2 By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (11-Apr-09):
4 * Introduced one arc-second high-resolution versions of SPLAT!
5 (splat-hd) and the srtm2sdf utility (srtm2sdf-hd) to permit
6 detailed topographic and RF signal analyzes based on SRTM-1
7 digital elevation models.
9 * Introduced a new configure script that generates the appropriate
10 MAXPAGES parameter prior to compiling SPLAT! based on user
11 interaction at configuration time.
13 * Added transmitter EIRP, estimated received signal power level
14 (in dBm), estimated received signal power density (in dBW/m^2),
15 and received signal power density to Path Analysis Reports.
16 EIRP can also now be expressed as dBm in place of ERP in
19 * Added a new mapping mode that plots contours of received signal
20 power levels in dBm using the new -dbm option. New .dcf files
21 control the color scheme of the plotted contours.
23 * The function of the -db option has been expanded to serve as a
24 contour threshold limit for all three mapping modes (path loss,
25 signal strength, and signal power level).
27 * New -ano and -ani (alphanumeric output and input) options have
28 replaced the -plo and -pli (path loss output and input) options,
29 and can contain either path loss data (as before), field strength
30 data (new), or received signal power level data (new). Path loss
31 figures in .ano files ignore the effects of transmit antenna
32 pattern, while field strength and received signal power levels
33 take antenna pattern into account.
35 * Uniform ground clutter height can now be specified using the new
38 * Several bugs in SPLAT!'s UDT file handling were fixed.
40 * Bugs affecting the operation of the -f switch were identified
43 * The reported field strength and the corresponding voltage induced
44 across the receive antenna in Path Analysis Reports were found to
45 be 2.14 dB too low. The cause was identified and fixed.
47 * Some modifications were made in coding and scripting in response to
48 changes that have occured in the latest versions of gcc and bash.
50 * The documentation was updated to reflect all the improvements.
53 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
56 By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (30-Jul-08):
58 * Fixed a problem that sometimes caused SPLAT! to hang indefinitely
59 when reading some cartographic boundary files on some platforms.
61 * Fixed a problem introduced in v1.2.2 that sometimes caused black
62 horizontal and/or vertical dotted lines to appear in path-loss
63 and signal strength contour plots.
65 * The UDT file switch was described as -udt in the documentation,
66 but recognized as -u in SPLAT!. SPLAT! was modified to reflect
69 * The -R option can now increase (as well as limit) the .ppm image
70 size when generating topographic maps.
72 * Dots ('.') are now permitted in the base of filenames passed to SPLAT!
74 * Further improvements in accuracy were made to both SPLAT! and the
75 srtm2sdf utility. Users are encouraged to re-create their .sdf
76 files using the latest version of srtm2sdf for the best performance.
78 * The loading and display of cartographic boundary files now works
79 for any region of the planet.
81 * A -gpsav command-line switch option was added to instruct SPLAT! to
82 preserve the temporary working files it creates when invoking gnuplot.
83 This permits users to view and edit these files, and even re-run
84 gnuplot outside of SPLAT! (Tnx John McMellen)
86 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
89 By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (10-May-08):
91 * Cleared up some very small inaccuracies (+/- 1 pixel) through better
92 numerical rounding techniques.
94 * Transmitter site location names now appear in .ppm maps even if no
95 city location files are loaded into SPLAT!
97 * Fixed a problem that prevented operation over paths that extended
98 across the Prime Meridian.
100 * Fixed a problem that produced incorrect TX-to-RX distances in the
101 Site Analysis Report when the -metric switch was used. (Tnx Martin, M0ADY)
103 * When generating .ppm map contours, SPLAT! is now slightly more liberal
104 when loading SDF files to help ensure the contour doesn't get cut off
105 if it should approach the boundary of an SDF file.
107 * Added a new utility called "bearing" (under utils) that determines
108 distance and azimuth bearings between two site location (.qth) files.
110 * The man page installation process was improved.
112 * Some very minor documentation updates were made.
114 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
117 By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (18-Oct-07):
119 * SPLAT! now imports transmitter effective radiated power information and
120 predicts received field strength signal levels (dBuV/m) and antenna
121 voltage based on the transmitter's antenna pattern, computed path loss,
122 and ERP. ERP information is specified on the ninth line of SPLAT! .lrp
125 * The ability to plot signal strength contour maps has been added. The
126 color schemes for plotting signal strength and path loss contour maps
127 can now be customized by editing the contents of .scf and .lcf files
128 for each transmitter site. In addition, both signal strength and path
129 loss contour maps can now be generated for multiple transmitter sites,
130 with the greatest signal strength (or least path loss) illustrated in
131 overlapping regions between sites.
133 * A new -ngs switch assigns all topography to the color white in .ppm
134 contour maps. The white background can be made transparent using
135 simple graphics utilities for merging SPLAT! contour maps with other
136 Mercator projection maps and graphics files of equivalent size and
139 * Path loss and signal strength contour regions can now be exported to
140 Google Earth as a semi-transparent ground overlay using the -kml switch.
142 * The default contour map filename now defaults to the basename of the
143 transmitter site .qth file (or first transmitter site within a network)
144 with a .ppm extension (rather than "map.ppm").
146 * The Fresnel zone clearance percentage, which was fixed at 60% in the
147 past, is now user-definable using the new -fz command-line option.
149 * Information previously contained in SPLAT! Obstruction Reports has now
150 been merged with Longley-Rice path loss information into a single Path
151 Analysis report (with a .txt extension). (Longley-Rice output (.lro)
152 files are no longer generated.)
154 * Graph plotting (the -l option) no longer needs to be forced to perform
155 a Longley-Rice path analysis in point-to-point mode. If a .lrp file is
156 available and contains the information needed, Longley-Rice path loss
157 information will be automatically included in SPLAT!'s Path Analysis
158 Report when performing a point-to-point analysis.
160 * In addition to information previously contained, SPLAT! Path Loss Output
161 (-plo) files now contain additional information including path loss
162 considering the effects of the transmitting antenna's radiation pattern
163 (if pattern data is available), and field strength values (dBuV/m)
164 based on pattern data and ERP data (if available). An asterisk at
165 the end of each line indicates the path to the point referenced in
166 the file is obstructed by terrain.
168 * The srtm2sdf utility now handles 3-arc second SRTM in .BIL (Band
169 Interleaved by Line) format, as well as the usual .HGT format.
171 * SPLAT!'s associated itm.cpp file was updated to include the latest
172 public domain ITM code released on June 26, 2007.
174 * References in source code and documentation to "slots" and "MAXSLOTS"
175 have been changed to "pages" and "MAXPAGES", respectively.
177 * Two bugs affecting the plotting of Fresnel zones were identified and fixed.
179 * A bug that produced some erroneous elevation angles in SPLAT! Path Loss
180 Output (-plo option) files was identified and fixed.
182 * Text documentation in Spanish was added (thanks to Charles Escobar).
184 * The build scripts were modified to permit successful compilation with
185 bzip2-1.0.4 libraries. (Thanks to Janek, SQ5MJL)
187 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
190 By John A. Magliacane, <kd2bd@amsat.org> (22-Dec-2006):
192 * All graph plotting has been enhanced to include distances, azimuths,
193 and in some cases, elevation angles, in numeric form. Height
194 plots (-h option) now include a contour of the Earth's curvature.
195 A new -H option was added that behaves the same as -h, except its
196 display of heights is normalized to the heights of the endpoints
197 along the plotted path. Graphs now default to PNG rather than GIF
198 format to reflect gnuplot's current trend away from .gif output.
199 (.gif is still available if your version of gnuplot supports it.)
200 Postscript output is now generated in enhanced color.
202 * SPLAT! can now determine and plot Fresnel Zone clearances. A new
203 -f command-line option permits the Fresnel Zone frequency (in MHz)
204 to be specified, otherwise it can be determined from .lrp files when
205 path-loss calculations are performed. Antenna height requirements
206 for 60% clearance (0.6 F1) and 100% clearance (F1) of the First
207 Fresnel Zone now appear in Obstruction Reports. These zones are
208 also displayed graphically in height plots (-h or -H options).
210 * Support for antenna radiation patterns has been added. SPLAT! now
211 reads normalized azimuth and elevation antenna field pattern data
212 from separate .az and .el files when Longley-Rice studies are performed.
213 One degree azimuth and one tenth degree elevation pattern resolution
214 is supported along with azimuthal pattern rotation and mechanical
217 * A bug in the interpretation of the -n and -N command-line options
220 * Negative geographical coordinates in DMS format are now (hopefully)
221 interpreted and displayed better than before.
223 * SPLAT! data handling can be changed from imperial units (feet/miles)
224 to metric (meters/kilometers) units using the new -metric switch.
226 * SPLAT! can now generate topographic maps without plotting
227 line-of-sight or path loss coverage. These maps are centered
228 approximately on the given tx_site, extend out to a radius
229 provided by the -R switch, and can be populated with county
230 boundaries and city names, just like SPLAT!'s traditional
231 line-of-sight and path loss maps.
233 * Support for user-defined terrain files (ground clutter) has been
236 * SPLAT! can now generate .geo Geo-reference Information Files
237 when .ppm topography and coverage maps are created, permitting
238 the integration of SPLAT! generated maps with X Amateur Station
239 Tracking and Information Reporting (www.xastir.org) software.
241 * SPLAT! can now generate .kml Keyhole Markup Language files that
242 when imported into "Google Map", dramatically illustrate the RF
243 path between transmitter and receiver locations when performing
244 point-to-point analyses.
246 * Support for exporting Longley-Rice path loss contour studies to
247 external data files has been included. SPLAT! path loss files can
248 be used for performing coverage or interference studies outside of
249 SPLAT!. They can also be modified externally (with antenna pattern
250 data, for example) through scripts or small utilities, and imported
251 back into SPLAT! to generate coverage maps based on the revised
252 data without having to re-run any time intensive Longley-Rice path
255 * The documentation was updated to reflect the new features and
256 functionality of the software.
258 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
261 By John A. Magliacane, <kd2bd@amsat.org> (01-Apr-2006):
263 * An srtm2sdf utility was added to permit SPLAT Data Files to be
264 derived from the latest 3-arc second SRTM (STS-99 Space Shuttle
265 Radar Topography Mission) digital elevation model data. The
266 quality of this data is *significantly* higher than that of older
267 USGS Digital Elevation Models previously used by SPLAT!. Despite
268 the higher quality, some voids in SRTM data sets still exist.
269 When voids are detected, the srtm2sdf utility replaces them with
270 equivalent elevation data found in existing SDF files (presumably
271 generated from older USGS elevation models). If older SDF files
272 are not available, voids are handled through pixel averaging or
275 * Coding changes were made that in concert with the new srtm2sdf utility
276 should allow SPLAT! to function over all regions of the planet for
277 which SRTM-3 elevation data is available.
279 * SPLAT's SDF search path priority has been changed. SPLAT! now
280 searches for needed SDF files in the current working directory first.
281 If the needed file isn't found, SPLAT! then searches in the path
282 specified by the -d command-line option, or in the $HOME/.splat_path
285 * The color scheme used by SPLAT! in the generation of Longley-Rice
286 path loss maps was noticeably improved.
288 * A new command-line option (-db) was added to allow constraints
289 to be placed on the maximum attenuation contours plotted on
292 * A possible array overflow condition in the ReadPath() function was
293 identified and fixed.
295 * Some very slight coding modifications were made to permit warning-free
296 compilation under GCC 4.x.x.
298 * The usgs2sdf utility was modified John Gabrysch (jgabby@gmail.com) to
299 properly handle the latest USGS DEM file format, and to properly scale
302 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
305 By John A. Magliacane, <kd2bd@amsat.org> (29-Jan-2004):
307 * Extensively modified by J. D. McDonald in January 2004 to include
308 the Longley-Rice propagation model using C++ code from NTIA/ITS.
309 In addition to analyzing line-of-sight propagation paths, SPLAT!
310 now generates multi-color maps illustrating predicted signal
311 strength (path loss), path loss graphs, path loss reports,
312 and terrain height graphs. The default earth radius, as well
313 as the default line-of-sight and path loss analysis range used
314 by SPLAT! may also be modified using new command-line options.
316 * splat.c was renamed to splat.cpp to reflect changes necessary
317 to merge with Longley-Rice C++ code. A C++ compiler (gcc/g++)
318 is now required to compile SPLAT!.
320 * The documentation was updated to reflect the new features
323 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
326 By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (10-Jun-2002):
328 * Coverage areas are now processed four times faster than before.
331 * Determination of antenna height above average terrain (HAAT) based
332 on FCC Part 73.313(d) (Prediction of coverage) has been added.
334 * Site analysis report generation has been added when coverage mode
335 is invoked. These reports include ground height above mean sea
336 level, antenna height above mean sea level, antenna height above
337 average terrain, and average terrain calculated at azimuths of 0,
338 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, and 315 degrees.
340 * Added site location information in degree, minute, second format,
341 as well as antenna height above average terrain to the content of
344 * Elevations below sea-level are now safely handled.
346 * Greyscale of topographic maps generated by SPLAT! is now referenced
347 between the highest and lowest elevations in the survey, instead of
348 between the highest elevation and sea-level. This change in reference
349 permits regions below sea level to be discernible in the map, and
350 allows subtle terrain variations to be clearly evident over regions
351 having relatively flat terrain.
353 * The documentation was updated.
355 * Several other minor coding changes/bug fixes were made.
357 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
360 By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (14-May-2002):
362 * SPLAT! now buffers data while reading bzip2 compressed SPLAT
363 Data Files (SDFs). A 100 MHz Pentium now loads compressed SDF
364 files 208% faster than before, and takes only 2 seconds longer
365 than an uncompressed file.
367 * Configuration, compilation, and installation scripts now invoke
368 bash instead of sh. The -ffast-math compiler option was removed.
370 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
373 By John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (22-Apr-2002):
375 * The maximum number of transmitter/repeater sites handled
376 per analysis has been increased from two to four.
378 * Improved the configuration, compilation, and installation scripts.
379 Now ./configure compiles and installs the program, man page, and
380 all associated utilities in one command.
382 * Some minor coding changes were made, including the addition of an
383 #include <stdlib.h> in each of the utilities to silence a compilation
384 warning issued by gcc version 3.x.x about the use of the exit() function.
386 * The README and documentation files were updated.
388 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
391 by John A. Magliacane <kd2bd@amsat.org> (08-Apr-2002):
393 * First public release of SPLAT!