Radio Planning, Propagation and Mapping Software
The above graphic (which shows locations visible from a nearby hill in Alton, Hampshire) was produced using the free
Geog suite of progrms by Andy Talbot (G4JNT)
/
alternative download.
This contains a complete height database for the UK. Note that much of what follows assumes you're in the UK, I'd be interested to hear if anyone has got data or software for other countries.
Even though this software is DOS based it works fine in a full screen Windows 2000/XP command window and I would
suspect on other Windows versions as well. This program will produce a bitmap file of it's output (by pressing the
f1 key) which can then be resized and merged with a map using a standard graphics program such
as Paint Shop Pro.
The VIEW.EXE program from the Geog package produces an output such as this:
Click to enlarge
Load this and a map image in to your graphics package and resize until the 10km lines correspond with 10km on your map, then cut and paste it as a new layer on the map. Set the black background to be transparent and adjust position until the layout is centred on the correct part of the map.
If you know the OSGB grid reference of both ends of the link (you can use a GPS or a site such as www.streetmap.co.uk to find this out) then you can use the TERRAIN.EXE program to plot the terrain between the two to see any obstructions. This produces output as follows:
Click to enlarge
By moving the cursor along the line you can read off the location (OSGB grid reference) of any obstruction, this can then be entered back in to a website such as Streetmap and the exact location of the obstruction viewed. All you then need to do is find someone there who wants a repeater on their house!
Information on the free Radio Mobile propagation prediction software comming soon.
Please let me know if this page is of use or you know of any other software. Last major update 5th October 2001.
