the following steps: 1, Load the required text file. The file can be edited in the display; however, the changes cannot be saved; and therefore, the original file will always be retained. Determine if the distances and elevations are in kilometers-meters or in miles-feet. If necessary, change the measurement system to match the file units. 3. Define the columns for the distance and elevation. The maximum column number is 6. If a comma is used to separate the entries, then check the comma delimited box. Feld numbers ——) 4. The conversion stops when either a blank line or the end of the file is reached. es z | If necessary, add several blank lines after the last line containing distance- _"evaten |? | elevation data. T Comma doisted nt lace the caret (text cursor) at the start of the first line in the file containing the distance - elevation data. This is the point that the conversion will start Select Convert on the menu bar to convert the file. ‘The site names, coordinates and any other data in the text file can be transferred to the appropriate data entry form using the Windows copy and paste commands (Ctrl C and Ctrl V). Page 13 of 18Terrain Data Pathloss 4.0 DIGITIZER OPERATION ‘Terrain profile can be generated using a digitizing tablet compatible with the GTCO Digi-Pad 5 series. A digitizing tablet completely eliminates © Enable Digtize, manual data entry and will improve overall accuracy. Note that the digitizer ee must be enabled and the comm port set to access the digitizer in the Terrain coy) gpaone Data module. Select Operations - Setup Digitizer from the Terrain Data menu bar. The default communications parameters settings correspond to i the digitizing table default parameters. Baudate Data Bie Digitizer Buttons ‘The following descriptions apply to a four button digitizing cursor. The ont functions of these buttons cannot be changed. The additional features of a-Si [ sop bt =I 16 button cursor are given later in this section. Inthe following descriptions, Fou [- IRSA buttons will be referred to as SET REF, SAME, UP and DOWN. The action arsicrs of these buttons are described in the following paragraphs. F SONA SET REF (Button 4 - Set Reference Point) This button establishes a reference location on the tablet. This is always the first step in entering terrain data. All distances will be relative to this point. Unless the reference location has been selected, data entry cannot proceed. The reference location can be changed at any time. There is no data entry associated with this button press. uP (Button 1 - Go Up One Contour) IF the last elevation is an exact multiple of the contour interval, the UP button enters a terrain point using the last elevation plus the contour interval. Otherwise, the elevation will be the nearest contour greater than the last elevation, Example - Contour Interval = 50 meters Last Elevation _ 1500 meters (1500 is exactly divisible by 50) New Elevation _1550 meters Example - Contour Interval = 50 meters Last Elevation 1521 meters (1521 is not exactly divisible by 50) New Elevation _1550 meters DOWN (Button 3 - Go Down One Contour) If the last elevation is an exact multiple of the contour interval, the DOWN button enters a terrain point using the last elevation minus the contour interval. Otherwise, the elevation will be the nearest contour less than the last elevation. Example - Contour Interval = 50 meters Last Elevation _—_1500 meters (1500 is exactly divisible by 50) New Elevation 1450 meters Page 14 of 18Pathloss 4.0 Terrain Data Example - Contour Interval = 50 meters Last Elevation 1521 meters (1521 is not exactly divisible by 50) New Elevation 1500 meters SAME (Button 2 - Use Last Elevation) ‘The SAME button always enters a terrain point using the same elevation as the last point. This is true even if the previous elevation is not exactly divisible by the contour interval. Example - Contour Interval = 50 meters Last Elevation 1500 meters (1500 is exactly divisible by 50) New Elevation 1500 meters Example - Contour Interval = 50 meters Last Elevation 1521 meters (1521 is not exactly divisible by 50) New Elevation 1521 meters Initial Preparations Verify the following settings in the measurements dialog box: System select the same units (miles-feet or km-meters) as the contours on the topographic map which will be used to digitize the profile. Scale Units select the same units (inches or centimeters) that were used to configure the digitizing tablet. ‘Map Scale select the scale of the topographic map which will be used to digitize the profile. Any errors in the above settings will result in a terrain profile with wrong distances or elevations. This can only be corrected by totally redigitizing the profile Locate the sites and draw a pencil line between the two sites to mark the path profile. Note that the profile can span any number of maps. Attach the topographic map to the digitizing tablet using removable tape. Digitizing Procedure * Enter the first elevation in the terrain data entry form. This is the ground elevation above sea level at Site 1. This elevation must be taken from the map. * Press the F9 key to enable the digitizer. You will be prompted to enter the contour interval. * Place the cursor on the starting point (Site 1) and press the SET REF button. All distances will be refer- enced to this point. + Move the cursor to the first contour interval and press the UP, DOWN or SAME button as applicable. ‘The distance-elevation is automatically entered into the terrain data entry form. Continue this process until the end of the profile is reached. After the second point has been entered, the profile will be dis- played as data entry proceeds. Page 15 of 18Terrain Data Pathloss 4.0 F9 key to exit the digitizing mode and return to normal data entry and editing. If you return to izing mode, the same reference point will be in effect. Note that the reference point can be changed at any time during the digitizing process. Ifthe terrain profile traverses several topographic maps, it will be necessary to re-establish a new reference point at the start of each map. Sixteen Button Cursor ‘The following additional button functions are available using a sixteen button digitizing cursor. Button ‘Funetion 5 ‘UP_I/2 - up one half contour interval 6 SAME - same as last contour 7 DOWN_1/2 - down one half contour interval 8 Set the ground type of the last point to fresh water 2 Set the ground type of the last point to salt water 13 Enter a spot elevation 14 Enter the last spot elevation Button 16 toggles the digitizing mode between the point /iine mode and the continuous mode. The program ‘must operate in the point line mode and this toggle action cannot be disabled. Therefore, button 16 must not be pressed while digitizing a profile. Switch Settings This section lists the switch settings required to operate the program with a GTCO Digi-Pad 5 compatible digitizing tablet. The shaded areas represent the required switch settings. ‘Table 1: Switch 1 Settings (GTCO Digi-Pad 5) BAUD RATE 1200 | 2400 ‘Switch $1-1 ON ON OFF. ‘Switch $1-2 ON OFF | OFF Switch S1-3 ON OFF | OFF Switch 1-4 OFF ON ON ‘Switch ON ‘Switch S1-5 Parity On ‘Switch S1-6 Parity Even | Switch $1-7 2 Stop Bits ‘Switch 1-8 Page 16 of 18Pathloss 4.0 Terrain Data ‘Table 2: Switch 2 Settings (GTCO Digi-Pad 5) ‘Switch OFF Switch ON ‘Switch $2-1 | No Pushbutton Code ‘Switch $2.2 | No Space Switeh $23 Include Carriage Return (ASCH) Switeh $24 Include Line Feed (ASCID) Switeh $2-5 | Low Res ASCU if S3-7 is OFF Low Res Binary if $3-7 is ON ‘Active Serial Port GPIB Aand B A Only B Only PORT Switch $2.6 OFF OFF ON Switch $27 OFF ‘ON ON Switch OFF Switch ON. Switch $2-8 | Alarm Disabled [Amend Table 3: Switch 3 Settings (GTCO Digi-Pad 5) ‘Switch OFF Switch ON Switeh $3-1 Not Unsed Rate - Coordinates / Second Tneremental 12 100 200 Mate Switch 83-2 ON OFF ON ‘Switch $3-3 OFF ON ON ‘Switch $3-4 ‘Switch $3-5 Stylus 4B or 5B Cursor ‘Switch $3-6 ‘Switch $3-8 Inch Seale ‘No Hardware Flow Control Page 17 of 18Terrain Data Pathloss 4.0 Page 18 of 18