V-Soft Communications Newsletter: March 28th, 2009
In this Newsletter:
Probe 4, Bundle - Something to Behold
V-Soft Communications to Be at NAB conference
V-Soft's NAB "Stimulus" Package
FCC Requires NCE Channel-six TV Protection to Non-class CA (protected) LPTV Stations
FCC Issues Decision in Tower Environmental case
FCC Sets Rules for the Remainder of the Digital Transition
New Probe 4, Bundle (Click here for a list of Probe 4's new features.)
Updated USGS 2006 Tiger street, roads, lakes and river databases: This database set adds new streets, roads, lakes and rivers to the database files built by the Census Bureau during the year 2000 census.
Updated Tiger Boundary Dataset, using this dataset the Probe 4.0 will be able to plot additional political boundary data from the 2006 US Census Tiger database, This database includes 2006 city boundaries, urban area boundaries, county lines, county subdivision boundaries, landmark boundaries and land mark data points. The screen below shows some of the landmark points that are selectable:
US decennial census database: This is the SF1 database which includes county and racial breakdowns.
Tower database, FCC registered towers can be plotted on Probe 4 maps
Duopoly database, a precompiled distance to contour AM, FM and TV database.
V-Soft Communications to be at 2009 NAB show in Las Vegas
Visit us at NAB show (April 18th to 23rd) to test drive the new Probe 4 and other V-Soft software. You can find us in booth #N4617. See all the new features, preview the premiere release of Probe 4 and provide V-Soft programmers with your ideas about new features and programs. Sign up for a free VIP exhibit, courtesy of V-Soft Communications by using our VIP registration number LV1741 and use this link to register:
http://registration.experient-inc.com/ShowNAB091/Default.aspx
V-Soft's Stimulating NAB discount
V-Soft will offer an 8 percent discount on all products show during the NAB conference. The only exception is the Probe 4 bundle package which will remain at the announced upgrade cost of $4,995.
What's been happening to FMCommander?
Version 6.3.0.41 of FMcommander is being released simultaneously with the publication date of this newsletter.
Updates and new features since out last newsletter are as follows:
Build 39:
Arrow, terrain profile, label, Internet Map, and Internet FCC ICONs turn red when the icon function is in use
Added a new menu item on main screen under the "Settings" menu see "Show failed 73.215 as contour-to-contour". This menu item causes the
Interference mode' main screen and printouts to show contour-to-contour values instead of how short the minimum 73.215 spacing is. This can be used when a station does not meet 73.215 shortspace distance but it is
grandfathered.
The registry now saves the selected Internet Map service. Look on the "Find
Information" screen. Internet map selection then defaults to the last selected mapping URL.
The Reference screen Topo Icon and the Separations Mapping Screen now bring up Acme
Mapper, which marks the site. (Internet Mapping requires the Internet mapping module.)
Added True North Bearing for Table Mountain reports when interference may exist is detected.
New menu item under "Channel" Main screen, "Original" menu item returns the computer to the reference channel on which the original study was performed.
"Restore Original Parameters" on "Find Information", screen now changes the channel back to the original channel - works for reference and database stations
When restore is used in the "Separations Mapping" window, program now keeps the map scale at the same setting
Class, power, HAAT warnings now work in the 'Minimum Separations' mode when "Minimal Warnings" is turned off under setup.
Class, Power, HAAT warnings now work when changing a database station from the job file,
they previously worked only for the reference station.
CTRL Z and CTRL R hot keys text added to Undo and Redo menus of pattern editor as a reminder of their use for undo and redo respectively.
Hide menu command removed from Pattern editor window, replaced by allowing standard window minimization
If pattern editor window has been minimized, clicking the small pattern graphic on the Find Information page will restore the pattern window to full size
Build 40,
Both maps screens can now be extended to fill screen.
Added Wide Screen menu item on "Find Information" window. This forces wide screen map if window is enlarged
Added "Wide Screen" check box under "Views" on Defaults menu under Miscellaneous tab.
Wide screen allows the user to fill the entire screen with a map, by stretching window.
Note when in the wide screen mode screen maps show graphics in the anisotropic mode.
When wide mode is turned off screen maps are shown as isotropic.
Separation's mapping screen is placed in the "Wide" mode by checking "Wide Screen" under Defaults, Miscellaneous tab, Views.
If a station is directional and it the "Show Pattern over Maps Default" setting is checked the DA pattern will be
placed in the upper right-hand corner of its coverage or interference map.
If station is directional and when plotting coverage, the user chooses to show a pattern on a map, the directional pattern will also be displayed in the printout.
The new Hide/Show menu item will toggle the pattern off and back on without changing the default setting.
Xlator (Translator) check now tells which radials are overpowered when a directional antenna is used.
New up-to-date FMCommander help file
Build 41 (To be released)
Adds a new tool to menu on "Find Information" screen. "Get Elevation"
Pattern Screen overlap indicators, now will not consider class D co-channel and first adjacent incoming overlap as well as 2nd and 3rd adjacent contour overlap. (Class D stations can received interference.)
When autoload was turned off, and a PDF file was printed, program would change default to save job file to the PDF directory that was
last used. This has been Corrected.
Lat and longitude coordinates can now be entered to any decimal fraction of seconds (i.e. 455040.973, etc.) and program will round the coordinates to the nearest tenth decimal place (i.e. 455041.0)
Program now adds LPTV (secondary) stations in addition to previously added LPTV (CA class) to printouts when the reference station is a full service FM station
(FCC says NCE's must protect LPTV stations even if they are secondary stations.)
LPTV channel 6 stations whether CA or not are protected to the 62 dBu contour.
Channel-six interference map was not centering properly between protected and interfering stations. Corrected.
Print formatting Fixed. FCC TV branch added one character to the file number, which
caused a line feed within the Preclusion study, so the extra text lines were printed to the next page which was mostly blank.
V-Soft Communications to Move Offices
In Mid-may V-Soft Communications will move to the roomy confines of the 401 Main building in downtown Cedar Falls. Please note our new address:
V-Soft Communications, 401 Main St, Cedar Falls, IA 50613. Our telephone number and email addresses will remain the same.
Our new offices are currently under construction with a completion date scheduled for early May.
FCC requires NCE channel-six TV protection to non-class CA (protected) LPTV stations
In a surprise move (to us) the FCC dismissed an NCE, full-service, station application because it did not protect a secondary channel six LPTV station from interference. This is the first we have heard of the Commission requiring a full-service station to protect a secondary station. We have been aware that the FCC requires this protection to the class CA protected LPTV stations, but protection by a full service station station to a secondary station is something new.
FCC Issues Decision in Tower Environmental Case
The FCC issued a Memorandum and Order, clarifying what it expects from a client when an application is filed where the applicant checks the box stating that the application does not pose a significant environmental impact." For more on this click the link below.
Rumors of an LPTV Window Persist
Rumors are still flying about an imminent LPTV window. First it was supposed to be last Fall... then winter, now some at the FCC are saying look for it in early 2009, probably once the headache of the extended digital transition has passed, so we would vote for 3rd quarter of 2009.
FCC Sets Rules for the Remainder of the Digital Transition
Stations must notify viewers of loss of signal and educate them on reception issues and some may terminate analog before the June 12th deadline. For more on this follow the link.
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