First Polygon Siren Activation occurred today in Autauga County

The first polygon siren activation, using WxSiren Controller, occurred today in Autauga County.  Here is a copy of the automatic siren activation message.

NOXX02 KWXM 301515

SIRWXM

WEATHER MESSAGE SIREN CONTROLLER
ACTIVATION MESSAGE
915 AM CST TUE NOV 30 2010

SIREN ACTIVATION TYPE: AUTOMATIC
ACTIVATION CLASS : Tornado
PRODUCT : Tornado Warning

SIRENS:
401
407
408
410

$$

I will be posting a news release later today.

Windows not visible after screen resolution changes

Several users have run into situations where some of the Weather Message windows are not visible after changing the screen resolution.  I have added code to the programs to check and see if the program's window is on one of the connected monitors.  If the window is off screen, it will be moved back on the screen.

Right now this code works immediately with child windows.  If the program's primary window is missing, the user will have to stop and restart the program.  When it restarts, it will be visible.

In the past, users were required to edit the registry or an ini to get a missing window back.  This will save the user and me alot of time.

Weather Message 3.8 Beta 1

I am in the process of uploading Weather Message 3.8 Beta 1.  This release of Weather Message will using the Microsoft.Net Framework 4.0 if it is installed on the computer.  I recommend that all users install Microsoft.Net Framework version 4.  You can install the 4.0 framework from this link. 

Note:  If you install the version 4 framework, make sure you install the full version 4 framework.  Microsoft made a version 4 client profile that does not contain all of the version 4 assemblies.

All of the programs are compiled against Microsoft.Net framework Version 3.5.  Most likely they will be compiled against the version 4 framework before 3.8 is released.  The current beta will allow us to evaluate the programs using the version 4 framework.  Initial tests did not reveal any problems.  The version 4 framework contains a number of enhancements that may improve program speed and/or operation.

Several of the programs in this release of Weather Message will not work on Windows 2000.  I do not recommend installing Version 3.8 on a Windows 2000 computer.

NWS Products and Services Reference Guidebook

The NWS Products and Services Reference Guidebook can be found at this address http://www.weather.gov/om/guide/ This guidebook contains some good general information about the NWS products and services.

WxMap - Speed Increases

After researching an issue in WxMap, I ran some performance tests to see if using a county's database identifier was faster than finding the county by center point.  The current operation, in general, is faster than database access.  If the county appears in the database first, the database method is somewhat faster.

I did some research on my mapping component vendor's website and discovered that using 'rtree' indexing would make the spacial operations faster.  I thought I had already enabled that option.  Upon checking I did find that I enabled that option on each layer.

When I read through several posts, I discovered that rtree indexing should be enabled after adding the layer to the viewer.  I gave that a try and was blown away.  The speed increase is remarkable.  It is well over 100% faster than the old operation.  Users will definately notice the difference if they are alarming the entire United States.

This operation does create an additional file in the Map directory for each map layer.  You will notice a new file for each layer with the extension 'rtree'.  The files are not really large and are created the first time the map program is loaded.

WxMap now supports a dynamic map legend

WxMap now supports a dynamic map legend.  The map can continue to be static or two versions of dynamic.  Dynamic 1 only displays products that are checked with the show in legend option.  Dynamic 2 displays all active products.  Here are examples of the legend.

These two map legends are dynamic.  The second map legend displays 'No Active Products'.

WxLoader and the PRO-Lite TruColor II

WxLoader can now upload text to the PRO-LITE TruColor II scrolling led sign. Here is a link for information on this sign - http://www.pro-lite.com/indoor-singleline-plm20.htm

Using WxLoader, the sign can read "A Tornado Warning as been issued for the following counties in Alabama, Tallapoosa, expiring at 9:00." (It flashes the word Tornado in red.)

This is a picture of the Pro-Lite PL-M2014RV6.

Weather Message 3.7 Released

Weather Message V3.7 has been released. You can download the update at http://www.wxmesg.com/downloadsnet.htm. For information on what has changed in this release, please read the release notes.
There are over 80 changes in this release. Here are some highlights.

• Updated support for Facebook and Twitter.
• User defined products.
• Updated map zones (You will need to download the map update).
• WxMap can now embed an image in a saved map image.
• WxLoader supports the Pro-Lite LED sign.
• See the release notes for a complete list of changes.

Thanks for all of your suggestions, bug reports and assistance with the software. Work will begin on version 3.8 right away. Watch the beta page for updates.

Suggestions for 3.8

• WxMap add a dynamic legend

WxDataSave, WxLocal and the Retransmission applications have been respectively released along with Weather Message 3.7. If you are using any of these applications, they must be upgraded at the same time you upgrade Weather Message.

Note: I have a large number of pending requests. I will begin to address these over the coming months.

Note: I am working on a new Weather Message website. I hope to place the new website on-line by the end of this month. This change will ultimately allow users to login and obtain their registration codes. It is based on a popular content management system and will allow me to quickly update the website.