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20021030: Data stream changes

National Weather Service Instruction (NWSI) 10-1701
Text Product Formats and Codes

Background Summary
C NWSI 10-1701, Text Product Formats and Codes, is a new Instruction (without a precedent Weather Service Operations Manual [WSOM] chapter). It provides comprehensive information and references on text formats, from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) abbreviated header and Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System ID to the Mass news Disseminator block and the content block. It expands greatly on the little format information originally in old WSOM Chapter C-63, NOAA Weather Wire Service (NWWS) Dissemination, and other miscellaneous WSOM service program chapters.
Note that while examples of the individual formatting blocks are found throughout this new instruction, complete sample products are in NWSI 10-1702, Universal Geographic Code (UGC), since the UGC's placement dictates differing product formats.
Effective Date: NWSI 10-1701 will have a delayed effective date of February 12, 2003, to allow for NWS software changes and staff training, and customer notification and implementation.
C We wrote procedures required of NWS employees in the active voice, effectively decreasing wordiness and making it more understandable. However, to avoid confusion, automated processes were not converted to active voice. Following are important new procedures in this new instruction and an identification of some of the more comprehensive formatting rules:
- Section 2, Characters, Case, and Punctuation. WMO Manual 386 allows only a limited set of punctuation marks. Certain additional punctuation marks and characters permitted by the NWS are now listed.
- Section 3, Overall Product Format Product Rules, provides information, for the first time, on "End of Line," " End of Report," "Length of Line," and "Length of product."
- Section 4.1, NWS Communications Identifier (CI) Block, provides more explanation and detail on the "BBB" field, found at the end of the WMO abbreviated header line.
- Section 4.2.1, Broadcast Instruction Line, provides information on using optional broadcast instructions (e.g., BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED, etc.)
- Section 4.2.2, Product Type Line, provides information on using the ellipsis and such terms at the end of the "product line" of the MND as "Updated" or "Amended," "Corrected," "Delayed," and two IMPORTANT additions: the use of "Resent" (instead of retransmitted because it is simpler language, shorter and less likely to be misspelled), and the use of the new term "TEST," when a product is used for test or drill purposes.
- Section 5.1, Product Content Block. Note that while the following two items ($$; &&) are described in NWSI 10-1702, UGC, they are also included in this document because of their general applicability (i.e., the $$ and && are no longer used only in products that include the UGC). 
        
C       Supersedes WSOM Chapter C-63, sections 4.3 through 5.5.




































F:\notification\10-1701_summary.doc