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All     1998    News for NTIA/ITS HF Propagation Models (WINDOWS version)
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07 Jan  1998    News for NTIA/ITS HF Propagation Models (WINDOWS version)

07 Jan  1998   1. The BATCH Point-to-Point discussed in the 97_04_28.txt
                  news file did not work correctly for ICEPAC in the 32-bit
                  version of the software.  That has now been fixed.
                  The news is repeaded below:

                  For those who wish to create their own IONCAP style input
                  deck, that can now be processed properly with the Windows
                  versions of ICEPAC and VOACAP.  Perform the following:
                    a. Create the input deck on a file (NOT named modelX.DAT)
                              (That means NOT ICEPACX.DAT or VOACAPX.DAT)
                       The file should be in the ..\RUN directory.
                    b. Create an icon to execute with the following properties:
                         Command line:
                          ..\BIN_WIN\modelW.EXE directory BATCH deckname
                         Where:
                               model = ICEPAC or VOACAP
                               directory = install directory (e.g. C:\ITSHFBC)
                               deckname = file name used in (a) above.
                         Working Directory:
                               directory\RUN
                                (remember, directory is defined above)

  
                  For ICEPAC, below are the relevent comment lines directly
                  from the source code that detail how ICEPACW.EXE may be
                  executed:
c Execute with:
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory ICEPACX.DAT ICEPACX.OUT    (P-P circuit)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory ICEPACG.DAT ICEPACG.OUT    (P-P graph)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory ICEPACD.DAT ICEPACD.OUT    (P-P distance)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory ICEPACT.DAT ICEPACT.OUT    (P-P time)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory BATCH                      (P-P batch)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory BATCH deckname.dat         (P-P NEW batch)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory AREA CALC ICEAREAW.CIR     (AREA batch)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory AREA method pathname       (AREA single)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory INV  CALC ICEAREAW.CIR     (AREA INVERSE batch)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory INV  method pathname       (AREA INVERSE single)
c where:
c    [S]       = SILENT, then no messages are written to output window
c                SILENT must be spelled out completely and in UPPER case.
c    directory = full pathname to the install directory (e.g. c:\ITSHFBC)
c    method    = (CALC/SCREEN/PRINT)
c    pathname  = full pathname of input data file
c                (e.g. C:\ITSHFBC\AREADATA\DEFAULT\DEFAULT.ICE)
c

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06 Feb  1998   1. The version of REC533 has been updated to produce the same
                  results as the official ITU REC533 Version 3.  This was
                  done to assist the ITU in developing a HF planning tool
                  to meet the needs of HF Broadcasters as agreed upon
                  at WRC 1997.

               2. A minor fix was made to ICEPAC that would, under very
                  unusual circuits (>10000km) that would cause frequencies
                  above the MUF to produce no output results.  An array
                  was not properly initialized.  It is unknown how often
                  this could have happened, but was probably very difficult
                  to detect.  This may have also affected VOACAP, and the
                  correction was also made to that model.

               3. I have had trouble on my Windows-95 system of colors
                  doing strange things.  This began happening when I
                  got a new SALFLIBC.DLL that was to fix problems on
                  Windows-NT systems.  I have therefore reverted to an
                  older version of the SALFLIBC.DLL until this problem can be
                  resolved.  If anyone has problems and wants to try the
                  new SALFLIBC.DLL that can be obtained from my web site:
                      http://elbert.its.bldrdoc.gov/hf.html

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04 Mar  1998   1. I have found some more problems with SALFLIBC.DLL for
                  Windows-95 systems.  Sometime, the area coverage program
                  seems to hang during calculations.  I have not found that
                  to happen with the SALFLIBC.DLL packaged with this version.
                  Sorry for any problems, but ever since migrating to the
                  32-bit compiler for Windows-95 & Windows-NT, I have had
                  problems.  I cannot seem to isolate the problem where
                  Salford can give me a proper solution.  With no funding,
                  you will just have to bear with me.  Please report problems
                  so I have some idea how many this is affecting.

               2. A ham operator (Ruediger Anders, AA2HT) has corrected some
                  of the GEO data files to account for political correctness
                  and spelling inconsistencies.  These affected the files:
                        ..\GEOCITY\EUROPE.GEO
                        ..\GEOCITY\WESTASIA.GEO
                        ..\GEOCITY\WRLDWIDE.GEO
                        ..\GEONATIO\EUROPE.GEO
                        ..\GEONATIO\WESTASIA.GEO
                  I have included these files in this version of the software.
                  Thanks Rudi.
                  Anyone else willing to submit information of use to everyone
                  is invited to do so.

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20 Apr  1998   1. The Point-to-Point programs would fail if the Tx(0.,0.) and
                  Rx(0.,180.) was used.  Other antipodal conditions could also
                  have caused the failure.  I hope this has been fixed (again!).

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01 May  1998   1. ICEPAC Point-to-Point had a problem when using the DISTANCE
                  or TIME plot options.  Any percentage plot (e.g. REL), would
                  plot OK to the screen, but if you printed it, it was scaled
                  by 100 again.  That has been fixed.

27 May  1998   1. Thanks to Tony Field, the world boundary data base has been
                  updated to reflect the more recent country borders.
                  Germany has been united.  The former Soviet Union has been
                  re-drawn.  Two problems in North Africa have been fixed 
                  (Eritrea & Yemen).  And some additional lakes and waterways
                  have been added to Canada.  Thanks again Tony!!

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14 July 1998   1. In correcting some problems relating to Windows-NT,
                  I may have created some additional problems when plotting
                  the Distance and Time options in ICEPAC.  If you obtained
                  fatal errors indicating a file was not OPEN, this version
                  should solve that problem.

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12 Aug  1998   1. Some cities names were changed.
                  The following cities changed countries:

                     Banja Luka   in   BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA
                     Dubrovnik    in   CROATIA 
                     Ljubljana    in   SLOVENIA (Capital City!)
                     Maribor      in   SLOVENIA

                  The following cities were renamed:

                     TITOGRAD      to  PODGORICA (Capital of Montenegro, 
                                                  Yugoslavia)
                     TITOVO UZICE  to  UZICE (Yugoslavia)
                     TITOV VELES   to  VELES (Macedonia)

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22 Sep  1998   1. I have finally gotten time to change the Point-to-Point
                  GRAPH option to allow more than one GROUP to be calculated
                  and plotted.
                  If more than one GROUP (month/SSN) is calculated, when you
                  go to the GRAPH, a new button called GROUPS will appear.
                  This will allow you to select data from the other GROUPs
                  to be plotted.
               2. *****NOTE:*****
*****************************************************************************
       As of Oct 1998, NTIA/ITS can no longer accept funds to register
       the HF software.  The consequences of this are:
         1. Software is only available to users via the internet.
         2. Installation disks can no longer be mailed.
         3. User assistance will be given through email,
            and can only be done on a "Time-available" basis.  
*****************************************************************************
               3. It is, however, possible for you to contract NTIA/ITS to
                  modify the software for your needs.  This can be performed
                  under what is called a CRADA.  See the web page:
                     http://flattop.its.bldrdoc.gov/index.html
                  and view the Software Development CRADA for the legal words.
               4. If you would also like training in how to use the software,
                  that can probably be performed under the Pay-per-Use CRADA
                  on the same web page.

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13 Oct  1998   1. The BATCH Point-to-Point discussed in the 98_01_07.txt
                  news file has been modified again at a user request.
                  The user can now specify the output file name when BATCH is
                  used.  The default name is ICEPACB.OUT or VOACAPB.OUT,
                  depending on which model is used.

                  For those who wish to create their own IONCAP style input
                  deck, that can now be processed properly with the Windows
                  versions of ICEPAC and VOACAP.  Perform the following:
                    a. Create the input deck on a file (NOT named modelX.DAT)
                              (That means NOT ICEPACX.DAT or VOACAPX.DAT)
                       The file should be in the ..\RUN directory.
                    b. Create an icon to execute with the following properties:
                         Command line:
                          ..\BIN_WIN\modelW.EXE directory BATCH deckname outname
                         Where:
                               model = ICEPAC or VOACAP
                               directory = install directory (e.g. C:\ITSHFBC)
                               deckname = file name used in (a) above.
                               outname = file where output is written.
                                 If omitted, will be VOACAPB.OUT or ICEPACB.OUT.
                         Working Directory:
                               directory\RUN
                                (remember, directory is defined above)

  
                  For ICEPAC, below are the relevent comment lines directly
                  from the source code that detail how ICEPACW.EXE may be
                  executed:
c Execute with:
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory ICEPACX.DAT ICEPACX.OUT    (P-P circuit)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory ICEPACG.DAT ICEPACG.OUT    (P-P graph)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory ICEPACD.DAT ICEPACD.OUT    (P-P distance)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory ICEPACT.DAT ICEPACT.OUT    (P-P time)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory BATCH                      (P-P batch)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory BATCH deckname.dat         (P-P NEW batch)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory BATCH deckname.dat out.out (P-P NEW batch)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory AREA CALC ICEAREAW.CIR     (AREA batch)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory AREA method pathname       (AREA single)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory INV  CALC ICEAREAW.CIR     (AREA INVERSE batch)
c    ICEPACW.EXE [S] directory INV  method pathname       (AREA INVERSE single)
c where:
c    [S]       = SILENT, then no messages are written to output window
c                SILENT must be spelled out completely and in UPPER case.
c    directory = full pathname to the install directory (e.g. c:\ITSHFBC)
c    method    = (CALC/SCREEN/PRINT)
c    pathname  = full pathname of input data file
c                (e.g. C:\ITSHFBC\AREADATA\DEFAULT\DEFAULT.ICE)
c

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01 Dec  1998   1. You can now do area calculations of the whole world that are
                  not required to be centered at Longitude=0 degrees.
                  For example, if you wish the center to be the U.S., you would
                  specify Xmin=-270 and Xmax= 90.  This would put the center
                  at Longitude= -90 degrees (90 West Longitude).

               2. You can now create your own external antenna calculation
                  program.  If one of the internal antennas does not fit your
                  needs, you can create your own executable program to calculate
                  the antenna gain files.  Look at the HELP documentation
                  in the HFANT program for more complete details.

08 Dec  1998   1. Fixed a little problem in Point-to-Point ICEPAC/VOACAP using
                  Method 23 with the GRAPH output.  MODE is now forced to
                  always be included.  Even though it cannot be plotted, it
                  needs to be there for the plotting to work correctly.

21 Dec  1998   1. A small bug was detected in REC533 when plotting the
                  Point-to-Point output parameters.  This was fixed by adding
                  some lines to the file ..\DATABASE\REC533.GPH.

22 Dec  1998   1. The ability for you to create antenna files from external
                  sources is now available.  You can run models such as NEC
                  and save the results on a data file in a format such as that
                  defined by:
                          ..\antennas\samples\sample.90
                  This particular file contains gain values for frequencies
                  from 2 to 30 MHz in 2 MHz steps,
                  from 0 to 355 degrees azimuth in 5 degree steps,
                  from 0 90 degrees elevation angle in 3 degree steps.
                  This file is already .5 MBytes in size.
                  If all the above is in 1 unit steps, the file becomes about
                  15 MBytes in size.  The program cannot resolve more than
                  1 unit step sizes. 
                  I will try to describe this more fully in a HELP file.

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