Spanline (spanline.tcstx.com) is browser-based point-to-point microwave path design and RF link design software. It is distinct from the Australian home-additions company Spanline. File notes are on the .pl5 import page, and the arithmetic is on the link budget page.
.pl5 Import & Export (Round-Trip) + .rsd radio library import, including site coordinates, tower heights, terrain and clutter profiles, equipment, adaptive-modulation modes, and the 840-byte terrain-roughness trailer..rsd import or a custom catalog entry..kml and a summary and BOM CSV.| Capability | Spanline | Pathloss 5 | Aviat Design | Cambium LINKPlanner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, and iPad | Windows desktop | Aviat portal | Cambium portal |
| Pathloss 5 .pl5 & .rsd | Native Pathloss 5 .pl5 Import & Export (Round-Trip) + .rsd radio library import, including the 840-byte roughness trailer. |
Native .pl5 on Windows | Aviat equipment portal | Cambium equipment portal |
| Equipment Database | Built-in 77-item multi-vendor equipment catalog (8 radios, 29 antennas, and 40 transmission lines) from Nokia/Wavence, Aviat Networks, Ceragon, Cambium, CommScope/Andrew, RFS, and Times Microwave, plus any manufacturer via Pathloss .rsd import or a custom catalog entry. | Pathloss equipment files on Windows | Aviat radios | Cambium radios |
| Adaptive Modulation (ACM) & ATPC | Full 10-mode Adaptive Coding & Modulation (ACM) and ATPC, with per-mode thermal, flat, dispersive, and composite fade margins and per-mode annual availability matching Pathloss 5. | Native ACM mode tables | Aviat adaptive radios | Cambium adaptive radios |
| FCC Layer / ASR Integration (US) | Built-in FCC ASR (Antenna Structure Registration) tower search by registration number and coordinate radius. | Desktop path study | Aviat network design | Cambium link plan |
| Clutter & LiDAR Layer (Adjustable Heights) | Automated USGS 3DEP LiDAR Height Above Ground (HAG), LANDFIRE canopy heights, OpenStreetMap 3D buildings, Annual NLCD land-cover clutter classes, plus fully editable per-point clutter and obstacle heights and custom obstruction segments. | Desktop terrain profile | Portal profile | Portal profile |
| Reflection & Grazing Analysis | Full Reflection & Grazing Study: specular reflection geometry, water, smooth, and rough-earth reflection coefficients, antenna vertical discrimination, destructive and constructive multipath fade depth, and K-factor sweeps. | Desktop reflection tools | Portal reflection check | Portal reflection check |
| Multi-Hop Network Projects | Full multi-site, multi-hop network projects on an interactive Leaflet network map, with multi-hop Google Earth .kml and a Project Multi-Hop Summary & BOM .csv export. | Desktop network file | Aviat network view | Cambium network view |
| Global + US High-Res Terrain | USGS 3DEP bare-earth DEM plus LiDAR in the United States, and automatic global Open-Meteo DEM terrain fallback worldwide. US Imperial (ft / mi) and Metric (m / km). | Desktop terrain on Windows | Portal terrain | Portal terrain |
| Auto antenna height | One click sets both centerlines inside the tower limits. | Desktop clearance worksheet | Portal height entry | Portal height entry |
| Reports and exports | Native Pathloss 5 .pl5 round-trip export, Word .rtf, page-1 landscape and portrait path-survey print, .kml, summary and BOM CSV, and terrain CSV/TXT. | Pathloss reports on Windows | Aviat portal output | Cambium portal output |
Sites yield the Vincenty path length and both azimuths on WGS84. A project holds many sites and many hops. A new site starts with a minimum antenna height of 15 ft. A new hop starts with 150 ft centerlines unless a site minimum is higher. Optimize heights, on Ground Profile and on Clearance, raises those centerlines only as far as the active Fresnel rules and the tower steel require.
Spanline supports native Pathloss 5 .pl5 import and export (round-trip). Site coordinates, tower heights, terrain and clutter profiles, equipment, adaptive-modulation modes, dispersive fade occurrence, and the 840-byte terrain-roughness trailer stay with the file. A Pathloss .rsd radio file imports into the equipment catalog and can be applied to a hop.
The built-in catalog has 77 items (8 radios, 29 antennas, and 40 transmission lines) from Nokia/Wavence, Aviat Networks, Ceragon, Cambium, CommScope/Andrew, RFS, and Times Microwave. Pathloss .rsd import or a custom catalog entry adds any manufacturer. Adaptive coding and modulation stores up to 10 modes, with ATPC. Each mode shows thermal, flat, dispersive, and composite fade margins and annual availability in the Pathloss 5 form.
Fetch elevations reads USGS 3DEP bare earth in the United States and falls back to the Open-Meteo global DEM. Clutter tries 3DEP LiDAR height above ground, then LANDFIRE vegetation height, then an OpenStreetMap building that carries a height or a level count, then an Annual NLCD class height. Those heights can be edited, and a custom obstruction segment can be drawn. Clearance uses the higher of clutter and an obstruction entered by hand. Antenna centerline height for each end is entered on the ground profile and is the hop centerline used for clearance, reflection, the link budget, the report, and the map. Display units are feet and miles, or meters and kilometres.
The reflection study finds specular points on the earth-curved profile. Coefficients cover water, smooth earth, and rough earth. Antenna vertical discrimination, destructive and constructive fade depth, and a sweep of K are on the same page.
Multipath availability uses Vigants–Barnett, including the intervisible 50-point sea-level roughness and the central-80% fallback, and ITU-R P.530-17. Temperature uses the ITU-R P.1510-0 grid. Rain uses Crane, including the city curves, and ITU-R P.837 / P.838. Gas absorption uses ITU-R P.676. Diffraction uses ITU-R P.526.
With a signed-in session, Find ASR searches registrations near a coordinate, and Look up reads one registration number. The elevation lookup and the city lookup do not require an account.
Performance and the printed report share one link budget. When a radio has adaptive modes, Spanline shows the selected mode. The report prints on letter paper in portrait, and the path survey also prints landscape. File writes a Pathloss-style Word .rtf, a multi-hop Google Earth .kml, and a project summary and bill of materials CSV. The map is a Leaflet view of every site and hop.
Spanline runs in a browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, and iPad. Pathloss 5 is a Windows desktop program and the native .pl5 application. Aviat Design is an Aviat portal. Cambium LINKPlanner is a Cambium portal. Spanline reads and writes .pl5 and keeps a 77-item catalog (8 radios, 29 antennas, and 40 transmission lines) from Nokia/Wavence, Aviat Networks, Ceragon, Cambium, CommScope/Andrew, RFS, and Times Microwave, plus any manufacturer via Pathloss .rsd import or a custom catalog entry, with 10-mode ACM and ATPC.
Yes. The catalog has 77 items (8 radios, 29 antennas, and 40 transmission lines) from Nokia/Wavence, Aviat Networks, Ceragon, Cambium, CommScope/Andrew, RFS, and Times Microwave, plus any manufacturer via Pathloss .rsd import or a custom catalog entry. Ten modes carry ATPC and the Pathloss fade-margin and availability columns.
Yes. LiDAR height above ground, LANDFIRE, OpenStreetMap buildings, and Annual NLCD fill clutter, and each height can be edited. Reflection and grazing report specular geometry, surface coefficients, discrimination, fade depth, and K-factor sweeps.
Yes. 3DEP covers the United States and Open-Meteo covers the rest of the world. A project is a multi-hop network on the Leaflet map, exported as .kml and as a summary and BOM CSV.
With no account, projects stay in this browser and Spanline does not call the project API. With an account, plans are free, paid, and admin. Any signed-in plan stores projects on the server. Private catalog writes need a paid or admin plan. Shared catalog writes need an admin plan.
Free to use in the browser; sign-in saves projects.