General Program Operation

PROGRAM ORGANIZATION
The diagram below shows the basic organization of the Pathloss program. The PL50 main window is the network
display and is referred to as such throughout the documentation. This is the primary user interface and shows the
sites, links and studies geographically.

GIS section
The geographic information system (GIS) defines the following functionality:

PL50 Network Display

Pl50 Standalone
GIS
Link Design
GIS
PL5 Files
Link List

PL50 Integrated
Site List
Link Design

Text Files Transmission Analysis

PL50 Operations
PL5 Files Terrain Data
Auto Link Design
ODBC Antenna Heights
Local studies
Multipath - Reflections
Area studies
Diffraction Loss
Interference

• backdrop imagery in the form of raster data files (bmp, png, jpg, tiff)
• vector displays using ESRI shapefiles MapInfo mapfiles or Planet legacy vector files
• elevation and clutter views of the underlying terrain

Site and Link lists

The site and link lists represent the user’s data. As a minimum, a site is defined by its name and geographic coordi-
nates and a link is defined by the end site identities. The user interface is the site list from which data can be imported
by any of the following means:

• text files containing a list of sites

• text files containing a list of links (two sites per line)
• existing Pathloss data files (pl5, pl4, pl4)
• an ODBC interface to an existing data base
Links and sites can be exported to a database using the ODBC interface or to a text file.

Network Display Operations

The following design operations are carried out in the network display:
Automated link design for point to point and point to multipoint systems is implemented in the variants listed below.
Design optimization and rejection criteria are used to determine the final configuration.

• Generate point to point link designs between any combination of sites in the network display including all sites to
all sites
• Generate point to multipoint links from a base station to any combination of remote sites.
• Design point to point or point to multipoint links for a user specified connectivity.
• Modify existing links for different equipment, design criteria and specific calculation algorithms.
Local studies provide circular signal strength and line of sight displays centered on base stations.
An area study defines a common area for all base stations. The signal strength from each base station is calculated
over this area. In addition to the signal strength displays, carrier to interference, most likely server and simulcast time
delays displays are available in an area study

PL50L integrated link design

When the user left clicks on a link in the network display, a drop down menu appears showing the following design
sections of the integrated link design program:

Transmission analysis
This section calculates the link performance in terms of multipath, rain and obstruction fade probabilities. Data entry
forms and lookup tables are provided for radio, antenna and transmission line equipment. An automated link design
feature is also available in this section.

Terrain data
Terrain profiles can be generated manually or from digital terrain elevation and clutter data. All distances, elevations
and clutter heights can be edited. Structures, both on and off path and ranges of structures can be added to the path
profile.

Antenna heights
Antenna heights can be set to meet user specified clearance criteria. The analysis is extended to show diffraction
loss at the minimum expected value of K and a user specified value. The feasibility of links operating in the VHF and
UHF bands can be quickly determined with this feature.

Multipath - reflection analysis

Terrain reflections and ducting are analysed using ray tracing and reflective plane techniques. Receive signal varia-
tions are analysed as a function of K, antenna heights, frequency and tide levels. An interactive display is used to
calculate the optimum antenna spacing to minimize the effects of a specular reflection on space diversity systems.El-
evated and surface duct characteristics are automatically determined for the specific path profiles using the ITU-R
P.453.8 database
Diffraction loss
Diffraction loss can be calculated as a function of K, frequency, antenna heights and distance along the path profile.
The OHLOSS report in this section provides the long term statistical variations diffraction and tropospheric scatter
loss. Calculations can be made using any combinations of the algorithms in an interactive manner in order to verify
questionable results.

PL50L standalone link design program

In the integrated link design program, the individual pl5 files can only be accessed if they are part of the network
display. In particular, the files menu only allows pl5 files to be saved. Although a pl5 file can be imported into the
network display and subsequently worked on in the integrated link design program, there is no provision to directly
open a pl5 file in this program.
To deal with the general case of pl5 files that are not part of the network display, a standalone version of the link
design program is provided - PL50L. This can be accessed from the network display tool bar or from a desktop icon.
The standalone program has its own GIS setup which does not include backdrop imagery or vector displays.

In the integrated link design program, the datum of all site coordinates must be the same as that specified in the Sites
tab of the GIS configuration.

In the standalone version, the GIS sites datum and projection are changed to that defined in the pl5 file when it is
opened.

DATA ENTRY
In addition to the standard windows dialog boxes, the program uses two data entry forms. The standard data entry
form is used for a fixed number of entries. The grid data entry form is used for a variable number of items. These are
described below.

Standard Data Entry Form

Set the focus to the desired cell with a
left click or use the cursor / tab keys and
enter the data.

Cells which cannot be accessed are

shown in blue letters. This may be a cal-
culated field or not editable for some rea-
son.

Click the green check (OK) to

close this form and accept the data entries.

Click the red X (Cancel) to close this form and reset all data to their values on entry.

Click the Eraser button or press the F3 key to remove a data entry. If the button is inhibited, that data entry
can only be modified but not removed.

Click the Reset button to change a data item back to its original value on entry.

Click the Help button to provide context sensitive help on the subject of this form.

To edit an existing entry, select the field and press the F2 key or double click on the cell.

On forms with two columns, a data entry can be copied from one side to the other. Select the field to copy to and
press the F4 key.

When units are applicable to a data entry, the required units will be specified. These are based on the global meas-
urement setting. On items with feet or meter units, such as the tower height, the value in the opposite system can be
entered using the following formats:

• The required units are meters. The data units are in feet. Enter the value followed by the letter ‘f’’ (e.g. 100f)
• The required units are feet, The data units are in meters. Enter the value followed by the letter ‘m’ (e.g 30.5m)
Grid Data Entry Display

The grid data entry display is used when a variable number of entries is required such as the site list in the network
display or in a lookup table. The following data types are used: numeric, text, boolean (e.g horizontal or vertical po-
larization), drop down lists, check boxes, and color definitions.

To enter data or replace existing data, set the focus to the desired cell with a left click or use the cursor / tab keys
and enter the new data.

To edit existing data, double click on the cell or set the focus to the desired cell an press the Enter or F2 key.
Each data record has a minimum data entry requirement. For example
in the case of a new site, the minimum requirement is the site name and
the latitude - longitude.

Records can be edited and added using a list form. To edit an existing
record, first select the record and then select the Edit - Edit menu item
from the menu bar. Alternately, right click on the field in the record and
select Edit from the popup menu.

To add a new record, select the Edit - Add menu item. An existing item
can be used as a template for the new record. Left click on the record
number field to select the item to be used as a template. Then select
the Edit - Add menu item.

The list form may contain additional fields which are not available in the
grid data form. For example, in the Site list form, the following additional
fields are available: projected coordinates, address, city, state, country
and owner code.

The records in most grid data forms can be sorted. Click the header of
the field to sort. Alternate clicks sort the list in an ascending and de-
scending order.

To change a column width, click on the column separator on the header

bar and drag to the new width.

To change the column order, click on the column on the header bar and
drag to the new location.

To reset the display to the default column widths and order, select the
i menu item.

Right button menu

A right button click on a cell brings up a popup menu. The default menu selection consists of the edit list form and
delete items; however, on others considerable functionality is available. An example of this is the DEM File index grid
data entry form.

TEXT FILE IMPORT

The import text file utility is used throughout the program for such tasks as importing site data and importing an index
of backdrop files. A four step procedure is used for the import. The procedure starts by opening the text file to be
imported. In the procedure below a site text file is used as the example.
Step 1

The first 8 lines of the text file are initially displayed. If the file contains headers or other information before the import
data, use the Start import at line up-down control to move the first line to be imported to the top of the display.

Select either the Fixed width or Delimited data format. In a fixed width file, a field will always start in the same column
in the record. In a delimited file, the fields are separated by a delimiter character such as a comma or a tab.

When the text import is complete, all of the settings and column definitions used for this particular data import are
automatically saved. The next time this particular text import is used, the previous settings will be automatically ap-
plied. The automatic save is made in the PL50.ini file located in the Windows directory (or virtual store).

If various formats are being used for this particular import, the definition file can be saved in its own file in Step 3.
Click the Load import definitions button to load an import definition file (id5 file).

Click the Next> button to proceed to Step 2.

Step 2

For delimited files, specify the delimiter character. The display will be reformatted to show the field separations. Two
additional options are used in delimited files:

• Treat consecutive delimiters as a single delimiter. This option may be necessary when a space is used as a
delimiter.
• Ignore delimiters inside quotation marks. This option allows a delimiter character to be used in a string.
In a fixed width file, the user must define the start of each column. Left click on the display to set the column. Left
click on an existing column to remove it

Click the Next> button to proceed to Step 3

.Step 3

The columns are defined In this step. Initially all columns will be marked <none> meaning that these columns will not
be used in the import. Click on a column to select it. Then select the column definition from the list above.

On delimited text files, click the Reset column widths to display headers button to resize the columns.

Click the Save import definitions button, to save all settings and column definitions in a separate file (id5 file)

When all columns have been defined, click the Finish button to complete the import.

CALCULATION OPTIONS
The calculation options are saved in the individual pl5 files, in each link design
ld5 file and in the PL50.ini file as the defaults. Note that the first line in the op-
tions display states which of the above three options are being displayed in
bold type. In addition, if a design section is active, then the default calculation
options menu in inhibited. Specific details on the calculation options displayed
in this paragraph are given in the respective technical reference section.
Default calculation options

As the title implies, these are the default values which will be used in all new link designs. These options are saved
in the PL50.ini file in the Windows program directory and are loaded when the program starts. Select the Configure
- Options - Default calculation options menu on the network display menu bar

Pathloss data file calculation options

Each link data file (pl5 file) contains the calculation options used in that file. In any of the design sections, select the
Configure - Options - Calculation options menu item. Many of these options can also be accessed by clicking a panel
on the status bar.

Link design rules calculation options

Each link design rules file (ld5 file) contains the calculation rules for the design. Select the Calculation options menu
in the Link design rules dialog.

Application - radio type

Set the basic application type: microwave, adaptive modulation or land mobile, design frequency and polarization.
Set the calculation method for the selected application.
Multipath - K Fading Method

Select the basic multipath fade algorithm and the associated options. The obstruction fading method can be set di-
rectly in its data entry form in the transmission analysis section; however, the data source can only be set here. In
North America and Canada use the Public obstruction fading data. In all other areas, use the ITU-R P.453-7 Refrac-
tivity data.

The Enable cross polarized co-channel operation can be set in its data entry form in the transmission analysis sec-
tion.

Space diversity methods

Select the space diversity, quad diversity and angle diversity method. Set the maximum diversity improvement factor.
Rain

Select either the Crane or ITU-R P530 rain algorithm and the specific attenuation regression coefficients. For the
Crane algorithm specify the Rain data source. All other options can be set in the rain data entry form in the transmis-
sion analysis section.
Miscellaneous calculation options

Clearance Criteria

Pathloss diffraction algorithm

Diffraction parameters

COLOR RAMP

Color ramps are used for the following:

• elevation backdrop
• color coding links in the auto link design section
• signal level displays in local and area studies
This section describes the basic operation using the elevation color ramp as an example.

Absolute - relative values setting - In the example display, the elevations are set to relative values. The total range
indicated by (1) and (2) are 100% and 0% and cannot be edited. For absolute values, enter the high end of the range
in (1) and the low end of the range in (2).

Move a range by either method below:

• Click on the range marker (4) to hilite it. The value will be shown in the selected range edit control (6). Enter the
new value and press Enter.
• Click on the range marker (4) and drag the marker up or down to its new location. You can drag the marker over
other markers but be careful not to drag the marker out of the range column as this will delete the marker.
Add a new range by double clicking on a blank spot in the range column (5) outside the existing range markers.

Remove a range by either method below:

• Click on the range marker (4) to hilite it then click the Remove range button.
• Click on the range marker (4) and drag the marker outside the range column.
To change the color of a range,
select the range marker (4) and
click the Change color button or
double click on the range marker.
If the ranges use solid colors, then
you can also change the color by
double clicking on the range dis-
play color (3). Note that the color
selection dialog includes a trans-
parency setting. This feature can
produce interesting effects for sig-
nal coverage and elevation back-
drops.

Color schemes
Color schemes can be saved. The
last scheme used becomes the
default. To save a color scheme,
enter a name for the color scheme
(7) and click the Save button. To
remove a color scheme, select the
scheme from the drop down list
and click the Remove button.
ANTENNA CONFIGURATION
All calculations and analysis in the program are based on an antenna configura-
tion. The following terminology describes the antenna usage.
• TR - the antenna is used to transmit and receive.
• TX - the antenna is used to transmit only.
• RX - the antenna is used to receive only.
• DR - the antenna is used to receive only in a space diversity configuration.
• TH - the antenna is used to transmit and receive in a hybrid diversity config-
uration.
.These antenna types are combined into antenna configurations, as shown in the

Table 1: Antenna Configurations

Two Way Antenna Configurations

TR-TR A single antenna is used at each site to transmit and receive.
TRDR-TRDR Two antennas are used at each site in a space diversity configuration. The TR
antenna is used to transmit and receive. The DR antenna is the diversity receive
only antenna.
TXRX-TXRX Two antennas are used at each site to transmit (TX) and receive (RX).
TXRXDR- Three antennas are used at each site to transmit (TX), receive (RX) and space
TXRXDR diversity receive (DR).
TR-TRTH This is a hybrid diversity configuration which uses frequency diversity in both
TRTH-TR directions and space diversity at one end of the path only. At the space diversity
end, the TR antenna and TH antenna each transmit and receive one pair of the fre-
quencies. The two configurations determine which site is equipped with space
diversity.
TR-TXRX A single antenna is used at Site 1 to transmit and receive. Separate antennas are
used at site 2 to transmit and receive.
TXRX-TR This is the reverse configuration of the above TR-TXRX configuration.
One Way Antenna Configurations
TX-RX Transmit at one site and receive at the other. The two configurations identify the
RX-TX transmit and receive sites.
TX-RXDR Transmit at one site and diversity receive at the other. The two configurations
RXDR-TX identify the transmit and receive sites.

following table:

In any of the design sections, select the Configure - Antenna configuration menu item to set the antenna configura-
tion. If the antenna configuration is displayed on the status bar, you can also click the left mouse button on the con-
figuration box.
Antenna Combinations
Diversity and separate transmit and receive antenna configurations have sev-
eral antenna combinations. Each combination must be analysed separately.
Click the antenna combination field in the status bar to select a new combina-
tion. An antenna must be selected at each site to define the combination.

PROFILE DISPLAYS
Profile displays are used in the link design sections of the program. The basic operation of these displays is described

below using the diffraction display as an example.

The profile display in the Terrain data section is an exact representation of the users data. In all other displays, the
terrain profile is preconditioned so that the minimum distance between profile points is one percent of the path length.
Points are inserted to meet this requirement using linear interpolation. This is a necessary step to display the effective
earth radius. Most displays show the flat earth profile with a diagonal fill pattern and a second profile above this to
represent the effective earth radius. The corresponding earth radius factor (K) will either be displayed on the status
bar or as a selection in a drop down list on the control bar.
Status bar
The status bar includes short cut operations to commonly used functions. The selections depend on the specific de-
sign section.Click on each box in the status bar to determine if additional functionality has been implemented. The
following selections are implemented on all profile displays:

Site Name

Click on either site name at the ends of the status bar to access the Site Data entry form. This form includes all avail-
able site parameters. Note that if the GIS settings for the site do not use a geographic projection, then the form will
display both the latitude-longitude and the easting - northing - zone projected coordinates.
Measurement system
Click on the measurement units box on the status bar to convert between metric
and miles-feet.

Profile Cursor
Profile displays use a cursor for various operations. The cursor is positioned on
the display using the cursor keys or by clicking the left mouse button on the dis-
play. The cursor location is shown on the status bar. The cursor style and move-
ment are described below:

Cursor Style
The default cursor style is a red arrow. Press the letter ‘A’ to change between an arrow and lines to the antenna. The
latter is useful in assessing the clearance from some point to the antennas. The cursor style is also shown on the
status bar as ‘A’ or ‘L’. Alternately, click on this letter to change the cursor style.

Cursor Movement
Three cursor movement methods are used in the profile display:

• P (profile) the cursor can be positioned on any point of the terrain profile.
• S (snap) the cursor can only be positioned on peaks of the profile.
• C (continuous) the cursor can be positioned anywhere on the display. This option is only used in the diffraction
design section.
The letters P, S or C appear on the status bar. To change the cursor movement, press the letter for that movement
or click the left mouse button on the letter in the status bar.

Terrain Data Point Information

Click on the cursor location box on the status bar for informa-
tion on the point at the cursor location. The format will vary de-
pending on the design section. Alternately, press the Ins key.

Selecting a Segment of the Profile

Many calculations involve selecting a segment of the terrain
profile. Several examples are:
• defining the end points of a reflective plane.
• terrain roughness calculations.
• inhibiting reflections over a portion of the profile.
• manual diffraction loss calculations.
The basic procedure, in all cases, is as follows:

• Place the cursor at one end of the segment and press the
F1 key or click the right mouse button. The cursor will
change color to indicate that it has been selected.

• To cancel the first point selection, press the F8 key or click

the reset button on the display.
• Move the cursor to the opposite end of the segment and press the F1 key again or click the right
mouse button.
Fresnel Zone Reference
Fresnel zone references are an essential part of any
terrain profile analysis. In profile displays, the Fres-
nel zone dialog is accessed from the menu bar or
with the F2 key.

The Fresnel zone reference can be expressed as a

percentage of the first Fresnel zone reference or as
a Fresnel number (e.g. F2 = 1.414 F1).

Several types of Fresnel zone references are available. On line of sight paths, the Fresnel zone references are al-
ways drawn from end to end. On obstructed paths, a more meaningful representation is achieved by drawing the
Fresnel zones between the horizons.

If a reflective plane has been defined, the Fresnel zones can be drawn to the reflection point. This provides a visual
representation of the area along the profile required to support a specular reflection.

If the label box is checked, the value (100% or F2) will be written at the mid point.

There is no limit to the number of Fresnel zone references. The Fresnel zone reference settings are common to all
design sections.

REPORTS
Pathloss reports use the TE EDIT CONTROL, a full featured word processor, licensed from Sub Systems, Inc. The
program generates the basic reports in an RTF format and then invokes the word processor. If the files are saved in
RTF format, then these can be used with Microsoft Word or any other word processor that supports the RTF file for-
mat.

Note that the default icon for an RTF file is the same as the Micosoft Word icon.

Each link design section includes a report menu item for the specific reports applicable to that section. De-
tails of these reports can be found in the documentation for that design section. Composite report gener-
ation is available in any of the design sections and in the network display. Composite reports can be generated for
multiple pl5 files in the network display.

Report templates are used to format each report type. These RTF which contain all of the format settings including
the page size, margins and orientation and custom headers and footers. These can contain a logo, page numbers
and special fields such as the file name, company and project names.
Report generation in the link design sections
Select the Design - Reports menu item on the menu bar to access the Reports dialog. A single report or a composite

report can be printed for the selected link.

Note the Blue arrow buttons on the left side of the display on the report type lines. To print any particular report, click
the Blue arrow button corresponding to that report.

To print a composite report, check the desired reports and then click the Print selected reports button.

Click the Edit report formats button to set the page margins and header footer format in the report templates.

A composite report for multiple pl5 files can be printed. First check the desired reports and then click the Multi select
files to print button. An Windows file open dialog is used to multi select the pl5 files to print. This can also be carried
out in the network display using a selection or group of links.

Company Name - Project Name

These fields will be inserted into the header and footer as specified by the COMPANYNAME and PROJECTNAME
keywords in the report templates.
Path profile format

900

850

800
Elevation (m)

750

700

650

600

550
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Path length (36.27 km)
Pine Valley Frequency (MHz) = 5882.5 Dawson Creek
Latitude 56 01 37.06 N K = 1.33 Latitude 55 48 08.60 N
Longitude 120 38 09.66 W %F1 = 100.00 Longitude 120 12 58.10 W
Azimuth 133.43° Azimuth 313.78°
Elevation 805 m ASL Elevation 776 m ASL
Antenna CL 73.2 m AG L Antenna CL 97.2 m AGL

A path profile drawing is included in the Transmission summary report and is available as a single page landscape
report. Note that the Use clearance criteria check box is only visible when the Path profile format is set to a flat earth
display. When the Use clearance criteria is checked, the clearance criteria for the current link is displayed and all
Fresnel zone and Earth radius factor options are inhibited.

The profile format can be a flat earth display, a curved earth display with straight axis or a curved earth display, with
curved axis.

Four values of K can be shown using the flat earth display or a single value with the curved earth display.
Four Fresnel zones can be drawn between the main antennas or between the main to diversity antennas. On ob-
structed paths the Fresnel zones can be drawn end to end or between the horizons.

Click the Preview profile button to display the results. Click the Copy profile button to copy the profile drawing to the
clipboard for use in another application. To change the axis or label fonts, line widths and colors select the Configure
- Options - Program options - Profile Display menu item.
Report generation in the network display

Select the Operations - PL5 reports menu item to access the Reports dialog in the network display. This is used for
printing reports for multiple pl5 files. Note the following differences between this dialog and the link design section
reports dialog.

• the network display can be included in the report

• the Preview profile and Copy profile buttons are not available
• individual report printing is not available
• If the Use clearance criteria is checked, the current default clearance settings will be displayed; however, the
reports will use the actual clearance criteria in the pl5 files
Select the files to print (selection, group or all links from the drop down list) and click the Print selected links button.

Report formats
In the network display or link design section select the Configure - Options - Program
options - Report layouts menu item. Alternately, in the reports dialog click the Edit re-
port formats button.

RTF template files are provided for the following reports:

transmission summary
transmission detail
profile display
default report
composite reports
interference case detail
interference cross reference
P5transcalc_summ.rtf
P5transcalc_detl.rtf
P5profile_disp.rtf
P5default_rept.rtf
P5batch_print.rtf
P5interf_casedetl.rtf
P5interf_crossref.rtf
performance summary P5perform_summ.rtf
network display - portrait P5network_port.rtf
network display - landscape P5network_ldsc.rtf

These files are located in the cstmdata folder in the Pathloss program directory. The template files contain the report
formatting including the header and footers. For each report click the Edit RTF template file button and edit the format
as stated in the text in the template files.

The network display printing is automatically set to portrait or landscape based on the drawing aspect ratio.

Select the specific report to edit its format. The following formatting options are available:

• Units -set the units to either inches or Centimeters.

• Image size - this is the size of the image (usually a profile display) as it will appear in the report. This can be
resized in the report itself; however, in batch printing, the appropriate size should be determined on a single
report before carrying out a batch print.
• Set font - a different font can be used for each report type
• Color printer - a reflection analysis report uses color coded lines to display the relative receive signal level as a
function of a variable. If color printer is not checked the coding will be changed from colors to a dotted or dashed
line style.
• Print notes - the contents of the pl5 file note pad can be included in the report. This option only refers to reports
in the PL50L link design section.
Transmission report options
/The specific fields used in transmission reports can be are completely configureable.
Separate settings are available for:
• transmission summary report
• transmission detail report
• CSV link reports
Each setting consists of the common fields and the specific calculation method.

Select the Configure - Options - Program options - Transmission re-

port format - Common fields menu item. Select the report to be config-
ured from the drop down list. Check the fields to be used in the report.
When this is complete, select the application (microwave, adaptive
modulation or land mobile). Verify that the dropdown list is set to the
correct report and check the required fields for that application.

Pathloss File Types

The following table itemizes the file suffixes unique to all versions of Pathloss program. When multiple versions are
shown for a particular file type, for example, (4-5 for the file suffix gr4), this means that both version 4 and 5 can open
a gr4 file; however, only version 4 can save a gr4 file)

Suffix Ver Description

pl3 3-4-5 These are the link design files. Each file contains the information for a single radio link
including the site data at each end of the link, the path profile, the radio, antenna and
pl4 4-5 transmission line specifications, frequency, polarization and the calculation methods
pl5 5 and options.

gr4 4-5 These are the network display files which show the sites and links geographically.
They include the site, link and base station data, and the file names of the associated
gr5 5 link design files.
p5g 5 These file contains the geographic settings for the network display and include the
digital elevation and clutter definitions, backdrop imagery and vector file information.
The p5g file name is saved in the gr5 file.

lsy 5 Local study data file. This file contains the calculated loss for each cell in the local
study array of a base station. The file has the same name as the base station.

asy 5 Area study data file. A file for each base station involved in the area study is created
which contains the calculated loss in each cell. The files have the same name as the
base station. The composite results for all base stations are in a separate file using
the gr5 file name.
ld5 5 Link design rules file. This file contains the design methodology, calculation options
and all equipment parameters.

tc5 5 Version 5 frequency plan file.

txc 4 Version 4 frequency plan file. Cannot be used in version 5.

ifr 5 Interference calculation results file.

id5 5 Text import definition file.

 Antenna data files and lookup tables

mas 4-5 Binary antenna data files for microwave applications

vas 4-5 Binary antenna data files for VHF-UHF applications.

asd 5 Binary antenna data file for all applications.

adf/dat 4-5 These are common suffixes used for ASCII antenna data files in the NSMA WG16 and
the TIA 840-A format.

mat 4-5 Lookup table for microwave antennas.

vat 4-5 Lookup table for VHF-UHF antennas.

ant 5 Lookup table for all antennas.

ndx 5 pl50_ant.ndx This is the antenna data file index located in the pl50/equipmnt directory.
pl50_txl.ndx This is the transmission line table located in the pl50/equipmnt directory

Radio data files and lookup tables

mrs 4-5 Binary radio data file for microwave applications

rsd 5 Binary radio data file for all applications including adaptive modulation

raf 4-5 ASCII radio data files. The same suffix is used for both version 4 and 5 formats

ndx 5 pl50_rad.ndx This is the radio data file index located in the pl50/equipmnt directory.

PL50\cstmdata directory
This directory is used for custom data and contains the following files initially

circleH.emf and circleL.emf files used to denote high and low frequency sites in frequency assignment operations

pathloss.emf pathloss logo file

comprose.bmp compass bit map used in the 3D terrain view

*.rtf rich text format template files used to predefined headers and footers

thsymbol.lst current list of thematic symbols - not initially present

PL50\equipmnt directory
This directory is intended for radio, and antenna data files. The following index files are saved in this directory:

pl50_ant.ndx antenna data file index

pl50_rad.ndx radio data file index

pl50.txl.ndx transmission line lookup table