{"product_id":"takevation-wizard-dted-terrain-atak","title":"TAKevation Wizard — 1 Arc-Second Terrain for Any U.S. Area | Free Mac \u0026 Windows App for ATAK, TAK Aware \u0026 WinTAK","description":"\u003cp\u003eOpen ATAK without elevation data and the ground is a lie. The 3D view is flat, viewshed and line-of-sight return nothing usable, and the coordinate readout has no altitude to show you. The fix is DTED — and getting it normally means hunting NGA archives for files you can't preview, or installing GDAL and learning a command line. TAKevation Wizard is the short way: pick an area on a map, press build, and get the files ATAK expects.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHY IT'S IN THE SHOP\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery overlay in this store puts points on a map. None of them tell you what the ground does between those points. Elevation is what turns a marker into a position you can reason about — whether you can see it, whether it can see you, what the climb costs. TAKevation Wizard builds that layer for any U.S. area you draw, at the resolution you choose, and it's free.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHAT IT DOES\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePick an area three ways\u003c\/strong\u003e — click 1° cells on the map, search a state by name, or add a whole region. 52 states and territories, 12 regions including CONUS.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSee the cost before you commit\u003c\/strong\u003e — the readout updates as you click: \u003cem\u003e12 cells · DTED2 · 297 MB · ~2 min\u003c\/em\u003e. The package size is exact, not an estimate. Nobody should discover a build is 27 GB forty minutes in.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThree resolutions\u003c\/strong\u003e — DTED2 at 1 arc-second (~30 m posts, 26 MB per cell), DTED1 at 3 arc-seconds (~90 m, 2.9 MB), DTED0 at 30 arc-seconds (~900 m, 34 KB).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBare-earth data\u003c\/strong\u003e — USGS 3DEP, lidar-derived over most of the country. That matters for line-of-sight: SRTM measures the top of the canopy and reports treetops as terrain.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePush straight to a tablet\u003c\/strong\u003e — plug in over USB and it copies cells to \u003ccode\u003e\/sdcard\/atak\/DTED\u003c\/code\u003e, checking free space first. Or save the zip and copy it yourself.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eResumable\u003c\/strong\u003e — downloaded source tiles are cached. Build New Jersey then Pennsylvania and only the new ground is fetched.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEvery cell stamped\u003c\/strong\u003e — files carry DISTRICT47 in the DTED header, visible in any DTED viewer.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eINSTALL — macOS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOpen the \u003ccode\u003e.dmg\u003c\/code\u003e and drag \u003cstrong\u003eTAKevation Wizard\u003c\/strong\u003e onto Applications.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFirst launch only: \u003cstrong\u003eright-click the app → Open → Open\u003c\/strong\u003e. A normal double-click will be refused, because the build isn't signed with an Apple Developer certificate. macOS may say the app is damaged. It isn't — that's the message Gatekeeper shows for anything downloaded without a signature.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAfter that it opens normally.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRequires macOS 11 or later on Apple Silicon (M1 and up).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eINSTALL — Windows\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRight-click the downloaded \u003ccode\u003e.zip\u003c\/code\u003e → \u003cstrong\u003eProperties\u003c\/strong\u003e → tick \u003cstrong\u003eUnblock\u003c\/strong\u003e → OK. Do this \u003cem\u003ebefore\u003c\/em\u003e extracting. Windows marks downloaded files, and that mark is what its security features react to.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnzip the folder anywhere — Desktop or Program Files both work — then run \u003ccode\u003eTAKevationWizard.exe\u003c\/code\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDon't run it from inside the zip.\u003c\/strong\u003e Windows extracts to a temporary folder and deletes it, and the app will appear to start and vanish.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRequires Windows 10 or 11.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv style=\"border-left:3px solid #D98324;background:#F6F1EA;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;padding:.9rem 1.15rem;font-size:.95rem;line-height:1.55;color:#3A3F36;max-width:52rem\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#12140F\"\u003eWindows 11 with Smart App Control turned on will block this app outright.\u003c\/strong\u003e Smart App Control is not the same as SmartScreen. SmartScreen shows a blue \"Windows protected your PC\" box you can click past with \u003cem\u003eMore info → Run anyway\u003c\/em\u003e. Smart App Control says \"Smart App Control blocked this app\" and gives you no way through at all, because the build isn't code-signed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nUnblocking the zip before extracting sometimes clears it. If it doesn't, your only options are to turn Smart App Control off or to wait for a signed build. \u003cstrong style=\"color:#12140F\"\u003eTurning it off is permanent\u003c\/strong\u003e — Windows Security → App \u0026amp; browser control → Smart App Control → Off, and it cannot be switched back on without reinstalling Windows. Think before you do that.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nSmart App Control is only on some Windows 11 machines — it activates on clean installs, so most upgraded PCs don't have it.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUSING IT WITH ATAK\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCells land in the layout ATAK expects — \u003ccode\u003eatak\/DTED\/w075\/n39.dt2\u003c\/code\u003e, longitude folder then latitude file. Copy the \u003ccode\u003eDTED\u003c\/code\u003e folder to \u003cem\u003eInternal storage\/atak\/\u003c\/em\u003e on the device, or let the app push it over USB. Restart ATAK afterwards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eATAK uses the highest-resolution cell it can find for any given point, so these sit alongside a worldwide DTED0 set without conflict. The sensible pattern is DTED0 everywhere as a floor, DTED2 only where you'll actually run a viewshed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePUSHING TO A DEVICE\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNeeds Android Platform Tools (adb). No computer ships with it. The app downloads it from Google on request — 7.7 MB on Windows, 15.4 MB on macOS — and uses an existing install if you already have one, which matters because two versions of adb will fight over the same port. Nothing is bundled. Enable Developer Options and USB Debugging on the tablet first.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWindows also needs a USB driver before adb can see the device: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/developer.android.com\/studio\/run\/win-usb\"\u003eGoogle's generic driver\u003c\/a\u003e, or \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/developer.android.com\/studio\/run\/oem-usb\"\u003eyour manufacturer's\u003c\/a\u003e. Samsung devices generally need Samsung's own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFIELD NOTES\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUnited States only.\u003c\/strong\u003e The data comes from USGS 3DEP, which covers the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico. There's no coverage outside that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDTED2 is large.\u003c\/strong\u003e 26 MB per 1° cell. A state runs a few hundred MB to 4 GB; the whole contiguous U.S. is 1,115 cells and 27 GB. The app tells you the number before you start and suggests DTED1, which is the same ground at 3.0 GB. For anything but line-of-sight work, DTED1 is usually enough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOcean cells don't exist.\u003c\/strong\u003e Select a coastal state and some cells will report no coverage and drop out. That's correct — 3DEP has no tile for open water. New Jersey is 12 cells on the map and 10 in the package.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlat ground looks flat.\u003c\/strong\u003e If you build a coastal plain and the 3D view doesn't change, the data is right and the terrain isn't. South Jersey spans 66 m of relief across 111 km. Test somewhere with actual hills before concluding something's broken.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNeither build is code-signed.\u003c\/strong\u003e That's the cause of every warning above, including the Smart App Control block. Signing certificates cost money that free tools don't generate. It's on the list; it isn't done yet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eElevation data is U.S. Geological Survey 3DEP, public domain. USGS is not affiliated with District47 and doesn't endorse this tool.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKEEP THE FREE TOOLS FREE\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis app costs nothing and always will. The free tools and data packages here are paid for by people who chip in after using one — if it saved you an evening, there's a \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dp-donation\"\u003edonation page\u003c\/a\u003e. Any amount, no obligation, and it stays free either way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"color: #905718;\"\u003eDISTRICT47\u003c\/strong\u003e · district47.us\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"District47","offers":[{"title":"macOS (Apple Silicon) — .dmg","offer_id":48305393696926,"sku":"D47-TAKEVWIZ-MAC","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Windows 10 \u0026 11 — .zip","offer_id":48305393729694,"sku":"D47-TAKEVWIZ-WIN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/district47.us\/products\/takevation-wizard-dted-terrain-atak","provider":"District47","version":"1.0","type":"link"}