Mistral EC
Mistral USA
Mistral Associates - News December 2023
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Mistral's special software package for colleges and other teaching establshments. Heavily subsidised Educational Software licences With the added benefit of earnings potential for schools and teachers.
Computer software is sometimes accused of 'de-skilling' a vocation. At Mistral we believe the total opposite is true. Providing clear and logical programs producing almost instant results in well under a twentieth of the time it takes to even assemble the essential questions for unregulated, unauthorised AI to create inaccurate uncorroborated answers.
Programs clearly illustrating 'cause and effect', to both expert and novice alike, so as to quickly enhance their understanding and their abilities. This view is clearly shared by leaders and tutors in many hundreds of teaching establishments throughout the world that provide specialised training, serving the commercial refrigeration and building services industries and that already use Mistral software. Even to collect the literally millions of items of statistics, factors, constants, algorithms, formulae, empirical and scientific data that the programs alone contain would cost an individual many, many times that of the programs' licence access fees!
Earnings potential for schools and teachers.
50% of selling price paid as commission!. Click here to read more.
Bringing benefits of computerisation to our RAC industry - without the commonly associated problems.
Mistral Associates - News November 2023
1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment
1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment trains Royal Engineer soldiers in construction and engineering. The school provides the final part of a Sapper's training before they are posted to their first Regiment.
Mistral is proud and honoured that 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment, along with three other British Army Regiments, have each installed compendiums of Mistral's Expert System RAC Application Engineering software. Comprising programs 'Airwind', 'Coldwind', 'Linewind' and nine others.
Mistral Associates - News October 2023
The UK Porous Concrete debacle.
"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." The ancient proverb declares. 
The UK government continues to procrastinate over the already now infamous Porous Concrete construction debacle. Wasting yet more beleaguered tax payers' money. Putting peoples' lives at risk, and as many suspect buildings are schools, especially children's lives.
It is not economically viable and it is not practical to repair these construction mistakes from the past. So no one should waste their time and breath trying to pretend otherwise.
No blame. No shame. Mistakes happen. In the best of spheres. However prevarication could be a crime. No government would wish to be in power in a repeat of Aberfan or Grenfell Tower. What is needed is STRONG government. Capable of riding over and dismissing the objections of work shy protesters and other unemployables. A government that will act now!
Simple solution. Close all suspect buildings immediately. Ahead of imminent compulsory Demolition. Create an emergency plan for manufacture of thousands of Portakabins* and similar. Temporarily sequester playing fields and town and city parks to erect them in.
Over seventy five years ago the country was capable of doing similar. Creating thousands of what became colloquially named 'Prefabs' (factory made pre-fabricated buildings).
Although originally designed to last only a decade or so and until more permanent structures were to replace them, though many are still inhabited today. Albeit usually after being brickwork skinned. Mainly for aesthetic reasons.
Adolf Hitler took care of the pre-requisite Demolition job, flattening thousands of homes, factories and other buildings, both public and private, during his nightly multi-aircraft bombing raids over Britain.
Perhaps politicians and bureaucrats were brighter in those days. More conscious of imperatives and less so of their own careers and public images.
The point in this missive? When the government finally get their act together and adopt precisely the advice above, and which they will, because they have to, then look no further than Mistral's 'AIRWIND' and 'COLDWIND' programs to quickly calculate heating and cooling loads for Portakabins, along with their equally suitable contemporaries' products.
The fact that the author and colleagues spent well over a quarter of their 1960s and 70s education being taught in perfectly respectable, safe and comfortable Portakabins, placed on the perimeters of playing fields and car parks of overcrowded schools and colleges, has nothing to do with this article. But the point is, they worked then and they can again!
Hemsec Insulated Panel selection data has been added to Mistral's program interactive databases.
Post Script August 2025
Hundreds of homes in Aberdeen affected by potentially dangerous concrete are to be demolished on safety grounds and rebuilt at an expected cost of more than £150m.
A total of 504 homes in the city's Balnagask area have been identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in their roof panels.
IMPORTANT ADVICE
| Mistral regrets that for logistical reasons personal replies to questions where clear answers are already provided on this easy to navigate website are currently suspended. |
| Please refer to the side menu which appears in all 6,500 website pages. |
| Alternatively:- |
| For program download and installation advice click: Installation guide |
| Error code explanations and advice on correcting installation mistakes. Click: Error Codes |
| Program prices and on-line payment facilities. Click: Program prices and payments |
| Contract terms, legal, business policies and ethics. Click: Law and ethics |
| General Questions & Answers. Click: Q & A |
| For individual program specific Help topics. Click: Program Help pages and Manuals |
| If you are genuinely interested in purchasing space in Mistral's interactive RAC product selection databases, or white label coding, then please use Mistral's Feedback form. Please state your full company name and postal address, telephone number, business registration number, job title and confirm your decision making authority within your organisation. We will get back to you promptly. |
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Mistral Associates - News September 2023
We asked AI to design a simple refrigeration system.
The results were surprisingly impressive. Very detailed, comprehensive, and wrong!
Quite simply AI's design proposal would not have worked. Scarily though one would need to be an expert to understand why. Recommending a TD of 10K for a Beef Freezer too would also raise a few eyebrows. Particularly for a disgruntled client! Omitting Product Air Volume Displacement Factor also a fundamental mistake.
Serious enough problems of their own. Not as bad though as the time it took to assemble and present AI with the essential questions. And no, it isn't possible to make a one size fits all proforma question sheet for repeated use. Every project is different. Also describing some of the hard to conceive accurate literal accounts of many parameters takes an inordinate amount of time. Try describing an 'L' shaped room plan with one wall set at an angle for example.
With Mistral over 75% of parameters are 'pre-engineered' into the system. A highly, highly complex programming challenge which took years to develop. With the best will in the world no AI system will ever emulate that. The upshot is a *dedicated Expert Software system can and does obviate the need to enter at least 75% of design parameter questions. Half the benefit of using Expert System software. The remaining benefits being speed, accuracy, QA system compliance, consistency, audit trailability. *Dedicated, proven, infallible and securely impenetrable by AI 'Bots'!
So. Twenty minutes assembling and writing the questions. Followed by AI taking 10 minutes to respond with a bloated list of largely irrelevant and therefore redundant detail, in a format which could never be used to make a presentation for a price tender or for a client cost quotation for example. No audit trailable, retrievable calculation file. Let alone substantiation of methodology or of absolutely essential accredited sources.
Thirty minutes in all. Compared with anything from as lititle as 20 seconds to a maximum of 2 minutes using Mistral's systems to meet exactly the same design request. With an accurate, viable, provable quality design. Complete with a presentation quality print-out and recoverable calculation file.
Bringing benefits of computerisation to our RAC industry - without the commonly associated problems.
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Mistral Associates - News August 2023
'Airwind'© with auxilliary program 'Splitwind'©
Mistral has launched another exciting new development. The addition of dedicated Heat Pump product selections are added to Mistral's current RAC product ranges which already include: Evaporators (Unit Coolers), Compressors, Condensers, Condensing Units, Packaged Refrigeration systems, Split A/C systems and Expansion Valves.
So, Heat Pump manufacturers and your distribution network get in now. You really do not want to be the only Heat Pump provider whose product selection data is not included! Contact Mistral here: feedback to ask us what we need from you in the form of data and we will reply with the simple procedure for you. For getting your product selection data included in the one, universal and comprehensive RAC Expert Software System which everyone uses.
No charge upgrade for all Mistral 'Corporate' Licensees:- 
A new Corporate Access Registration Code may be required for older installations (4 weeks+) but this will be automatically forwarded when required.
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Mistral Associates - News July 2023
More on Artificial Intelligence.
What is known as a 'No brainer'!
Mistral to celebrate four decades of RAC industry service this time next year.
Mistral, celebrating four decades of service next year, seems almost unbelievable to us. Particularly as four of our original team members are still with us. Four sadly passed away and the remaining five also sadly left us for pastures new. Particularly as everyone, including our bank manager, said we would fail. We didn't but his bank did! And particularly when we have seen the same number of plagiarist imitators come and go as the 39 years we have successfully remained in business. Every last potential imitator of which did fail.
No time to get cocky though. Mistral's 8,000+ page multi-lingual website is still maintained and edited, that is kept up to date, on a daily basis. Reflecting unrelenting changes, both in advances in the industry we are solely dedicated to serving and also of course, the brutally tough and unforgiving IT industry.
We decided to celebrate though by looking back at our history and examining the highs and lows. Lows such as ordering 10,000 blank 3½" floppy discs. The same month we launched
CD-ROM.
Resulting in our never again selling another floppy disc version! Lows such as the office being struck by lightning in 1993 and having to fight the insurance company for more than two years. Ultimately being forced to setitle for
less than 20% of the replacement value of our critically important lost equipment.
Thank you Norwich Union, now Aviva. You won't EVER be forgotten. Even though you never received another Penny from us. Not even for all our personal home insurances, car insurances, Public Liability and Office Contents insurance or Health Care cover. From that near tragedy for us over thirty years ago, and to date! For the sake of saving yourselves £2,700 since costing you idiots well over £200,000 in lost revenue. And counting!
The successes though. Much more pleasant to recall. Such as retaining to this very day almost every customer who ever signed up with us. The only ones that haven't done so regrettably being old friends who have since passed away, along with companies that ceased trading or more often, were absorbed by others.
Some principal strict operating policy rules contributing to Mistral's success:-
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Mistral Principal Operating Policy Rules
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Zero plagiarism. Third Party Royalties always paid and all Copyrights respected.
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All legitimate incoming correspondence, postal, telephonic, digital, answered within 24 hours. Globally.
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Total 'Dynamic Error Trapping'.
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All empirical chart data resolved to algorithm. Algorithms based upon 'Return to First Scientific Principles'.
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Elimination of all confusing, unnecessary jargon wherever possible. Both within IT and own RAC industry.
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Dynamically linked and focused, illustrated Help pages with all programs.
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Total operational capacity of saved results files, with full 'backwards compatibility' in successive issues.
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Robust program installation security and Copy Protection for customers' investments in Mistral's systems.
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All prices 'Fixed in Perpetuity', for all Licensee Accounts (subject of course only to fiscal inflation).
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No Subscription holder's accounts ever automatically debited. No Direct Debit of accounts.
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These rules obviously helped. Actually, these all more than helped. Although many of these self imposed rules are practically unique in commerce, especially in IT, they quickly propelled Mistral to pole position. And for four decades have kept us there. With clear, mutual benefit for Mistral's essential customers and including of course, ourselves. Operating rules unchanged since drawn up in 1984. Apart from following the widespread malevolent introduction of Cookies in the mid 90s, Mistral's addition of a policy to never place 'Cookies' on visitors' computers. From any of Mistral's global websites!
To mark our justifiable pride in our products and especially our unassailable team who develop them and constantly, on a daily basis still maintain them today, we have restored one of our old web page and CD-ROM designs. From our popular 'Surrealist' ideas. We say popular because we have even discovered some of our dear customers hanging our weirder CD designs on their office walls! Art though is a powerful Marketing tool.
Click to visit!
Mistral does nothing without good reason. The surrealist image above has a message. Mistral's 'COLDWIND' Carrack is sailing across a planet of wheat. One of the world's staples. Although wheat and the flour it yields do not generally need refrigerating the millions of different food products made with flour as the principal ingredient invariably do. The food we eat, either in original form or as an ingredient, is refrigerated between field and plate on average seven times! Mistral's contribution to this is indispensable. Across the planet!
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Mistral Associates - News June 2023
Artificial Intelligence - Mistral's take.
Artificial Intelligence is in all the News right now. This is Mistral's take on the subject and it does not make for pretty reading! Mistral does not publish this because of any fears for its future. It is published because Mistral fears for the future of Mankind!
The benefits were obvious. It meant a Mistral program user could return to a previous input and edit it, then continue again from where they had left off.
The problem with that, from a programming point of view, is that each input, in a succession, can have a bearing upon what can 'qualify' for a subsequent input. In other words, an early input can define the 'range' limits of subsequent inputs. Therefore returning to change an early input can make a nonsense of later user entries. Though not always all entries.
Simply clearing all later input entries following such an edit would be unacceptable as making the parallel operating system practically useless. There would be lititle to be gained over the DOS versions. We therefore had to develop a system which we described as 'Dynamic Error Trapping'. The clue in the word 'dynamic'.
The task was daunting. Let's face it, a string, or a row, of just 7 short, two digit, integer numbers can identify the location of every human being on the planet, including their age and gender. Add an eighth and you can identify their hair colour plus eye colour, along with how many dental fillings they might have! Nine such numbers could in theory identify the location of every grain of sand on the planet, including its chemical compound, colour, mass and even depth.
Now deal with forty inputs! That is what we were up against and at first it seemed like mission impossible.
At the outset, Mistral cheered up its small team of highly qualified and skilled programmers, comprising an Honours Graduate, three Professors, and three members with a collective century of RAC experience, by declaring that Mistral software, if it was only 99.9% right would be useless as a viable, marketable product. It had to be 100%.
We do not believe for one moment that so called 'Artificial Intelligence' could ever achieve what Mistral has managed to achieve for the niche market it chooses to serve. At least not in the user program session times of, in some cases just a few seconds run time in which Mistral can offer a guaranteed, audit trailerable, accurate result. Importantly, a result for which Mistral is held accountable. The only way AI could achieve this might be by plagiarising Mistral. And frankly that is never going to happen. At least not in our lifetime.
The other challenge facing the likes of ChatGPT (AI) is that how will it even know what input parameters it will need in order to compute an entirely accurate and reproducible result? And from where or from whom should it seek the answers to those parameters? Much of those answers are proscribed, commercially sensitive data and only available to qualifying, that often means paying, account holders. If ChatGPT hacks through a Paywall then it is theft. Pure and simple. For which Mistral would certainly sue, for tens of millions in reparations. And no, Mistral does not give a damn about how big OpenAI (owners of ChatGPT) or Microsoft Corporation or Alphabet Inc (owners of Google) might be. Remember; David killed Goliath!
Furthermore, what logical GUI (Graphical User Interface) will AI assemble and display to the researcher looking for answers? Will that same GUI be repeated for the same user next day, or a week or a year, or ten years later? We think not. Frankly, if we were say, responsible for the budget of a large Supermarket chain, running into millions of Dollars or Pounds or Euros per month, then we would wish to know our spend was being directed to technology and data sources that are traceable and where the providers of that technology and data are accountable!
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Mistral Associates - News April 2023
Major, milestone upgrade
As technology forges ahead, affecting every aspect of modern life, and perhaps in the area of IT (Information Technology) affecting hardware especially, then software has to keep pace.
Computer monitors for example have gone from 640 pixel × 480 pixel (4:3 aspect ratio) with 28,800 pixels 30 years ago to today's 5120 x 2880 resolution (16:9 aspect ratio) 'Retina' monitors with 14.7 million pixels. Software coding has to be constantly adjusted to accommodate the advances. And software coding doesn't come cheap. Why? Because apart from the extraordinary skill levels coders must possess, and, just like doctors, keep abreast of constant changes in their vast subject; coding is very, very time consuming. After that comes often months of 'Beta' testing & proving, adjustments, more testing, certification. Finally, compiling to compendium (compressing), uploading to servers and publishing.
Where once Mistral's 1,900 or more interactive program 'forms' would sit comfortably in the middle of the screen, generally intentionally sized so as not to conceal everything a user might wish to have open behind them, gradually, as monitors became larger many of Mistral's forms appeared to get smaller. When in reality they hadn't.
From time to time however intervals arrive where a total re-write is necessary. A re-write of a multi-million Pound (Euro) software development can itself cost hundreds of thousands and take many months.
Here is Mistral's latest size boost. Version 5.3a, issue number 744 since launch over thirty years ago, compared with its penultimate version (5.2z).
Check which version you currently have installed. Click on Help on the top menu bar, and then on About.
Upgrading for Mistral 'Corporate' and 'Subscription' Licensees is, as always, offered free of charge and achieved simply by visiting Mistral's website and finding either 'Corporate' or 'Subscription' download request pages appropriate to your country or regional location.
'Lifetime' Licensees should use Mistral's Feedback form, stating their name in full and/or organisation name, and request an upgrade price quotation. This will be offered with a generous discount of up to 75% off current, published list prices. Mistral may need to ask for details of Lifetime Licensee's present PC Operating System.
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Mistral Associates - News March 2023
Mistral Expert System software
Corporate program compendium, main 60 advanced core features
Discover what makes Mistral software hugely superior!
Mistral commenced researching and developing its first dedicated Refrigeration Load Calculation software in July 1984. A full 16 months before Microsoft Corporation launched Windows. The DOS based program was simply named 'Coldroom' when it launched in early 1989. 'Coldroom' was envisaged as a dire, urgent, need to eliminate the attrocious service so called software developers were providing our RAC industry at that time.
Interestingly 'Coldroom' ran with an early 16 colour (16 colours was all there were then!) graphical interface of drop down menus and which anticipated early designs of Microsoft Windows. A shame perhaps that Mistral didn't think of registering the name 'Windows'! Such is hindsight.
Following a further three years of development, 'Coldroom's succesor, 'Coldwind', a program with an even stronger dependance upon graphical user interface, was launched in 1992. Quickly establishing itself as the most comprehensive, the only dynamically error trapped and the world leading Expert System software in the very genre its founders at Mistral had created.
With now well over half a million installations across 140 countries, home to more than 90% of the world's population, a position it indisputably still holds today. Almost four decades since the company's foundation.
People, from long, long time faithful friends through the decades, through to students and industry entrants today, naturally ask Mistral "How?" and "Why?".
Mistral runs a 'tight ship'. Very tight! Holidays and lunch breaks do not feature highly in any of Mistral's small team of seven staff work ethic. Most Health and Safety executives, and certainly Unions, would have appoplexy if only they knew! Mistral runs though as a 'Cooperative'. Everyone has equal shares and equal dividends. Therefore, to put it crudely, none of us gives a shit about Wokes and the rest of the seemingly ever increasing global burden of the work shy. So Mistral spends lititle on Marketing or even upon Sales. Quite simply, apart from the very early years, Mistral never found it to be necessary. We don't need to. All our products speak for themselves and sell for themselves.
Mistral creates its own promotions. So what you will read below is no exception. We apologise in advance for 'Preaching to the converted', as the expression goes! Makes for a good reference point though.
| Corporate Programs and Interactive Databases compendium Multi-User access licence via annual contract management fee | |
| 1 | All programs regularly 'Code Signed' by Microsoft Corporation as safe for operation on your PC |
| 2 | All programs 'Dynamically Error Trapped'. Unique but indispensable |
| 3 | Unique, 'Intelligent Logic' program coding. 'Observes' developing design so as to bypass subsequently redundant inputs. At the same time allowing full editing of earlier inputs. Without compromising dynamic error trapping. Ten times the coding effort resulting in three to four or more times program operational speed |
| 4 | Unique, 'Return Key Navigation'. Optional to standard Mouse navigation. Annalises developing design and by single press of Return (Enter) key automatically takes user to next logical input |
| 5 | Fully Parallel operation. Not sequential! Affording maximum flexibity, speed and experimentation |
| 6 | Networked program installation option |
| 7 | Programs automatically adjust for either comma or period (full stop) decimal point deliminator |
| 8 | 'Airwind' Air Conditioning and heating load calculation. Multiple-rooms |
| 9 | 'Cellwind' Dedicated Beer & Wine Cellar load calculation to recognised industry specifications |
| 10 | 'Coldwind' Refrigeration cold room, freezer, blast freezer etc., load calculation. Multiple-rooms |
| 11 | Miscellaneous heat load sources, interactive, databases with Run Time and Power Factor controls |
| 12 | Automatic Solar Azimuth and Declination adjustment, globally to 250 metre planet surface and 15 minute interval accuracy. Full user seasonal adjustment controls. Mean and peak load reports |
| 13 | 4 million+ 'Grid Size' Quick Selections pre-engineered solutions, selectable in around 7 seconds |
| 14 | Unlimited walls and angles of walls to each other on zoomable, graphical room plan designer |
| 15 | Single and Compound materials, wall, ceiling, floor construction creators, with automatic U values |
| 16 | Interactive, complete fenestration databases, with shading and variable ground surface reflectance |
| 17 | Pitched roof options and specific agricultural product store design |
| 18 | Ground floor or intermediate floor location with editable TD or mean sub-strata temperature |
| 19 | Variable construction and insulation materials within single design, even within single wall length |
| 20 | Variable TD options across construction wall and ceiling surface total or partial areas |
| 21 | Graphically driven interfaces and multiple choice menus for fast construction design flexibility |
| 22 | Scientifically calculated terrestrial Albedo factor, surface reflection and shading adjustment |
| 23 | Interactive Product and product storage equipment Thermal Properties illustrated databases |
| 24 | Switchable external or internal room dimensioning with automatic area and volume calculation |
| 25 | Default recommended defrost running load automatically entered along with optional user over-ride |
| 26 | 'Prepwind' Dedicated Food Preparation Room refrigeration load (and winter heating) calculation |
| 27 | 'Pipewind' Refrigerant Pipesizing. Multi-circuit. Circuit Zoning. Quick, pre-engineered designs |
| 28 | 'Coolwind' Unit Cooler Selection. Singly or multiples |
| 29 | 'Compwind' Compressor Selection & pack design |
| 30 | 'Condwind' Condenser & Condensing Unit selection. Singly or multiples |
| 31 | 'Packwind' Packaged Refrigeration Unit(s) selection. Singly or multiples |
| 32 | 'Splitwind' Packaged A/C Split System selection. Singly or multiples |
| 33 | Estimated unit cooler fan load automatically entered with option to import manufacturers' data |
| 34 | Automatic equipment Sound Pressure Level calculation with distance and unit quantity adjustment |
| 35 | 'Valvewind' Refrigeration Expansion Valve selection |
| 36 | 'Metwind' Interactive Graphically driven World Meteorological Database |
| 37 | RAC product selections automatically display colour and dimensioned images from 157,000 file Cloud database. Images exportable to customer quotation generator |
| 38 | Automatic graphical Cooler/Condensing unit Balance Point calculator |
| 39 | Dedicated Refrigerated Container (TEU Reefer sizes) load calculation |
| 40 | Dedicated Refrigerated Eurotainer (aircraft perishable product container) load calculation |
| 41 | Cold room shelving interactive databases with 'Drag & Drop' images to room design drawings |
| 42 | Cold room, multi-national, Electrical Power Consumption calculator. Tariff updatable |
| 43 | Interactive digital multi-lingual Psychrometrics calculator including formatted instant results printout |
| 44 | Dynamically linked & focused, illustrated Help pages. In plain, easy to understand, jargon free text |
| 45 | 24/7 Pre & Post installation support via Email |
| 46 | Special Feature Code program operation controls adjustment |
| 47 | Fully 'active' calculation recovery filing system for project full future editing |
| 48 | All Mistral program upgrades Backwards Compatible with all previously saved results files (30+ years) |
| 49 | Automatic Customer Quotation generation. User customizable Standard Paragraphs and text |
| 50 | Editable interactive databases (except proprietary, sponsored and certified, RAC selection databases) |
| 51 | All proprietary databases independently verified by data owners or appointed representatives |
| 52 | RAC selection database creation Freeware included, along with instructions and design templates |
| 53 | Ten Language switchable post installation. Run and save calculation in one language. Send to a colleague to open (and edit) in a different language |
| 54 | Real time, instant Imperial to SI (Système International d'unités) switchable post installation |
| 55 | Standard RTF and Adobe PDF, Presentation Quality results printouts |
| 56 | Tiresome jargon, both Refrigeration industry and 'computer speak' eliminated wherever possible |
| 57 | 256 character calculation file name AND file TITLE Search Engine |
| 58 | Free Upgrading & Updating. Throughout Contract duration |
| 59 | Unassailable, four decade long world benchmark setting reputation. Reliable and trustworthy |
| 60 | Annual, low cost, access and management Licence fee, 'Fixed in Perpetuity' (subject only to inflation) |
Finally. Don't forget. If you haven't already joined then no one is forcing you to. It might though be worthwhile pondering over why almost all of your competitors have done so!
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Mistral Associates - News January 2023
Click to open Mistral Advertising Objectives
For more than three decades Mistral has brought quality expert system software to a specific niche market. The RAC industry. Bringing accurate, logical, intuitive, jargon free Application Engineering Software to the RAC industry, at the lowest possible cost to users.
There's the rub. The costs of research and development, the need for constant, daily code both upgrading and updating, maintaining essential security systems, along with all the usual costs of running a business, are eye watering. Even when measured globally the market Mistral serves is relatively tiny. Regrettably Mistral's operating costs can sometimes exceed revenue. But only just. And as for so many, malevolent politicians, pandemic, recession, inflation and global conflicts haven't helped.
An area Mistral has identified where more benefit can be added to its already extremely comprehensive systems is to help its software users connect quickly with essential suppliers. By carrying links to product and service supplier advertisements and to on-line purchasing.
Traditional advertising, but not of course on-line purchasing, is an area served by Trade journal or magazine publishers. Mistral believes at quite exceptionally high charges.
Mistral believes it has found a way to introduce advertisements to its world class software products unobtrusively, more effectively and far, far more economically.
Unobtrusively because advertisements must never impede, interfere with or obstruct the main purpose and functionality of the software. Mistral is determined that operation of its software will remain exactly as it always has done. No abhorrent 'Pop-ups' then! No surreptitious Cookies either. At least not in Mistral software or on its websites. Mistral neither condones nor uses Cookies. Declared or otherwise.
Secondly, to provide advertisers with far, far more effective results from their advertising, for a fraction of traditional advertising charges.
Mistral serves, mainly, engineers. Also educators, government bodies, RAC 'End Users' and building services consultants. Therefore mainly decision makers in the functions of specifying and purchasing.
Mistral software is used by many engineers constantly throughout the working day. Trade magazines do not and cannot possibly match this.
Trade publications typically charge £1,495 for a single month insertion of a quarter page printed advertisement in a monthly published magazine. So almost £18,000 per year!
Mistral will charge from just £600 to a maximum of £800 for annual display of a link to, if they wish, effectively an unlimited amount of advertising material.
The Trade magazine advertisement may or may not get seen by the majority of the target audience. Before being pulped or incinerated.
Mistral's advertisements connect decision makers to suppliers of products they need, when they need them. Effectively 24/7. Every day of the year. Every minute of the day. Yet these advertising links never get in the way of software functionality.
How could there be any reason for not doing this?
Mistral's valued licenced software users gain tremendously useful information and
purchasing routes right where and when they are needed.
Advertisers reach far more of their targeted market place.
For a small fraction of traditional advertising costs.
Providing a simple and highly effective route to Internet On-Line purchasing pages.
Something printed adverts can obviously never achieve.
Mistral adds sufficiently to its revenue to help meet its operating costs.
To continue providing the best and most popular RAC software in the world!
Advertising Tariff
The lighter, brighter side
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| January to December 2022 | January to December 2021 |
Mistral Associates - News December 2022
Did you ever wonder why Trade Advertising costs so much? So did we!
Place your Ads with Mistral for as lititle as £600/700€ a year!
Photos, animations, videos, scrolling pdf files, trade catalogues, website URL - all accepted.
A fraction of the cost of traditional Trade magazine charges.
Reaching at least five times your target market audience.
Not thrown away at the end of the month. (pulped or incinerated).
Not noticed just once by target audiences (if at all!).
Noticed every day. Frequently every minute of every hour of every working day.
Conveniently,
usefully,
unobtrusively,
professionally,
ethically,
effectively!
Ignore this if you wish. Will your competitors?!
Don't leave without saying goodbye!
You might have much to gain by leaving a note.
Mistral Associates - News November 2022
Simpler re-installation for existing Licensees
Ever mindful of Mistral's constant pursuit of keeping things simple, we have made it even easier for you to update and at the same time upgrade your Mistral software installation.
If you already provided all the information we needed in order to create your Mistral Account then we do not ask you to repeat the procedure. No one likes filling out forms anyway, and, providing your name and Email details match our records, then those are all you need to enter, when you click above, in order to download and install the latest version. Naturally without charge!
Mistral's teams of both programmers and engineers are working together, constantly, every day of the week to keep the vast system up to date, with both unrelenting advances in computing technology and also of course the thousands of databases containing the world's, largest known, single, repository of RAC equipment, interactive data. The latest version is therefore very likely to be today's version!.
Mistral Associates - News October 2022
BS EN 378‑3 warning icons have been added to Mistral 'Linewind' and 'Pipewind Pro' refrigerant selection menus.
Quick link icon for simultaneous input of all Refrigerated Container dimensions, insulation and operating temperatures added to all Mistral 'Corporate' Program Group files.
No charge update for all Mistral 'Corporate' Licensees:-
A new Corporate Access Registration Code may be required for older installations (4 weeks+) but this will be automatically forwarded when required.
Mistral Associates - News September 2022
R454C Refrigerant added to Mistral's 'Linewind' and 'Pipewind Pro' refrigerant pipe sizing programs.
No charge update for all Mistral 'Corporate' Licensees:-
A new Corporate Access Registration Code may be required for older installations (4 weeks+) but this will be automatically forwarded when required.
We have added both a simple and quick Psychrometric atmosphere properties calculator, along with a downloadable high quality Psychrometric Chart, to both this website and also to every issue of Mistral RAC Expert System software. An astonishing more than 100 different versions needed so as to properly and respectfully serve the entire world! 
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Psychrometrics calculator
Click to try it right now!
Psychrometric Chart 
Click to download it right now!
No charge update for all Mistral 'Corporate' Licensees:- Corporate Update link
A new Corporate Access Registration Code may be required for older installations (4 weeks+) but this will be automatically forwarded when required.
In case no one has noticed, it has been quite warm in the
Northern Hemisphere these past couple of months!Colour matters! Coldwind deals with containers and trucks as well as all types of coldstore.
Scientifically, varying reflectance as a function of surface colour is described under the phenomenon known as albedo factor. Over the total exposed surface area of a standard 40' refrigerated freight container reflectance differences due to colour can account for as much as 20% of the refrigeration load. In the tropics this difference can amount to more than 1kW. Not much perhaps. Until an organisation is supplying equipment and power for 40,000 of them!
Mistral's legendary 'Coldwind Pro' multi-task program. Completing tasks highly accurately in less than two minutes that can take even experienced engineers more than a couple of hours to do manually!
Reduce costs! At the same time improve your competitiveness to WIN more orders!
Mistral Associates - News August 2022
Bugs happen!
Bugs happen! Any developer pretending they don't is only deluding themselves. However this wasn't so much a bug we just dealt with but more a programming anomaly. An anomaly caused by Microsoft making unnecessary Windows, 'Critical Upgrade', so called 'improvements'. Without warning and without thinking through the consequences! It needed overcoming and improving by us nonetheless.
In common with virtually all user operable PC software, Mistral's programs are launched from a Desktop icon. In Mistral's case clicking on this opens a form on the desktop known as a Program Group. Larger software systems, or Apps as nerds and children like to refer to them these days need them. Again in Mistral's case, we try and make our Program Group forms comprehensive, informative and even entertaining. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" as the saying goes!
In Mistral's larger program compendium the Program Group also includes an 'Always on Top' feature.
Activating 'Always on Top' makes the Mistral Program Group form dominant such that it will always appear visible over the top of any other App running and visible on the Desktop at the same time. Mistral's Program Group form is intentionally kept compact so as to make this feasible; And useful!
It is not unusual for an engineer to be working with many programs at the same time and being able to see a Program Group allowing App launches instantly at all times, and without having to contend with the frequent idiosyncrasies of Microsoft Windows unexpectedly hiding things when you least want it to, is certainly useful.
However, up until now, using 'Always on Top' in some Mistral default Program Group forms meant that the launched App gets concealed behind the Program Group form. Windows had aggravated seeing the simple solution to this by discontinuing showing the App is open on the bottom Tool bar, when the App is running. This following yet another Microsoft unnecessary improvement which did nothing of the sort. If the small icon indicating that the App is actually running as it should then the user would realise all they had to do is slide the Program Group away to left or to right, so as to reveal the open App. One of Windows' improvements defeated this!
To overcome the problem Mistral now forces an App form to appear slightly to the right of and below the Program Group form. Thereby making it obvious the App has opened as it should. Users then have options of sliding the Program Group form away to one side, or toggling off 'Always on Top', or even closing the Program Group, leaving the selected App still running.
A simple and effective solution? Yes, simple to say it but one which took over a week of program coding work, testing, re-compiling thousands of system files, and server uploading to achieve. At a four figure cost!
Corporate, Subscription and Lifetime Licensees may upgrade from here, at no cost:-
Finally, don't forget that all Mistral's larger systems feature switching between its larger, illustrated Program Forms and the ultra compact 'Menu Strip'. This can be dragged and dropped with the Mouse to either the top or bottom of the screen, and thus well clear of any other currently running Apps.
Mistral Associates - News July 2022
Click!
Air Infiltration Latent loads in cold rooms and freezers.
For reasons that the technical reality of accurate Air Infiltration Latent heat gains into cold rooms, especially freezers, is often not as simple as the basic science might otherwise suggest, Mistral has up until now only ever shown the Total Air Infiltration Load for cold rooms and freezers. In other words the sum of Sensible plus Latent.
A policy applied only to the Coldwind group of programs and not those in the Airwind and Cellwind Groups.
However, following requests from a couple of highly respected, leading RAC contracting companies, Mistral has agreed to reverse this policy, which had been in place for over 30 years. Air Infiltration 'best estimate' of Latent gains will now be shown for both cold rooms (chillers) and freezers, as a separate item.
The coding change is, as always with Mistral, 'backwardly compatible'. Meaning refrigeration calculation load results files, created as far back as the first Windows version release in 1995, can still be opened, edited and re-saved. Even though first releases were 16 bit programs and currently they are 32 bit.
The new release, version 5.2r, will automatically recompute reopened #.cwc files and adjust results accordingly.
Corporate, Subscription and Lifetime Licensees may upgrade from here, at no cost:-
Mistral has ditched its escrow partner (on-line commercial bank) after 27 years. In favour of switching to Wise.
Although starting off well enough, serving us from 1995, following various take-overs our escrow partner's performance had steadily gone downhill. With ever more frequent yet avoidable outages, clueless and indifferent staff, slow response times, ludicrous new bureaucratic rules, deceptive tax handling and illogical, counter intuitive interfaces, finally forcing our hand.
Distributing sophisticated, large and security controlled Expert Software Systems on-line, throughout the entire world 24/7, is no easy task. Simply purging Mistral's 3,300+ page, multilingual website of deeply entrenched, secure links and support pages to effectively a bank, actually took us over a week. In the meantime we are pleased to say we managed to keep disruption to our customers to an absolute minimum.
We are also pleased to report that switching to Wise was actually much easier and quicker than we had anticipated. Wise appear to understand our marketplace role well and were extremely helpful. Wise also have the advantage that there can be only very few people in the world who have not heard of them, and trust them. Whereas our outgoing escrow partner, although claiming to be the largest of their genre in the world, we now very much doubt.
Mistral's 'Ex' escrow partner management team appeared to us at least to be bearing a grudge against their employers, and thus determined to destroy them! We won't mention their name on these pages but if you wish to know, and are considering signing up an escrow partner for on-line trading yourselves, then please don't hesitate in contacting us to ask. We will be happy to provide you with 'Chapter and Verse' of their shortcomings and failings.
Chris Smith
Managing Director
Mistral Associates
Mistral Associates - News June 2022
Mistral is pleased to announce that by popular request industry renowned Hemsec insulated panel data has been added to 'Airwind Pro' A/C load calculation, 'Cellwind Pro' Beer & Wine Cellar load calculation, 'Coldwind Pro' Coldroom & Freezer load calculation and 'Prepwind' Food Preparation load calculation program's interactive databases.Click!
Corporate, Subscription and Lifetime Licensees may upgrade from here, at no cost:-
Especially for all our friends in the Azores, Bermuda, Canaries, Gibraltar, Hawaii, Maldives, La Réunion Island, Singapore and not forgetting others whose countries weren't easy to find on Mistral's interactive program download locator* map. Now you will find it much easier!We've added a Zoom button.
Try it!
Zoom x 2
Mistral values your business just as much as all our friends and customers from all the world's larger conurbations.
*Mistral Expert System software is 'region specific'. So as to comply with local legislature and building regulations, Operating System varients and many other considerations.
Mistral Associates - News May 2022
There are now an astonishing 4,740,768 pre-engineered, Quick Selection calculation files in Mistral's 'Coldwind Pro' multi-lingual, refrigeration load calculation program. It looks more impressive to write this in words rather than figures. Four million, seven hundred
and forty thousand, seven hundred and sixty eight.Yet these are so neatly 'nested', in tiered menus, that a seasoned program user can quickly 'zero in' and open one in around seven seconds. And the calculation files are all still fully user editable. Also protected by the same rigourous Mistral, 'Dynamic Error Trapping' system. Expand!
Click here to order a Mistral 'Corporate' Licence right now.
Start saving time, reducing costs and winning more orders today!
Mistral Associates - News April 2022
Back in 1984, thirty eight years ago, when the urgent need for intelligent, logical and intuitive 'Expert System' software for our industry became blindingly apparent, Mistral was formed by a small group of industry peers to meet that need.
Mistral's 'Mission Statement' at that time, now described as 'Mistral's Commitment', to use a much hackneyed expression but nonetheless still as relevant today as it was then, is:-
"Bringing benefits of computerisation to our RAC industry - without the commonly associated problems."
What was not immediately apparent then, not even to the founding partners, was just how vast that objective would turn out to be. Saying "Heat load calculation." Takes but a second. However it took another five years intensive research, input and effort, more often than not totally unpaid, before the founders were satisfied they had a viable, safe and marketable software product. No one can deny it was an instant success. The fact that more engineering professionals across the entire globe rely upon Mistral's RAC Application Engineering systems than all other systems since offered (and disappeared!) than any other, even when all others are added together, is testament to that!
However, complacency is not a state of mind that exists amongst Mistral's highly qualified and experienced team members. Many of whom have been part of that team from the very beginning. All past our 'use by date' as is gleefully bandied around our offices.
As founding Director I cannot recall one single day, 365 days of the year, vacations or not (usually not!), when someone, somewhere in Mistral's team hasn't been working around the clock improving something or adding something so as to make our friends in our industry's lives that lititle bit better. Not one, single, day!
If you've got this far then maybe you are wondering what it is we are about to say. Thank you for waiting patiently!
Mistral's programs are so vast they often practically run themselves. Frequently doing so in seconds, completing tasks with razor sharp accuracy that used to take seasoned RAC engineers hours, or even days, of repetitively boring but essential number crunching work. Many features, functions and capabilities though are missed or go unnoticed. Particularly those features that are rarely needed. Mistral are therefore addressing that situation. Simply by enhancing the existing focused, multi-thousand page Help system, the automated cue card advice system and last but not least the essential 'dynamic, Error Trapping' systems.
Just because an experienced engineer can do it manually, with tables and a calculator, does not mean they wish to spend hundreds of times more of that amount of time doing it!
From April users will see simple, plain language automatic hints which relate to whatever or wherever they are in a Mistral program at that time. In whatever language the user has chosen for their current session. Not in the form of drop down forms that annoyingly require closing just so as to continue, as happens in so much appallingly badly produced software, and particularly in web pages, today.
Even 38 years later, sadly still so few software developers can even scratch the surface of Mistral's achievement in producing easy to use, intuitive, fast and totally reliable software!
Cost to Mistral of creating 120 new, multi-lingual, program cue cards. Coding, compiling, proving, incorporating and uploading to servers: 620 Euros.
No charge update for all Mistral 'Corporate' Licensees:- Corporate Update link
A new Corporate Access Registration Code may be required for older installations (4 weeks +) but this will be automatically forwarded when required.
Mistral Associates - News March 2022
And the winner of February's 'Find the Cheeky Mouse' competition is:-A Refrigeration and Air Conditioning equipment distribution company in Sweden.
Click here
to see where the lucky winners found Cheeky Mouse!
This might come as a surprise to many but in order to meet the demands of Mistral's more than 25,000 registered users across the entire planet the company distributes over 200 versions or tailored variants.
These are needed to meet a plethora of challenges Expert System software developers serving a global market have to face. From computer Operating System (Windows) variants to language and national region differences, keyboard and monitor types, meteorology, local legislative requirements, even which decimal point deliminator is in use, comma or period.
Most of these variations, around 170, can be controlled through the 24 character alpha-numeric Access Registration Code. Even with Mistral's courtesy of omitting potentially confusing characters such as O and 0 and 1, I and l for example, the permutations run into trillions. Infinity for all practical purposes. Therefore a Mistral program will already be set to use decimal commas in Spain for example, instead of period or full stop as in the United Kingdom. All without installers having to make further adjustments.
However around 30 out of Mistral's more than 200 'products' do require completely separate program file compendium.
Why is this important to mention here? Well apart from reminding hopeful but naive imitators and plagiarists they will be facing over three decades of research and development by highly qualified engineers and programmers working together as a team just to reach Mistral's standards this explains why Mistral urges downloaders to ensure they select the right download and Access Code form on Mistral's website.
Mistral tries to make this exercise as simple and trouble free as possible. By use of interactive 'clickable' world maps for example. Downloaders are urged to click on these maps on the region corresponding with their location. The web page which follows should then be the right one for taking them to their download button.
Klik på kort svarende til hvor du er. Klicken Sie auf die Karte, um uns mitzuteilen. Click on map corresponding to where you are. Haga clic en el mapa para decirnos dónde se encuentra. Cliquez sur la carte pour nous dire où vous êtes. 
Clicca sulla mappa per dirci dove ti trovi. Klik op de kaart om ons te vertellen waar u zich bevindt. Kliknij mapę, aby powiedzieć nam, gdzie jesteś. Clique no mapa para nos dizer onde você está. Klicka på kartan för att berätta var du är. A problem arises though where a licensee from say Cambridge, UK clicks on the world map over the USA, aware that English language form completion and program operation will be offered, yet unaware English USA is not the same as English International.
Furthermore, Mistral's multi-lingual and language switchable programs, switchable even after installation may be offered in the same language for many world regions. English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, often in conjunction with other languages are offered throughout the world for example. But this does not mean the programs and interactive databases are identical.
Finally, Mistral tries to answer every licensee who contacts by Email within minutes. However Mistral as an international provider naturally receives hundreds of Emails every day. Sometimes delays are inevitable and also can be aggravated by inexplicable international routing delays, over which Mistral obviously has no control. Mistral's staff therefore do not find it amusing when someone runs into problems installing and after spending twenty minutes or so trying to sort the problem out only to discover that a person in Harrogate, United Kingdom thought it 'funny' to click first upon Sweden and then upon English as preferred language. Swedes speak English too! The program variant Swedes receive though when downloading will have been tailored to operate in Norrköping, Sweden and not Harrogate in North Yorkshire!
Mistral's staff are not noted for becoming violent but such antics do increase the risk!
Mistral Associates - News February 2022
The first person to find Mistral's cheeky, hiding Mouse on this website will win a Free Corporate Program
Compendium Access Licence for a whole year.
Prize value UK£395, approximately 475 Euros or US$530.
