[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

FSL aircraft data change


                                           22 Aug 2003


FSL aircraft data users,

To save resources, we are consolidating our two aircraft ldm datafeeds
(FSL\.NetCDF\.ACARS\.QC and FSL\.CompressedNetCDF\.MADIS\.acars) into
the MADIS datafeed.  For those of you who are accessing the
FSL\.NetCDF\ACARS\.QC datafeed, please follow the instructions below to
switch to the MADIS datafeed by Oct 1, 2003.  No changes are needed
for those already using the MADIS feed.

The MADIS files are in an AWIPS netCDF format, are directly
displayable on AWIPS and AWIPS-like systems (e.g. FX-NET), and are
also a superset of the .ACARS\.QC netCDF files.  Software written for
the .ACARS\.QC files should therefore work fine with the MADIS files
(with the one exception noted below).  For those who haven't yet
written software to read the files, MADIS offers software to do so.
Information and download capability for the software can be found at
www-sdd.fsl.noaa.gov/MADIS/madis_api.html.  Please let me know if you
decide to use the software.  We will then add you to our email list
which announces version upgrades, etc.

MADIS also provides access to other datasets, including METAR, SAO,
maritime, profiler, radiosonde, radiometer, and national mesonet data.
We also maintain an on-line archive of the MADIS observations on
our ftp server.  For more information on the datasets, see the MADIS
home page at http://www-sdd.fsl.noaa.gov/MADIS.  To sign up for
additional datasets, or for an ftp account, go to
http://www-sdd.fsl.noaa.gov/MADIS/data_application.html.  To see
station locations and real-time data for surface observations
(including the mesonet data), see http://www-frd.fsl.noaa.gov/mesonet.

We also maintain email lists for our operators to use in announcing
data outages to MADIS customers.  Your name is included in the
"general" data category, and will also be included in the aircraft
email list.  Emails will be sent out if data is missing for 1.5 hours
or more on the MADIS ftp and ldm file servers.  If you do not wish to
be on these email lists, please let me know.

Thanks, and let me know if you have any questions,

Patty Miller
FSL

***************************************************************************

To request the MADIS aircraft files, add the following 
information to your ldmd.conf file:

request  PCWS  "^FSL\.CompressedNetCDF\.MADIS\.acars\..*"     eldm.fsl.noaa.gov

For your pqact.conf, add the following (with tabs between fields):

PCWS    ^FSL\.CompressedNetCDF\.MADIS\.acars\.(.*)      PIPE    -close 
<fullpath>/store_MADIS.sh $DTOP/point/acars/netcdf \1

- You'll need the store_MADIS.sh script (which is included between the 
  dashed lines below) to unzip the compressed files and store them in your 
  directory.  You should replace <fullpath> with your actual path to the 
  script in the pqact.conf entries.

---------------------------------------------------------------
#!/bin/sh    
gzip -d > $1/$$.$2; F=`echo $2 | cut -c1-13`; mv $1/$$.$2 $1/$F
---------------------------------------------------------------

If you do choose to use the MADIS software, here is the directory you need
to setup (using $DTOP as the top-level directory, e.g. /home/MADIS):

MADIS Dataset                      Directory
-------------                      ---------
ACARS                              $DTOP/point/acars/netcdf

Note that the full path through the $DTOP directory must be < 230 characters

***************************************************************************

Format Difference:

The variable name (en_tailNumber) and dimension (12 characters) for
the aircraft tail number is the same in both the .ACARS\.QC and MADIS
aircraft files.  However, to leave room for expansion, the MADIS files
went to an 8-digit number, e.g. if the tail number in the .ACARS.QC
file was "FSL00349", the corresponding tail number in the MADIS files
would be "FSL00000349."