Online Tower, Structure, Tower Companies, Market Ownership Searching and RF/Microwave Design.

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HELP SHEET

Ver 4.0

First, login using your username and password. PowerSearch will open up in a new window. Make sure you allow sufficient time for PowerSearch to fully load
(you should see a map of the U.S.)

Use this sample tour and helpful tip sheet to help you get started.

Table of Contents

- 8 Main Areas of PowerSearch
- Navigate or Change Your Visual Display
- Example Data Search
- Example M/V Terrain Profile
- Example RF Propagation
- Example Market Ownership

- Additional Helpful Items
- Copy Commands and Layering
- Structure Search
- TowerCo. / Carriers
- FAA
- Contact Us

8 Main Areas of PowerSearch

There are 8 main areas of PowerSearch. Starting from the top section of the tool they are:
1 ) Action Bar – This bar offers quick references and interactions to the mapping: "(C)alculate" displays a functional scientific calculator, various Engineering conversions and a NAD conversion tool; "(I)nset" displays a small inset, "You are here"-style map; "(P)revious" switches to prior map view; "(L)ocate" assists users to quickly zoom to a state or country; "USA" zooms to the full view of the United States; "(R)esults" zooms to your queried results; "Web Cams" links to cameras throughout the world; and the "?" button opens the help sheet.
2 ) Legend Area – Displays a summary of your research layers.
3 ) Power Buttons – Major research categories for structures, RF engineering and market ownership. Grayed out buttons indicate upgradeable packages.
4 ) Map Window Tools - These tools allow interaction, control and navigation of the map in the Map Window (single clicks select that mode for interaction).
5 ) Control Buttons – Perform research, set layering parameters, reset queries with these buttons and view summaries.
6 ) Map Window – Displays the geographic area and interactive mapping results of your search, design and/or analysis selections. "Clutter" or Map Layers can be controlled in the "Layering" button.
7 ) Data Input - Enter site coordinates, search criteria and/or select the "Search Area" / "Place a Site" button to manually set a search area or to place a site for performing your research on Engineering.
8 ) Tabular Results – This section displays your queried results in summary format from research performed. This data is displayed below the main mapping interface which can be located by scrolling down or clicking the green "View results" arrow button. To view detailed site data, click on the yellow numbers on the left, corresponding to each record.

We recommend users DO NOT click on the Map Window or on the "Research" button when the "Working…" icon, located next to the Control Buttons, is displayed. Clicking while this icon is displayed will increase the time it takes PowerSearch to generate your initial results because PowerSearch will immediately process your next request. You will not be able to intervene until PowerSearch can catch up to all of your selected requests (this situation will most likely occur with slow connection speeds).

If you feel nothing is happening after you clicked the "Research" button, move your mouse over the "Research" button. If you see an hourglass, it means your computer is still working. Typical screen refresh times with Internet connections greater than 40kBps with Microsoft Win 98 and IE 5.0 take about 2-4 seconds. Netscape users will experience longer refresh times.
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Navigate or Change Your Visual Display
To quickly zoom to a state or country click the "(L)ocate" button on the Menu Bar at the top of the tool. This will open a new Locate window. Select an area to zoom to and the Map Window will zoom to that area. Click the "Done" button to close the Locate window.

Just to the left of the Map Window you will find your Map Window Tools. These small yellow icons help navigate around the Map Window. The top icon with four arrows pointing towards the center is the centering button. Select this icon and click a point on the map. PowerSearch will re-center to that point on the map. The icon with the magnifying glass with the plus sign is the zoom in tool. It lets you zoom in for a more detailed view. Select this icon and click a point on the map to zoom to preset zoom levels or, click and drag your mouse to select a specific area to zoom to. This is called "rubber-banding". PowerSearch will then zoom to the point or area that you selected. The icon with the magnifying glass with the minus sign is the zoom out tool. This tool will let you zoom out to preset levels by clicking once inside the Map Window. The "i" icon allows you to view, in detail, information for a selected tower, structure, street, river, county, etc. that you click on. By selecting this icon and clicking on a site or item that you wish to view, PowerSearch opens a window displaying all available information on that site or item. The icon with the "1…2" is the ruler function. This lets you measure the distance between two points. Select this icon, then click and hold a point on the map, then drag your mouse to your second point and let go. The distance will be displayed in the "Distance" field located just below the map. The last Map Window Tool is the print preview icon that looks like a piece of paper with a magnifying glass on it. This tool lets you open a print preview window displaying a full sized version of the map and legend to use for presentations and printing. Using your browser print button you can then print your map. In the future you will also be able to print your Tabular Results easily through this screen.

To change or customize the detail of the map in your Map Window, select the "Layering" button in the Control Buttons area. This opens a window where you can set your own display options. You can determine the amount of information that you would like to see. With the "U.S. Cosmetics" tab, select the type of data you wish to view and at what zoom levels you would like them to appear. You can also turn on or off each layer’s labels by clicking "label" checkbox located to the right of each layer. Click "Submit and Exit" when finished. At this time, these settings are only good for your current session. You will need to reset them again the next time you login. We will soon add the ability to set your own default settings and zoom-to areas that will carry over from session to session. IMPORTANT NOTE: Under the "Power Layers" tab, you can also combine results from multiple categories and view them simultaneously in your mapping environment. As you may have seen, each Power Button creates it’s own layer to display your search results from that specific category. If you would like to view results for more then one Power Button at a time, use the "Power Layers" tab and select the layers you would like to combine by clicking the check boxes next to each layer. This will allow you to see combined results.

To view your Tabular Results, you can either click on the green "View Results" arrow next to the Control Buttons or use the scroll bar on the right side of the window. If you combine search results from multiple Power Buttons, you must select each specific Power Button to view the Tabular Results for that Power Button. Tabular Results from individual Power Buttons cannot be combined.

To reset or clear results, settings or selections for a Power Button, click the "Reset" button in the Control Buttons area. Please note: The "Reset" button only resets or clears the Data Input area, Tabular Results and data in the Map Window for the specific Power Button selected. All other search results and parameters will remain unchanged. To reset information in any other Power Button, select the appropriate button then click the "Reset" button. To clear or reset an individual entry field click the yellow "c" icon next to each entry field.
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Example Data Search

Power Buttons:	(1) Antenna Reg
(2) Structure Search	(3) Tower Co./Carriers
(4) FAA Search	(5) Microwave

The first five Power Buttons allow you to search FCC Microwave and Antenna Registration databases, the FAA Determination Database, as well as Structures and Tower Companies/Carriers data. In total over 750,000 Sites! Below is an example that will run you through some of the search features included in our PowerSearch tool.

Example DATA Search:

Select the top Power Button labeled "Antenna Reg." Antenna Reg. is the FCC Antenna Registration filing database that the government made mandatory a few years back and applies to all telecommunications sites. This Power Button allows you to perform searches utilizing a variety of search parameters. You can search by a specific point/coordinate, Antenna Registration number, FAA number, owner, state, tower height, selected ring or even by a customized user-inputted polygon. You can also combine multiple search parameters to refine your search results. Next, click the "(L)ocate" button to zoom to the State of Colorado, use the U.S. pull down menu to select "Colorado." This will refresh and zoom the main PowerSearch Map Window (currently located just behind the Locate window) to Colorado. Click "Done" to close the "Locate" window. You should now be back at the main PowerSearch screen.
Next, we will "rubber-band" zoom to Colorado Springs. Using the zoom in tool, locate the city of Colorado Springs. Position your mouse just to the upper left by the city of Fairplay. Click and hold the left mouse button to drag open a box that covers Canon City and Colorado Springs. It does not have to be exact. Release the mouse button and the screen will zoom to that area. It will take PowerSearch a couple of seconds to zoom depending on your connection speed.
Now we are going to zoom in using the manual zoom feature (in the future you can use any preferred zoom option). In the Map Window located just below the map is the "Zoom" level entry box. It should display the current zoom level. Click once into the box and change the zoom level to "40" then hit "Enter" (Note: You must hit "Enter". Clicking your mouse will have no effect). This will adjust your zoom level to 40 miles. Next select the centering tool and click on Colorado Springs. You should now see Colorado Springs in the center of the screen.
In the Data Input area, click the blue "Search Area" button with the white hand pointing in it. This will open up the "Place It" window with a much larger map. Before you set your search area, select whether you would like your search area shaded by clicking on the shade search area box located under the Map Window.
Select the bottom Map Window Tool. This is our Polygon tool.
Next, set a custom search area by using this polygon tool. Starting near the upper left corner of the map, click the left mouse button once (this anchors the starting point of the polygon). Now move your mouse and click again. One side of your polygon should appear. Keep clicking your mouse until you complete each side of your polygon search area. Make sure to close your polygon by clicking back to your first click. You are allowed a maximum of 20 sides. If you haven’t completed your polygon and you want to erase a side, click the right mouse button and this will take you back to your last mouse button click. Once you have completed your polygon, click the "Return" button at the bottom of the screen. This will bring you back to the main PowerSearch screen. If you are having problems setting your polygon search area, you can use the radius selection option instead. To search a circle or radius, select the hand icon from the Map Window Tools. Click a point on the map and drag open a circle to cover the area that you would like to search. To change the location of your circle, click a new point and try again. Click the "Return" button when finished. You should now be back at the main PowerSearch screen.
Now lets select the tower height we want to search for. In the Data Input area locate the field called "Tower Height". In the first pull down select the greater than or equal to sign ">=". Then in the field showing "0", enter 100 then select the "ft" button. This sets your search parameter to search for all towers greater than or equal to 100 ft.
Now you are ready to search! Click the "Research" button in the Control Buttons area. You should see a "Working, Please wait..." red logo next to the "Layering" button.
Your search should have located a number of sites in your search area – see Legend for breakdown If you came up with the message "No Matches" next to the "Layering" button, adjust your search parameters or recreate your polygon.
There are three ways to view your search results – 1.) Click the "View Results" green arrow next to the "Layering" button to jump down to your Tabular Results. A summary of your search criteria and results will be listed first. Then all of your results will be individually listed. 2.) You can also use the scroll bar on the right side of the window to get to your Tabular Results. Simply click and drag the slide bar down. For viewing an individual record, click on the FCC registration number in the left-hand column, this will open a new window displaying the detailed and filed information for that site. Note: When looking up individual records, you may see multiple filings attached to one record. The window shows the site’s filing history if there is any. To close this window click the "x" the upper right hand corner of the window. 3.) The third way to view your data is with the "i" map window tool. Select the "i" tool and then on the map click on the site that you wish to view. This will bring up the same information as clicking on the FCC registration number in the Tabular Results area. It is another very powerful tool.

Now you are ready to search on your own! This is just one example of the many possible search, design and analysis functions that you can perform with PowerSearch. In this example we tried to use as many of the key search functions available without taking you through the complete process. As you become more comfortable with PowerSearch, you will find the other highly useful functions that will help you efficiently and effectively use PowerSearch.
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Example M/V Terrain Profile

Power Buttons:

(6) M/W Profile

Here you can perform powerful microwave terrain profiling to determine if a microwave path can be achieved between two sites. Your results are immediately displayed.

Example M/W Terrain Profile:

First select the M/W Profile Power Button.
Enter your site coordinates or use the "Place a Site" button to place your sites for your path. If you know the latitude and longitude, enter the coordinates in the appropriate entry fields located in the Data Input area. If you would like to select and place your sites manually on the map, click one of the blue "Place a Site" buttons to open the "Placement" window.
In the "Placement" window, select the hand icon on the Map Window Tools area and then click the location of "Site A" on the map (you can re-click to reposition "Site A" if needed). Next, in the same "Place It" window select "Site B" on the pull down menu located below the Map Window. This will refresh the screen. Place "Site B" by clicking on the map. After you have placed both sites you will see a red line connecting the two sites. Click the "Return" button when finished. This will send you back to the main PowerSearch screen.
For a quick profile analysis click the "Basic Profile" button in the Data Input area. PowerSearch will then create a profile data window plus display a quick basic point-to-point terrain profile. This first profile gives you a quick preview. If you need to adjust your profile parameters, close the Terrain Profile window to view the profile data window. On the Profile data window you can change centerlines, tower heights, ground elevations, K factor, frequency and choose to view the Freznel Zone. Click the "View Profile" button to regenerate a new profile using the new path design data.
Full Profile/Design capabilities can be accessed by clicking the "Full Profile/Design" button. A window appears eight colored tabs across the top. You are on the red "path specs" tab where you can specify heights, frequencies, latitude and longitude. To choose a frequency, click the "Select Frequencies" button. On the top left of this screen pick a band from the list, then pick a pair and select the appropriate polarization. When finished, click "return" to go back to the "Path Specs" tab. To generate a profile with the specifications you just entered click the blue "Full Profile" button.
On the green "Antenna" tab you can set your Antenna Specifications. For "Site A" pick the blue "Select" button to choose form a list of antennas. For "Site B" you can select the "Copy Site A" button and duplicate "Site A" antenna specifications, or click the "Select" button and choose a different antenna.
Next, on the blue "Cable" tab you can set your cable, jumper, and attenuator specifications. Pick the blue "Select" button, start by selecting a cable manufacturer, then a brand and then a model number. If you need to change your frequency, go back to the red "Path Specs" tab and click return when finished. For "Site B", you can select the "Copy Site A" button and duplicate "Site A" cable specifications or click the "Select" button and choose a different cable manufacturer, brand and model number.
On the yellow "Equipment" tab you can set your equipment specifications. Pick the blue "Select" button below site A and from the list select a cable manufacturer, then a brand and then a model number. When you find what you need, click "select this equipment" and you will return to the main equipment menu with the specifications filled in. For site B, you can select the "Copy Site A" button and duplicate Site A cable specifications or click the "Select" button and choose a different cable manufacturer, brand and model number. If you need to change your frequency go to the red "Path Specs" tab.
On the pink "Outages" tab you can set multipath and rain outage parameters.
The purple "Link Budget" is complete real time link budget for the sites you just entered. You can change specifications by filling in the white boxes, after you make any changes click "Recalculate" on the top left. For detailed analysis click the blue "Full Analysis" button towards the top of the window. If you have questions click the red "?" that appear throughout the page.
The light blue tab is the "Save/Load" feature. Here you can save your settings and reload them at a later date. Type in a file name and choose the appropriate status from the pull down box on the right. Click the blue, "Save File" button when you are finished. The file will now appear in the list below. When you return simply select the file you want from this list and all your settings will be reloaded.
The final red "Map" tab is currently under development. Soon you will be able to display and print a larger map of you study area.

Power Buttons:

(7) RF Propagation

PowerSearch is the first product to offer RF Propagation through the Web! Now you can be the first to generate RF propagation coverage contours, for any site, through the Internet – your results will be immediately displayed.

Example RF Propagation:

Select the RF Propagation Power Button.
Enter your site latitude/longitude coordinates or select the blue "Place a Site" button located just below the map to manually place your sites. The "Place a Site" button opens up a larger mapping window. Here, you can place up to two sites. If you haven’t already zoomed to the location where you want to place your site, use the Map Window Tools to zoom to the location. Place your first site (Site A) by clicking the hand icon (bottom map window tool) then clicking a spot on the map. PowerSearch will label that site – Site A. If you would like to place a second site, use the site pull down located just under the map and select Site B. Click a second site location on the map and PowerSearch will label that site – Site B. Click the "Return" button to return to the main PowerSearch screen.
Then, depending on your level of engineering knowledge, click either the Basic (easy) or Full (more technical) Propagation button in the Data Input area.
For "Basic Propagation," PowerSearch will open a new site detail window. This propagation feature uses common industry default frequencies, antennas, signal levels and power outputs for quick analysis. At the top of the screen you will see two site tabs – one for Site A and one for Site B. This allows you to customize each site. In basic mode you can select design, power and frequency settings for each site (or use the default settings). The basic propagation feature is perfect for most non-engineering needs (ideal feature for financial analysts, project managers, site acquisition staff and field technicians). After you have entered your site specifications for each site, you can view a quick preview of your propagation projection by clicking the appropriate preview box on the right. If you would like to make any site changes, enter your new site specifications and click the preview box again. When you’re finished, click the "Propagate" button to generate your propagation projection. This will bring you back to the main PowerSearch screen.
Your coverage contour projection(s) will be displayed on the map (Note: You may need to zoom in to view your coverage projections).
To generate a full propagation contour for a site, click the "Full Propagation" button. Full propagation lets you input/change all design fields for Site, Sector and Contour settings. This section offers a complete set of design specifications for projecting and displaying up to 4 levels of user-selected color and threshold settings to identify coverage levels for your site. Full Propagation provides a complete, accurate and detailed projection using 3-arc second terrain data and Okumura modeling.
First input and/or select the design specifications on the red "Site Specs" tab. Here you can edit the site name, location, frequency, and ground elevation. If you prefer, you can customize the coverage level specifications. To change these settings, type in the new coverage levels (be sure to use negative numbers (i.e.. -105)). To change the color of each contour, click the colored box next to each level then select one of the colors on the color grid. Repeat for each level. A preview of the site is available by clicking on the Site A or Site B box on the right. Or you can click the blue "Propagate" button which will create a propagation coverage contour for your sites and bring you back to the main PowerSearch screen. To return select the "Full Propagation" button on the bottom right of the screen.
For a sectored site click the green "Sector" tab. Enter your antenna specifications for each sector. To select your antenna from the thousands of antennas in our database, click the blue "Select Ant." button. This will open up a new antenna selection window. Select your make, max gain and model. If available PowerSearch will display a sample pattern preview for each antenna type. When finished click the "Use this Antenna" button to return to the "Sector" tab. To adjust the ERP, click the blue "Calc ERP" button. Enter your ERP specifications and click "Calculate." Complete for sectors 2 and 3 if applicable.
To set parameters, click the blue "Parameters" tab. Select the appropriate morphology from the drop down menu. Enter the coverage distance, correction factor, base station, and mobile station specifications. To enter handoff, traffic, and environment specifications and to compute the fade margin, click the blue "Advanced" button in the lower left of the "Parameters" window. Enter your specifications and click "Done" when finished.
Next, select the yellow "Contour" tab where you can specify your contour type, radial spacing, points of smoothing and interpolation. Here you can also toggle shading on or off.
The purple "Radial" tab is under development, until this feature is completed Contour is currently the only method to display RF Propagation; click it for a preview.
The pink "Downlink" tab is under development until this feature is completed Contour is currently the only method to display RF Propagation; click if for a preview.

Power Buttons:

(8) Mrkt Ownership

Market Ownership allows you to search and display detail market data by Owner, Spectrum, and Technology down to the sub-county level.

Example Market Ownership:

Select the Mrkt Ownership Power Button.
In the Data Input area select which Market Block you would like to search from the drop down box. Next choose either a city or state you like to analyze. When finished click the blue "Basic Markets" button. A new window will appear displaying the results of your query. The red tab on the top right reads "Owner". Here you can continue to search Owners or Carriers by Market Block and then by City or State or CMA. Click the red "Research" button on the left to display results.
To search by Technology click the green "Technology" tab. In the "Search By?" box select either Frequency Block or Technology. Select a Market Block and then choose a City, or State or CMA. Click the green "Research" button to display results.
The blue "Spectrum" tab allows you to search spectrum by company. Select a company name from the "Company 1" pull down box, next select either owner name or carrier name and the choose a city or state for your query. Click the blue "Research" button to display results.
The yellow Demographics tab is under development. In near future you will be able to query detailed demographic data such as population and incomes per market.
The pink "Thumbs" tab simultaneously displays the research maps from the prior four tabs (Owner, Technology, Spectrum, and Demographics).

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Additional Helpful Items:
General
To search a field, enter the whole name as filed or enter the first part of the name followed by the "*", such as "Wireless*". Try to capture as much of the name as possible to narrow your search and wait times.
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Copy Commands
If you would like to use the same search criteria (from a point, radius or polygon) for another Power Button, select the "A" button from the Data Input area just below the Map Window on the main PowerSearch screen. The "A" button will be color coordinated to each specific Power Button. Clicking the "A" button will open a new window where you can select the Power Button layer that you would like to copy to another Power Button. Click the "Done" button when finished. If you click on the Power Button that you just copied your search criteria to, you will see the new search criteria information already displayed but in that Power Button’s color.

Layering
To add or remove mapping data (zip codes, lakes, area codes, etc.) select the "Layering" button in the Control Buttons area. A new window will open. Select the "US Cosmetics" tab and under the "View" column, click any of the boxes to deselect that data layer. You can also add or remove labeling for each layer. To remove a label, click the "Label" box next to the appropriate layer. Click the "Submit and Exit" button when finished. The "Layering" window will close and the Map Window will should refresh.
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Structure Search
In this search category you can search by either FCC Tower or by FCC Clearance. Just click on the appropriate button to select your search category. These are two different FCC databases and can be used to trap where your filings are or if they have errors between the FCC records and filings.
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Tower Co. / Carriers
This database is ideal for any company looking for tower co-locate or leasing opportunities for a specific market. Comprised of site locations from select major tower companies and carriers, this database is a growing source that adds tremendous value to your search results as you manage network expansion and improvement opportunities. Users can search individual or multiple tower company/carriers. If you wish to select more than one, hold the "Ctrl" key down and click another tower company/carrier that you wish to include in your search. You can also use the "Shift" key to select a range by clicking a selection, then hold down the "Shift" key and scroll down to the last selection that you wish to include in your desired search range. After you have completed your search, to view individual site details select the "i" info button and click on the site's icon on the map. Site data also includes site contact information for user convenience. Individual tower company/carrier sites are color-coded (legend identifies color association) for easy analysis.
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FAA
This search function utilizes the single, most current and complete database available on existing FAA approved structures required to file due to airspace and height requirements. The Lat. & Longs are currently located by NAD 83 (satellite survey) but can also be looked up and submitted in NAD 27 (land survey 1927). This database only contains structures that have received a "final determination" from the FAA.
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We hope this Help Sheet provides assistance to you as you use our exciting new PowerSearch tool. If you need further assistance you can send an email to powersearch@wacorp.net. We hope you enjoy our new tool!

Thank you.
Wireless Applications Corporation

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