Comments on GearZ.net: RF propagation modeling with SPLAT! for Windows

John, Can you help me understand why Splat is so ...

2011-09-16T09:22:28.353-05:00

John,

Can you help me understand why Splat is so particular about data? It seems that it only lets me use 3 arc second and 1 arc second data. I have found data out there for 1/3rd arc second. Therefore, I thought I would use this to run in Splat. Therefore, I used some applications to get the 1/3rd data into SDF format. However, repeatedly in the code the largest precision allowed

I agree, that doesn't make much sense. You mig...

2011-06-16T09:12:31.296-05:00

I agree, that doesn't make much sense. You might try the newer version maintained by Austin Wright found at http://www.ve3ncq.ca/wordpress/?page_id=62

Hi, thanks for maken this program available! I wa...

2011-06-15T02:48:37.430-05:00

Hi,

thanks for maken this program available! I was just wondering if it makes sense that the Longley-Rice path loss is greater than the free-space path loss? For instance, I get that:

Free space path loss: 90.28 dB
Longley-Rice path loss: 260.80 dB
Attenuation due to effects of terrain: 170.52 dB

and at the same time:

No obstructions to LOS

Sara, take a look at the program author's page to find out more about what models and methods are used.

Hi John; That you for your feedback. I have found...

2011-01-14T05:08:46.431-06:00

Hi John;

That you for your feedback. I have found the maps I needed!.

I would like to know if there is any technical documentation for Splat!. In other terms, What models were used, why, how, etc...

Thank you in advance,

Sara

Sara, I do not have any code available to convert ...

2011-01-10T14:09:46.338-06:00

Sara, I do not have any code available to convert ASCII or GeoTIFF to hgt or Splat files unfortunately. The strm2sdf.exe converter is built to recognize .hgt and BIL format files. I noticed that you can download SRTM data in BIL format from http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/.

In the left-side panel ("Select your datasets"), click the plus sign next to Digital Elevation and put a

Hi; Thank you for the package. I have started usi...

2011-01-09T09:12:59.003-06:00

Hi;

Thank you for the package. I have started using it and I have a question regarding the Splat Data Files.

I have used http://csi.cgiar.org/WhtIsCGIAR_CSI.asp to create the SRTM files I need (Asia area) and It created the file either in Ascii format or GeoTiff format.

How can I convert from GeoTiff/Ascii to .hgt file, and then to Splat Data File to be Able

My solution for the mkstemp() problem on Windows w...

2010-12-02T04:59:58.435-06:00

My solution for the mkstemp() problem on Windows was to change the includes from unistd.h to windows.h and use the native Windows function _mktemp().

There were about a dozen changes needed to LoadUDT(). Anyone interested in the .diff file can contact me at www.ve3ncq.ca.

You could probably also use getenv("TEMP")

Hi Matt. I haven't tried compiling SPLAT with ...

2010-11-19T10:17:53.527-06:00

Hi Matt. I haven't tried compiling SPLAT with Visual Studio, only MinGW GCC. I think that mkstemp() is a standard function in Linux to create temporary folders and files, but not on Windows. I found a workaround was to make my own mkstemp() function to replace it. Actually, I found the code on the net somewhere where a person posted about porting between Linux and Windows. I'm not really

Austin, that's good news. Thanks for the notic...

2010-11-19T10:12:57.288-06:00

Austin, that's good news. Thanks for the notice.

I've done some more work with the Windows port...

2010-11-19T10:11:12.836-06:00

I've done some more work with the Windows port of SPLAT. It is now version 1.3.1 as of November 14, 2010, incorporating a bugfix with the way antenna azimuth files are read, and using the updated itm.cpp Longley-Rice calculations.

My Windows GUI has also been updated. It can now import antenna patterns from 4NEC2 plots, and has a function to batch convert .hgt files to .sdf. The

Hi John, I'm trying to recompile the source s...

2010-11-14T09:38:41.071-06:00

Hi John,

I'm trying to recompile the source so that I get max_west, min_west, max_north, min_north to the stdout.

I am getting the following errors in visual studio:

splat.cpp: In function ‘int mkstemp(char*)’:
splat.cpp:77: error: ‘GetTempPath’ was not declared in this scope
splat.cpp:79: error: ‘GetTempFileName’ was not declared in this scope

Hi John I'm trying to modify the source so th...

2010-11-14T09:35:52.329-06:00

Hi John

I'm trying to modify the source so that the max_west, min_west, max_north, min_north are printed to stdout.

I'm not a windows guy but am trying to compile the code under visual studio. I get the following errors:
splat.cpp: In function ‘int mkstemp(char*)’:
splat.cpp:77: error: ‘GetTempPath’ was not declared in this scope
splat.cpp:79: error:

Hello Splat creator and users, I am a unfamiliar ...

2010-10-30T15:21:04.786-05:00

Hello Splat creator and users,

I am a unfamiliar with propagation study and splat. and hoping I'll get some pointers and help here as most users sounds professionals.

1. How can I interface antenna to splat(laptop) and test splat is working fine?
2. For Cell site engineering, which options and files, I must have to use with splat?

Jerry, I seem to recall a similar error, but I can...

2010-10-18T07:57:16.876-05:00

Jerry, I seem to recall a similar error, but I can't put my hands on the answer right now. I haven't been able to work much with the software lately. Have you tried the version maintained by Austin Wright? He's got a more up-to-date port than I do currently.

Hi John, I apologize if this is a repeat. I seem t...

2010-10-16T02:35:16.892-05:00

Hi John, I apologize if this is a repeat. I seem to be having trouble with the -L, Longley-Rice. It looks like it is not seeing my SRTM topo data. My output looks like concentric ellipses. However, it is clear that splat sees the topo data with -c, LOS plots. Here is my command:
Splat -t kd7wlx.qth -L 5 -o Topo.ppm -d data\sdf-sd
PS I am running Splat at Win 7

Hi, I seem to be having problems with -L, Longley-...

2010-10-16T02:09:51.133-05:00

Hi, I seem to be having problems with -L, Longley-Rice. My outputs are simply concentric ellipses. It is as if it does not see the terrain. However -c LOS clearly sees the terrain.

can I install it in USB? to make it portable? than...

2010-03-05T18:05:46.688-06:00

can I install it in USB? to make it portable? thanks!- ken

Hi John, My name is Jim and I am interested in r...

2009-08-02T16:06:47.797-05:00

Hi John,
My name is Jim and I am interested in running SPLAT! for one of our ham repeater sites.
I have read all of the doc files that I can find and still have a problem on execution.

using : splat -t site1 -r site2 -n -o topomap.ppm

the program reads site 1 & site 2 files and tells me the No LOS ploat in .ppm map

then tells me ***ERROR:

"A True Patriot," this version of SPLAT ...

2009-07-22T16:34:32.649-05:00

"A True Patriot," this version of SPLAT is a command-line program. You will have to open up a Command Prompt (from the Start Menu in Vista) and type in the command there to see the output.

I have Vista Ultimate and when I run Splat all I g...

2009-07-16T03:41:01.229-05:00

I have Vista Ultimate and when I run Splat all I get is a quick dos screen and it flashes off before ther is time to read anything.

John, Thanks very much for your reply, I'll t...

2009-06-08T10:12:54.964-05:00

John,

Thanks very much for your reply, I'll try your suggestions,

Nir

Nir, I'm sorry you're having trouble compiling th...

2009-05-27T14:19:05.147-05:00

Nir,

I'm sorry you're having trouble compiling the program. I think you have been misinformed on the proper use of the BZip2 library. You are on the right track, but what you need to do is download the BZip2 software package that has a binary library file for Windows. Try the "Developer Files" zip file here: http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/bzip2.htm

Inside that zip

Hi John, I have been trying to compile your sourc...

2009-05-21T06:36:09.557-05:00

Hi John,

I have been trying to compile your source code for Windows. I had trouble with adding bzlib.
I have added the files: bzlib.c, bzlib.h and bzlib_private.h (from the Internet), installed MinGW enviroment
and ran the following:

g++ -Wall -O3 -s -lm -lbz2 -fomit-frame-pointer bzlib.c itm.cpp splat.cpp -o splat

I have ran into problems with the

Hey Andy,
Isn't it amazing how often that happe...

2008-10-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

Hey Andy,
Isn't it amazing how often that happens that right after you ask a question, the answer comes to you. Happens to me all the time. :)

I'm glad the software is useful to others. I haven't had much time to work on it lately, a lot going on in my personal and professional life. I am certainly no expert, and I am always happy to let someone more experienced step in and answer