>From: "Thomas L. Mote" <address@hidden> >Organization: University of Georgia >Keywords: 200001042125.OAA01383 McIDAS-XCD setup Tom, >I have installed McIDAS 7.6 after not having used McIDAS >for the past two years. (I was away from the university >last year.) The last version of McIDAS that I had installed >was 7.1. > >Anyway, I installed and built 7.6 in a mcidas user account. >Created a mcadde account and installed the ADDE server. I >installed the XCD decoders. Here's the problem... > >Right now, I am getting AREA files in my data directory >/data/mcidasd. OK, the AREA files are created by the ldm-mcidas decoder, lwtoa3. GRID, POINT, and TEXT data files are created by XCD processes. >I am getting all sorts of .IDX files and a >few other files in /unidata/home/mcidas/workdata. These files are created by XCD processes. The reason that they are appearing in the ~mcidas/workdata directory is that you have not setup REDIRECTions for them. Configuring McIDAS-XCD is presented in: Unidata McIDAS-X HomePage http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx Unidata McIDAS-X Installation Instructions http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx/mcidas-x.html Building, Installing, and Configuring McIDAS-XCD http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx/mcidas-xcd.html Chapter 2 - McIDAS-XCD Software Installation http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx/mcidas-xcd.html Installation procedures http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx/xcd_install_procs.html Configuring the Unidata McIDAS-XCD files http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx/xcd_config.html The configuration steps presented there should be done: o after installing McIDAS and configuring the 'mcidas' account. In particular, they need to be done after setting up the set of REDIRECTions that McIDAS-XCD routines will use to locate/read/write data files. This is presented in: Configuring Unidata McIDAS-X Accounts http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx/config_mcx.html Configuring the mcidas Account http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx/config_mcidas.html A short recap of the setting up of REDIRECTions necessary for the 'mcidas' account is given below as well. o while the LDM is not running The Unidata McIDAS-X distributions are sent out with an example REDIRECTion file, EXAMPLE.NAM, that: o exists in the ~mcidas/data directory o is designed to be copied to ~mcidas/data/LOCAL.NAM o LOCAL.NAM should be edited by the person installing McIDAS; the changes that are needed are changing the directory for data files to wherever you want to store them on your system. From what you note above, this looks to be the /data/mcidasd directory on your system. o the REDIRECTions in LOCAL.NAM need to be made active in the 'mcidas' account by: o starting a McIDAS-X session as the user 'mcidas' o making sure that the file LWPATH.NAM either does not yet exist or is located in the ~mcidas/workdata directory. If it does not already exist, keep going. If it does exist and is in the ~mcidas/workdata directory, keep going. If it already exists and is NOT in the ~mcidas/workdata directory, EXIT McIDAS and delete it from wherever it was found. You can find out if it exists using the McIDAS DMAP command: DMAP LWPATH.NAM o if you had to EXIT McIDAS and delete LWPATH.NAM in the step above, restart McIDAS. o restore the REDIRECTions in LOCAL.NAM from the McIDAS command window: REDIRECT REST LOCAL.NAM After restoring the REDIRECTions from LOCAL.NAM, XCD files can be written into the correct output directory after you stop and restart the LDM. The reason for this is that the REDIRECTions that were in place when the LDM was run will not be changed until the XCD processes are stopped and restarted. The easiest way to accomplish this is to stop and start the LDM. Before restarting the LDM, please read on. I will venture to guess that since your installation processes missed the creating and editing of LOCAL.NAM and restoring of its REDIRECTions, you probably did not run the XCD setup McIDAS BATCH scripts, XCD.BAT and XCDDEC.BAT. If this is the case, there are other steps that you should follow _BEFORE_ restarting your LDM. Basically, the step that must be taken is the running of 'BATCH XCD.BAT' and 'BATCH XCCDEC.BAT' from the McIDAS Command window in a McIDAS session run as the user 'mcidas' while the LDM is not running and after REDIRECTions have been setup using LOCAL.NAM described above. After stopping and restarting the LDM, you should verify that the XCD-produced files (e.g. *.IDX etc.) are now being created in the directory you specified for them in ~mcidas/data/LOCAL.NAM. Only after the XCD process are correctly creating output data files in your intended directory (/data/mcidasd), you can do some cleanup in the 'mcidas' working directory, ~mcidas/workdata. The cleanup will consist of deleting the XCD-produced files that belong in the output data directory, /data/mcidasd. >I assume I should have all of the data in /data/mcidasd. While this is not mandatory, it is recommended to put all McIDAS data files in a single directory. This makes disk management easier. >I really don't fully understand how XCD works nor what each of >these data files includes. I admit that the process is fairly lengthy. One reason for this is that XCD was designed at SSEC to read data from serial ports. In the Unidata world, users have the XCD processes read data files from the LDM. >I have been following the >instructions on the Unidata web site as closely as >possible, simply changing pathnames where appropriate. Sounds good. It seems like maybe one step was missed. I must quickly add that if the REDIRECTions were not setup in LOCAL.NAM and made active, then the other XCD configuration steps like running 'BATCH XCD.BAT' and 'BATCH XCDDEC.BAT' will not have been completed correctly. This is why I suggest stopping the LDM and going back and getting the preliminary steps done correctly first and then proceeding. >As you would expect, I am able to view satellite imagery, >but I cannot get any point, grid or text data. Right. Again, the imagery is being handled by ldm-mcidas decoders. They have nothing to do with XCD. The point, grid, and text data are all created by XCD processes. >I really don't even know where to start. Any suggestions? I think that you are very close to being finished. The best thing is to drop back and review the section on the setup of REDIRECTions outlined above and in the online docs and then move forward redoing the steps covered in the configuration of XCD. By the way, as far as you having setup the ADDE remote server, it looks like this was not done correctly or did not "take" IF the machine on which you are doing this is cacimbo.ggy.uga.edu. The reason I say this is that when I try to do a: telnet cacimbo.ggy.uga.edu 500 (ADDE uncompressed data transfers are done through port 500) I get: Trying... telnet: connect: Connection refused If the remote ADDE server installation steps were completed, then outside machines would be able to connect to port 500, using telnet (even though no telnet transactions would be allowed). So, you will probably look into the ADDE installation steps again (IF the machine name really is cacimbo.ggy.uga.edu 500). >Thanks. If you run into XCD configuration problems that you can not sort out, I am willing to take a quick look if you provide me the logins as the users 'mcidas' and 'ldm' on your machine. Tom Yoksas
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