[TowerTalk] Where to get HFTA Software

[Gene Fuller]

RE your exact tower location -

Small handheld hikers GPS units that give Lat. and Long. can be had on eBay 
for cheap. I found several Magellan Blazer 12 units  in the $25-$50 price 
range . They were  among the earlier designs for hikers and don't have as 
many fancy features as the newer units so the hikers are unloading them. I 
find them ideal for my simple minded boating because they give you just what 
you need to get from here to there and don't complicate it with a  lot of 
stuff I'm nor interested in, but they do also give you lat and long, so you 
can just take it to the base of the tower and read degrees, minutes and 
seconds, which should be close enough and can easily be converted in decimal 
equivalents that can be entered into the HFTA program.

I agree that it is a PITA to use HFTA but it does give a lot of good info 
for those who persist. Even if you have already committed to your 
installation it's interesting to see what kind of performance you might 
expect. Or, if your looking for a place to buy or build it's a good 
evaluation tool and you'll learn lots about the ups and downs of the 
neighborhood within a radius of a couple of miles.

Gene / W2LU

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <dotravel at aol.com>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2012 9:48 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Where to get HFTA Software


>
> Jim, if you did build a simplifiied way to enter the exact location of the 
> antenna to import into HFTA you would be a hero to the masses because 
> Microdem is a true PITA!
>
> Note that unless the site is on flat ground just entering the QTH location 
> would not be enough. For the data to be of value,  the location of the 
> tower needs to be within feet if not inches prior to importing into HFTA.
>
> Regards, John NA6L
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Lux <jimlux at earthlink.net>
> To: towertalk <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Sent: Sat, Mar 3, 2012 10:09 am
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Where to get HFTA Software
>
>
> On 3/3/12 9:55 AM, Richard Thorne wrote:
>> Where can the software be obtained? Is it downloadable or do you have to
>> by the ARRL antenna book to get a copy?
>>
> Need to get a copy of the ARRL antenna book.
>
>> I'm in the middle of installing my tower and I'd like to run some 
>> numbers.
>
> I'd say it would be easy for someone to run it for you, but the real
> value comes from having the terrain data, which is a somewhat complex
> process and location specific.
>
> (although, I've thought about making some sort of web server that could
> take a call sign or lat/lon, generate the terrain files automatically.
> Seems like you could build some interface to Google Earth, for instance.
>
> That's way down on the list of software projects though...
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