FM: Explorer
BIA/Kelsey’s Dataworld division offers FM Explorer, a graphical allocation tool that allows you to do "what if" analysis for creative FM allocation. With FM Explorer, you can easily view the affects of changes on a current allocation situation such as:
- Location of the transmitter
- Channel or class of the study station
- ERP and/or antenna height and affect on coverage
- Downgrade of Class
FM Explorer gives you key knowledge to make well-informed business decisions.
To following map is an example of a coverage/separation map in an FM Explorer study. Click to see a sample page of a study.
A study page has three sections:
- Coverage/separation map (located on the left),
- Set of controls for manipulating map layers and changing study criteria (located on the right), and
- A table showing separation data and the status of short, critical, close, and clear facilities (located at the bottom).
The map shows the facility under study, coverage contours, separation requirements, and a geographic base layer. You can control what is plotted on the map by changing any of the facilities values, selecting a different map contour and/or by opting to display different layers. Click the Redraw Map link when you are ready to create the map to the new specifications.
- The map
- The red areas are prohibited
- The yellow areas represent locations where a 73.215 short spacing may be available
- The blue areas represent international short spacings, which follow different rules
- Any white area represents fully spaced locations, both domestically and internationally
- Move the transmitter with a mouse click
- Recenter the map with a mouse click
- The controls
- Change the channel or class of the study station
- Change the ERP and/or antenna height and see the effect on coverage
- Select the terrain data source
- Permit forced downgrading of Class C's to C0 if their HAAT is at or below 450 meters
- Display spacing arcs at the nominal distance or 0.5km less (deminimus short spacing)
- Select from a number of map layer options
- Scale the map to meet your needs
- Select the "on click" action for the map
- The data grid
- Color-coded identically to the map
- Shows all conflicts that are clear by less than 25km
- Allows you to drop a record from the map
- Allows you to study the conflict station with a mouse click
Everything interacts. You can uncheck the box for a particular station in the data grid, and when the map redraws, the conflict will not be mapped. If you change the class or channel in the control panel, that change is reflected on the map and in the data grid. If you move the transmitter by clicking on the map with "Move study facility" selected in the control panel, the coordinates change and the data in the grid is based on the new location.
Advanced studies: One of the most powerful features of this software is the ability to play "what if" with other facilities and see the effect on your allocation. You can click on a conflict, change its class, channel, and/or location, and then click the link back to your study facility. The modified information on the conflict is retained, so you can study your facility as if the change had occurred.
Note: As FM Explorer studies allocations based on FCC required distance and 73.215 short-spacing arcs, it is suitable only for the commercial FM band.
$250 for 24 hours of clock time, included in FM Engineering Subscription Package.
To purchase, please call (800) 331-5086 or e-mail info@bia.com
