[TowerTalk] TA or HFTA

[Bill Aycock]

Pete- Thanks for the clarification- The source of my confusion was a post 
that mentioned "TA" and the elevation database.  HFTA is apparently what I 
really want. I guess I will have to get a later Antenna book, after all. 
The cost doesn't rank very high on the scale of my Hobby expenses.
I have done the "pencil on a TOPO" for the club repeater, several years 
ago, and it's a drag.
Bill

At 10:25 PM 1/8/2005 -0500, Pete Smith wrote:

>I think there is some confusion afoot here.  TA was DOS software written 
>and marketed by Brian Beezley, K6STI.  It was a rough contemporary of, and 
>quite similar to YT, (Yagi Terrain) which N6BV wrote and the ARRL bundled 
>with the Antenna Book from about the 18th Edition on.  HFTA is the new, 
>Windows version which is bundled with the 20th edition of the Antenna 
>Book.  Aside from the much nicer Windows user interface, HFTA (HF Terrain 
>Analysis) also incorporates a new figure of merit for evaluating the fit 
>between antenna patterns and arrival angle of signals from target areas, 
>as estimated by IONCAP.  It also uses terrain data derived from the 
>National Elevation Database which has been made available on the web by 
>USGS.  Much more accurate than pencil lines on a topo map, and easier to do.
>
>For the sake of full disclosure, I was a beta tester for HFTA and helped 
>write some of the documentation, but I wasn't paid for it....
>
>
>
>73, Pete N4ZR
>The World HF Contest Station Database
>was updated 13 December 2004
>2843 contest stations at
>www.pvrc.org/WCSD/WCSDsearch.htm
>
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Bill Aycock - W4BSG
Woodville, Alabama