Rad Tool Post Pocess Image Error

[Eve_KaU]

I am using Ecotect v5.20, and built a simple room with a window and some downlight. Then exported to Radiance and Run Radtool.

I want to see the lux level of my room. So in the Post Pocessing, I chose the Contour Band.

Then in the Render menu, I chose Post-Pocess Image.

Then the DOS window pop-up. After a while an error message pop-up says pcomb.exe encounter a problem.

Then a series of error pop-up and I finally don't get any result. I have printscreen the error message as attached in sequence.

I tried the normal view, and it rendered allright.

What's wrong with my setting? Or are there any other way I can see a quantitated lux level in my rendering?

[drajmarsh]

Hi Eve,

You seem to be doing everything correctly - though using a very old version of the Radiance Control Panel (there is a free upgrade available for both this and Ecotect v5.60 which you are entitled to).

In your images, it is clear that the Radiance command pcompos is receiving a bad image at one point and then crashing big time at another. Radiance does this kind of processing as a chain of commands, so any failure at any point causes problems.

Unfortunately pcompos is part of Radiance so I'm tempted to suggest that you try to download the very latest Desktop Radiance 2.0 Beta as this problem isn't common (http://radsite.lbl.gov/deskrad/download.htm).

In fact, I would consider downloading the MingW HEAD version of Radiance for Windows from:

    (http://www.bozzograo.net/radiance/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index&req=getit&lid=22)

However, it could also be because the location of the scene/image file is in a folder with a space somewhere in it's pathname. For good measure, try running it again by exporting your model to a Radiance file in a directory with absolutely no spaces, something like "C:\Temp\Rad" and saving the scene file to "test.rad". Saving it on your Desktop or to your Documents directory is actually to "C:\Documents and Settings\[UserName]\..." so there are two spaces around the 'and' bit...

Spaces cause problems because the early versions of Radiance for DOS didn't wrap pathnames in quotes, so any spaces in a filename or path would mean invalid command lines sent between the individual tools. The later versions of DesktopRadiance and also MingW seem to handle this much better.

Hope that helps...
Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew Marsh
Ecotect Support Team
Autodesk, Inc.

[Anonymous]

I m using Ecotect 2011 and i too am receiving the same error as metioned above

after following the raidiance commond exatly the same as mentioned .. the basic view image is formed but when i try to make the countour band image or countor line or day light factor... (any of the options in the list)  for the lux level , it might work at times giving me the result for requested commond but not the right one as shown in jpeg "untitled-1" and then locks the commonds for other options .... if the options are not locked at times then ..the pc goes as in SAFE MODE and it gives me an error saying "pcom.exe has encountered a problem"  (fig. UNTITLED-2) and when i click ok .. it pops other msg showing "RBGE read error" (fig.UNTITTLED-3) 

please help me with the same