Accuracy & data sources
Waveshed is built for fast planning and comparison. Knowing what goes into it tells you how far to trust any single result.
Terrain
Elevation comes from Mapterhorn, a global digital elevation model: about 30 m worldwide, and 0.5–10 m where a country publishes its own open model (Switzerland, most of Europe, the US, Australia). The resolution you choose cannot out-resolve the source. The finest options are marked with an asterisk because they are limited by the underlying data (around 3 m at best, depending on latitude).
Mapterhorn is a composite of open elevation sources. The base layer is Copernicus GLO-30, about 30 m (1 arc-second) worldwide, with national lidar models on top where they exist. The full source list is on the Mapterhorn attribution page. Japan, and any tile Mapterhorn cannot serve, comes from the AWS Terrain Tiles (NASA SRTM, about 30 m).
Models
Visibility is computed geometrically, and RF uses ITM / Longley-Rice. These are widely used, well-understood models, but they are still models. See LOS vs RF for what each does.
What is not captured?
Individual buildings (unless you include them), trees and foliage, reflections and multipath, and weather effects such as ducting are not modelled. So coverage can be optimistic in built-up or wooded areas. Verify critical links in the field.
Maps & place search
Basemaps come from OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap, Esri and OpenFreeMap. Place search is powered by Geoapify (OSM data). Full credits are on the attribution page.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is Waveshed?
Treat Waveshed as a fast planning estimate, not a survey-grade guarantee. Accuracy depends on the global terrain model, around 30 m, and the propagation model you choose. It handles bare terrain well but omits buildings, trees and weather, so verify any critical link in the field.
What terrain data does it use?
Elevation comes from Mapterhorn, a global composite of open sources: Copernicus GLO-30 at about 30 m worldwide, with national lidar models of 0.5–10 m where countries publish them. Basemaps and place search draw on OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap, Esri, OpenFreeMap and Geoapify, all credited on the attribution page.
Are buildings and trees included?
Not by default. Waveshed models the bare ground, so trees, foliage and most buildings are absent, and coverage can look optimistic in built-up or wooded areas. You can add building footprints manually as solid obstructions, but reflections, multipath and foliage loss stay unmodelled.
What resolution can I get?
You pick the analysis resolution, but it can never beat the source data. The finest options, marked with an asterisk, are capped by the underlying model, about 3 m at best depending on latitude. Choosing a grid finer than the data supports only invents detail that is not there.