Introduction:
Hello and welcome to the ManTMA Overflights Group Plane Plotter help desk!
Located here are questions which are frequently asked by users of PlanePlotter which we hope you will find helpful and constructive to enhance your enjoyment of this invaluable 'spotters' software?
This page is 'work in progress' so will be continually updated!
Information:
You will find a selection of topics on the right hand side. Find one that is relevant to your problem and click the link!
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are using the latest version of PlanePlotter (and it is recommended you always should be!) then keeping your PCs clock correct is vital. Please see the first topic on the list for further information.
Thank you.
The latest version can be obtained from here:
www.planeplotter.com
Upgrades are free to registered users. You may need to click "Refresh" on your browser to force it to show you the new page. Your existing settings will be carried forward.
Make sure that PP Is not running when you install the new version. You may also need to tell your firewall/security system that the new version has permission to access the web.
If you are a Ground Station, you may also need to tell your firewall/security system that the new version is allowed to fire UDP packets all over the place!
[via the WiKi]
The Latest PlanePlotter Version:
v5.5.2.1 [16-07-10]:
Bug fixes and cosmetics:
There are several bug fixes and enhancements for recent receiver types.
Registration lookups have been increased for some receiver types.
A minor bug in Mlat processing has been fixed. Note that as a result, the number of hyper curves in an Mlat result may appear to be less but the quality of the result will be better.
Route names derived from a local database can now be up to 16 characters. They will appear that length in the View..Aircraft list and in the Airrep dialog but only the first 9 characters will be passed to the sharing system.
The duration of the "Highlight" feature has been restored. It shrank to almost nothing when the refresh rate increased to every second. It is now 8 seconds and shrinks away during that time.
A bug which resulted in editing the wrong aircraft if you are slow to click Edit in the Airrep dialog, has been fixed.
Help..About now shows a less cryptic version of the reg no and the share code.
NoniMapView support:
Support is introduced for NoniMapView. This handy Java utility can be downloaded from
Aeguerre.free.fr.
It enables you to prepare PP compatible map/image files using Google satellite, road or terrain images, OpenStreetMap, Yahoo Satellite and roads, Virtual Earth satellites and roads. Unlike the limited features in PP itself, NoniMapView can generate maps of any size and with any level of precision, using more types of background.
Brief introduction to using NoniMapView with PP:
Download the Java app from the Aeguerre link above and run it.
Choose the required layer in the Main Display pulldown.
Drag the map about and use the mousewheel or the Display slider to zoom in or out to show your area of interest.
Click on Select Area and drag the cursor to define the area that you want to download as a map.
Select the resolution with the Download slider. It does not have to be the same as the Display slider but it is good place to start with. Watch the Size window to make sure you are not making a monster. Note that it is very easy accidentally to start a multi gigabyte download and huge images will not load into PP unless you have sufficient memory.
Click Start.
You will see a file dialog. Choose a suitable name and save it in the chart directory that you have defined in PP.
Here's the nice bit: Noni saves both a JPG and a calibration .map file in the selected directory. The map file is compatible with PP .clb files. This version of PP will now open the new JPG file and pick up the .map file automatically, to provide the necessary calibration information. Simply select Files..Open new chart in PP and choose the file that you just created.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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Older PP Version Info.
Previous PlanePlotter Version History:
Older versions of PP can be obtained, by request, from here:
Admin @ ManTMA
v5.5.1.5 [29-06-10]:
SSRx serial mode switched to binary.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.5.1.4 [29-06-10]:
SSRx serial DTR line disabled afte r100ms.
improved position decoding for PGR/AVR/RxC/SSRx.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.5.1.3 [21-06-10]:
Bug fixes:
Fix display bug in Int/Tag when timing out.
Fix bug restricting routes from updating.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.5.1.2 [20-06-10]:
Version 5.5.1.2 fixes some infelicities and adds a couple of features.
Bug fixes:
Fixed bug whereby edits to SQB did not always stick.
Fixed bug whereby acft not in SQB would be added but default to "Interested".
New features:
Add Neither/Interested/Not interested to Alert options.
Add UserTag to Alert text match options.
The alert options allow you to be much more specific about which aircraft are going to generate an alert. The use of either of these, allows you to generate an alert on an unlimited number of specific aircraft (prevously limited to 50) by using the Edit option (which should always work now) to tag the aircraft of interested.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.5.1.1 [18-06-10]:
Version 5.5.1.1 of PlanePlotter is now on the web.
Remove debug routine that was causing buffer truncation
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.5.1 [17-06-10]:
Full details of the changes are to be found in the Help file but here is a brief synopsis.
Trim/edit excessive SQB fields, rather than ignore them
Fetch route information for PGR/AVR/RxC reception
OLE/COM access to "Interested" and "UserTag" fields
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.5.0 [17-06-10]:
Full details of the changes are to be found in the Help file but here is a brief synopsis.
Aurora SSRx support (in beta)
Hypershare only appropriate data
Incoming Hypershare sets '??' for share code
Add "interested" and "user tag" fields to View..Aircraft
Add edit button to Airrep dialog to update Reg, Type, Interetsed, User
Update SQB database with edits (if enabled)
Add Interested, UserTag fields to SQB database if not present
Ctrl-right click on Aircraft View opens Airrep dialog
Sort Aircraft View by interested and user tag fields
View or Chart Interested/Not interested fields
Google Earth labels mirror chart labels
Improve location decoding in PGR/AVR/RxC
Fix bug in range rings sizing
Fix bug in PGR/AVR/RxC not indicating "local" traffic
I hope the introduction of "Interested" and "UserTag" and the change from "ignore" to "truncate" for excessively long fields, will mollify those who found the previous version so contentious.
The ability to edit the relevant fields in the SQB database from within PP, is an entirely new feature.
There are many changes in this version. It is impossible to test all combinations of circumstances so don't be surprised if there are infelicities. You may regard the whole thing as a beta version.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.9.4 [06-06-10]:
Version 5.4.9.4 of PlanePlotter is now on the web.
It has no new features but, thanks to tireless testing by several kind souls, it appears to to have fixed the main stability issue in the last version.
The stability problem affected a relatively small number of users but I would recommend upgrading to the new version as it incorporates several, more robust, data quality tests. These are likely to become essential when hypersharing moves up a gear.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.9.2 & 3 [Not Published]:
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v5.4.9.1 [24-05-10]:
Version 5.4.9.1 of PlanePlotter is now on the web.
There are a number of new features and some bug fixes.
New Features
Hypersharing:
Hypersharing is a new feature. Up to now, aircraft that were received by sharing (ie. aircraft that you are not receiving directly yourself) were downloaded from the sharing server once per minute. The new feature allows some aircraft, under some circumstances, to be refreshed as often as once per second.
The feature is only available to Master Users and initially, you will see it refresh only the currently designated aircraft, if any. The method requires there to be one or more operational Ground Stations within range of the chosen aircraft. In due course, other aircraft will be added to the hypersharing process. This new feature only kicks in after the next sharing cycle following the designation of an aircraft. You don't see the effect immediately that you designate something.
The new option is enabled in the Options..Sharing..Setup dialog.
User defined aircraft symbol:
In addition to the existing option to use your own BMP file in place of the stylised aircraft symbol, you can now define your own aircraft symbol as a polygon based on series of x,y vertices. Unlike a BMP image, your design will be colour coded and oriented in the same way as the default symbol.
The Help file gives you full details and includes an example polygon file kindly designed by Dave Reid. Be aware that a highly elaborate symbol outline might add considerably to the processing load when charting a large number of aircraft. If your processing power is marginal, it may be best to eshew this feature.
Flag-only aircraft on charts:
To allow you to select the aircraft that appear in the View..Chart/Outline displays, you can use the flag option as a display filter. Ctrl-F10 toggles the option that displays on the chart only those aircraft that you have flagged with the Options..Flags features.
OLE/COM Mlats use minimum UI:
Mlats triggered by a script via the OLE/COM interface now operate in the same way as Remote Mlats. There is no pop-up progress window, no chart shift and no plotted hyperbolae.
Networked traffic:
Traffic that originates other than from a local receiver, is not intended to be uploaded into the sharing system because to do so, would sabotage the Circles/MyCircles features and potentially invalidate the criterion for an Mlat. A change to the processing of apparently local TCP/IP traffic makes it possible for PlanePlotter to distinguish local and networked traffic if the networking system presents the appropriate fields. This format change has already been incorporated in Roger Tinembart's networking method.
Editorial changes etc.:
The pop-up Mlat progress window now uses a different font and there are minor editorial changes to the content of the window.
HFDL reports with unknown registrations now use ".NO-REG", rather than "Unknown" for the registration. This facilitates processing by automated registration systems.
The sharer string in View..Aircraft is now colour coded to show which share codes are those of Ground Stations.
The Help file has been edited in various places.
Bug fixes
A number of memory leaks have been identified and fixed.
Outline charts derived from a preceding map/chart that was twisted (ie. not having North at the top) previously showed the aircraft symbols at incorrect angles. That bug is now fixed.
Shared Mlat aircraft now leave a contrail if they persist long enough to develop one.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.8.2 [29-04-10]:
This version addresses some of the "matters arising" from version 5.4.8
The sharing lockup has been fixed.
The TCP server output now tags local time and not UTC to match the SBS1/BS format. The previous version would only work if the PC was set to UTC.
The TCP server listens on all addresses (including 127.0.0.1).
RadarBox users may find that a flightroute.sqb database is more forthcoming. I have increased the number of times the database is checked.
If you have had issues with 5.4.8, I suggest that you try 5.4.8.2
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.8 [25-04-10]:
Version 5.4.8 is on the web site now.
New Features
The primary and secondary sharing cycles are now in separate threads. This means that a problem with one server will not have adverse repercussions on the other. It *may* also mean that Mlats on slow machines/slow connections work better as the sharing cycle is a separate thread and the incoming raw data for Mlat will not trample the tail of the sharing cycle.
You can also change the sharing refresh rate for the secondary server. The primary one (COAA) is fixed at 60 seconds.
In the case of RxC and PDG receivers, the message time tag now updates on all message types as long as no position is received for that aircraft. After that, the time tag relates to the last position report.
PlanePlotter now has a TCP/IP output option. The data is in the "industry standard" (:-)) 30003 format. This means that PGR and AVR users can run third party applications off the PP TCP/IP port (set to 30003) as if there was an SBS1 or RBv3 present.
The TCP/IP port can be set to other port numbers (to avoid conflict with 30003 if you have an SBS1 or ANRBv3) and then you can run one or more instances of PP looking at the primary instance's TCP port to display the data simultaneously in different presentations. To support this new feature, you can set the IP address (Options..Modes-S..Kinetic..IP) and the port number, using the format eg. 192.168.2.106:9750. With the primary instance configured to provide a server on, say port 9750, you can have a number of secondary instances working off that port as if they were running off the receiver.
Please, if you use this feature and run multiple instances of PP, please make sure that only one of them is sharing. Running several instances, all of them sharing will get you struck off!
For people who get in a complete settings muddle, there is now a Files..Factory default settings option.
There are a couple of new OLE/COM methods that the scripting wizards will no doubt exploit. These allow Mlats to be triggered from a script.
I have added a feature whereby the AVR receiver can feed its raw data directly into PP via UDP. This probably has limited appeal!
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.7.9.2 [08-04-10]:
Version 5.4.7.9.2 is on the web site now.
This version adds a user defined number of steps in the contrail. It does not seem to have much impact on the CPU loading if you increase the number of steps. It defaults to 10 steps in the contrail (the same as previous versions) but you can change that to anything up to 50 steps. Options..Chart..Options (in the contrail section).
Caveats:
1. It looks very pretty if you are picking up the aircraft directly.
2. If you are relying on sharing, the updates are once every 60 seconds so contrails will always be angular and there is no benefit in using this version.
3. Contrails on Mlats are subject to special treatment (because the position reports occur at special intervals) and they are not going to look as pretty as 1, but better than 2.
This version also adds a new shared parameter which, with some more work that I have still to do on the sharing script, may then allow a GS and an MU to be separate on the same LAN. Details on how to do that will follow if and when the script changes are done.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.7.8 [02-04-10]:
Version 5.4.7.8 is on the web site now.
You do not need to uninstall the old version. Your settings will be carried forward.
You may need to use your browser Refresh function to force it to show you the new page.
If your firewall/security system is version dependent, you will need to grant the new version permissions that you need.
In case you wondered why, the download is much smaller than recent versions due to the exclusion of an obsolete help file format.
Shell on Alert
You can now send yourself an email, trigger a camera, or turn on the oven when PP generates an alert. You can put any program or batch file into the Alert Shell string and the program will run that batch for any new alert. It also writes a file "alertmessage.txt" into the log file directory that your batch file can incorporate into, say, an email that it sends.
Display Only The Designated Aircraft
You can now display just the designated aircraft on the chart by using Shift-F10. If you don't have a designated aircraft you will see a blank chart. Please don't use this function and then ask me why there are no aircraft on the chart. As a collateral to this, the F10 to show Mlats only, no longer shows the contrails of all the other aircraft. Sorry if you had grown to like that feature but it was not how it was supposed to work.
Manual Air Reps
You can now enter Air Reps manually. This is primarily for HF monitors who can enter the reports in pretty much the format that you hear them. The Help file describes the format that PP will accept. To make entry simple, it requires no punctuation or capitalisation. If the report gives the usual next estimate position/time, PP will calculate a course and speed a such that with prediction enabled, it will project the symbol to arrive at the next point at the estimated time. If you want to enter 5-letter reporting points, put a text file called "waypoints.txt" containing the waypoint name latitude and longitude (decimals) that you are likely to use.
Bug fix ACARS hex/type
I have fixed a bug whereby a position reports in ACARS lost the hex code and type that had been extracted for the registration.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.7.7 [25-03-10]:
Version 5.4.7.7 is on the web site now.
New Features
ACARS users can now benefit from the hex code and type lookup available in the SQB database. This means that ACARS-only users should now consider using the SQB database if they have not done so hitherto.
HFDL users can now benefit from the hex code or registration and type lookup available in the SQB database, provided that at least one of the hex code or rego are known. This means that HFDL-only users should now consider using the SQB database if they have not done so hitherto.
These latter changes may help to reduce the problem of double plots where there was insufficient overlap in the data from different modes to connect the two messages.
Support for the data format from the AVR receiver type.
Out of deference to other manufacturers, the SQB database used to link hex codes, registrations and types, can now use any name in Options..Directories..SQB, and no longer always "basestation.sqb".
There is now a link to the download paragraph of the PlanePlotter home page in the Help menu.
Bug fixes
AVR receiver port number error is fixed.
Problem with the time tag in RxControl format causing jittering prediction, is fixed.
Problem decoding raw data coordinates for users in the Southern hemishpere is fixed. This will have affected PGR, RxControl and AVR user south of the Equator and also will have prejudiced Mlats in that hemisphere. It had no effect on users in the northen hemisphere nor on users in the south unless they were using the specified receivers or trying to Mlat. I have never understood why Mlats in Aus never "took off" - until now.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.7.6 [20-03-10]:
Version 5.4.7.6 of PlanePlotter is on the web site now.
New Features
It reduces the Mlat window to 10 seconds to take advantage of the new data collection scheme. Mlats are completed in less than 1/6 of the time they previously took.
There are no other changes in this version. There is no urgency in adopting this version - it just makes your Mlats slicker. Automated repeats of an Mlat now occur about thre times faster than before. They will, in fact, update more quickly that normal sharing.
**Please bear in mind that with shorter times between Mlats, the intrinsic errors will produce realtively more conspicuous zigzags in the tracks. Like the screen update improvement, this does not mean bigger errors, the plotted precision remains subject to precisely the same uncertainty, but the track may look less smooth but you are seeing far more data. The course and speed inferred from successive Mlat positions will, of course, now be subject to a wider spread. You may wish to turn off prediction when looking at Mlat tracks.
Currently, the unattended mlat feature (Remote Mlats) is suspended, so you will have to do all your own Mlats for a while (or rely on others). The Remote Mlat feature will reappear using the new technique in due course without any version change being required.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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Version 5.4.7.5 of PlanePlotter is on the web site now.
New Features
You can use more kinds of "<" ">" and arrow keys to move around the View..My sky display. You can also press "n","e","s","w" keys to move the display immediately to the North, East, South, West.
You can use the wildcard "*" within alert strings to reduce the ambiguity of alerts. Thus "400***" as a hex trigger will alert on UK registered aircraft but not on "A00400", which the older versions would have done. The same applies to registrations, flight numbers squawks (eg "7*00") and types.
The field for message counts in the status bar is slightly wider than it was (bracing myself for complaints from users with narrow screens) and now only includes the raw buffer count if the raw data option is enabled.
A new parameter in the OLE/COM SetDisplayParameter method emulates the F11 key to switch between Charts/Outlines and My sky. No doubt Curt will make use of this in one of his scripts, in due course.
[nb: v5.4.7.3 & v5.4.7.4 were not published.]
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.6.2 [23-01-10]:
Regards, Bev, COAA.
Version 5.4.7.2 of PlanePlotter is on the web site now.
New Features
My Sky View (menu View..My sky)
This is a new way of visualising traffic around your home location. It presents a perspective view of the sky as seen from the ground, with the aircraft (plus contrails if enabled) displayed against the sky background.
This should make it easier to identify contrails by day and strobe lights by night. For reference, the daytime view includes the Sun and Moon and the nighttime view includes the Moon, bright stars and planets. In case you wondered, it switches to the nightime view when the Sun sets.
This display is similar to what you could already see using the appropriate viewpoint in Google-Earth, but requires no setting up. It is greatly superior, when it comes to identifying aircraft visually, than arranging a map or chart to show your viewing direction at the top - the merits of which, I could never understand.
The sky is always clear blue to comply with the frequent requests for a button in PlanePlotter to make it so. (Thanks to JL for pointing that out).
You can switch between a regular chart/outline view and the "My sky" view, using F11. You can also associate the"My sky" view with a Quick button, if you wish.
You can drag the sky view left and right, but you cannot look up. The simple Mercator-style projection used for the display distorts at high elevations.
To avoid adding yet more processing load to PlanePlotter, the celestial coordinates of the Sun, Moon and planets are calculated only at program startup. Accordingly, if PlanePlotter runs for a long period of time, the plotted position of the Moon, in particular, will become progressively less accurate (it moves about half a degree an hour against the starry background). Restart PlanePlotter if it really matters to you. To forestall comment, the Sun and the Moon are deliberately plotted slightly larger than their actual scale size. This was primarily to make the progressive colour of the sunset detectable. No, it does not plot Moon phases; if you need an exactly representational image to enable you to identify the Moon correctly, well......
Click on Alert window
If you configure PlanePlotter to display alerts, you can now click on any aircraft that appears in the Alert window and PlanePlotter will switch to the chart, outline or list view to show you the selected aircraft in context.
Extra warnings
Ground Stations will now see a warning whenever they access the Options..Home Location dialog, reminding them of the importance of the accuracy of their Home Location.
Users who are not sharing, will see a warning if they select View..Chart Mlat, since otherwise a blank display will result.
Other
I have confirmed that the aircraft registration from a local database will always override registrations (or lack of them) received from sharing. This is, of course, subject to the condition that the Options..Directory items are correctly configured.
The ever-increasing number of accelerator keys are now listed on a single page in the Help file. Let mw know if I have missed any.
The interpretation of fields in the data from an RxControl Mode-S receiver has changed to avoid confusion over the meaning of the "Type" field.
Feedback is always welcome.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.6.2 [23-01-10]:
Version 5.4.6.2 of PlanePlotter is on the web site now.
Changes in this release
MLat display
The "pale salmon" or "pale straw" symbol that was previously used for Mlat aircraft is now white. I hope that our many deuteranomalous users will now be able to distinguish the symbols by their brightness.
There is a new option View..Chart(MLat) which is a toggle to display only the Mlat aircraft or all aircraft in the current chart view. F10 does the same thing with a single button press.
Network testing options
All four options under Help..Test networking are operational with this version. You can test your sharing status, your ability to send and receive raw data (GS/MUs only) and you can quickly verify your LAN IP address. Please save forum posts by using these tools before asking others to verify your sharing/router status.
Report type identified
The pop up dialog now identifies the origin of the report that is being displayed. Users have sometimes been confused by seeing more than one plot for the same aircraft. The pop up dialog (after a right click) now permits users to identify the different signal sources for such duplication.
Warning dropped
The warning message that occurred when the Omit time is set to less than 5 minutes, has been discontinued. The first user to complain about not seeing aircraft on the chart because they have it set too short will have to do a double forfeit.
Own traffic/shared traffic
The bug whereby oneīs own traffic was labelled as if it was shared, for a few seconds after each sharing cycle, is fixed.
BaseStation 145 "positionless"
Those few users who, like me, for whatever reason, found that they did not see "positionless" aircraft from their local receiver when using BS145 will now do so.
More details on these changes and new features are to be found in the Help file.
As usual, all feedback is welcome.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.6 [17-01-10]:
Version 5.4.6 of PlanePlotter is on the web site now.
Changes in this version:
Network testing
There are now a number of new options in the Help menu pulldown providing test options for some of PlanePlotterīs network functions.
"PlanePlotter..Help..Network..Check sharing" shows you your current sharing status. No more "Can you tell me if I am sharing?" questions! The PPuser.exe utility is now obsolete.
"PlanePlotter..Help..Network..Check raw data in" tests your router settings by eliciting an inbound test UDP/IP packet from the server. A confirmation message shows that the router is correctly handling inbound raw data. No message shows that your router settings are not correct. Note that this does not test if a Denial of Service (DoS) detection system in your router will inhibit succesful Mlats; it only tests the port forwarding (Virtual server) setting.
"PlanePlotter..Help..Network..Check raw data out" is not yet implemented. Sorry. It will be good if I can figure out how to do it.
"PlanePlotter..Help..Network..Check LAN IP address" displays a Command box with the result of the IPCONFIG command to show you your current LAN IP address. I tried to parse the output of the command and extract the line "IP Address....." but the wording is language-dependent so you will have to identify the correct line, in your own language, for yourself.
Display options
Options..Chart..Options includes some additional labelling options so that you can display the course and speed within each aircraft label.
Share codes - major change
Share codes are now completely managed centrally. The option for the user to express a preference for the second symbol has been removed. Share codes are issued centrally and the first symbol is no longer derived from the registration number. This makes more codes available and opens the way for share codes to include a wider range of symbols. This was necessary because, for some reason, the "b" series was close to capacity although all the other letters had plenty of space.
There is a small possibility that some users will find that their share codes will change as a result of installing the new version. I froze the existing share codes and transferred them to the new system but that was done about a week ago and so more recent share code changes may find themselves changed yet again. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Sorting on Report type
Given the interest in the results of Mlats (type 9 reports), I have fixed a long standing bug that prevented sorting of the View..Aircraft screen by report type. Click on the columm heading in View..Aircraft and it will sort the display by that parameter.
View.."Positionless" warning
A warning box now appears if you select View..Positionless or View..Mlattable (my, how the language is developing!) while at the same time having disabled the download of "positionless" aircraft in Options..Sharing..Setup. I have seen a few questions along the lines of "Why do I see no positionless aircraft?", which should, I hope, now be self explanatory.
Zoom steps
The scale change when pressing the "+" or "-" toolbar buttons or using the mouse wheel, has been reduced from 50% to 30%. This gives you more control over the map scale but means that you need more clicks to make a big difference in scale. Note that the OSM rendered maps are *not* available at a continuous range of scales so the scale is quantified to match the available scales when the OSM button is pressed.
Setup Wizard
I have edited the Setup Wizard to reflect the access methods that are now available.
Remote Mlat
This is an entirely new feature whereby users who are GS+MU can perform continuous automatic Mlat requests when their machine is not otherwise occupied. The option "Allow Remote Mlat" is in the Options..I/O settings dialog in the Input section.
If this option is checked, then the server will invite PlanePlotter to perform an Mlat on a target that is "Mlattable" but not currently being "Mlatted". The request will only be made if the machine is not in use (no recent user interaction with PlanePlotter), no other Mlat is currently in progress and only if the instance of PP is currently receiving messages from the "positionless" aircraft in question.
The intention is that, with enough users choosing to enable this option, most potentially Mlattable aircraft will start to appear on the charts of Master Users without users themselves having to initiate the Mlat requests.
The provision for manual Mlats remains unchanged. This option gives PP the chance to do Mlats without the user asking for it.
Because the choice of target and selection of users is done centrally, the impact on the user interface is much reduced. There is no pop-up count down window; there is no automatic switch to chart display mode; there is no automatic re-centring of the chart. The only evidence of remote mlats is that the designated aircraft will switch around the chosen targets and in the status bar, at the left hand end, some progress indications will appear.
Because there is no opportunity for the user to review the hyper curve plot to assess the probably accuracy of the resulting position, the criterion for remote Mlat success is more stringent than for a manual Mlat. This means that you might succeed performing a manual Mlat even though it has not succumbed to an automated one.
If you need to, you can interrupt the remote Mlat by pressing the Escape key although apart from the switching designation issue, there is no particular reason to do so. If you are actively interacting with the program, new remote Mlats will not be started and any that are in progress will terminate at the next opportunity.
I am grateful to John Locker and others who painstakingly tested this new feature and discovered an astonishing number of bugs in the early drafts.
David Taylor has kindly made an extensive analysis of the CPU and memory loading effects before and after enabling this feature and has found them to be negligible.
As usual, any feedback is very welcome. The changes in this version are fairly major so, despite the careful testing, it would be surprising if there were not some issues to deal with. I will try to deal with them promptly within the constraints of differing time zones.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.5.3 [03-01-10]:
Version 5.4.5.3 is on the web site now.
Since the last general release, the following changes have been made:
Mlat results shared
If you are a Master User - one who can initiate Multilateration (Mlat) requests - any successful Mlat results will now be passed, via the sharing system, to other MUs for their delight.
Note that this does not change any of the characteristics of Multilateration as fully described in the documentation. It is still delayed compared with normal position reports and it is still subject to potential errors which can, at times be very large.
There is no change in the availability of the data. The position plots are only available to MUs who could, in previous versions, have determined the positions for themselves.
This is a new feature and as such, there may be effects that were not detected during the lengthy testing that John has carried out with some help from Ray. If you detect an infelicity in this new feature, by all means report it. However, if you see jagged or jerky Mlat tracks, the problem is usually a userīs home location. Please address complaints about that, to whichever GS has insterted their wrong home location coordinates, and not to me.
Option to minimise the Mlat progress window
There is a new option under the View pulldown to minimise the Mlat information window. There are some circumstances where the window will be visible regardless but generally, if you check this option, the Mlat information window will appear on the task bar and not on the desktop.
Home Location Test map
As a workaround for a bug in the presentation of the home location in the Options..Home location..Test window, all users will see a 640 x 480 window regardless of their desktop screen dimensions.
Editorial changes
Some editorial changes have been made to the help file.
Finally, just to labour the point about Home locations: In testing this new Mlat sharing feature, I have spent a great deal of time staring at the data leading to Mlat results. It is disappointing to see that a number of users seem to be unable to use Options..Home Location..Test to ensure that their home location is entered accurately. The deleterious effects of incorrect Home locations are very profound indeed. Please, if you are even slightly unsure about the accuracy of your home location as entered into PlanePlotter, please ask for help. To leave your home location wrongly set is to spoil things for all other users.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.4.9c [19-12-09]:
Version 5.4.4.9c is on the web site now.
Changes in this version:
PP now lists all aircraft with any GS in their sharer string, not just the ones in orange and green (or other user defined colours). There is always a chance!
Displaying central England, the list is only a little shorter than the "View..Aircraft without positions" list but elsewhere in the world, the list may be empty.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.4.9 [17-12-09]:
Version 5.4.4.9 is on the web site now.
Changes in this version:
The OLE/COM method SetPlaneHexByReg() now updates basestation.sqb (if enabled) like SetPlaneRegByHex().
Locally computed registrations derived from hex codes now update basestation.sqb if enabled to do so.
New OLE/COM method GetPlaneInfoFile(BSTR filename) yields a file of the complete internal database.
There is now provision for a secondary server/script for sharing for those with a need to establish their own server.
Further details of these changes are to be found in the Help file.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.4.3 [22-11-09]:
Version 5.4.4.3 is on the web site now.
Changes in this version:
F8 toggles GPX overlay.
If you have defined a GPX overlay with Options..Chart..GPX overlay..Define, you can turn it on and off with a press of the F8 key.
4th status bar counter displays raw data acquisition (modulo 10).
There are now four counters in the box on the status bar. The new fourth one shows the number of raw data records in the internal buffer. The number is displayed modulo 10. If you are a Ground Station (GS), you can check that your vodka DLL is doing something, by checking for activity on this number. When the other counter values get large, the fourth digit will be pushed out of the box. It is a diagnostic aid and is not intended to be monitored continuously. If you are not a GS, this value will always be zero.
Shift-left-click drags label of nearest aircraft.
If you place the cursor over an aircraft, hold down the shift key and then left click and drag, the label for that aircraft will be displaced accordingly. If you are troubled by the superposition of labels, you can use this feature to re-arrange them. A thin line in the same colour as the label, joins the aircraft symbol to the displaced label.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.4.2 [15-11-09]:
Version 5.4.4.2 of PlanePlotter is on the web site now.
Changes in this version:
New option Control-OSM-button downloads an OSM map that is larger than the PlanePlotter window. Pressing the OSM button gives you a new map which fills the PlanePlotter window. In the new version, holding down the Control key, while pressing the OSM button, makes a map that is 2000 x 2000 pixels (the maximum from the OSM server). This means that you can drag the new map around with the mouse without immediately falling off the edge of the map.
New option F7 searches for the 'best' map covering the present chart centre. This feature is most useful if you have accumulated a significant number of OSM maps that are not well indexed. You can use the F7 key (or View..Best chart) when you have dragged off the edge of one map/chart and PlanePlotter will find another map in your designated chart directory that includes the present chart centre. It should save accesses to the OSM server and, unless you have hundreds of charts, it should be quicker than downloading a new OSM map.
The ability to send an SMS text message to a designated mobile phone when an alert occurs has been improved to deal with the situation where multiple alerts would have exceeded the 160 character limit for SMS text messages.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.4.1 [04-11-09]:
New feature introduced: The F9 key now toggles 'Predict positions' on/off (see 'Chart Settings' menu).
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.4 [28-10-09]:
Version 5.4.4 of PlanePlotter is on the web site now, introduces a new feature which allows you to send PlanePlotter alerts to a designated mobile phone, in the form of a text message.
The alerts are identical to the messages that appear in the red pop up window, when you configure Options..Chart..Options. Alerts can be programmed to occur on various events such as an aircraft entering a zone that you have defined or specific aircraft, types or squawks being received. Apart from the "...on new aircraft" alert, which does not tell you much, any new alert in PP (wooshing sound) will generate an SMS text message if you enable the feature in Options..Chart..Options (Alert section).
Note that the alert is uploaded at the next sharing cycle. Obviously it requires you to be sharing for this to work. In the worst case, the next sharing cycle might occur 60 seconds after the alert was detected in PlanePlotter. If you want to be advised of overflying aircraft while you are gardening, for example, you will need to make the alert zone big enough for you to receive the text message before it has flown over.
The text messages are sent out from the sharing server and, not surprisingly, they cost money. Accordingly, to use this feature you need to buy message credits (50 messages for Euro 15 plus VAT) as part of the setup procedure. Options..Chart..SMS Alerts takes you to the page where you can enter or change your mobile phone number and check your message credits.
Please read the warnings in the Help file and on the web page about making sure that you do not configure PlanePlotter to generate so many messages that you use up your credits in no time at all. Make sure that you disable the feature in Options..Chart..Options (Alert section) when you do not want it to happen.
Please note that you need to tell the system your complete international phone number preceded by a '+' (plus sign) and the country code (eg. for UK the number must begin "+44...." and you should omit the leading '0' in the number if your numbering system uses that). If you put in the wrong number, the texts will still sent and your credit will be debited. You just won't receive the messages. Take care.
In case you wondered, although the alert SMS text has a 'from' number, there is no point in sending a text back to it. Nobody will see it.
The credit is specific to an instance of PP. If you want to transfer a credit, I can do that by hand but the credit cannot be shared across more than one instance of PP.
I found to my surprise that UK and Portuguese fixed phones (and probably others) can also be used to receive such text messages although there are no warranties as to the intelligibility of messages sent that way.
The usual stuff about telling your firewall that there is a new version apply to this, as to any other upgrade.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.3.11 [23-09-09]:
(Supercedes v5.4.3.9)
Full details of the changes are to be found in the Help file Version History page.
Briefly:
New users will be presented with the Setup Wizard by default.
The program now supports the RxControl receiver as well as the SBS1 and RB.
The Home Location Test button opens OSM in a new window. In that window, you can Ctrl-Left click to refine the given coordinates.
Several causes of duplicated entries in HFDL traffic have been fixed. Thanks to Dick in NL for help tracking these problems down.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.3 [21-09-09]:
Here are the changes:
Delay autostart command line option.
Check for internet connection if sharing is enabled.
Selcal sound card has its own selection.
Fixed bug whereby HFDL regos were overwritten with flight number.
Separate directory choices for the SBS1 Basestation log file access method and the basestation.sqb database.
Minimum circles radius 3 nm even if the altitude is showing as zero (or undefined).
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.2.4 [14-09-09]:
Here are the changes:
Fix duplication of HFDL aircraft - fix failed.
Home Location dialog 'Test' button puts you into OSM map display.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
v5.4.2.3 [01-09-09]:
Here are the changes:
Optional outline over loaded chart - feature withdrawn .
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.2.2 [31-08-09]:
Here are the changes:
Fix missing tool tips.
Fix accidental creation of HFDL reports with blank ICAO codes leading to null reports after sorting.
Fix overwriting of ICAO codes with ? in HFDL reports.
Non critical warnings moved from title bar to status bar.
Add optional aircraftsymbol.bmp.
Introduce transparency of loaded charts.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.2.1 [11-08-09]:
Here are the changes:
Removeable toolbar buttons (shift click on some optional buttons hides them).
Alert on aircraft type (Options..Chart..Options..Alert on .... Add Type).
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.2 [10-08-09]:
Here are the changes:
A new 'button' on the task bar - OSM. This instigates conventional area maps for the area currently on your desktop view provided by "OpenStreetMap".
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.4.1 [02-08-09]:
Here are the changes:
PP is now more assertive about not sharing ACARS reports if the Options..Decoder..CRC condition is not set. Previously, there were circumstances in which corrupt ACARS messages could slip into the sharing system.
PP now clears the HFDL shorthand codes when it detects a change of HF ground station. This should fix the problem where dubious identities were attached to some HFDL reports if the user was scanning HF ground stations.
The Options..Aircraft view dialog now displays the pre-existing colours of background and text. (FMICTHF)
The File..Report..Setup option now allows you to restrict reports to flagged aircraft only. (FMICTHF)
The Options..Chart..Options "Alert on hex/reg/flt/squawk" dialog now understands four separate search functions for the four types of data. You need to specify which field you are interested in, when you add the identity to the dialog. The Squawk alert function did not exist in previous versions. If you have already defined an alert list, it will work as before (looking for the string in all three former fields). New definitions will differentiate between the field types. (FMICTHF)
In Options..Chart..Options there is a new "Range rings" option which plots concentric rings centred on your home location or on a designated aircraft. You can choose the maximum size of the rings. (FMICTHF)
In Options..Chart..Options there is a new option "Scale bar", which adds a scale bar to charts and outlines. (FMICTHF)
For our script wizards, there is a new OLE/COM Method GetAltitudeFilters(). (FMICTHF)
The automatic repetition of Mlat now operates somewhat faster than before. The gap between the end of one request and the start of the next is now about 30 seconds down from 60 seconds previously.
(FMICTHF = For more information, consult the Help File. Forfeits apply for questions that are already answered in the Help file.)
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.9.2 [10-06-09]:
The automatic Mlat repeat interval has been reduced from three minutes to two minutes. This gives a somewhat better rendering of aircraft in a holding pattern.
This version handles router blocks slightly differently. If outgoing raw data is blocked, it now abandons the attempt, rather than continuing to send 100s of messages to a blocked network. This may alleviate the problem with network buffer overflow on some systems.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.9.1 [19-05-09]:
Here are the changes:
Full details of the new features are in the Help file. The following gives you a brief outline.
Changes in v5.3.8 (not published) & v5.3.9 (quickly updated!).
Help file amendments.
For the script wizards :
New parameter 21 in the OLE/COM GetDesigData() method.
New OLE/COM method HighlightByHex(BSTR hex).
New OLE/COM method HighlightByLatLon(LAT float, LON float).
Mlat log file:
A log of records for outgoing raw data provision is now sent to the multilat**.log file. You can now consult the file to see how often you have been able to provide raw data to other users.
Single cycle Mlat:
An Mlat request now results in a single Mlat cycle if the aircraft already has an estimated position. The double cycle is useful the first time, to determine a course and speed, which don't come out of the first attempt. After that, a single subsequent operation is sufficient for a refined position, course and speed.
Changes in 5.3.9:
Middle Click:
A new middle button click function designates an aircraft in Aircraft View without changing to Chart View. The middle button is operated by clicking on the mouse button (where available). You will recall that a Left click designates an aircraft but changes to the Chart View automatically, if there is a position. This feature does not change the view.
Automatic Mlat:
If you perform a successful Mlat request, then thereafter, as long as you do not change the designated aircraft or press Escape, PP will automatically repeat the Mlat process every three minutes. You can now monitor the progress of your chosen target without further manual intervention. The process will continue until the Mlat fails, or you press Escape, or you designate another aircraft.
Mlat special contrail:
An aircraft that has been subject to an Mlat process, now accumulates a special version of the contrail. If you turn on the contrail (either generally, in the Options..Chart..Options dialog, or specifically, in the Air rep dialog for the designated aircraft), you will see the history of Mlat positions for the designated aircraft. Note that the length of the contrail will not be the same as the contrail duration for other aircraft (that you specify in Options..Chart..Options).
Important note.
Please read the documentation regarding potential position errors in Mlat. The contrail history on an Mlat aircraft will make any position errors (eg from occasionally choosing the wrong hyperbola intersection) very conspicuous. Please don't be surprised if you see that from time to time.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.7 [19-05-09]:
Version 5.3.7 on the web site now has the following:
This update adds an optional QNH value in the Options..Chart..Options dialog. You can enter this value by hand or you can click on the QNH button alongside the value. The selected value (in hP) is used to adjust altitudes below the Transition Altitude from QNE to QNH. [Sorry if you live in a land where these values are not in hectoPascals.]
The QNH button searches a list of METAR reporting airfields and performs an FTP download of the latest METAR for that airfield and extracts the QNH from the Metar. Obviously, this only works if you are online.
Since the QNH varies from place to place, its application in this context will be very approximate if your chart/outline display covers a large area. For the same reason, the QNH is reset to 1013 whenever you load a new chart or outline.
I have also taken the opportunity to adjust the screen size of recorded AVI movies so that the height is always an even number of pixels.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.6.1 [17-05-09]:
Version 5.3.6.1 on the web site now has the following:
Curt:
Problem. Looking at the Chart view, if you switch to Outline View then the range & bearing change as described for
designated planes.
Bev:
You are a winner! You found the symptom and then you diagnosed the cause. I was not far behind though!
This version fixes this bug.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.6 [13-05-09]:
Version 5.3.6 on the web site now has the following:
A few changes:
Variable flag widths.
If you are an afficionado of flags, the View..Aircraft option now scales the data columns to accomodate the widest flag that is contained in the current flag definition file. Caution: If you inadvertently include an absurdly wide flag BMP, the display will be appropriately adjusted and look very silly.
Abort Mlat.
If you start an Mlat process and change your mind, the Escape key now brings the
process to a halt. It takes a moment or two to tidy up but you don't have to
wait for the full minute (or two minutes). Note that other users who have been
asked to send data to you, will still continue to do so for the remainder of the
minute but that will generally be transparent to you.
Look up.
This version *may* handle the different formats that airframes.org presents. Of
course, it is perfectly possible for other format changes to stop the lookup
from working, but in the mean time, this version may help.
Range and bearing.
In chart view, the second status bar window shows the cursor position. In
previous versions it also showed the range and bearing from the home location.
In this version, the range and bearing is from the designated aircraft to the
cursor position if there is a designated aircraft. If not, then the range and
bearing are from the home location as before. This makes it easy to measure the
distance from an aircraft to a waypoint or the distance between two aircraft.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.5 [05-05-09]:
Version 5.3.5 on the web site now has the following:
Two new OLE COM methods:
float GetHomeLat()
float GetHomeLon()
The blue hyperbolic curves now disappear after the Mlat pop up box closes.
The bug that caused the cockpit view aircraft to change spontaneously, has been fixed.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.4 [29-04-09]:
The web site now points to version 5.3.4 of PlanePlotter.
You may have to use your browser Refresh button to force it to show the new page. The attentive user may notice that the installation file is downloaded from a different server. This is not a sinister sign, it is to avoid overloading the sharing system if lots of people download it at once.
There are several new features and some performance improvements.
Copy/Paste the origin and scale for a chart or outline:
This makes it easy to send your current view to another user. In chart or outline view, you can Ctrl-C to copy the parameters for that view to the Clipboard. You can then paste the short text string into an email (typically with Ctrl-V in the email client) that you can then send to another user. That user then copies the parameter string from their email into the Clipboard (typically using Ctrl-C in the email client) and then, moving to PlanePlotter chart or outline view, performs a Ctrl-V that causes PP to adjust the view to the same scale and chart centre as the sender was using. Of course, if the second user is looking at a chart that does not cover the new area, it will not show any background after the view is moved. The outline button or the satellite button will be of service in that situation. Details in the Help file.
Review alerts:
If you use the Alerts feature and if you habitually log the alerts, you can now review the alerts with Review..Today/Yesterday..Alerts. It operates in a similar way to the other Review options. Details in the Help file.
Improved Mlat performance:
Two changes to the code will improve the success rate of Mlat requests.
Previously, if there were several users making requests at the same time, not all requests received a response. This version allows many simultaneous requests. As nire GS use this version, the overall success rate will improve.
The waiting time for a response has been increased by a few seconds since it was found that occasionally, due to queuing and latency, late responses fell outside of the time window.
Successful Mlat requests are now logged to a file (mlatyymmdd.log) in the log files directory so that you can study the path of a chosen aircraft, at a later date.
Bug fixes:
It no longer crashes if you enter too many registrations in the Alert box. Instead an informative message will appear.
Some additional hex-to-registration conversion overruns have been fixed.
Some other bugs that caused unnecessary processor load have been fixed.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.3.7 [26-04-09]:
The web site now points to version 5.3.3.7 of PlanePlotter.
The only significant change is that there is a new OLE/COM method "SetDesigByHex" that
may be useful to the scripting gurus in dealing with the consequences of the recently introduced
automatic delete feature. Of course, to take advantage of their efforts, you will need this version.
If you are an Mlat user, you may have to tell your firewall about the version change. I use
ZoneAlarm and I have to tell it the same thing again for every new version.
Just a quick reminder here, that any Mlat Ground Stations or Master Users that are still on version
5.3.3.3, or earlier, really need to upgrade so that I can turn on the improved Mlat feature in the
server that has been pending for while now. I have written directly to them all but I mention it here
in case it catches their eye.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.3.6 [23-04-09]:
Your settings will be carried forward to the new version. You may have to Refresh your
browser to make it show you the new page.
Note that some firewalls may require the new version to be explicitly enabled. If Mlat or
sharing stops working, it is not the version but simply the fact that it is different, that is
causing it to be blocked. Do whatever you did last time, to permit net access by this version.
There are several new features.
There is a new OLE/COM method - SetPlaneHexByReg() - details are in the Help file.
There is a new Graphical output option whereby you can save a JPG screen grab of the PP
window at regular intervals. The file name may be constant (to upload to a private web page)
or incremental - to make a PPS for example.
For Mlat users, there are several new features.
There are now two Mlat request types.
Ctrl-left-click now does a double Mlat request (one after another) to get both a position and a
course and speed.
Shift-left-click does a single Mlat request in the same way that Ctrl-left-click used to do.
There is now further optimisation of the Mlat fix to improve the precision.
A bug whereby the course/speed derived from two Mlat request thereafter never changed, has
been fixed.
I would like to appeal to any PP users who are Mlat ground stations and are still on 5.3.3.3 to
consider upgrading. Once all Mlat users are using the new version, some additional functionality
will become apparent.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.3.5 [18-04-09]:
As usual, updates are free to registered users. There are several changes and new features.
I have fixed the infelicities in deriving the registration letters from Belgian and French mil hex
codes. (Just noticed that there is a similar problem with the Portuguese mil - not yet fixed).
In Options..Chart..Options there is now a "Delete after" time. After this time, the aircraft will
disappear from the view aircraft list and from PP's internal database completely. This has several
advantages. You no longer have to trawl through loads of outdated stuff to find the interesting
ones and the need to purge is largely eliminated. It will reduce the processor load by eliminating
lots of obsolete aircraft from the internal data that is being manipulated. There is another reason
for avoiding purges. Read on.
The remainder of this post is only interesting to Mlat users. If you are not interested in locating
'position-less' aircraft, read no further.
This version of PlanePlotter can now handle up to 64 users providing raw data for Mlat requests.
Previously, it stopped after the first 7 contributors. I never expected so many to participate!
The Mlat process involves both the chosen aircraft and a reference aircraft. I have tried several
'improved' methods of choosing the reference aircraft without much success. I have now added
an option for you to choose the reference aircraft for yourself. I concluded after much analysis
that most Mlat attempts that fail, do so because the reference aircraft was not a good choice.
Since the automatic methods are not 100% useful, I have added this new feature so that
operator skill can make all the difference to the Mlat success rate!
On the chart view, if you Shift-double Left click on an aircraft, that aircraft will be now used as the
reference aircraft for the next Mlat enquiry. The reference aircraft (determined either automatically
or manually) is now displayed with a diamond shape around its symbol during the Mlat process.
Here is how I use it.
Choose an aircraft of interest and designate it but do not Crtl-Left click yet. With it designated,
switch to chart view and, with circles and hatching turned on, centre the screen on the hatched
area in which the aircraft of interest is assumed to lie.
Choose the highest aircraft that is near to the middle of the hatched area and Shift-double Left click
on that one. It then acquires the diamond outline symbol to show it is now the preferred reference
aircraft for Mlat.
Switch back to View..Aircraft and Control click on your aircraft of interest. This initiates a request for
Mlat using your chosen aircraft and the reference aircraft that you have specified. (Note: if you do
not define a reference aircraft, it uses the old automatic method). (Note 2: you now see the hex
codes of both the chosen aircraft and reference aircraft in the Mlat pop up window).
Hopefully this gives at least as good a result as the automated choice. However, there is more.
Once you have a position for the aircraft of interest, go back to the Chart view (it does this automatically)
and zoom in on your aircraft of interest (diamond symbol) that has just been located and is now plotted
on the chart. Now look for the nearest high aircraft that is close to your aircraft of interest, and Shift
double left click on it, to put the diamond round it. (Note 3: the selected reference is unset after each
Mlat request to avoid getting in a muddle with a former reference). Now repeat the Mlat request by going
back to aircraft view and Ctrl-Left click on your aircraft of interest. Remember that it now has a position
so you will only see it in the list if you are displaying aircraft with position as well as without.
This time you should get an even better result because you have chosen a reference aircraft that is right
alongside your chosen aircraft's last known position and so the GS user overlap should be close to perfect.
This time, all being well, when the Mlat process is complete you will see your chosen aircraft displayed
with a course and speed estimated from the last two position reports. [This is why the "Delete after"
time is needed. If you had purged between successive Mlat requests, PP could not work out the course
and speed.] Once you have this process going, you can keep on Mlat'ing your aircraft of interest because
you know where it is going and you can always choose the very best reference aircraft close to your
chosen aircraft's latest position for successive Mlat requests.
Please bear in mind :
The course and speed are based on the last two Mlat position reports that are both subject to all the
possible sources of error described in earlier posts. This means that the course and speed are the small
differences between big numbers with significant errors on them. Do not be surprised if it sometimes
gives wild values. Please remember this is just a lot better than nothing!
Also be aware that once you have a course and speed, PP will extrapolate the position from the last fix.
Since there is a significant time lag between the Mlat request and the solution, you should not expect the
aircraft symbol to sit at the intersection of the blue lines. It will have travelled a minute or so beyond the fix.
As always, any (nice) feedback is very welcome.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.3.3 [30-03-09]: (Admin. There is no public v5.3.3.2!)
As usual, updates are free to registered users.
The differences from v5.3.3.1 are as follows:
Graphical indication of the climb/cruise/descend state of aircraft.
Extra OLE/COM parameter to show the vertical velocity in the "GetPlaneData" family of methods.
Fix summertime bug in RadarBox 30003 port access.
View Aircraft position/non-position state is now saved and restored.
Notes :
I had hoped to fix the problem with lookups, but currently it is rather a moving target. I hope to
catch up with it before too long.
The climb/cruise/descend state is not currently transferred across the sharing system. There are
upward compatibility problems that make this a significant task. If you download only, you will not
see anything in this feature.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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v5.3.3.1 [24-03-09]:
There are several new features.
New default directories:
The default directories for a new installation are now in the APPDATA path. This should reduce
the problems for new users with Vista. If you have other, existing directories defined for log files,
chart files, etc., they will not be be changed by this installation.
New outline to get you started;
To help new users, the installation package contains a starter coastal outline chart for Western
Europe. I have created file this from VMAP sources. I have named it "general.out" but it is not the
same data as the widely used file of the same name. The installer will not install this outline if a file
of the same name already exists, so there should be no duplication of the coastline if you already
have the established one. The new one is more detailed than the popular one and therefore plots
slightly more slowly. Sadly, time did not permit me to create more than the W European data.
I apologise to users in other parts of the world.
Registration number <-> Load configuration:
Although it will make it harder for people who want to use the advanced features of the Load config
commands for their intended purpose, a new registration number is now stored in all configurations.
This should solve the problems encountered by novice users who do not understand the purpose of
the Load config commands.
Home location;
The program now requires you to enter your Home location before it will run. There are a couple of
reasons for this. One of them is that once most users have a valid home location entered, it will be
possible for me to change the sharing system to filter the download of positionless reports based on
the requester's chart area and the contributing sharer's location. Currently, if you elect to download
positionless aircraft, potentially you receive all of them from around the globe. Since, for bandwidth
and loading reasons, the number of reports in any sharing refresh cycle is limited, this change will
improve the response time of useful aircraft by omitting those that cannot possibly be within range
of the user's chart.
The Home location can now be entered in three formats :
"Ndd.ddddd Eddd.ddddd", "Ndd mm.mmmmm Edd mm.mmmmm" or "Ndd mm ss.sssss Edd mm ss.sssss".
If you enter an ambiguous format (eg one with multiple decimal points), it will warn you. There is a new
"Test" button in the Home location dialog. If you are connected to the Internet and if your security allows it,
the button opens your default web browser on a Google Map, centred on the coordinates that you have
entered. This should enable you to check that the coordinates are correct, even if you are uncertain about
the format that you have used for your location.
New OLE/COM methods:
This version introduces three new OLE/COM methods :
long GetNoPosPlaneCount()
VARIANT GetNoPosPlaneData(long index, short parm)
BSTR LastRefreshTime()
Full details of these methods are contained in the Help file.
Multilateration:
This version is the first general release that provides a technique to estimate the approximate position of an
aircraft that is transmitting Mode-S but not ADS-B (ie. one which does not report its position). This technique
has several significant limitations but, when it succeeds, the results are a significant improvement on the
currently available estimates, which are based on circles around those users who are currently receiving the aircraft.
The method uses timing information that is currently only available to users of the Kinetic SBS1/SBS1e receivers.
It requires that three or more suitable SBS1/SBS1e users are simultaneously receiving messages from the unknown
aircraft. In order to participate, those users must configure their machines and their network access in a particular
way - described in detail in the Help File. Once it is verified that a user is correctly configured to provide the required
timing information, that user can then proceed to configure their system to initiate requests for the multilateration
process to be attempted.
When a multilateration request has been instigated, the process of gathering the timing information, from the
participating users, takes a significant length of time. Accordingly, while there is no deliberate delay introduced into
the method, the position emerges a minute or two after the request is made. Also, because the data is gathered
over an interval of almost a minute, the position estimate is an average position over that time period. There are
also geometrical limitations, depending on the distribution of the contributing users, that increase the uncertainty in
the final position estimate. The graphical display in PlanePlotter allows you to estimate the reliability of the position
estimate that the method yields.
Because the method uses timing information and geographical location from the contributing users, it is even more
important that the PC clock and the home location are correctly set. Inaccuracies, in time or location, disrupt the
process for all other users. For that reason, each user is only enabled to participate after validation.
The steps that SBS1/SBS1e users can take, to make use of this new feature are as follows:
1. Study the PlanePlotter Help file tutorial on Multilateration until you understand what is involved and what the
limitations are.
2. Decide whether you understand enough about setting up your firewall, router, etc. to be able to make use of this
new feature.
3. Follow the detailed steps in the Help File tutorial on how to become a provider of raw timing data to other users.
4. Run your system and wait for it to be validated. Validation is a manual process that is necessary in order to confirm
that the settings and changes have been done correctly, and done in a way that will not disrupt use of the system by
other users. Validation may take some time, as it relies on volunteers who will need to find time to do it for you.
5. Once your system has been validated, it will start to contribute data to the network.
6. Once it is confirmed that your data is providing timing data to satisfy other users' requests, you then will be enabled
to initiate your own requests for multilateration position estimates for aircraft that you choose.
As with the general Internet sharing system in PlanePlotter, this feature is to be regarded as experimental and may be
withdrawn at any time.
Acknowledgements:
It has only been possible to develop this feature thanks to a very great deal of help from a small group of testers and
in particular from John Locker. Although others have made an important contribution to the task, John's contribution is
unparalleled. He has spent a huge amount of time and effort over the last month or so, orchestrating all the testers,
explaining the setup procedure to each one before there was any documentation, solving problems with firewalls and
routers, and patiently testing more than 25 separate versions of PlanePlotter. The initial experiments, to determine
whether the available data was sufficient for the method to succeed, were done when I was 16,000 km from my SBS1
and progress could only be made because John made it possible for me to access his own receiver, remotely. If this
method gives you any extra pleasure when using PlanePlotter, then most of the thanks are owed to John.
An excellent way to show your gratitude is to study the Help File tutorial thoroughly before asking for help.
Access to the raw timing data is only possible thanks to work done by an anonymous third-party developer. I am indebted
to users in this group for drawing my attention to that possibility.
FAQs:
1. How difficult is it to set up the system to use this feature?
If you are familiar with the configuration of your firewall and router, then it is simple. If not, you might consider some study
reading, before you embark on trying to use it.
2. Can I use the Ethernet versions of the SBS1/SBS1e?
Yes. The procedure for setting up the data access is different for the USB and Ethernet versions but both are described in the
Help file.
3. Can I use an AirNav RadarBox in the same way?
No. The method used to obtain the timing data does not work with the RadarBox.
4. With all this data flying about, are there security concerns for my computer?
The Help file describes exactly what data is transferred between users under what circumstances. Once you have read that,
you will be in a position to decide whether your computer security is adequate.
5. Will the position estimates from multilateration requests appear on the sharing system?
No, the time it takes to gather the data and to calculate a position estimate puts it beyond the time window for valid data in
the sharing system.
6. What do I have to do, to get multilateration working in my part of the world?
The multilateration method that PlanePlotter uses, requires that the wanted aircraft is being received simultaneously by at
least three SBS1/SBS1e users who have configured their systems to share the raw data. If you are one of them, then you
need at least two similarly equipped friends who can cooperate in the method. Ideally the users should be distributed in a
triangular pattern (if there are three of them). If they lie on or close to a straight line, the resulting positions will be ambiguous.
Obviously, the more participating users in any area improves the accuracy and the success rate of the method.
7. I do not have an SBS1/SBS1e, can I still initiate requests for position estimates?
For the time being, only SBS1/SBS1e raw data providers can initiate requests. The terms under which other users might be
able to make requests, is still under discussion.
As usual, feedback is very welcome. If you have questions, please try to find answers in the Help file or in the online resources
in order to avoid making further demands on the time of those who have already contributed so much time and effort to the
new feature.
If you encounter a significant problem (show-stopper) with this version, the previous release is still available for download from here:
PlanePlotter v5.2.6 [04-02-09]
Regards, Bev, COAA.
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Disclaimer:
The ManTMA Overflights Group is not directly linked to PlanePlotter and associated software.The information in this FAQ is given in good faith and, while every effort is made to ensure there will be no damage to any users computer or other appliances, is not our responsibility should this occur! e&oe
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