If you've visited us before and want to know what's changed, look here first.

SATSOFT v 2.7 was released Dec 11, 2006. Request a demo. New CD's are being shipped automatically to all support contract (ASU) holders.  For complete details of v 2.7 please see the SATSOFT readme file. New Features include the following:

1. Edge of Coverage (EOC) contours (SATSOFT/PRO only) can be plotted from Display | Contours by checking the EOC box. This plots the contour just grazing the edge of the coverage polygon. Moving the boresight causes EOC contours to be recomputed automatically upon releasing the mouse.
2. Resample & Export patterns (SATSOFT/PRO only) resamples patterns to a specified resolution, so that they are regularly spaced in a specified coordinate system (u,v, az/el, lat/lon). This enables preparation of antenna patterns for further manipulation with SATSOFT, or for export and use with other software, such as geographic information systems (GIS). Also, patterns can be adjusted for boresight rotations. For example, you can import or synthesize a pattern, change its boresight, rotate it, then export it to a new grid that incorporates the boresight rotations.
3. Coverage polygons can be filled with an assortment of colored solid and hatched patterns. This makes it much easier to distinguish pattern contours from coverage polygons when the two are superposed. The fill styles are accessed from the Polygon Editor | Properties dialog in Polygon View.
4. Pattern contours can be filled by checking the “Fill Contours” box in Display | Contours. Each contour is filled with the color selected for that level.
5. A new license server daemon has been introduced to improve the reliability of floating network licenses. Floating licenses (network tokens) are managed by the daemon running on a server (any computer running windows). Clients connect via TCP/IP.
6. Imported pattern files defined on a lat/lon grid are now supported. These can be imported and used for most SATSOFT functions, including performance tables and composite synthesis. 

Version 2.7 Bug Fixes 

A bug in Beamlet and Station Grid/Edit Beamlet Positions dialog prevented all beam centers from being converted from one coordinate system to another. This has been fixed.

Importing of ACP4 pattern files was limited to 1024 character line lengths. Files with lines longer than this were improperly read, so that no contours would appear. The buffer has been increased to 8192 characters.

SATSOFT was exporting Ghz to ACP files, rather than Mhz. This has been fixed.

Polygon labels were not plotted when the number of points in the polygon was 3000 or greater. This has been fixed.

SATSOFT v 2.3 in some cases saved workfiles in a format that could not be read by earlier versions. This problem would occur if any performance table objects were present in the scenario. A library from one of our vendors caused this, which we have solved by modifying the way their library saves one of its objects to disk. 

A warning is issued when importing a pattern file whose grid starting values are greater than ending values. In this case, contours will be plotted, but performance tables may not be computed since some of the interpolators cannot handle this situation properly. The performance table will be empty if that is the case. This situation occurs whenever xe < xs or ye < ys in the input pattern file grid.

Exported GXT files now list the absolute gain in the beampeak [B1] sections. In prior versions the peak gain was written as 0 dB. Also, when exporting multiple beams from Antenna View to GXT files, multiple beampeaks are listed, one for each beam, so long as the beampeak intersects the earth. You can import a gxt file and export it again while preserving the beampeak values.

SATSOFT v 2.3 was released 30 Sept 04. New Features include the following:

1. A database of over 70,000 cities is supplied in the resources directory on the SATSOFT CD

2. A preview of the Interference Analysis Module (SATSOFT/IAM) is contained in this release. 

3. Polygon expansion and contraction has been improved. 

4. The Dual Mode Optimizer is accessed via Antenna | Optimizer Settings. 

5. Additional points are added along polygon borders when generating synthesis stations.

6. Synthesis station gain targets can be specified via coverage polygons, when generating station grids.

7. Whittaker-Shannon interpolation may be used for preparing performance tables from imported patterns. Whittaker is more accurate than bicubic for suitable antenna patterns. 

8. The polygon grid generator has been enhanced.

9. Coverage polygons may now be exported as well as imported in TICRA .pol format.

10. IntelliMouse support has been added to all grids in SATSOFT.

11. Polarization tilt angle may be entered manually in the Performance Table Options Dialog.

Version 2.3 Bug Fixes

1. Under Windows XP, after placing an image on the clipboard with an Edit | Copy, SATSOFT could crash when the image is deleted from the clipboard (e.g., another ap places an image there).

2. In v 2.1 & 2.2 under Windows XP, editing in any of satsoft’s grids (city tables, performance tables, etc) was problematic because the characters were not displayed properly while a field was being edited. This has been fixed.

3. Pointing error polygons in Polygon View were displayed incorrectly in some cases immediately after loading a work file. This has been corrected.

4. GRASP pattern files written in (azimuth, elevation) coordinates are no longer inverted in the az direction by default. 

5. Importing a .cov or .ctr polygon file containing a zero length polygon could result in a message box stating “insufficient memory.” Satsoft could subsequently become unstable and crash. This has been fixed.  The contouring algorithm was also modified so that zero length contours are not generated.

6. Zero length contours are no longer written to gxt files, solving a problem importing these files to GIMS.

7. When you copy or move a polygon object to an antenna object on a different satellite at a different orbital location, the polygon’s coordinate system was not properly updated. As a result, the polygon was not displayed properly in the antenna’s view. This has been corrected.

8. Some improvements to large beamwidth Gaussian beams were made. 

9. The allowable length of title strings has been increased from 100 to 2047 characters for imported coverage polygon files. 

10. Synthesis station files written in POS4 format now contain seven fields instead of 5, the last two being set to zero, to improve compatibility with POS4. 

11. As of v 2.2, an oblate spheroid earth model was implemented. However, when tracking (long, lat, rot) is selected in Display | Boresight, the (lat, lon) coordinates were converted to s/c coordinates using the spherical model, rather than the oblate model. This was an oversight and has been fixed in this release.

12. When accessing network tokens via a remote network (e.g. over the internet), SATSOFT could become sluggish due to network latency. To solve this problem, license checking is now done from a separate thread.

13. GXT files with embedded spaces in certain input lines would cause an error upon importing. 

14. Large toolbar setting was not saved to registry. This has been fixed. If you are using a high resolution display, you really should try the Large Buttons setting found in View | Toolbars.

15. System Menu colors for win XP were added.

SATSOFT v 2.2 was released 4 Jun 03. New Features include the following:

1. The earth is now modeled as an oblate spheroid consistent with the WGS84 geoid. This improves the accuracy of earth coverage plots and performance tables.

2. Large, high resolution toolbar icons have been added. These can be turned on from View | Toolbars.

3. Station grids with a single station at the centroid of each polygon can be generated. This is useful when a grid of diffraction limited composite beams is to be generated, one per polygon. 

November 2002 SATSOFT Ap Notes Newsletter was released November 6, 2002.

SATSOFT v 2.1 was released 20 Sept 02. New Features include the following:

1. Reduce workfiles to an email friendly size by deleting internally computed patterns, which are recomputed automatically as needed.

2. Move or copy objects in the satellite tree by dragging and dropping, or by copy and pasting with the clipboard. This facilitates such operations as adding coverage polygon definitions to antenna objects, creating multiple reflector designs, copying objects to other workfiles, etc.

3. Zoom in/out and scroll using a wheel mouse.

4. A new, more accurate map database is now shipped with SATSOFT, based upon NIMA’s Digital Chart of the World.

5. Performance table computation is more robust, as interpolation is now done in polar coordinates. This avoids problems interpolating patterns with large phase gradients or erroneous phase information.

6. Axial ratio and maximum as well as minimum performance due to pointing error has been added to performance tables.

7. Contours of saturation flux density, required earth station G/T and antenna size can be plotted and tabulated in performance tables.

8. Contour line styles other than solid are now shown properly for contours and polygons when thickness is greater than one, but only under Windows NT, 2000, and XP.

9. Several new import and/or export formats have been added: Irregular pattern grids, ESRI Shapefiles, ACP4 and Eutelsat pattern grids, STK custom sensor patterns, TICRA (*.pol) files, DCW map files.

10. GXT files can be exported from Polygon View as well as Antenna View. You can now import, edit, then re-export GXT files, and export digitized patterns in GXT format.

11. Beamlet numbers and station numbers can be plotted.

12. A new tool moves antenna boresight to the centroid of the coverage polygon automatically.

13. Several new polygon tools have been added: pointing error reduction (as well as expansion), join, down sample, remove duplicate points. The polygon editor has also been improved.

 Version 2.1 Bug Fixes

1. ITU GXT pattern export has been modified so that the magnitude of the longitude is less than 180 degrees, which is necessary so that the ITU's GIMS program can import the file.

2. Patterns for large coverage areas are now much better optimized when using the SATSOFT/PO antenna model.

3. Under some circumstances the error "A required resource was unavailable" is displayed. This has been fixed.

4. Longitude values outside the range –180 to 180 degrees entered into Polygon Table Create are now normalized to within this range, to avoid points plotted outside the range of the map.

5. The "default" line thickness was not applied for new contours. This has been fixed.

6. If a polygon file was imported to Polygon View, replacing an existing polygon currently in edit mode, SATSOFT would crash upon exiting edit mode. This has been fixed.

7. Under some circumstances a GXT polygon beampeak marker (boresight in ITU parlance) could be lost using table edit. This has been corrected.

8. Shift+delete in Antenna View deletes selected stations.

9. A STG_E_INVALIDNAME error would result if you attempted to import a pattern file with a name longer than 31 characters.

10. ASCII pattern files with linefeeds only are correctly imported.

12 Nov 2001: Eight new tutorial videos are available to help you get started learning how to use SATSOFT.

22 March 2001: Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI), producer of the Satellite Tool Kit® (STK) software suite, announced today that it has partnered with Satellite Software, Inc. to resell SATSOFT. 

A SATSOFT frequently asked questions file can be obtained from the downloads page.

SATSOFT v 2.07 was released 14 Mar 01.  Click here to download the software. New Features include the following: 

1. Antenna pointing error degradation, crosspol C/I, and pattern slope have been added to the performance tables. A SATSOFT/PRO license is required for these features.
2. Digitizer support has been added. Any Windows compatible tablet that can be configured as a mouse can be used with SATSOFT. No special drivers or installation are required. Once digitized, antenna contours can be moved to any orbital slot, plotted in any projection, with antenna boresight rotated as necessary to obtain the desired coverage.
3. Two additional functions have been added to the polygon editor: Split Polygon and DownSample Polgyon.
4. Three additional pattern file export formats have been added, SATSOFT type 20 ASCII, GRASP ASCII, and STK ASCII directivity. Patterns can be exported from Antenna View by selecting File | Export Files | Antenna Pattern. 
5. GRASP pattern file import has been updated for some GRASP8 extensions
6. This release also fixes a number of bugs.  Please see the v 2.07 release notes for a complete description of features and bug fixes.
7. The world map now contains US states. If you are using an older version of SATSOFT, the map database file can also be obtained from the Downloads page. Just unzip into your Program Files/Satsoft directory, replacing the existing wmap4.dat file.

Please uninstall any prior releases of SATSOFT first. To do this, run setup from the SATSOFT folder, and click on Remove All Components. Then install the new version. SATSOFT is designed for all 32 bit versions of Windows, W95/98/ME/NT4/2000. However, the original version of Windows 95 which was released in August 1995 is not supported, nor is NT 3.5. W95 version 4.00.950 B is supported, though.

When you first install SATSOFT, you are provided with a 30 day evaluation license. Select Help | License Manager for information on the options that are enabled and the expiration date.  

Please click on Help | Help Topics after downloading and installing SATSOFT for an overview of the software.

The optional Analytic Reflector Model (SATSOFT/AR) has been improved. The directivity of the antenna pattern is now computed using a physical optics integration for an on-focus feed. Note, however, that the analytic model does not model scan aberration or crosspolarization. All component beams are identical, so the directivity of shaped patterns created with the model will be somewhat optimistic, most closely resembling patterns from a reflector with a large F/D ratio. If you need greater fidelity than provided by the analytic model, you will need to order SATSOFT/PO, the SATSOFT Physical Optics Model. 

The SATSOFT Analytic Phased Array Model can be obtained by purchasing the SATSOFT/PAM option.

Be sure to check out the following SATSOFT features:

Dynamic Memory	SATSOFT allocates memory dynamically, so there are no limitations on the size of antenna patterns, contours or polygons. The number of satellite, antenna, and polygon objects, and the number of beams and stations is limited only by available memory.
Context Sensitive Help	Click on Help from any dialog box. For help on toolbar buttons and menu selections, click on and then select the menu or click on the toolbar button of interest.
Performance Tables	Prepare tables of antenna performance at city and station locations. Directivity, gain, EIRP, G/T, flux density, and other parameters can be tabulated in spreadsheet format, which can be copied and pasted into Excel and other applications, printed, or exported to a file.
Antenna Model Options	Be sure to check out the optional SATSOFT/AR, SATSOFT/PO, and SATSOFT/PAM antenna models. All of these are enabled in the 30 day trial.
Optimize Shaped Beams Enable Automatic Optimization   Compute Component Beams	Create a grid of component beams and synthesis stations in any Antenna View. Then click to synthesize the shaped antenna pattern. You can use component beams read from a disk file, or any of the antenna models.
, Show or Hide Contours	Show or hide component and composite contours by clicking on these buttons in Antenna View.
Antenna Data in (u,v), (q,f), Az/El, and El/Az Coordinate Grids	Pattern contours can be plotted from any standard SATSOFT (or CPLAN) ASCII or binary pattern file or any GRASP (u,v) grid file.
Vector Graphics Export	From any view in SATSOFT, click on Edit | Copy to copy the view to the clipboard. This can be pasted into any Windows application that supports Windows Metafiles, which includes Microsoft Office and many other applications. You may also export graphics to a file from File | Export Files.
Whittaker Interpolation and Reconstruction of Antenna Patterns	Select Display | Component Contours or Display | Composite Contours. The density of points in the antenna pattern is increased by the factor entered into the Whittaker Interpolation Density field.  This feature can save a significant amount of computer time and disk space by enabling the use of coarse input pattern grids. The interpolation is done on the fly every time the patterns are contoured.
Drag and Drop Files	Drag and drop files from the Windows Explorer to load SATSOFT or import CPLAN work files. One or more pattern files can be dragged to SATSOFT and automatically imported. Coverage polygon, contour, and GXT files can be dropped on a Polygon View.
Interactive Boresight Rotation	Click and drag the antenna pattern to change its boresight.
Mouse Coordinates Pane	Display coordinates of the mouse in various coordinate systems.
Beam and Station Grids	Component beam and synthesis station grids can be created and edited in any Antenna View.
Export Synthesis Station Grid	As a CPLAN or POS4 compatible PO-coverage file.
Contouring Options	Select Display | Component Contours or Display | Composite Contours in Antenna View. Options are available to select which beams to plot, polarization, slant range path loss, gain offset, contour levels, line style, font, etc. Plot contours of directivity, EIRP, flux density and other parameters.
Polygon Creation & Editing Tools	A full suite of editing functions is available from the Tools menu or from the polygon editor toolbar. Polygons can be created in regular grids, selected, created with the mouse or from a table of coordinates, moved, copied, edited both interactively with the mouse or in a table, and rotated. Line style and color, label, and other properties can be changed for one or more selected polygons. The analyze function computes the solid angle subtended by the polygon as seen from the antenna.
Polygon Expansion	Expand polygons by the satellite pointing error. Plot pointing error loci at polygon vertices. These features require purchase of SATSOFT/PRO
Sin Space Unit Circle	Plot a sin space unit circle in any coordinate system. See Display | Maps.
Boresight Marker	A boresight marker can be added from Display | Boresight
Maps From Any Altitude or Viewpoint	Plot contours, and other features on world maps in nine different coordinate systems.
Circular, Elliptical, and Rectangular Pointing Boxes	Pointing boxes are computed from the roll, pitch, and yaw errors of the satellite.
Updated City Database	A database of over 1600 of the largest cities in the world is provided, updated to reflect political changes in Europe and Asia. City name or designator can be plotted. Airport codes have been entered into the designator field where available.
Multiple Shaped Beams	Multiple shaped beams can be synthesized simultaneously using any antenna model or imported component beam file. SATSOFT/PRO required for this feature.
Elevation Contours	Any number of elevation contours can be plotted in any view, with control of thickness, line style, and color.
File Import and Export	In Antenna View, select File | Export Files to export antenna pattern grids, contour files, ITU GXT files (for electronic filing with the ITU), synthesis stations, reflector geometry, and screen graphics. Synthesis stations can be exported in a format compatible with TICRA's POS4. Reflector geometry is exported in a format compatible with TICRA's GRASP7 reflector program. Screen graphics export is currently limited to Windows Enhanced Metafile format. In Polygon View, select File | Import Polygons to import coverage, contour, and ITU GXT files. Select File | Export Polygons to export.
Window List  Dialog	This dialog box makes it convenient to select, close, or tile one or more windows.