Updated: 07/08/2006
This page documents the new features in WinQuake Version 2.9 and how to install the new winqk32.exe file on your system. You must have WinQuake already installed on your system before you can use the new winqk32.exe file. I will be making a full installation release when I can find some free time.
Beta Release 2.9.1 Additions and Changes:
Beta Release 2.9.2 Additions and Changes:
Beta Release 2.9.3 Additions and Changes:
Beta Release 2.9.4 Additions and Changes:
Beta Release 2.9.5 and 2.9.7 Additions and Changes:
Release 2.9
This release has no timeout period.
Download this file wq298.zip
Unzip the file in a temporary directory
Close WinQuake if the program is running on your system
Locate the directory containing the old winqk32.exe file
Copy the new winqk32.exe file to the directory containing the old winqk32.exe file
Restart WinQuake
The zip file contains several event files that can be used to experiment with the new features of WinQuake.
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The program can now calculate the Mb or Body Wave magnitude of the event using the following formula:
mb = log10(A/T) + 0.01*D + 5.9
A = Peak P wave displacement amplitude in micrometers, T = Period of the displacement amplitude and D = Distance in degrees
There are two ways to calculate Mb. You can use the Magnitude Calculator dialog box, see below for more information, or use the Magnitude marker and pick the maximum P displacement location. You must integrate the record to displacement before you can use this method. Use the Calculate / Magnitude / Mb Marker menu items to enable the Mb marker.
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Magnitude Calculation Changes:
Previous releases of WinQuake use the Magnitude Correction number supplied in the event file header section to calculate the Ms and Ml magnitudes. To determine the Magnitude Correction number, the station operator would use an event of known magnitude and location as a may of calibrating their sensor.
Also included in the header of the event file is actual sensitivity of the sensor. This field may be filled in if the station operator has this information available about their sensor. If the sensitivity information is available, WinQuake can use it to calculate the magnitude rather then the Magnitude Correction number.
The difference between the two numbers is the Magnitude Correction number factures out any local ground amplification or attenuation to the seismic waves since the number is derived by using an event with a known magnitude. If WinQuake uses the sensitivity of the sensor, the magnitude information calculated by the program is the real magnitude recorded by the sensor. The Magnitude Calculator dialog box (see below) displays the magnitude using both numbers.
Before WinQuake can use the sensor sensitivity number, the users must convert the data to displacement. This can be done by using WinQuake's integration feature. If the time series data is from an accelerometer, the user will need to integrate the data twice. If the data is from a velocity sensor like a Lehman or geophone, the data will need to be integrated once to convert the data to displacement.
After converting the data to displacement, the data usually needs to be filtered to remove any low frequency information. If the user is trying to determine the local magnitude Ml, the data should be filtered with a 1.25 Hz 2 pole high-pass filter. This makes the data look like a Wood-Anderson sensor used to come up with the Ml magnitude scale. If the user is determining the Ms magnitude, the data should be filter at ~25 seconds.
Here's how WinQuake uses the two magnitude sensitivity numbers in the main event window for Ml, Ms and Mb calculation. The program uses the Magnitude Correction number, if available, until the data has been converted to displacement. Once the data is been converted, the user has the option to use either of the two numbers based on the magnitude display mode. The display mode is controlled by the Calculate / Magnitude / Auto Magnitude Sensitivity, Use Magnitude Correction and Use Sensor Units menu items. If the Auto Magnitude Sensitivity item is checked, WinQuake will use the sensor sensitivity number once the data is converted to displacement. The program will use the Magnitude Correction number when the data is velocity or acceleration. The other two menu items can be used to force WinQuake to use either number when the Auto mode is turned off.
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The period of the S or P peak wave needs to be known to calculate the magnitude. WinQuake uses the default values of 20 seconds for the S wave period and 1 second for the P wave period to calculate Ms and Mb. The period or the P or S wave can be calculated using the Calculate / Magnitude / Calculate Ms or Mb Period menu items. Before calculating the period, the user should zoom into the peak P or S wave location and then calculate the period. WinQuake uses the current view as a starting point to look for the maximum displacement. Once the maximum amplitude is located, WinQuake looks for the two zero crossing locations and calculates the period by multiplying the number of samples between the two zero crossing points and the sample rate period. This number is then multiplied by two to get the actual Ms or Mb period. WinQuake will display the new period in a dialog box or display an error message if the period is not in the range of 10 to 30 seconds for the S wave or .1 (10 Hz) to 6 seconds for the P wave.
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Time Domain Filter Dialog Box:
The Low-Pass and High-Pass frequency edit boxes can now accept seconds, or the period of the cutoff frequency, as an input. Example: Entering "20 s or 20s" in either filter frequency edit boxs will produce a frequency of 0.05 Hz (1.0 / 20.0).
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The user can now crop the event file using the View / Crop menu items.
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Event File Search Dialog Box:
This dialog box is used to search for event files using filters like event magnitude, distance to the event etc. This dialog box is opened using the new Search button in the main Open File dialog box. There are two ways of searching for event files. One is using a database file created using the Create Database File button or searching the actual directly and option sub-directories for event files. This method can take a very long time depending on the number of files WinQuake needs to open to see if it is a valid event file and that it matches the filter parameters. The directory searched is the directory selected by the Open File dialog box. Any sub-directories located in the root directory will be searched if the Sub-Directory check box is checked.
If you have a lot of event files on your system you can use the database file option to reduce the time needed to search of the files on your system. First you must create the database file using the Create Database File button. Use the next dialog box to select the root directory or drive letter containing your event files. WinQuake will then create the database file by looking for event files in the root directory and in any sub-directories. Note, the filter parameters are not used while looking for event files to add to the database file. The EVENTDB.DAT database file created by WinQuake is a standard ASCII text file that can be opened with any text editor. The file is located in the root WinQuake directory or folder.
Once you have a database file you can search for events using the filter parameters. To search the database file, check the Use Database File check box, enter any filter parameters and press the Search button. The maximum number of files returned by the search in either mode (direct search or database file) is control by the Max Files edit box. When the program completes the search, or if the maximum files has been reached, the Search dialog box will be closed and the Open File dialog box will display the search results. To redisplay the normal list of files either press the Update button, select another directory using the Directory button or the File menu directory list.
Additional Information:
The database file has the following format:
Number of event file records
Database version number
Root directory that was used to search for event files
Event file information
Each event file line has the following format. Comas are used to separate each field.
Directory and filename
Event file start date and time
Channel/Sensor ID
Component letter - N = N-S orientation sensor, E = E-W, Z = Vertical, ? = Unknown
Magnitude of the event or 0 if no event information is included in the event file
Station to event distance in km or 0 if no event information is included in the event file
Event depth in km or 0 if no event information is included in the event file
Carriage/Line Feed characters
Below is an example of the first five lines of a database file:
Notes:Records: 020253 Version: 1.0 Root: j:\quakes j:\quakes\0001\000102a.bhz.gumo.psn,01/02/2000 12:58:17,GUMO,Z,5.6,5489,33 j:\quakes\0001\000101a.gr2.psn,01/01/2000 01:20:23,GR2,Z,0,0,01: Currently there is no way of aborting a direct search or database file creation except to stop the WinQuake process using the Task Manager.
2: The database file can contain the same event file more then once if the file contains more then one event report.
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Magnitude Calculator Dialog Box:
The Magnitude Calculator dialog box can be used to calculate the following information:
Calculate display Ml, Ms and Mb magnitudes based on Peak Displacement and Event Distance
Calculate the magnitude based on the sensor Magnitude Correction factor and Peak A/D Counts
Calculate the Peak Displacement based on the event magnitude and station to event distance
Calculate the sensor Magnitude Correction number based on Peak A/D Counts and event magnitude
Sensor Information Group:
Peak Displacement Edit Box:
This edit box contains the Peak Displacement number. When the dialog box is first opened, and if the event window is displaying displacement data and the Sensor Sensitivity is known, WinQuake will fill in this field from the event window used to open the dialog box. The number is calculated based on the Sensor Sensitivity number in the event file header and the Peak A/D Counts.
This edit box will be updated if the Ml, Ms, or Mb magnitude is changed. The calculation will be based on the new magnitude and the current event to station distance.
Peak A/D Counts Edit Box:
The A/D counts number is set to the peak counts in the event window view (not the whole event file) or the location of the Mb or Ml / Ms magnitude marker when the dialog box is first open.
Sensor Sensitivity Edit Box:
This edit box contains the sensor sensitivity number, if available in the event file header. This number can be calculated based on peak displacement and A/D counts or event magnitude, peak displacement and peak A/D counts.
Magnitude Correction Edit Box:
This edit box contains the sensor Magnitude Correction number, if available in the event file header. This number can be calculated based on event magnitude and peak A/D counts.
Event Distance Information Group:
Then the dialog box is first opened, WinQuake will fill in these fields from the current event to station distance based on the location of the P and S markers in the event window used to open the dialog box. If one of the Event Distance edit boxes is modified the other edit boxes will be updated with the new distance information.
The Ml -log A0 Correction number displays the current Ml correction number based on the station to event distance. This is the formula used to calculate Ml magnitude:
Ml = log(A) + A0_Correction where A = displacement in millimeters.
Magnitude Information:
This group displays the Ml, Mb and Ms magnitudes based on the Sensor Sensitivity number, peak A/D counts and event to station distance or Magnitude Correction number, peak A/D Counts, and distance. The Ml, Mb and Ms edit boxes on the left are based on the Sensor Sensitivity number and the boxes on the right display the magnitudes based on the Magnitude Correction number.
Mb and Ms Period Edit Boxes and Buttons:
These edit boxes and corresponding buttons control the period used for MS and Mb magnitude calculation. The period can be enter manually using the edit boxes or calculated using the Ms or Mb Period button. See Ms and Mb Period Calculation above for more information.
Calculate Button:
When this button is pressed, WinQuake will recalculate any fields it can based on the information supplied by the user.
Clear Button:
Clears all of the edit boxes.
Reset Button:
Resets all of the fields to their initial value.
Close:
Closes the dialog box.
Help:
Opens the help page for the dialog box.
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New PSN Type 4 Header Information:
This version of WinQuake supports the new SensorAmpAtoD structure in the PSN Type 4 event file.. This information breaks down the Sensitivity of the event file field into three components. See this page for the PSN Type 4 format documentation: http://www.seismicnet.com/psnformat4.html.The new structure contains the following information:
Sensor output voltage in volts per centimeter of ground motion
Amplifier gain or attenuation between the sensor and the A/D converter
A/D converter peak input voltage
This information, if available in the event file, can be viewed, modified or added in the Sensor Information dialog box. Currently only the new beta release of WinSDR supports this new data structure.
In the Sensor Information dialog box you will see three new edit fields, one for each field of the SensorAmpAtoD data structure and a Calc Sens button under the Sensitivity edit box. This button is used to calculate either the Sensitivity number based on the sensor Output Voltage, Amp Gain, A/D Input Voltage and number of A/D bits. If the Sensitivity number is known, and the Amp Gain and A/D Voltage are specified, WinQuake will calculate the sensor Output Voltage when the Calc Sens button is pressed. Note, the Sensitivity or Output Voltage edit box must be empty to calculate either number.
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Three Component Display and Dataset Volumes:
Each Event Window can now display up to three event files. The purpose is to display the data from a two or three component (North-South, East-West and Vertical) sensor. Only event files that have the same start time, sample count, sample rate and sensor type (displacement, velocity or accelerometer) can be added to the the same Event Window. Event files can be added to the same window by using the Open File dialog box and selecting two or three files. WinQuake will check to see if the event files you have selected have the same parameters describe above, if they are all the same, the files will be displayed in one Event Window. The user can also use the File / Add menu items to add more files to the Event Window. The user can remove the currently selected file or record by using the File / Remove menu items. See the New Menu Items documentation below for more information.
WinQuake now supports dataset volumes. PSN Dataset volumes contain two or three event records in one event file. See the PSN Type 4 format documentation for more information on the dataset format. Dataset volumes can be created using the File / Add feature and then saved using the File Save dialog box. Dataset volumes can saved as individual files by deselecting the Dataset Volume check box in the File Save dialog box.
Once a dataset volume is loaded, or if more then one file is added to the Event Window, the used can view one record by double-clicking on the Y-Scale area of the Event Window. To display all records again, double-click on the Y-Scale area.
The following have been added to the Event Window File menu list:
File / Add:
Used to add one or two more files or records to the current Event Window. This is used to display the data from a two or three component sensor in one Event Window. When selected, the Add File dialog box will be opened so that the user can select the file or files. Only event files that have the same start time, sample count, sample rate and sensor type (displacement, velocity or accelerometer) can be added to the current Event Window.
File / Remove:
Used to remove the currently selected event file record. If the file has been modified, the user will be asked if they would like to save the file.
View / Display Record / Sensor ID
Displays the selected record in the event window. Only enabled when viewing more then one event file or dataset volume. The user can also double-click on the Y-Scale section of the record to display one record.
View / Select Record / Sensor ID
Changes the selected record. Only enabled when viewing more then one event file or dataset volume. The selected record's header information will be displayed in the text section of the event file window. The selected record will also be used for FFT, RMS and other calculations. Time domain filtering and data integration are preformed on all of the records displayed in the event file window. The user and also change the selected record by clicking on one of the records in the event window, except the area under the P, S and magnitude markers.
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Time Domain Dialog Box Predefined Filters:
The user can now create one or more predefined filters. To use this feature, enter the filter parameters in the Butterworth Filter Type group and select the Add button. Enter the name of the filter in the next dialog box. The new filter name should now show up in the filter drop list. Whenever you change the filter drop list, the new filter information will be updated in the Butterworth Filter Type group. The Update button updates the Butterworth Filter Type group with the predefined filter parameters of the currently selected filter drop box. The Remove button removes the current selected predefined filer. Currently there is no may of editing the predefined filter parameters. To change the filter parameters you will need to remove the filter and then use the Add button to re add the filter to the predefined filter list.
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The All Event Windows check box has been changed to Update and Lock All Event Windows. If this check box is checked, WinQuake will update all Event Windows when either the X-Scale changes or the user changes the Event Window start time, using the scroll bar, in any of the open event Windows. The X-Scale or start time changes only effect Event Windows that have the same time span. This setting also effects new event windows opened using the Open File Dialog Box. If this setting is enable, any new Event Windows that has the same time span as the other Event Windows will be displayed with the current X-Scale and start time. This setting will stay in effect until you turn it off or you close all opened Event Windows.
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Y-Scale Display and Dialog Box Changes:
The Y-Scale number, controlled by the Y-Scale dialog box and the vertical scrollbar now specifies the maximum peak counts, volts or sensor units to display. As an example, if the display mode is set to display A/D counts and the Y-Scale is set to 1000, WinQuake will draw a y-grid from 0 to +- 1000 A/D counts. The Y-Scale Display group controls the display mode. The default is A/D counts if the Sensitivity field of the header is 0 and the event file does not have the SensorAmpAtoD data structure ( see above). If the A/D voltage and amplifier gain are specified, the user can select either the voltage seen by the A/D converter or the input to the amplifier if the Amp Volts item is selected.
The current Y-Scale is displayed in the toolbar and in the text portion of the event window. The Y-Scale label can be one of the following: c = counts, v = volts, m = meters or Sensor Unit. If the Y-Scale Display is set to counts, the Y-Scale label can be: "Mc" = megacounts, "kc" = kilocounts, "c" = counts, "mc" = millicounts, "uc" = microcounts and "nc" = nanocounts. If the display mode is set to Amp or A/D Volts, the label can be "nv" = nanovolts, "mv" for millivolts, "v" = volts and "kv" = kilovolts. If the display mode is set to Sensor Units, the label can be "nm" = nanometers, "mm" = millimeters, "cm" = centimeters and "m" = meters.
Y-Scale Dialog Box Other Options Group:
All Records Check Box:
If checked, the new Y-Scale value will be applied to all of the records in the current selected Event Window. This check box will only be enabled if two or three event files are being displayed in the same Event Window. See Three Component Display documentation below for more information.
All Windows Check Box:
If checked, the new Y-Scale value will be applied to all Event Windows. This check box will be enabled when there are two or more open Event Windows.
Display Centimeter Check Box:
If checked, WinQuake will display the cm label when the Y-Scale or sensor data goes between 10.0 mm (millimeters) and 1 meter. If not checked, the label will remain mm until 1 meter is reached.
Use as Default:
If checked, the current Y-Scale value will be used as the Y-Scale for any new event Window. The Use as Default switch and Y-Scale value are saved in the winquake.ini file and will be used again when WinQuake is restarted.
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The File Save dialog box has been changed to support the Three Component Display and dataset volume features. The dialog box now has three File Name edit boxes, one for each of the records that can be added to the same Event Window or used to save the records in a dataset as individual files. To do this, uncheck the Dataset Volume check box.
One other change is the removal of the View Only check box. To crop an event file, use the View / Crop menu items and then save the file(s).
Added support to request dataset volumes files from WinSDR. Both the Replay and Remote request functions can now specify a dataset volume name instead of an individual channel ID. If a WinSDR channel is associated with a dataset volume, you must specify the dataset name rather then one of the channels in the data set volume.
This release also fixes a problem with the Crop file feature.
WinQuake can now read MINISEED (MS) files or dataset volumes. MS files contain very little information besides the actual sensor data, station ID and component (BHZ LHZ etc) ID. It is assumed that the user has additional information, like station location and sensor sensitivity, stored in a Dataless SEED volume file. When a user selects a MS file, WinQuake will look for a Dataless SEED (DS) volume (or a regular SEED volume) that can be used to supply more information about the data record. It does this using several file name formats and directories. First WinQuake looks for a DS or SEED file using these file name formats:
station_id.dataless_file_extension and station_id. component_id.dataless_file_extension
The file extension used for the DS search can be changed using the File / MINSEED Control / Default Dataless File Extension menu items. The default is "dataless". As an example, if a MS file contains the record for station HKT, component BHZ, and the default file extension is set to SEED, WinQuake will first look for a file called HKT.SEED. If this file is not found, or there is no data for the channel in the file, WinQuake will look for a file named HKT.BHZ.SEED.
WinQuake looks for the Dataless SEED volume (or standard SEED volume) in two directories using the two name formats above. First a user supplied directory is used, and if the file is not found, the directory containing the MS file is used. The user supplied directory can be specified using the File / MINISEED / Default Dataless Directory menu items.
The user can also add the additional station information from a DS or SEED file by using the File / MINISEED / Add Information menu items. This will open the standard Windows Open File dialog box. The user then uses this dialog box to supply a file that will be used to add or overwrite any station and channel information already loaded when the MS file is first opened.
The WinQuake File Open dialog box and Event File Window display handle MS files differently depending on the contents of the file. If the MS file only contains one record, the Event File Window will be opened when the user selects the file. If the file contains 2 or 3 record, all with the same station ID, sample rate and start time, the MS file will be opened as a dataset volume record with all records being displayed in one window. If the MS file contains different stations, or more then 3 records, the Open File dialog box will display a list of records that can be viewed in an Event File Window.
This release fixes several software bugs reported by the beta testers. One bug was with the Send Email button in the Open File dialog box being grayed out all of the time. The other problem was with reading GSE2.0 event files. WinQuake would crash whenever a file in this format was opened.
Release Notes:
Version 2.9.0 Released 1/24/03
First 2.9 release.
Version 2.9.1 Released 1/28/03
Fixed a problem with how WinQuake handles the Y-Scale number and A/D Counts display.
Version 2.9.2 Released 2/16/03
Up to three event files can now be displayed in the Event Window. Support for dataset volumes. Added Predefined filters in the Time Domain Filter dialog box. The X-Scale and start time can now be locked so that all Event Windows are updated when one event window is changed.
Version 2.9.3 Released 2/19/03
Added support for WinSDR Dataset volume requests in both the Replay and Remote request file functions. Fixed a bug in the Crop file feature.
Version 2.9.4 Released 2/28/03
Added support for MINISEED Files.
Version 2.9.5 and 2.9.7 Released 5/18/03
Fixed several bugs.
Version 2.9.8 Released 7/08/04
Fixed a bug in the JB table phase display code. Added the ability to change the default SMTP port for sending out e-mail from within WinQuake. The SMTP port is entered in the SMTP Authentication dialog box. Normally port 25 is used for sending out e-mail messages through an SMTP mail server. AOL requires users to use port 587 instead of port 25, so I added this feature to support AOL customers. AOL users should use SMTP.AOL.COM as the SMTP server address.
