V-Soft Communications Newsletter: 12/06/05
In this Newsletter:
V-Soft Enrolls for Training at Las Vegas NAB
Free VIP NAB Exhibit Passes for V-Soft Clients
Software, End of Year Discount Available
FMCommander™ Can Now Use Canadian FM data
V-Soft 101: Importing AM Contours into Probe 3
Our next NAB training session will focus on broadcast engineering/allocations problem solving using our V-Soft software. The mix of participants in past sessions has been excellent, from new users to those with plenty of experience. The discussions we have had were interesting and robust, and many participants have returned year after year for training updates and a refresher (to refresh their skills?). So that we can get an early count, we hope you will let us know as soon as possible if you are interested in joining this year's group. The training will be held in Las Vegas the Saturday and Sunday (April 22 - 23rd, 2006) before the conference officially opens. We are also interested in any particular aspects of either software or broadcast engineering that you wish to have discussed. Please email Kate with your comments at kmichler@v-soft.com us call us to chat at 800 743-3684. Top
NAB Exhibit passes available through V-Soft Communications
Need a pass to get into the exhibit for the biggest Broadcast show in the world? Please feel free to use our vendor number RC1663.
The registration link can be found at: https://registration.expoexchange.com/ShowNAB061/VIPDefault.aspx
V-Soft Communications will be at the show in full force. We'll have software galore and a number of computers including our projection monitor. We hope you'll drop by the booth, and say hello. We're easy to find this year, again in North Hall (the Audio/Radio Hall side.) Look for us in booth N3922. Top
End of year software discounts of up to 10%
Once again, V-Soft Communications is offering an end of year discount beginning December 15th. The discount is 10% for professional technical support subscribers, 7% for those on standard support and 5% for all others. Discounts cannot be applied to retroactive purchases. Call us now to schedule your orders and discount. Top
SearchTV, version 3.0 released
V-Soft Communications has released SearchTV version 3.0. This version provides the following enhancements which can also be found in the current version of FMCommander:
1.) SearchTV now automatically connects to the FCC's TV query program on the Internet when the "Web" button is selected. If you have a given TV station shown on the "Find" screen and click the "Web" button, SearchTV will use the Internet to connect to the FCC's TVQuery resources to bring up the FCC listing for your resident station.
2.) Changes to the antenna pattern of any station are instantly reflected in the main screen tabulations and printouts.
3.) LPTV, TV Translators or Class A station listings shown on the main screen no longer require a right-click to see the exact margin distance between interference and protected contours. Directional patterns and the proper terrain between the reference station and the database stations are now automatically applied during a main screen listing so that SearchTV now show accurate translator/LPTV margins without the right click.
4.) Titles are now incorporated within the job file. No separate title (.TIT) files.
5.) Directional patterns for each station are now located within the job file associated with each station. No separate pattern files are required.
6.) Programs and databases are now updated through the program itself by selecting one of the Help updates menus.
7.) The program now maps 180 degrees of signal contour arc instead of the previous 120 degrees.
(Users should note
that the update is free to all technical support subscribers. Also, the new job
files are not compatible with the old. Down load an update from the V-Soft
Updates/programs folder. After that all updates will be via the program Help
menu.)
FMCommander Supports Canadian Database
V-Soft's premier frequency search program, FMCommander, now has added capability to perform frequency searches using the Canadian FM database. In the new version, there is a new checkbox in the "Define Study" options section of the Reference Station Parameters screen to tell the program whether or not to look for the Canadian data. If the checkbox is checked, the program will use the V-Soft FCC FM database for USA stations and the Industry Canada FM database for all Canadian stations.
The Canadian FM data, must be located as a sub-folder, called "Canada" under the main FM database folder. Simply create the new "Canada" folder, download the CanadaFM.zip file from the V-Soft FM database web site folder and unzip the contents to the Canada folder. V-Soft updates the CanadFM.zip file once per week, which is the same update schedule used by Industry Canada. Top
Reviving their interest in AM standard band, engineers at the CBC have become V-Soft Communications AM-Pro users. During mid-November John Gray and Doug Vernier traveled to Montreal to deliver an intensive two-day training session on AM, AM IBOC and AM IBOC Interference. CBC and Industry Canada are currently in the midst of a joint IBOC analysis program with transmitters being supplied by BE. (Will Canada adopt IBOC?)
If your company is interested in custom training at your site please contact V-Soft. Top
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V-Soft will be closed December 25th and 26th and January 1st and 2nd for the Holidays. If you need support, email support will be available through our technical support email address support@V-soft.com. Happy Holidays!
V-Soft 101: How to Import AM-Pro Contours into a Probe 3 Map
One of the labor saving qualities of V-Soft's software is its ability to work together with other V-Soft applications. This month's tutorial will show you how to import contours from AM-Pro into your Probe 3 maps.
- Begin by opening AM-Pro and drawing a coverage map of the AM station you
wish to import.
Once you have selected your station from the FCC's AM database, click the "Ref" button that says "Save to V-Soft Data Reference File".
Add the 1 mV/m protected contour for the reference station to the AM-Pro map.
- From the Coverage window, select "DTC Report" from the "Selected Contour Report" drop down menu, then click "Go".
- Save the DTC Report and remember the name and location of the file.
Now, open Probe 3 and start a coverage map study. When prompted for stations to be considered, click on "Add", to bring up the "Transmitter Properties" box. Then click on the "Get V-Soft Reference Data" button, the AM station's call letters, latitude, and longitude should populate the transmitter fields. Then click "OK".
- Next, add any additional FM or TV stations desired for this study.
- Once the map is drawn, right click the call letters of the AM station to open the Contour window, and click add.
- From the "Edit Contour" window, select "Import Contour" from the "Contour Type" drop down menu.
Then click "Load a contour from a DTC file" and open the saved DTC file from AM-Pro. Feel free to make any changes to the appearance of imported contour such as line thickness, color and borders, label the contour if desired and then click "OK".
- Now, the contour window should have the contour listed and checked.
- Click "Close" and the Probe map will now show the AM Contour.
- Now add the desired FM contours, and your map is complete.
If there is a topic or idea that you would like to see
addressed in this newsletter, or just something
you would like to know how to do, email Adam
Puls, and it may just appear in an upcoming newsletter!