610 N. Whitney Way, Suite 160 Madison, WI 53705, U.S.A. Phone: (608) 238-2171, Fax: (608) 238-9241 Email: info@powline.com
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Spring 2012 Newsletter

In this issue:

1. Version 12.10 Released!
2. Distribution
3. Upcoming Classes and Events
4. Web Site Additions
5. Recommended Hardware and Operating Systems
6. Current Versions

Version 12.10 Released!

We are now shipping Version 12.10 of all our software. A summary of the most significant changes is included below. A more complete change log will be included with all upgrades.

Major Improvements in PLS-CADD

• Added 'NESC 2012' options for wind adjustment with height, wire gust response factor and structure wind load models defined in Criteria/Weather and Criteria/Structure Loads. These generally produce the same results as the 'NESC 2007' option.
• Added Quick Search Toolbar which can be used to search the menus, help, technical notes and videos. Also acts as a calculator (try typing "=10*sin(45)").
• Added support for display of GPS camera and iPhone pictures in the 3d view. To use this simply attach your pictures using the new "Plan view vertical plane" image attachment mode in Drafting/Attachments/Attachment Manager. Image locations and azimuths are automatically extracted from image EXIF data.
• Added Sections/Concentrated Loads Automatic Placement feature for reporting on wires exceeding a specified height above ground or automatically placing marker balls on them. Options are provided to control spacing, staggering between different wires, alternating between different colors...

Major Improvements in TOWER and PLS-POLE

• Added NESC 2012 option to the Wind/Ice Model column in Loads/Vector Loads and Loads/Wire Loads.
• Added Quick Search Toolbar which can be used to search the menus, help, technical notes and videos. Also acts as a calculator (try typing "=10*sin(45)").
• PLS-POLE now supports importing pole models from ikeAnnotate PLS by ikeGPS. You can watch the video introduction to ikeGPS and ikeAnnotate PLS now.
• General/Attachments/Attachment Manager now works with images in JPEG and TIFF formats.
• Image attachments may now have an azimuth angle specified. When an azimuth is specified, images will not be visible if you are looking at them from behind.

You can use Help/Download Upgrade to upgrade to version 12.10 today.

Distribution

We are seeing more use of PLS-CADD and PLS-POLE in distribution due to several state PUCs requiring storm hardening, accurate sag and tension calculations, and ground profiles. We've been working with ikeGPS to develop solutions to streamline the creation of PLS-POLE models from field data. The result is a new ikeAnnotate PLS product for graphical creation of a site specific PLS-POLE model using a scaled photo of the structure as a template. This model is ready for use in PLS-CADD/Lite and PLS-CADD standard edition where loading and clearance compliance can be evaluated. Please read the ikeAnnotate PLS brochure and watch the video for additional information on this new and exciting capability.

Classes and Events

This will be a great year to meet with us in person as we will have booths at the IEEE T&D, Cigre and the ASCE ETS Conferences:

• Booth 1263 IEEE PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition in Orlando, Florida, May 7-10, 2012.
• Please visit with us at the 2012 CIGRE Technical Exhibition, Palais des congres de Paris, France, August 27-31, 2012
• 2012 ASCE Electrical Transmission and Substation Structures Conference in Columbus, Ohio, November 4-8, 2012.

In addition we have scheduled the following classes:

• Design of Overhead Transmission Lines using PLS-CADD (includes 32 PDHs), April 16-20, 2012 in Madison, WI (Full, wait list only)
• Analysis and Design of Transmission Towers Using TOWER (includes 28 PDHs), April 24-27, 2012 in Madison, WI (Full, wait list only)
• Design of Overhead Transmission Lines using PLS-CADD (includes 32 PDHs), June 4-8, 2012 in Madison, WI (Space still available)
• Design of Transmission Lines, Structures and Foundations (Organized by the University of Wisconsin) Rescheduled to October 15-19, 2012 in Madison, WI
• Computerized Transmission Line Design: PLS-CADD Hands-On Training (Organized by the University of Wisconsin) December 3-7, 2012 in Orlando, FL

Classes organized by authorized PLS agents:

• Curso De PLS-CADD, May 7-11, 2012 in Panama (Custom Engineering Solutions)
• Design, Maintenance, and Rehabilitation of Overhead Transmission Lines using PLS-CADD, May 14-18, 2012 in Paris France (S. Dimov)
• Design and Optimization of Overhead Transmission Lines using PLS-CADD and TOWER, June 25-29, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec Canada (E. Ghannoum)

Please let us know if you would like to be added to the notification list for new classes.

Web Site Additions

• PLS-CADD NESC 2012 Criteria files are now available in the Online Library. Version 12.10 is required to use them.
• DIS-TRAN's pre-engineered steel pole library for PLS-POLE is now available for download.
• Introducing ikeAnnotate, a hardware and software combination that enables rapid and accurate PLS-POLE model creation from field measurements of poles.

Recommended Hardware and Operating Systems

Microsoft plans to release Windows 8 later this year and Power Line Systems will be ready to release new Windows 8 compatible software coincident with them. Microsoft ended mainstream support of Windows XP (and XP x64) on April 14, 2009 and will be ending all support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. Power Line Systems will also be ending support for XP on this date. This will enable us to migrate to newer versions of Microsoft's software development tools that will improve performance and let us take advantage of new features introduced in Windows 7 and beyond.

As you plan your migration from Windows XP, we strongly encourage upgrading to a 64 bit edition of Windows so that you may take advantage of the enormous investment we have made in our x64 Edition. Not only is the x64 Edition of our software capable of solving larger problems than the 32 bit edition, it is also significantly more stable. Approximately 60% of the crash reports we receive are due to out of memory errors on 32 bit Windows. These errors do not happen to users of the x64 Edition. You may email support@powline.com to request our current sample specification for a 64 bit PLS-CADD workstation. These workstations do not need to break your budget: a 64 bit machine with 12GB of RAM is available for less than 1200 USD.

Current Versions

The current shipping versions of our software are listed below. Version 12.10 supports Windows XP SP3, Vista and 7 (both 32 and 64 bit).

We strongly encourage you to upgrade to the current release of all the applications you own. To do so please use the Help/Download Upgrade command built into your PLS software. This would also be a good time to use the Help/Check for Updated Manual command to make sure you have the latest edition of the manuals. As always, we welcome your suggestions and comments on our software.

Staff of Power Line Systems, Inc.