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HERALD
Point-to-Point
Radio Link Design Sw
HERALD
(HElp for RAdio Link Design) is a PC program for Windows that assists the radio
engineer in the design of point-to-point (multi-hop) microwave links and
networks (frequency range 400 MHz to 58 GHz). Herald goal is to offer an
easy-to-use tool, at an affordable price, covering the gap between simple
spreadsheet computations and sophisticated (high cost) design suites.
Site/Hop Configuration; Link Budget;
Path Profile Analysis (clearance, reflections); Multipath Outage and Rain
Unavailability prediction; Interference analysis; Passive repeaters;
One-click access to Background Theory (context-sensitive links to HTML
tutorial document "Point-to-Point Radio Link Engineering").
HERALD Professional
Significant Features
 Ability to read NASA / SRTM terrain maps to import path
profiles: SRTM maps provide worldwide coverage with 1 or 3arcsecond
raster resolution. SRTM maps can be downloaded at no cost from
several websites.
Interface to Google Earth maps: export
of network topology defined in Herald to a Google map; import of radio site positions and names
to Herald site list.
Comparison of predicted radio section performance with performance objectives given by ITU-R or North
America standards
Reliable design guidelines and propagation models (ITU-R, Bell Labs, Crane, ITM Longley-Rice)
Choice of video and printed
Report language (English, Spanish,
Portuguese, or Italian)
HERALD Professional Overview
HERALD is based on well-assessed procedures for radio link design,
implemented in an interactive, user-friendly PC program. Close reference is
made to design guidelines given by ITU-R Recs, with option for additional
models (Bell Labs, Barnett-Vigants, Crane, ITM Longley-Rice).
The main design functions performed by HERALD are :
 Topology definition (Radio Sites,
including Passive Repeater Sites, and Radio Hops)
Radio equipment and antenna configuration
of Radio Sites
Path profile analysis (clearance
conditions, obstruction loss, reflection geometry, and diversity)
Link Budget computation, with estimate of
unavailability time due to rain and of outage time due to multipath
propagation
Interference search and analysis, estimate
of receiver degradation
The DataBase and Output functions performed by HERALD are :
Customized Antenna, Radio Equipment, and
Feeder Libraries
Video and printed outputs with various
Reports, profile plots and other diagrams (multilanguage outputs: English,
Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)
Export of radio network topology to Google
Earth maps
Storing of Design data, for later revision
and updating.
For additional information, please select one of the following
sections:
 Detailed Functuion List: Configuration and Performance
Prediction
Video and Printed Outputs
Import / Export Functions
Related Services, Radio Link Engineering
Background
 Top
Detailed Function List : Configuration and Performance Prediction
Antenna, Equipment, and Feeder
libraries to be customized with user data
Radio network topology definition
(terminal sites, radio hops);
Site & Hop configuration ((Radio
Equipment, Antenna, and Feeder Data loaded from libraries; space and/or
frequency diversity, channel arrangement, passive repeaters, etc.)
Link Budget computation, based on
the user-defined configuration
Path profile analysis: display of Fresnel
Ellipsoids; check of Clearance Criteria and estimate of the
Obstruction Loss (one or multiple obstacles; knife-edge, spherical
earth, or rounded shape)
Reflection analysis: computation
of ray delay, angles, phase shift,
etc.; estimate of optimum Diversity Spacing and of threshold
degradation due to reflection
Prediction of Rain Unavailability time
(ITU-R rain intensity model or Crane model)
Prediction of Multipath Occurrence
Factor (Bell Labs or ITU-R multipath activity models)
Estimate of the Multipath Fading Outage
time (wide-band frequency selective models: ITU-R signature model or
Dispersive Fade Margin model); Space and Frequency Diversity; Same
hop interference (co-channel and adjacent channels)
Passive repeaters
(implemented with one or two reflectors, or a back-to-back antenna
configuration)
Interference search and analysis in a P-P radio network (options for evaluating received / produced interference at any receiver site;
search criteria: max distance, max carrier spacing, max S/I ratio)
Rain correlation model to take account of rain attenuation on interfering and
interfered signals
Analysis
of External Interference, allowing to select a previous Herald
project and to compute interference produced by radio hops in that network to
radio hops in the network under design
Definition
of multi-hop Radio Sections: prediction of error rate and availability
performance and comparison with ITU objectives (Recs. G821 / G826)
or with North America reliability objectives
Longley-Rice (Irregular Terrain) Model to estimate reliability of radio links below about 3
GHz.
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Video and Printed Outputs
Video and printed Outputs (reports and
diagram labels) in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian
Radio Site, Radio Hop, and Path Profile
Reports (site and hop lists, radio site configuration, link budget,
performance predictions)
Radio Equipment, Antenna, and Feeder
Reports
Path Profile diagram with Fresnel
Ellipsoids; same with Reflection geometry (if any)
Path Profile Report (results of
Clearance and Reflection analysis)
Diagram Received power level vs.
k-factor in presence of reflection (with / without diversity)
Diagram Multipath Attenuation vs.
time percentage
Diagram Rain Unavailability time
vs. fade margin.
Diagram Multipath Outage time vs.
fade margin: comparison with/without space and/or frequency diversity,
interference, and multipath selectivity
Diagram of Antenna radiation patterns
Interference Report: list of
significant interference sources, interference power and threshold
degradation, results transferred to the link budget
Radio Section Report (multipath
outage and rain availability predictions, comparison with ITU-R or North
America objectives)
Radio Network Report (radio site,
hop, and section list)
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Import/Export Functions
Import of path profile from table in ASCII format or from NASA/SRTM terrain maps (available for free downloading from NASA and other websites, raster resolution 1 or 3 arcseconds)
Import of site names and coordinates from table in ASCII format or from *.kml file produced by Google
Earth (or other compatible application)
Export of Radio Network topology
(radio sites and hops) to be displayed as a Google Earth map.
 Top
Related Services, Radio Link Engineering Background
CUSTOMIZATION - HERALD printed
outputs (reports and diagrams) can be customized with User Company's name
and logo.
ASSISTANCE - Support for any question
on HERALD Professional installation and use, through fax or e-mail
ENHANCED TUTORIALS - Registration
for the "Point-to-Point Radio Link Engineering (PPRLE)" tutoring
service with support for questions about propagation and link design theory
INFORMATION - Email newsletter
about HERALD Professional updates and revisions in ITU-R relevant
Recommendations
MAINTENANCE - One-year service with
free HERALD Professional updates (subscription to a Maintenance &
Assistance contract after the first year use of Herald)
ON-REQUEST SERVICES - Customized
routines to import Path Profiles from a user-defined Terrain Data Base.
Conversion of already available Equipment and Antenna DataBase to HERALD
format (radio equipment and antenna manufacturers are assisted in
formatting their catalogues as HERALD compatible libraries). Translation of HERALD output texts
(reports and diagram labels) to other languages (English, Spanish,
Portuguese, and Italian now available)
HERALD licensed users are now
provided with the document on "Point-to-Point Radio Link Engineering" (PPRLE), which includes Course Notes in HTML format, as well
as radio link design exercises ("HERALD Lab"). The course deals
with fundamental concepts in radio propagation, with application to the
design of point-to-point radio links and networks. It overviews background
theory and can be accessed during HERALD use with a mouse click in a
context-sensitive mode.
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Copyright © Luigi Moreno 1998-2022, All rights
reserved
- E-mail : info(at)radioengineering.it
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