Page 1 of 23

Welcome to Pathloss 5.0 - GIS setup help

This file contains help for the setup of the Geographical Information System (GIS) elements of the
Pathloss program

Overview

The GIS configuration controls the following aspects of the network display:

;specifies the datum and projection of the site coordinates. All site coordinates must be referenced to the specified datum
primary and secondary terrain database definition
clutter 1 and clutter 2 database definition
backdrop imagery definition
vector data definition.

The GIS configuration is saved in a file with the suffix p5g. Furthermore, the full path of this GIS file
name is saved in the network display gr5 file. When a network gr5 file is loaded, the corresponding GIS
file is automatically loaded at the same time

On a new project, any existing GIS p5g file can be loaded. The GIS configuration can be set to load a
default p5g file on start-up. Wen a network gr5 file is opened the GIS configuration will be reset to the
p5g file specified in the network.

The GIS configuration in the PL50L (standalone) program includes its own GIS configuration.
Backdrop imagery and and vector data are not defined in this application. The same p5g files are used
with both the PL50 and the PL50L application. In the PL50L (standalone) program the datum and
projection will be reset to thedatum and projection defined in the pl5 file when it is loaded.

Select Configure - Set GIS configuration to access the GIS setup dialog. Note that this dialog has a files
menu. The setup is organized in the following tabs: site coordinates, primary DEM, secondary DEM,
Clutter 1, Clutter 2, backdrop imagery and vector data. In the PL50L standalone application, the last two
tabs are not shown.

Datum - projection definition

The ideal GIS configuration occurs when all of the GIS components (sites DEM, clutter, backdrop
imagery and vector data) are referenced to the same datum - projection. This is the situation in Planet
data sets; however in many cases the available data in the GIS components may be in a different datum -
projection. A typical example would be NED data in NAD83 (latitude-longitude) and orthophoto
imagery referenced to state plane coordinates. To deal with this situation each of the GIS tabs has its
own datum - projection setting.

These are organized alphabetically in terms of a general

projection category and the specific projection. Many
projections such as the British National Grid or the Swiss
National System are unique and when one of these
categories are selected, the corresponding datum will be
automatically set. On other projections, such as the
Universal Transverse Mercator projection, the user must

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 2 of 23

set the datum.

A special projection category is the Geographic projection. This means that the coordinates are in
latitude and longitude only. A rectangular projections is not used. The user must set the datum in this
case.

Note that the geographic coordinates latitude and longitude are always present. Distance and azimuth
calculations use latitude and longitude. Path profiles are created by calculating the points along the path
which follow a great circle are between sites. Using the special geographic projection, it is possible to
have only the latitude and longitude. If any other projection is specified, both the latitude - longitude and
the projected coordinates are specified.

Some projections categories are classed as fixed or variable. These are

Australian map grid AGD 66 fixed zone or variable zone

Australian map grid AGD 84 fixed zone or variable zone
Map grid of Australia MGA 94 fixed zone or variable zone
Universal transverse Mercator (UTM) fixed zone or variable zone
Gauss confrom - South Africa - fixed meridian or variable meridian

Geographic data can be specified in either latitude- longitude or in projected coordinates. If a variable
zone is selected, in a UTM projection, then the following operation will be in effect:

If latitude - longitude are entered, the corresponding easting, northing and UTM zone will be calculated.
To enter the projected coordinates, the easting northing and the UTM zone must be entered to calculate the corresponding
latitude

If a fixed zone is selected, in a UTM projection, then specific zone must be specified. The following
operation will be in effect:

If latitude - longitude are entered, the corresponding easting, northing for the specified UTM zone will be calculated.
To enter the projected coordinates, only the easting and northing must be entered to calculate the corresponding latitude.
The fixed zone specified

The use of variable zone definitions in terrain elevation and clutter databases has other implications
which are described in these specific sections.

A datum includes the parameters to transform coordinates to and from the WGS84 datum. On regional
datums which cover a large geographic area, the datum can include a number of regions with specific
transformation parameters for that region. In these case the user must also set the specific region.

Site coordinates

The first step is to set the datum and projection as described above. All site coordinates must correspond
to the datum specified here. This tab also includes several data entry and formatting options

Hemisphere selection

Internally, the program uses the standard convention of positive latitudes in the
northern hemisphere and positive longitudes in the eastern hemisphere. The user

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 3 of 23

has the option of setting any hemisphere as positive as a data entry convenience.
When site data is imported into the program, the hemispheres are defined in the import procedure.

Latitude format

If the latitudes are positive in 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
letters `N' and `S` can be used to specify a northern or southern latitude respectively.

Note that the latitude hemisphere selection also affects the zone in the Universal Transverse Mercator
projection. The redundancy between UTM coordinates in the northern and southern hemispheres is
removed by specifying the zone as north or south (e.g. 10N). A negative zone number has the effect of
specifying the opposite hemisphere in the same manner as a negative latitude.

Northern Hemisphere Selected Southern Hemisphere Selected

Data Entry Result Data Entry Result

49 32 24 49 32 24.0 N 49 32 24 49 32 24.0 S

-49 32 24 49 32 24.0 S -49 32 24 49 32 24.0 N

49 32 24 S 49 32 24.0 S 49 32 24 N 49 32 24.0 N

Longitude Formats

If the 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.

Western Hemisphere Selected Eastern Hemisphere Selected

Data Entry Result Data Entry Result

115 32 24 115 32 24.0 W 115 32 24 115 32 24.0 E

-115 32 24 115 32 24.0 E -115 32 24 115 32 24.0 W

115 32 24 E 115 32 24.0 E 115 32 24 W 115 32 24.0 W

Precision

Geographic coordinates can be formatted to the nearest second, nearest 0.1 second or the nearest 0.01
second. This does not affect the calculations, because the coordinates are saved as double precision
numbers.

Latitude Longitude Data Entry Format

Latitudes and longitudes are entered in degrees, minutes and seconds separated by space, or in decimal
format or any combination of these two methods. The following examples illustrate the format:

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 4 of 23

Data Entry Format Geographic Defaults Settings

Latitude

49 049 00 00.00 N northern hemisphere - nearest 0.01 second

49.5 049 30 00 S southern hemisphere - nearest second

49 30 01 049 30 01.0 N northern hemisphere - nearest 0.1 second

49 30.5 049 30 30.00 S 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

122.5 122 00 00 E eastern hemisphere - nearest second

122 12 02 122 12 02.0 W western hemisphere - nearest 0.1 second

-122 14.5 122 14 30.00 E western hemisphere - nearest 0.01 second

Advanced Site Coordinate Options

Reference latitude and longitude coordinates to WGS84

The following example illustrates the use of this option

Projection British National Grid

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 5 of 23

Datum Ordnace Survey Great Britain 1936

Region England.

The initial grid coordinates are X = 540000, Y = 235000 meters

The corresponding latitude and longitude are 51 59 43.25N and 00 02 21.85E. Note that these
coordinates are referenced to the OSGB36 datum.

Suppose now that these coordinates were inadvertently used assuming a WGS84 datum. The error
would be 113.6 meters in X and 47.7 meters in Y.

If the "Reference latitude and longitude coordinates to WGS84" option is checked, then a two step
conversion is used from latitude - longitude (WGS84) to British National Grid XY. The intermediate
latitude longitude in OSGB36 would not appear.

Latitude Longitude - to grid coordinate calculation sequence.

If the user enters the latitude and longitude, the projected grid coordinates are calculated and vice versa.
Note that the calculation uses the major and minor axis of the ellipsoid.

Suppose the user has taken the UTM eastings and northings for a series of sites from a topographic map
and entered these into the program. The user then notices that the datum was incorrectly set and
therefore the latitude and longitude values are wrong. To salvage the work, the user would set the
calculation sequence to "Recalculate the latitude - longitude from the projected XY coordinates" and
then change the datum.

Projected coordinate system designation

This option specifies the grid coordinate labels in data entry forms and reports.

The easting and nothing designations are unambiguous; however X and Y designations can have
opposite meanings on some projections. For example, in the Swiss National Grid system, X corresponds
to northing and Y to easting.

Digital Elevation and clutter Models

The following description is applicable to both digital elevation and clutter models. The term DEM
(digital elevation model) is used for both elevations and clutter databases. A DEM is a regular array
(rows and columns) of data. These rows and columns can be considered to form two different
arrangements

The rows and columns form an x-y axis grid. The data is defined at the intersections of the x and y grid lines.
The rows and columns form rectangular cells. The data represents the average value in the cell area and is defined at the
center of the cell.

The horizontal extent of the data is determined by the grid spacing or the cell size and the number of
rows and columns. Suppose the xy grid spacing is one kilometer and the cell size is also one kilometer.
A horizontal extent of 100 kilometers would require 101 rows / columns for grid referenced data and
100 rows / columns for cell referenced data.

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 6 of 23

The horizontal reference can be in geographic or projected coordinate system. For example the data base
might be described as a 3 arc second in the case of a geographic reference or 30 meters in database using
a UTM projection. In both cases the horizontal datum must be known.

Some DEMS use a file naming convention is used to identify the horizontal extents. In others, the
spacial data is in For example the SRTM hgt files are in one degree by one degree blocks. The file name
is based on the south west corner coordinates and the resolution of either 3 arc seconds or 1 arc second is
determined by the size of the file. Other databases provide the spacial information in external files

The usual data format is an unsigned 16 bit integer. This can represent any elevation in meters relative to
sea level or an index into a clutter definition table. Some DEMs will use 8 byte integers provided that
the actual range of data values can be accommodated. Other DEMS use floating point numbers.

The actual data file contains only the elevations or clutter values and is written as a continuous sequence
of data values. The file may contain a header describing the extents and resolution of the file or this
information may be available in external files Several common formats are given below.

data is written in columns from south to north starting at west edge and proceeding to the east edge
data is written in rows from west to east starting at the south edge and proceeding to the north
data is written in rows from west to east starting at the north edge and proceeding to the south edge

BIL file format

BIL ("Band Interleaved by Line) is a generic GIS data file format. A single band (elevation or clutter) is
used in all databases in this program and this would be more correctly denoted by BSQ (Band
Sequential). BIL files have the following characteristics.

the data is referenced to the center of a cell

data is organized in rows running from west to east. The origin can be in the south west or north west corner.
data format can be 16 bit integer, 8 bit integer or IEEE floating point
byte order can be big-endian or little-endian ( Motorola - Intel)
the spacial reference can be geographic or a projection such as UTM. The file contains only the elevation or clutter data. An
external file index is used to define the extents of each file.
Planet data is an example of BIL projected data. The US NED is a an example of BIL geographic data.

File Locations

Other that the Site coordinates tab, each tab includes a Setup button which specifies the location of the
files associated with that tab. These files can be located in individual directories or in a main or common
directory. If a directory is specified for a file, the program first looks for the file in that directory. If the
file is not found or the file directory is not specified, the program looks for the file in the main directory.

File Index

A file index specifies the extents and resolution of the data files. This is the lookup table which maps the
coordinates of a point to the database file name. The mapping procedure checks for file with overlapping
areas and uses the file with the higest resolution. The File index uses a standard grid data entry form for
which details are provided in the general program operation section. The following fields are used:

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 7 of 23

west, east, south, north edges

number of rows and columns
x and y cell sizes
UTM zone - standard meridian this field is only used on projections which have been specified as variable

Either the cell sizes or the number of rows and columns can be specified. The other fields will be
calculated. If only the x cell dimension is entered, it is assumed that the y cell is the same size.

All dimensions must correspond to the specified projection. For example a DTED file (geographic)
would have the edges specified in degrees and the cell size in seconds as follows:

west edge = 105W, east edge = 104W, south edge = 51N, north edge = 52N, x cell = 6 (seconds) y cell =
3 (seconds)

UTM projected data would have all units expressed in meters as in the example line below

west edge = 535590.0 m, east edge =545590.0 m, south edge = 721330.0 m, north edge = 731330.0, x
cell = 10m

mention temporary file index here

talk about how the index is used and always the best resolution

Import Methods

Select Files - Import index on the File index menu bar. A submenu of the available import methods is
displayed. The following methods to import an index are used:

if the data files include header information or uses a file naming convention, a standard windows file open dialog is use to
multi select the files. The headers are read and the index is automatically generated. Examples of this method are DTED
and SRTM hgt files
ESRI Arc Info/Grid employ separate files with the suffixes hdr, blw, and prj files to define the extents and projection of the
data file which usually has a bil suffix. These files can be used to automatically generate an index item for the file.
A text file index is included in Planet type data sets. This file can be imported using the standard text import utility
described in the general program operation section.
The file index menu may include an item to convert an ASCII file to the binary DEM format. This procedure will
automatically generate an index for the converted file

DEM Parameters

Right click on an index item or select Edit - Parameters from the

File index menu bar. The DEM Parameters dialog shows the
default DEM configuration.

data type - default value - do not change

byte order - A change may be necessary when using the generic BIL projected
and geographic formats.
location - default value - do not change
units - default value - do not change
no data value - changes allowed based on specific data file information.

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 8 of 23

treat no data values as sea level - the default value is false. Users can change
this based on actual knowledge of the area.
read data as.. The default setting are "4 point weighted average" on DEMs and single point on clutter data bases. If the
DEM contains embedded building data, this should be set to a single point read
file organization - default value - do not change
file origin - on BIL data, this setting effectively turns the display upside down. A change may be necessary when using the
generic BIL projected and geographic formats

Primary and Secondary DEMS

A primary and secondary DEM can be configured. Their

usage is controlled by the profile generation options under
Configure - PL50L options -Terrain data. If both primary
and secondary databases have been configured and are
checked in the options, the program will start with the
primary database. If the operation (profile or elevation
backdrop) is not complete, then the secondary database will
be used to fill in the missing sections. Therefore, the primary
data base should have the best resolution.

The default and recommended setting is to use the primary

DEM only. If the operation fails then it is a simple matter to
check the secondary DEM and the user can inspect the different areas in which this DEM was used.

When a profile is first generated for the first time, the DEM file usage is written to the notepad.

Note that it is possible to configure a DEM with different data sources provided that they are both in the
same database category and are referenced to the same datum. For example, in the BIL geographic
database, one could load the GTOPO30.ndx index file and then add SRTM files to the index. The
program would always use the SRTM file (the best resolution) if available.

The following sections provide the setup procedures for the various database formats supported by the
program.

On completion of the setup procedure, generate a path profile in the terrain data section of the program.
The site coordinates must be within the south-north and west-east edges of the DEM file. In the case of
the BIL projected database, the following default DEM parameters may need to be changed based on the
results of a test profile. In the primary or secondary DEM tab, click the File index button and then select
Edit - Parameters or right click on a data cell

byte order - change from Motorola-Spark to Intel or vice versa if the elevations are missing or erratic
file origin - change the origin from the SW corner to the NW corner or vice versa if the elevation backdrop appears to be
upside down
treat no data values as sea level - use this setting if elevations are missing when a portion of the profile is over water. The
missing values will be replaced by 0 elevations.

BIL projected DEM setup procedure

Use this option for Planet type data and ESRI GRIDASCII projected data. Select the primary or
secondary DEM tab and then select the BIL projected data format from the digital elevation model drop

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 9 of 23

down list. The basic setup procedure is described below:

Set the datum and projection for the data source. All data files used in this database selection must be referenced to this
datum.
Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files.
Click the File index button. Depending on the specific DEM format, the following options are available to import an index
from external files. Select Files - Import Index.

For Planet type databases, select "text file index" item. This uses the standard text file import utility
described in the general program operation section

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

If the DEM files are previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII utm files" and
multi select the DEM files. Note that the file suffix "utm" means that this is a projected DEM as opposed
to a geographic DEM. The actual projection is not necessarily UTM.

The File index includes a conversion utility from ERSI GRIDASCII to a binary format. Select Convert -
GRIDASCII and multi select the files to be converted. Note that the windows file open dialog includes
an option to include the specific directory in the index

BIL geographic DEM setup procedure

Use this option for ESRI GRIDASCII geographic data. Select the primary or secondary DEM tab and
then select the BIL geographic data format from the digital elevation model drop down list. SRTM,
NED and GTOPO39 DEMS are examples of the BIL geographic DEM. Preconfigured options for these
databases are available. The basic setup procedure is described below:

Set the datum corresponding to the data source. All data files used in this database selection must be referenced to this
datum. Set the projection to geographic (latitude-longitude)
Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files.
Click the File index button. Depending on the specific DEM format, the following options are available to import an index
from external files. Select Files - Import Index.

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

For SRTM hgt files, a file open dialog is used to multi select the hgt files. The index will be created
using the file name for the extents and the file size for the resolution.

If the DEM files have been previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII geo
files" and multi select the DEM files.

The File index menu includes a conversion utility from ERSI GRIDASCII to a binary format. Select
Convert - GRIDASCII and multi select the files to be converted. Note that the windows file open dialog
includes an option to include the specific directory in the index

NED (CONUS) setup procedure

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 10 of 23

This is a specific implementation of the BIL geographic DEM. The term CONUS refers to the 48
contiguous states. The BIL file has the following characteristics:

the data origin is the north west corner.

data format can be 16 bit integers or 8 bit integers depending on the elevation range in the file
byte order is big-endian (Motorola)
the spacial reference is geographic with a resolution of 1, 1/3 and 1/9 arc seconds. The datum is NAD83. Spacial details are
given in external ESRI blw and hdr files

Select the primary or secondary DEM tab and then select the NED (CONUS) data format from the
digital elevation model drop down list. The datum is automatically reset to NAD 83 using a geographic
(latitude - longitude projection).

Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files.
Click the File index button. The following options are available to import an index from external files. Select Files - Import
Index.

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

If the DEM files have been previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII geo
files" and multi select the DEM files.

NED (Alaska) setup procedure

This is a specific implementation of the BIL geographic DEM for Alaska. The BIL file has the following
characteristics:

data is referenced to the center of a cell

data is organized in rows running from west to east starting in the north west corner.
the data format is a 16 bit integer
byte order is big-endian (Motorola)
the spacial reference is geographic with a resolution of 2 arc seconds. The datum is currently NAD27. Spacial details are
given in external files ESRI blw and hdr files

Select the primary or secondary DEM tab and then select the NED (Alaska) data format from the digital
elevation model drop down list. The datum is automatically reset to NAD 27 using a geographic
(latitude - longitude projection).

Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files.
Click the File index button. The following options are available to import an index from external files. Select Files - Import
Index.

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

If the DEM files have been previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII geo
files" and multi select the DEM files.

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 11 of 23

SRTM (World) setup procedure

SRTM data provides 3 arc second world wide coverage in the latitude range 60N to 60S. One arc
second data is available for the United States. The data is available in ESRI BIL format and in 1 degree
by 1 degree hgt files. This is a specific implementation of the BIL geographic data format with the
following characteristics.

the data origin is the north west corner.

data format can be 8 or 16 bit integers in the ESRI BIL format. The hgt files use 16 bit integers.
byte order is big-endian (Motorola)
the spacial reference is geographic. The datum is WGS84. Spacial details are given in external files in the ESRI BIL version
and are derived from the file name

Select the primary or secondary DEM tab and then select the SRTM (World) data format from the
digital elevation model drop down list. The datum is automatically reset to WGS 84 using a geographic
(latitude - longitude projection).

Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files.
Click the File index button. The following options are available to import an index from external files. Select Files - Import
Index.

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

For SRTM hgt files, a file open dialog is used to multi select the hgt files. The index will be created
using the file name for the extents and the file size for the resolution.

If the DEM files have been previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII geo
files" and multi select the DEM files.

GTOPO30 (World) setup procedure

The GTOPO30 DEM provides world wide coverage with a 30 arc second resolution. This is a specific
implementation of the BIL geographic data format with the following characteristics.

data is organized in rows running from west to east starting at the north west corner.
data format is 16 bit integers
byte order is big-endian (Motorola)
the spacial reference is geographic with a resolution of 30 arc seconds. The datum is WGS84. Spacial details are predefined
in the program

Select the primary or secondary DEM tab and then select the GTOPO30 (World) data format from the
digital elevation model drop down list. The datum is automatically reset to WGS 84 using a geographic
(latitude - longitude projection).

Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files.
Click the File index button. Note that the complete index is automatically set The following options are available to add
additional file indexes from external files. Select Files - Import Index.

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 12 of 23

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

For SRTM hgt files, a file open dialog is used to multi select the hgt files. The index will be created
using the file name for the extents and the file size for the resolution.

If the DEM files have been previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII geo
files" and multi select the DEM files.

DTED setup procedure

DTED (Digital Terrain Elevation Data) is the US Defense Mapping Agency binary terrain data format.
The basic DTED data format is given below:

data is written in columns from south to north starting in the south west corner. each column begins with a header and ends
with a check sum of the elevations.
the elevation data is defined at the intersection of the row column grid lines
data format is a 16 bit integer
byte order is big-endian (Motorola)
the datum is WGS84. the spacial reference is geographic. The east - west resolution is 3 arc seconds DTED level 1 and 1 arc
second for DTED level 2. The north - south resolution varies with latitude as shown below for DTED level 1 data

0 to 50 - 3 sec 50 to 70 - 6 sec 70 to 75 - 9 sec 75 to 80 - 12 sec 80 to 90 18 sec

Select the primary or secondary DEM tab and then select the DTED data format from the digital
elevation model drop down list. The datum is automatically reset to WGS 84 using a geographic
(latitude - longitude projection). The basic setup procedure is given below:

Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files. This will depend on the selected directory

structure as described below

DTED files can be indexed using the main default directory or individual directories for each file. Another option is to used
a defined directory structure and a file naming convention for these file. In the following arrangements the file name
suffix is dt1 for level 1 data and dt2 for level 2 data.

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 13 of 23

USDMA defined directory names are based on the longitude e.g W072. File names in that directory are
based on the latitude e.g. N34.dt1. In this arrangement the file would be (main directory)\W072\N34.dt1.

Canadian DTED file naming convention - this is the same as the USDMA convention with four zeros
added to the directory and file names. The file name in this case would be (main directory)\W0720000
\N340000.dt1.

the Pathloss version 4.0 file naming convention uses the latitude and longitude e.g. W072n34.dt1. The
file name is unique and does not depend on the directory name. The files can be all located in a single
directory or can be saved in a user defined data structure based on latitude or longitude. Using the
directory format specifier "%x%03X" the file name would be (main directory)/W072/W072N34.dt1

USGS 1:25000 ASCII DEM files can be converted to the DTED file format. This can be carried out from the Setup dialog
or the File index. In the file index, the conversion will automatically create an index.
If the file index method is used, click the File Index button. The select the Files - DTED file index menu item. Mu lit select
the DTED files to create the index

CDED (Canada) setup procedure

CDED (Canadian Digital Elevation Data) files are provided in the USGS 1:250 000 ASCII DEM file
format. These are available in a 3 arc second resolution for 1:250 000 scale mapping and 0.75 arc
seconds for 1:50 000 scale mapping. The files are converted to a DTED file format with the suffix "dtd".
The basic format is shown below:

Data is written in columns from south to north starting in the south west corner. Each column begins with a header and ends
with a check sum of the elevations.
the elevation data is defined at the intersection of the row column grid lines
data format is a 16 bit integer
byte order is big-endian (Motorola)
The datum is NAD83
The the spacial reference is geographic (latitude - longitude). The grid spacing is based on the coordinates at a maximum
and minimum resolution of 0.75 and 3 arc seconds for the 1:50 000, and 3 and 12 arc seconds for the 1:250 000
respectively, depending on latitude.

Select the primary or secondary DEM tab and then select the CTED (Canada) data format from the
digital elevation model drop down list. The datum is automatically reset to NAD83 using a geographic
(latitude - longitude projection).

Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files.
Click the File index button. Then select the Files - DTED file index and multi select the DTED files. The index lines will be
created based on the file header information.
The ASCII CDED files must be converted to the DTED format to be used in the program. In the File index select the
convert menu item. Multi select the CDED files and the conversion will automatically generate the index for the
converted files.

USA 3 sec compressed setup procedure

Three arc second terrain data for the United States in a compressed format is available for use with the
Pathloss program. This data has been taken directly from the USGS 1:250,000 ASCII DEMs. The
elevations in these files are in meters relative to mean sea level. The south-north resolution is 3 arc

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 14 of 23

seconds. Below 50 the west-east resolution is 3 arc seconds. Between 50 and 70 the resolution is 6
arc seconds and 9 arc seconds above 70.The error checking on these files consisted of the following
verifications.

Each elevation must be within the range specified for both the entire file and the specific column.
The absolute value of all elevations including the maximum and minimum values must be less than 10000 meters.

A total of 29 files did not pass this criteria and these were edited. The majority of errors involved the
maximum elevation in the file. Other errors included extreme elevations (-32467) at the end of columns.
These files have all been edited. None of the changes involved interpolating elevations. Most of the
errors occurred at sea level.

All files are contained on a single CD-ROM and are organized in directories based on longitude under a
main directory 3SEC_USA. The directory names are based on the longitude of the southwest corner of
file e.g. W095. The file names are based on the longitude and latitude of the southwest corner. At
latitudes less than 50, the files have been split into two halves at the central longitude of the file. The
letter L (left) or R (right) is appended to the file name. The file suffix is always cte (compressed terrain
elevations). As an example, the file W095N44R.CTE represents the western half of the one degree block
whose southwest corner is located at 44north and 95west. The file is located in the directory
3SEC_USA\W095 on the CD-ROM. The basic setup procedure is given below:

Select the primary or secondary DEM tab and then select the USA 3 sec compressed data format from
the digital elevation model drop down list. The datum is automatically reset to WGS84 using a
geographic (latitude - longitude projection).

Click the Setup button and set the main directory to the location of the 3SEC_USA directory.
As this database uses a file naming convention in a fixed directory structure, a file index is not used and the setup procedure
is complete

Clutter

The term clutter in the Pathloss program refers to land cover, terrain clutter, terrain morphology.. or in
other words anything above the bare earth. Two clutter databases can be defined; however, unlike the
terrain DEMS these do not function as primary and secondary and only one clutter database can be
selected at any one time. The primary use of this arrangement is to calibrate clutter heights. There are
three basic types of terrain clutter databases.

The clutter database contains an index to a clutter definition table. This table provides a description of the clutter; however
in general, there is no height information available. In this case, two tables must be defined. The first is the file index
common to all databases which defines the extents of the data and the resolution. The second table
The database contains the actual clutter height above ground level. In this case, there is no description of the clutter
available.
Clutter heights are determined from the difference between the terrain elevation DEM and a second DEM defined in the
clutter database. For example, the terrain data base contains embedded building and ground cover data along with the
terrain elevations. The clutter data base contains only ground elevations. The clutter heights is the difference between the
two database readings. The reverse situation is also provided for.

Click on the GIS Setup menu item to open the Configure Geographic System window and then click
either the Clutter 1 or Clutter 2 tab. Then select the clutter database from the clutter model drop down
list. The following clutter models are provided.

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 15 of 23

Clutter Definition

The "Definition" button will

be available when the clutter database if of the clutter description type only.

The clutter definition can be read from a text file. Select Files - Import text file. The import procedure
uses the standard text file import utility described in the general program operation section

The definition contains the following fields: ID, description, height, ground type, color and the clutter
category. In most cases only the ID and description will be available. The remaining fields are user
defined and are described below:

Height

This the height of the clutter above ground level in meters. The description alone is of limited value in
the design of point to point links. The user enters representative heights for each clutter description.
Where a zero height is to be assigned as in the case of water, just leave the height field blank.

Note that a copy of the clutter definition table is saved in the pl4 file. This can be edited for the specific
path independently of the main definition.

Clutter height calibration using SRTM data is described in the Terrain data design section.

Ground Type

The ground types (poor, average, good, water) set the surface conductivity and the relative dielectric
constant which are used to calculate the theoretical reflection coefficient. Differentiation between fresh
water and salt water is based on the terrain elevation. If the elevation is zero and the ground type is
specified as water, then the values for salt water are used, otherwise the fresh water is assumed.

Color

The color definitions are used in the clutter backdrop in the network display and the individual profile
drawings.

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 16 of 23

Clutter Category

Clutter heights are sufficient in point to point link design where the objective is simply to provide
clearance above the clutter. In mobile applications, additional data is assigned to clutter as follows;

Location variability uses a log normal distribution defined by a standard deviation - sigma. Sigma will depend on the type
of clutter
Loss at the mobile due to local clutter. This loss will be a function of frequency.

There is no standard for clutter descriptions. The rational for

the clutter descriptions did not include telecommunications
design. In order to provide the additional definitions for mobile
applications, the method proposed in the TIA document TSB-
88.2-C is used here. Ten clutter categories are defined which
contain the mobile data definitions as follows:

open land agricultural

rangeland water

forest land wetland

residential mixed urban/ buildings

commercial/ industrial snow and ice

Select the Clutter loss menu item. Select the clutter category from the drop down list. Default values for
the clutter loss versus frequency are taken from TIA TSB-88.2-C. All values are user editable.

Note that this data is saved in the GIS configuration file (p5g file). Local and area studies will used these
values if a clutter data base has been defined,

BIL projected clutter setup procedure

Use this option for Planet type clutter. Select the Clutter 1 or 2 tab and then select the BIL projected

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 17 of 23

clutter from the clutter drop down list. The basic

setup procedure is described below:

Set the datum and projection for the data source. All data files used in this database selection must be referenced to this
datum.
Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the clutter files.
Select the clutter database format. Planet type databases use the clutter description only format.
Click the File index button. Depending on the specific clutter format, the following options are available to import an index
from external files. Select Files - Import Index.

For Planet type databases, select "text file index" item. This uses the standard text file import utility
described in the general program operation section

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

If the clutter files are previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII utm files"
and multi select the clutter files. Note that the file suffix "utm" means that this is a projected clutter file
as opposed to a geographic clutter file. The actual projection is not necessarily UTM.

The File index includes a conversion utility from ERSI GRIDASCII to a binary format. Select Convert -
GRIDASCII and multi select the files to be converted. Note that the windows file open dialog includes
an option to include the specific directory in the index

If the clutter data base format is clutter description only the click the Definition button and carry out the
following steps:

Select the Files - Import text file. this procedure uses the standard text file import utility described in the general program
operation section.
Enter values for the clutter height. Leave this field is blank for a zero height.
Select the ground type. The classifications good, average and poor refer to the agricultural properties of the terrain.
Set the color for the clutter description. Double click on the color cell.
If the clutter will be used in local or area studies, then it will be necessary to map each clutter description to one of the
standard ten clutter categories. This step sets the location variability and the clutter loss versus frequency data for the

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 18 of 23

clutter.
Select the clutter loss menu item to view or edit the standard clutter category data.

BIL geographic clutter setup procedure

Use this option for Planet type clutter. Select the Clutter 1 or 2 tab and then select the BIL projected
clutter from the clutter drop down list. The basic setup procedure is described below:

Set the datum for the data source. All data files used in this database selection must be referenced to this datum. Set the
projection to geographic (latitude - longitude)
Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the clutter files.
Select the clutter database format.
Click the File index button. Depending on the specific clutter format, the following options are available to import an index
from external files. Select Files - Import Index.

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

For SRTM hgt files, a file open dialog is used to multi select the hgt files. The index will be created
using the file name for the extents and the file size for the resolution.

If the clutter files are previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII geo files"
and multi select the clutter files.

The File index includes a conversion utility from ERSI GRIDASCII to a binary format. Select Convert -
GRIDASCII and multi select the files to be converted. Note that the windows file open dialog includes
an option to include the specific directory in the index

If the clutter data base format is clutter description only the click the Definition button and carry out the
following steps:

Select the Files - Import text file. this procedure uses the standard text file import utility described in the general program
operation section.
Enter values for the clutter height. Leave this field is blank for a zero height.
Select the ground type. The classifications good, average and poor refer to the agricultural properties of the terrain.
Set the color for the clutter description. Double click on the color cell.
If the clutter will be used in local or area studies, then it will be necessary to map each clutter description to one of the
standard ten clutter categories. This step sets the location variability and the clutter loss versus frequency data for the
clutter.
Select the clutter loss menu item to view or edit the standard clutter category data.

NLCD-1992 (CONUS) setup procedure

The US National land cover data - 1992 is a special implementations of the BIL geographic clutter
model. The term CONUS refers to the 48 contiguous states. The BIL file has the following
characteristics:

the data origin is the north west corner.

data format is 8 bit integers

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 19 of 23

the spacial reference is geographic with a resolution of 1 arc seconds. The datum is NAD83. Spacial details are given in
external ESRI blw and hdr files

Select the Clutter 1 or 2 tab and then select the NLCD-1992 (CONUS) data format from the clutter
model drop down list. The datum is automatically reset to NAD 83 using a geographic (latitude -
longitude projection).

Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files.
Click the File index button. The following options are available to import an index from external files. Select Files - Import
Index.

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

If the DEM files have been previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII geo
files" and multi select the DEM files.

Click the definition button. An default definition is available for this clutter model
Note that the clutter heights specified in the default definition are completely arbitrary and are not representative an any
specific area. Edit the clutter height values ae required. Leave this field is blank for a zero height.
Select the clutter loss menu item to view or edit the standard clutter category data.

NLCD-1992 (Alaska) setup procdeure

The US National land cover data - 1992 for Alaska is a special implementations of the BIL geographic
clutter model with the following data format:

the data origin is the north west corner.

data format is 8 bit integers
the spacial reference is geographic with a resolution of 2 arc seconds. The datum is NAD27. Spacial details are given in
external ESRI blw and hdr files

Select the Clutter 1 or 2 tab and then select the NLCD-1992 (Alaska) data format from the clutter model
drop down list. The datum is automatically reset to NAD 27 using a geographic (latitude - longitude
projection).

Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the DEM files.
Click the File index button. The following options are available to import an index from external files. Select Files - Import
Index.

For ESRI Arc Info/Grid BIL files, select the "bil, hdr, blw files" item and load any file with these
suffixes. Note that the windows file open dialog includes an option to include the specific directory in
the index.

If the DEM files have been previously converted GRIDASCII files, then select the "GRIDASCII geo
files" and multi select the DEM files.

Click the definition button. An default definition is available for this clutter model
Note that the clutter heights specified in the default definition are completely arbitrary and are not representative an any
specific area. Edit the clutter height values as required. Leave this field is blank for a zero height.

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 20 of 23

Select the clutter loss menu item to view or edit the standard clutter category data.

Backdrop Imagery

Click on the GIS Setup menu item to open the Configure Geographic System window and then click the
Backdrop Imagery tab. Backdrop imagery files can be in the following formats: TIFF, geoTIFF, BMP,
JPEG, PNG. As in all GIS categories, the first step is to set the image datum and projection. In the
special cases of geoTIFF files and MapInfo tab files, the datum and projection information is contained
in the file. When the file is entered into the file index, the datum - projection information will be
automatically set

Geo-referencing Method

The second step is to decide on the geo-referencing method. In order to use an image as a backdrop,
geographic information must be given so that the sites, and vector data appear at the correct locations on
the image. This can be accomplished by either edge referencing or manually geo-referencing the image.

Edge referencing is the preferred method and is applicable when the image uses a rectangular projection
and the projection grid is aligned horizontally and vertically with the image edges. In this case geo-
referencing consists of specifying the projected coordinates of the west, east, south and north edges of
the image. In this method multiple tiled images can be used in the backdrop. Planet imagery and all geo-
tiff files are examples of edge referenced imagery.

Using the manually georeferencing procedure, only one image can be displayed. The user identifies a
number of points on the display and enters the corresponding coordinates. An affine transform is used to
position the sites and vector data on the backdrop image. The manually georeferencing procedure is
described below.

Click the Setup button and select the required

geo-referencing method.

Image files can be located in a individual

directories or in a main or default directory. If a
directory is specified for an image file, the
program first looks for the file in that directory. If
the file is not found or the file directory is not
specified, the program looks for the file in the
main directory.

Edge referenced file index

Click the file index button to access the file index. The required data entries are: file name, west, east,
south and north edges and the file type. The cell size (image resolution) will be calculated and is for
information purposes only. The "Show" check box is used to hide the selected image. Select the Files -
Import Index menu item. The following methods are available to import a file index entry:

Text file index

If the file index is available in an external text file as is the case for Planet type imagery, select "text file
index" item. This uses the standard text file import utility described in the general program operation
section

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 21 of 23

GeoTIFF
file

Select
the
geoTIFF
file to
display
the
geoTIFF
parameters.
The
exclamation
icon
indicates
that
sufficient
information
is
available to create the index set the datum and projection. Click the Create index button to complete the
index.

Create 8 bit palette bit map

Very large 24 bit color ortho imagery files in the order of 350 Mbs are available from the USGS. The
processing time for a single file generally results in poor performance; however if the network display
includes several of these files, the memory mapping will fail. The solution to this is to convert the file to
an 8 bit palette version. This reduces the file site by a factor or 3 for 24 bit color and 4 for 32 bit color.
There is no perceptible change in the image quality. Note that this process can take a considerable time
to complete. There is no progress status indicator at this time.

Manual Geo-referencing

Click on the Geo-reference button to open the geo-reference window. Note that the button name and
function changes depending on the geo-reference method selected in the setup section.

The geo-reference window uses the same navigating techniques as the main network display

MapInfo tab file

If a MapInfo tab file is available, then the geo-referencing data can be read directly from this file. Select
File - MapInfo tab file menu item and open the required tab file. The image file will be loaded and
displayed and the geo-referenced data will be displayed. Click the Finish button to finalize the operation.

The message shown at the right may appear if the edges

of the file can be used to geo-reference the image. Edge
referencing is the preferred method and this option should
be used wherever possible

Procedure

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 22 of 23

Select the File - Image file and load the required image file. Note that the zoom and pan features
including the mouse wheel zoom are the same as used in the network display.

The basic procedure is to identify a pixel on the display and enter the coordinates for that pixel. These
coordinates must correspond to the backdrop imagery projection. In order to select a pixel, the cursor
must be in the selection mode. Click the selection cursor on the tool bar

Pixel Selection.

Move the cursor to a point with known coordinates and click the left mouse button. The location is
identified as a red square. Typically this would be the intersection of grid lines or a landmark. The
values for the X and Y pixel location will be entered. Enter the coordinates of this point in the edit boxes
labelled Projected X and Y. An optional label for the point can also be entered. Click the "Add point" to
add this geo-referenced point. The point will now be marked with a blue square.

Editing a Geo-referenced point

Select a point by clicking on its Label name in the first column of the geo-point list. This fills in the edit
boxes with that point's information. To edit the data, make the required changes in the edit boxes and
click the "Modify point" button to update the data. To delete the point, click the "Delete point" button.

Usage Hints

At least 3 points are required to fully geo-reference an image. Adding more points can greatly improve
the accuracy for certain projections. For UTM and similar projections, three points are sufficient,
whereas geographic (latitude - longitude) coordinates may require more points for desired accuracy. For
best results the points should be spaced out around the entire image with a good sampling of the
variations in both the x and y axis. Points in a line are not suitable for georeferencing and a warning may
be generated. Once 3 points have been entered, the dialog bar will report the calculated coordinates to
the right of the geo-point list. You can use this to check the accuracy of the calculation.

Problem geo-referenced points may be recognized by checking the error columns in the geo-point list. If
any points have an error that is abnormally large compared to the other points, there may be a problem
with its coordinates.

When the geo-referencing is complete, click the "Finish" button. A message may appear that the geo-
referenced points are suitable for an edge referenced image as above. This edge referenced method is
recommended due to a simpler calculation and the ability to tile images.

Clicking the X in the window frame will close the window and lose all changes. There is a warning
before this happens.

Vectors

ESRI shapefiles and Planet vector data are supported. In the case of shapefiles, only the basic vector
outlines are drawn. For Planet vectors, the line colors and styles can be set. Click on the GIS Setup menu
item to open the Configure Geographic System window and then click the Vector tab. The basic
procedure is given below.

Set the datum and projection corresponding to the vector data. All vector files must be referenced to this datum and

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017
 Page 23 of 23

projection.
Click the Setup button and set the main directory for the vector files. These files can be located in a individual directories or
in a main or default directory. If a directory is specified for a vector file, the program first looks for the file in that
directory. If the file is not found or the file directory is not specified, the program looks for the file in the main directory.
Click the File index button. The vector file names and their horizontal extents are defined here. The required fields are: file
name, west, east, south and north edges and the type of vector file. The units of the edges are dictated by the projection.
For Planet type vectors, select Files - Import text file index. This procedure uses the standard text file import utility
described in the general program operation section
For shape files, select the Files - ESRI shape files menu item and then select the required shape file (shx). Note that this is a
multi select operation. The index will be created from the shapefile data.

For the Planet vector format, click the

Definition button to set the vector colors, line style and line width

file:///C:/Users/Administrador.PC_USER/AppData/Local/Temp/~hh6A9B.htm 11/24/2017