RMW: Dengan Google Earth
Installing Radio Mobile
If you have not already installed Radio Mobile:
Download a copy of our Radio Mobile installer from here. This installer does not contain any topographic data, the data will be downloaded from the Internet automatically upon creating a new map.
(!) If you have attended any of the BC3/FNTC or BCWNS Workshops, you may have received a resource CD containing Radio Mobile Deluxe. The CD version of the installer contains topographic data for most of the Province.
Using Radio Mobile
Drawing a map
Run Radio Mobile and do the following:
"File - map properties" Click "select a city name" - enter your community name. Set pixels to 800 * 800 Height = 150 Tick "Ignore missing data"
Then click apply and it should draw a default map centred on your community.
Close the picture and go "File - New picture". Try selecting different types of picture - "Colored slope (relative)" I think produces the best effect.
Note - you can click on the map and it puts a cursor up - you can now read the lat and long of that position and if you go "View - Elevation grid" and it puts a small grid so you can accurately move the cursor to the correct height position.
The actual area the map covers and hence the detail is determined by the "height" you enter in the map properties field.
Adding radio stations (or units)
Go "Edit - Unit properties" Enter the name of the location (My House, City Hall, etc.) Choose to either enter the lat and long manually or if you have already got a map drawn you can place the cursor at the desired location and then choose "Place unit at cursor position".
(!) You can name the site and add it to the permanent cities database so it always appears on every map by clicking "Add to cities database"
Adding a network
Before you can see the coverage of the various stations, they have to be in a radio network.
Go "File - Network properties" Enter your first network name eg "Wireless Network 1", the frequency of operation (eg: 2400 - 2483 MHz, 5700-5800 MHz, etc. and polarisation.) Click the "Systems" tab Enter a system name eg "Wireless Network - 802.11b", "power level" and "aerial height" etc. Create the second system name eg "Wireless Network - 802.11a" and enter the data Click "Membership" tab Tick the units you want in this network an then make sure you put them as the correct system (eg either repeater or home)
Click "Apply" It will draw the paths between your stations on the map.
Station coverage prediction
To see the coverage from a unit close the existing picture.
Go "File - New picture" and click "Grey scaled slope" and un tick "10 metre contours" and then apply. Go "View", "Radio coverage" Choose the centre (base) unit and the mobile (remote) unit, the colour to draw the coverage (red is good) in and the upper and lower signal level and "Apply" It will then ask to redraw in grey - say yes
It will draw the coverage and ask, "leave in picture?". Answer yes if you want to either save the picture as a bit map or you want to draw anther coverage area on the same picture - useful for adjoining repeater coverage or seeing the different frequency coverage form the same site.
Answer no if you want to see another coverage without the old one coverage plot.
To look at the link between 2 stations
Go "View" "Radio link" Select the 2 stations you wish to link Note you can now adjust aerial height and power levels etc.
If you click anywhere on the link diagram, this puts the cursor on the main map so you can see where the high hills are that are obstructing the path!
Overlaying road maps on the coverage plot
Now the smart bit - you can overlay a road map from Map Point on your coverage plot!
Go "Edit" "Merge from Map Point" "Multiply".
You can download Map Point pictures for use at a later date.
Go "File" "New picture"
"MapPoint"
This will give a clean copy of Map Point that you can save for later use.
"File", "Save picture as"
To use this, draw your coverage plot and leave it open.
Go "File", "Open picture" and open the saved Map Point. Go "Edit", "Merge pictures" and select to merge the Map Point on to your coverage plot.
I'm sure there is a lot more you can do but I have not found it yet - have fun
Using Google Earth with Radio Mobile
In the Radio Mobile -> Tools start menu, you will find a utility named "RMW to Google Earth". This utility will export a Radio Mobile network file to a Google Earth .KML, including units and network links.
Run RMW to Google Earth (Net2KML)
From the File menu, select "Open a Network" and open the network file you wish to export
From the File menu, select "Save as KML File" and specify a file name to save as.
The .kml has now been created, you should be able to open it in Google Earth
In Google Earth, from the File menu, select "Open" and locate the newly created .kml file.
googlearthrm.PNG
Related Links
The Radio Mobile Website is http://www.cplus.org/rmw/
Related RMW Links