[debian/splat] / CHANGES

Release 1.2.0:
By John A. Magliacane, <kd2bd@amsat.org> (22-Dec-2006):

* All graph plotting has been enhanced to include distances, azimuths,
  and in some cases, elevation angles, in numeric form.  Height
  plots (-h option) now include a contour of the Earth's curvature.
  A new -H option was added that behaves the same as -h, except its
  display of heights is normalized to the heights of the endpoints
  along the plotted path.  Graphs now default to PNG rather than GIF
  format to reflect gnuplot's current trend away from .gif output.
  (.gif is still available if your version of gnuplot supports it.)
  Postscript output is now generated in enhanced color.

* SPLAT! can now determine and plot Fresnel Zone clearances.  A new
  -f command-line option permits the Fresnel Zone frequency (in MHz)
  to be specified, otherwise it can be determined from .lrp files when
  path-loss calculations are performed.  Antenna height requirements
  for 60% clearance (0.6 F1) and 100% clearance (F1) of the First
  Fresnel Zone now appear in Obstruction Reports.  These zones are
  also displayed graphically in height plots (-h or -H options).

* Support for antenna radiation patterns has been added.  SPLAT! now
  reads normalized azimuth and elevation antenna field pattern data
  from separate .az and .el files when Longley-Rice studies are performed.
  One degree azimuth and one tenth degree elevation pattern resolution
  is supported along with azimuthal pattern rotation and mechanical
  vertical beam tilt. 

* A bug in the interpretation of the -n and -N command-line options
  was fixed.

* Negative geographical coordinates in DMS format are now (hopefully)
  interpreted and displayed better than before.

* SPLAT! data handling can be changed from imperial units (feet/miles)
  to metric (meters/kilometers) units using the new -metric switch.

* SPLAT! can now generate topographic maps without plotting
  line-of-sight or path loss coverage.  These maps are centered
  approximately on the given tx_site, extend out to a radius
  provided by the -R switch, and can be populated with county
  boundaries and city names, just like SPLAT!'s traditional
  line-of-sight and path loss maps. 

* Support for user-defined terrain files (ground clutter) has been
  added.

* SPLAT! can now generate .geo Georeference Information Files
  when .ppm topography and coverage maps are created, permitting
  the integration of SPLAT! generated maps with X Amateur Station
  Tracking and Information Reporting (www.xastir.org) software.

* SPLAT! can now generate .kml Keyhole Markup Language files that
  when imported into "Google Map", dramatically illustrate the RF
  path between transmitter and receiver locations when performing
  point-to-point analyses.

* Support for exporting Longley-Rice path loss contour studies to
  external data files has been included.  SPLAT! path loss files can
  be used for performing coverage or interference studies outside of
  SPLAT!.  They can also be modified externally (with antenna pattern
  data, for example) through scripts or small utilities, and imported
  back into SPLAT! to generate coverage maps based on the revised
  data without having to re-run any time intensive Longley-Rice path
  loss calculations.

* The documentation was updated to reflect the new features and
  functionality of the software.
  
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Release 1.1.1:
By John A. Magliacane, <kd2bd@amsat.org> (01-Apr-2006):

* An srtm2sdf utility was added to permit SPLAT Data Files to be
  derived from the latest 3-arc second SRTM (STS-99 Space Shuttle
  Radar Topography Mission) digital elevation model data.  The
  quality of this data is *significantly* higher than that of older
  USGS Digital Elevation Models previously used by SPLAT!.  Despite
  the higher quality, some voids in SRTM data sets still exist.
  When voids are detected, the srtm2sdf utility replaces them with
  equivalent elevation data found in existing SDF files (presumably
  generated from older USGS elevation models).  If older SDF files
  are not available, voids are handled through pixel averaging or
  direct replacement.

* Coding changes were made that in concert with the new srtm2sdf utility
  should allow SPLAT! to function over all regions of the planet for
  which SRTM-3 elevation data is available.

* SPLAT's SDF search path priority has been changed.  SPLAT! now
  searches for needed SDF files in the current working directory first.
  If the needed file isn't found, SPLAT! then searches in the path
  specified by the -d command-line option, or in the $HOME/.splat_path
  file.

* The color scheme used by SPLAT! in the generation of Longley-Rice
  path loss maps was noticeably improved.

* A new command-line option (-db) was added to allow constraints
  to be placed on the maximum attenuation contours plotted on
  path loss maps.

* A possible array overflow condition in the ReadPath() function was
  identified and fixed.

* Some very slight coding modifications were made to permit warning-free
  compilation under GCC 4.x.x.

* The usgs2sdf utility was modified John Gabrysch (jgabby@gmail.com) to
  properly handle the latest USGS DEM file format, and to properly scale
  Alaska tiles.

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Release 1.1.0:
By John A. Magliacane, <kd2bd@amsat.org> (29-Jan-2004):

* Extensively modified by J. D. McDonald in January 2004 to include
  the Longley-Rice propagation model using C++ code from NTIA/ITS.
  In addition to analyzing line-of-sight propagation paths, SPLAT!
  now generates multi-color maps illustrating predicted signal
  strength (path loss), path loss graphs, path loss reports,
  and terrain height graphs.  The default earth radius, as well
  as the default line-of-sight and path loss analysis range used
  by SPLAT! may also be modified using new command-line options.

* splat.c was renamed to splat.cpp to reflect changes necessary
  to merge with Longley-Rice C++ code.  A C++ compiler (gcc/g++)
  is now required to compile SPLAT!.

* The documentation was updated to reflect the new features
  of the program.

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Release 1.0.3:
By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (10-Jun-2002):

* Coverage areas are now processed four times faster than before.
  (TNX KC6YSO)

* Determination of antenna height above average terrain (HAAT) based
  on FCC Part 73.313(d) (Prediction of coverage) has been added.

* Site analysis report generation has been added when coverage mode
  is invoked.  These reports include ground height above mean sea
  level, antenna height above mean sea level, antenna height above
  average terrain, and average terrain calculated at azimuths of 0,
  45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, and 315 degrees.

* Added site location information in degree, minute, second format,
  as well as antenna height above average terrain to the content of
  obstruction reports.

* Elevations below sea-level are now safely handled.

* Greyscale of topographic maps generated by SPLAT! is now referenced
  between the highest and lowest elevations in the survey, instead of
  between the highest elevation and sea-level.  This change in reference
  permits regions below sea level to be discernible in the map, and
  allows subtle terrain variations to be clearly evident over regions
  having relatively flat terrain.

* The documentation was updated.

* Several other minor coding changes/bug fixes were made.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Release 1.0.2:
By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (14-May-2002):

* SPLAT! now buffers data while reading bzip2 compressed SPLAT
  Data Files (SDFs).  A 100 MHz Pentium now loads compressed SDF
  files 208% faster than before, and takes only 2 seconds longer
  than an uncompressed file.

* Configuration, compilation, and installation scripts now invoke
  bash instead of sh.  The -ffast-math compiler option was removed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Release 1.0.1:
By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (22-Apr-2002):

* The maximum number of transmitter/repeater sites handled
  per analysis has been increased from two to four.

* Improved the configuration, compilation, and installation scripts.
  Now ./configure compiles and installs the program, man page, and
  all associated utilities in one command.

* Some minor coding changes were made, including the addition of an
  #include <stdlib.h> in each of the utilities to silence a compilation
  warning issued by gcc version 3.x.x about the use of the exit() function.

* The README and documentation files were updated.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Release 1.0.0:
by John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (08-Apr-2002):

* First public release of SPLAT!