V-Soft Communications Newsletter: 06/20/07

In this Newsletter:

AM-Pro 2 Wins Radio World Newspaper's "Cool Stuff Award"
at 2007 NAB Show

FMCommander Major Version Update Available

FMCommander's Auto Update Feature

FMCommander Now Allows Moving Reference Station While
Viewing Allocation Map

FMCommander's new 'User Notes' Feature

FMCommander's New FCC Class/Power Integrity Checking

FMCommander's New Map Defaults Settings

FMCommander's Pattern Editor Overlap Checking

Probe 3 Options and Modules

NAB training a great success!

AM-Pro 2 Wins Radio World Newspaper's "Cool Stuff" Award

V-Soft Communications has, once again, won Radio World's "Cool Stuff" Award for AM-Pro 2's design, features, cost efficiency, and performance in serving radio users. Click here to see John's CoolCast Video demo for AM-Pro 2. From this page, you can also view video demos from all the other winners of the 2007 Cool Stuff Award presented by Radio World Newspaper.

FMCommander Major Version Released (Ver 6.3.0.4)

V-Soft has released a major version update to its FMCommander allocations software. This version adds a number of great new and powerful features to this frequency searching program, which also make the program even more friendly. Some of the new features to this version include:

Now will automatically update database and executable program. Executable is checked for newness when database is updated through an integrated Scheduled Task. A backup of the old executable is made before it is replaced and the user is notified on start-up that the executable has been updated. (FMCommander Only)

Now integrates Hypertext Hallikainen web-based FCC rules - including a powerful FCC rules search capability.

Now automatically calculates missing CORs (based on CDBS HAATs) even when a spacings study is done, so user can call up a contour-to-contour study that would include missing CORS and assure accuracy.

Program automatically calculates whether reference station has a 60 dBu translator contour within 116.3 km of the U.S. Border with Mexico.

Program automatically calculates the largest 60 dBu contour when a translator reference station is within 320 km of the U.S. border with Canada.

The Automatic Pattern Designer will now flag the user if a station transmitter in the list of stations is inside the protected contour of the reference station

Contours between stations that are not on the direct straight-line bearings are checked for overlap, in a new faster routine after each parameter change of the reference station.

Program now alerts user if the reference station's power is over the maximum for its class or if its over or under powered for its class and antenna height.

More...

The 6.3.0.4 major upgrade requires an installation to update some of the dll files required by the program. The new update install may be downloaded by clicking the respective links below: (If you have already installed version 6.3.0.0 and above, you only need to replace the executable.)

Download FMCommander Update

Learn how to Setup FMCommander's Auto Update Feature

As mentioned in the FMCommander feature article above, FMCommander now has an automatic update capability that will automatically update the FM station database and FMCommander executable (when a new update is available.) This tutorial will provide step by step instructions on how to set up your computer to download these updates automatically.

When you open FMCommander, go to the Defaults Setup Screen (Settings\Defaults from the main table screen). You will notice there is now a button called "Tasks".

After clicking on the Tasks button, a screen with a text boxes for your username and password appears.
Enter your username and password (the same username and password used on the Client Databases page of the V-Soft website), and click "Done". When the Done button is clicked, two checkboxes will appear concerning update preferences. Check the desired boxes and click "Okay".
Once the Okay button is clicked, the update batch file is created and the "Scheduled Task Wizard" is initiated.
Click "Next" in the Scheduled Task Wizard, and on the next screen, you will be prompted for the program to run. Here, click "Browse", locate the FMCommander program folder, and open the "VFM.bat" file.
Next, the wizard asks for a name and the frequency to perform the task. Standard Technical Support subscribers should choose the option for monthly, while Professional Technical Support subscribers should set this to daily, then click "Next".

Now, the wizard asks for scheduling frequency, if the monthly option was chosen, as in this example, you will be able to choose the time to run the task, and whether the task should run on a specific date or occurrence of the month. If the daily option is chosen, the time to start the task and days of the week to run the task are available.

Next, the wizard will prompt you for your computer account user name and password (This is your start-up login for the computer, not the V-Soft web site username/password.). Please note that if a password is not entered, the scheduled task may not run.

Finally, you should receive a message indicating that the scheduled task has been created successfully. The message provides a summary schedule of the newly created task. Simply click "Finish" to add the task to the Windows schedule. That's all there is to it.

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Move Reference Station While Viewing Allocations Map

Another new feature that has been added to FMCommander is the ability to move the reference transmitter's coordinates while viewing an allocations map. This feature can be used to move the transmitter to a more desirable location, which is very helpful in finding locations for new frequencies. To move the reference station while viewing the allocations map, follow the directions below:

Open or create a contour-to-contour study.

Next, open the Full Allocation Map from the Find Station Information screen. (Use the fifth toolbar icon from the left (multi-colored plus mark with pointing arrows).)

Under the Functions menu, click "Move Reference".

Move the mouse back over the allocations map and notice the cursor has turned to a crosshair indicating a left click will move the reference stations coordinates. Left click on the map at the desired location of the transmitter.

Notice the allocations map is redrawn at the new location and FMCommander's main screen tabular contour-to-contour listing is also updated to reflect the changes.

Click for larger view
Click for larger view

While we are talking about the Allocation Map feature here's another trick worthy of remembering. If the allocation map seems too confusing, if you click the "+" (deselect) icon while in the Allocations mode you will receive the following message and the allocations screen will be cleared to the base map allowing you to then add the relevant contours one-by-one.

Note that the list of stations on the left side of the screen has a notation for whether the station is co-channel or 1st, 2nd or 3rd adjacent. If you wish to look only at the co-channel relationships, simply click the co-channel stations. The stations will be listed first as to the ones having to worst contour overlap, so if you click the top few stations you will see the relationships that are most limiting.

FMCommander's new 'User Notes' Feature

A number of users have contacted V-Soft to ask for a way to store notes with a given frequency search job. The new "User Notes" Menu found under the "View Menu" on FMCommander's Main screen will open Window's NotePad program allowing the user to create user notes and comments. Once the comments are created, save the file using the default name given to it by the program. Close Notepad. To review the notes again, simply repeat the process and this time the notes will appear within the NotePad program. Use "Delete Notes" to remove the note from your hard drive.

If you set up your defaults screen to open 'User Notes' on startup, if you have made user notes for a given job file, the program will open those notes when the program starts or when an existing job file is loaded. (See below)

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FMCommander's New FCC Class/Power Integrity Checking

There are many more new routines that display warnings when an incorrect class is used in a particular zone, or when the combination of power and antenna height are over allowed for a given class or in the case of translators, the translators are over powered according to section 73.1235 of the Commission's Rules.

FMCommander now 'silently' checks for Protected Zone issues after any of the reference station's critical parameters are changed. If a protected zone issue is detected, the program will sound a new chime warning the user. The issue will then be described in brief in the upper left hand corner of the Main screen. The new Protected Zone Study printout looks like this:

While we do not recommend it, some users my want fewer warnings. The "Minimal Warnings" check box, shown above, can be used to turn off most of the major warnings, however, this may result in user mistakes that if not detected can cause the FCC to return a proposal.

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FMCommander's New Map Defaults Setting

Now you can set all the FMCommander map overlays and geolayers at once and then have the program rewrite the screen.

Just click the "Map Defaults" menu and select the overlays and then click the "Okay" button and map will refresh with all of your selctions.

FMCommander's Pattern Editor Overlap Checking

Version 6.3.0.0. and greater provides a unique "Overlap Checking" feature. When this is turned on as is shown below, FMCommander will check for overlap and if it finds one the overlap's stating azimuth will be highlighted by the red dot as is shown below. If the user holds his/her mouse pointer over the dot it will indicate which station is causing the overlap and how much the overlap is. The nearest pattern point can then be moved until the red dot goes away.

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Probe 3 Options and Optional Modules

In an attempt to keep our clients aware of the products, services, and add-ons we provide for our software, we have compilied a list of the options available for our propagation powerhouse, Probe 3. For any questions or to order any of these options give us a call (1-800-743-3684) or email Adam Puls.

OET-69 Module for DTV Analysis:
Perform Longley/Rice based DTV studies using the FCC’s OET Bulletin 69 methodology. $4,995
General Interference Module:
Design your own interference model by specifying channel relations and associated D/U ratios. $1,500

Zip Code Module:
The Zip Code option enables various program options for plotting and reporting signal information as it relates to zip codes. Plot zip code points and report field strength at various zip codes. Plot ZCTA (Zip Code Tabulation Area) polygons on the map and contour population within individual ZCTA boundaries. $950
Time Delay (Booster) Module:
Calculate interference area created by a network of co-channel transmitters that are broadcasting the same signal. The time delay module allows for signal time delay to be set independently for each transmitter in the network. This option also includes a tool for determining optimum delay factors to remove interference in a user selected area. $1,500
Measured Signal Import Module:
Plot measured ‘test drive’ data on Probe maps. Also contains an algorithm for combining test drive measurements with propagation model calculations to create an ‘adjusted’ prediction map. $1,500
Airport Module:
This option allows you to plot airport tokens and runway data on Probe maps. $500
TIREM Propagation Model:
Use the TIREM propagation model for field strength predictions. $4,950
ITU-R P.1546.1 Propagation Model:
Calculate and plot grid based signal based on the ITU 1546-1 propagation model. ITU 1546-1 contours can also be calculated and drawn on the map. $1,500
2000 Enhanced Map Boundary Dataset:
With this dataset, you will be able to plot additional political boundary data from the 2000 US Census. The dataset includes: 2000 Urban Area boundaries, County boundaries, State boundaries, and the 1999 Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) boundaries. $950
Enhanced Pattern Editing (Pattern Workshop):
Our Pattern Workshop program integrates with Probe to offer a more feature rich horizontal pattern editor for advanced editing and reporting. $1,595
US LULC 1:250,000 Land Cover Data Access:
Use this 200 meter (approximately 6 arc-second) resolution US land cover database for finer resolution plotting and land cover attenuation. [Note: The global land cover data that comes with older installations of Probe is 1km (30 arc-second) resolution.] $350
2006* TIGER Street Level Data and Mapping:
TIGER Street Level Mapping and Major Lakes, Rivers, and Roads mapping database derived from data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2005. [Note: The TIGER mapping data that comes with older installations of Probe was collected in 1995.] $500

* 2006 is the year the data was released by V-Soft Communications, not the year the data was compiled by the census bureau.

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NAB Training a Great Success

Twenty two V-Soft Communications users attended training this year at training sessions held during the NAB show in Las Vegas.

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