The Coverage API allows you to create or edit individual coverages using the API. If you provide a Coverage ID, it will only change the values of the existing coverage.

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Account / API Key

You can locate your Account ID and API Key in the API section of your account settings. Your Account ID can also be found within the iframe of your Multi Coverage.

Coverage ID

The Coverage ID field is not a required field unless you are wanting to update an existing coverage on your account. The Coverage ID can be located in the URL when you open any individual Coverage.

Coverage Name

The Coverage name field is required and can contain text, numbers, dashes, and underscores, but cannot have return characters or special characters.

Tower Site ID

This field is not required but if you do not provide a Site ID, one will be created using the Latitude, Longitude, Coverage Name, and Antenna Height. If you wish to assign multiple sectors to a single tower site you will need to use the Get Site List API otherwise you will have several tower locations that are in the same location.

Latitude / Longitude

These fields are in decimal degrees. If you are in the northern hemisphere, the Latitude value will be positive. In the southern hemisphere, the Latitude value will be negative. The Longitude value will be positive if you are in the eastern hemisphere and negative if you are in the western hemisphere. You do not have to enter these values if you use the Site ID from your tower location.

Antenna Height

The Height value must be input as a numerical value only. It can have decimal values as well. All heights are in meters.

Client Average Antenna Height / Client Antenna Gain

The client antenna height is in meters and we suggest you use the average install height of your customer locations for this value.

The Client Antenna Gain is a whole number only field. We suggest you use the value of the largest antenna you perform installs with for this field.

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Rx / Tx Line Loss

This field can be decimal values. For most situations, 0.5 is enough line loss unless your equipment is installed with significant amount of cable between the radio and the antenna. If this is the case, you will need to use the specifications of the cable to determine how much loss you have.

Antenna Type

There are many antenna pattern files in TowerCoverage.com, but you can also upload you own antenna pattern files. (Files Must be in Radio Mobile Compatible .ant format.) The place to upload these files is located under Account >> Antenna Patterns. You will need to use the value assigned to the antenna that you wish to use by requesting the list from the Get Antenna Type API.

Antenna Azimuth

The Azimuth field is a required field and only whole numbers between 0 and 360 are allowed. There is no need to enter the special character for degrees. This should be set to the magnetic degrees that your sector is facing. Any value is acceptable for an omni directional antenna.

Beam Width Fliter

The Beam Width Filter is a required field and only whole numbers between 0 and 360 are allowed. This has no effect on the propagation of the coverage. It tells the incoming EUS Data as well as the Path Analysis feature the angle in which to allow submissions. In most cases, sectors have a slightly wider beam than that of the advertised width. It is good practice to add 10 to the advertised beam width (Example: 90 degree sector would have a Beam Width of 100).

Antenna Tilt

The antenna tilt field is a required. This allows you to set the mechanical tilt of the antenna. Values must be a whole number using positive numbers for up-tilt and negative numbers for down-tilt. If you are using the correct pattern file for your coverage, the electrical tilt is already built into the coverage.

Antenna Gain

Antenna gain is a required field. Values must be whole numbers only with no text added. Although the Gain is listed in the antenna pattern, you will still need to input the appropriate gain of the antenna that you are using.

Frequency / Exact Center Frequency

The Frequency setting values are obtained by using the Get Frequency List and is required for the request. These values change periodically due to more frequencies being added to the available list. The Exact Center Frequency is not required but can be added as a whole number value and will allow you to use the Frequency Coordination feature on the Multi Maps of your account.

Tx Power

For the Tx Power Setting of your coverage, you will need to use whole number values in dBm. If your radio settings are in Watts or Milli-watts, you will need to convert them before inputting them to prevent inaccuracies in your coverage.

Rx Threshold

This is the minimum Rx value that you wish to show on your coverage map and is whole number only value. For WISP operations, we recommend this to be within a few dB of your company’s minimum installation requirements. This will limit the coverage map to only show locations at this value or above. Any location that would get less that this value will not show on your coverage map (even as little as 0.1 dBm less). Our standard recommendation is a -65, but what you enter in this field is based on what values your company’s policies will allow installations. A higher Rx Threshold will reduce your coverage area and will not include areas that lower signal is available at with reduced signal margins.

Use Land Cover / Use Two Rays / Create Viewshed

All three of these fields have a valid value of 1 for yes or 0 for no.

Use Land Cover
This tells the site whether or not to take your Land Cover settings into account in the calculations.

See also Land cover for more information.

Use Two Rays
Two rays are used for multi-path calculations. Most WISP use radios that cannot do multi-path reflections so by default this option is turned off. If your radio system can use multi-path reflections then you may want to turn this value on.

Create Viewshed
The view shed options, sets all land cover density values to 10000, or their maximum value. This means that as soon as a signal attempts to go through any type of land cover, it will result in a loss so great that the signal will not travel through it. This creates a view shed; but unlike other systems, the views held do take into account land cover values, such as tree heights etc. If you are using radio systems in frequencies in 5 GHz or larger, in most cases, trees will attenuate the signal to an unusable level. Some customers wish to avoid seeing any locations in which trees would have an impact on service, so the view shed option is what they would use.

For WISP operations, we recommend that any frequencies above 2.4 GHz use the view shed option, as those frequencies at the power levels we use, will stop transmitted signals. 2.4 GHz and under has decent foliage penetration, so leaving the view shed off for these frequencies is recommended.