Weather Message 3.8 Released

Weather Message V3.8 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.

Note: Version 3.8 requires the Microsoft.Net Framework 3.5.  Because of this requirement, version 3.8 will not run on Windows 2000 or older operating systems.

There are over 50 changes in this release. Here are some highlights.

• Will now use the Microsoft Framework 4.0, if installed.
• Updated support for Facebook and Twitter.
• New short message variables.
• Support for FTPS and SFTP.
• WxMap now supports a dynamic map legend.
• WxMap now has an option to use the NWS product colors.
• WxMap now has an option to zoom to a county when reading a text product.
• Retired the Active-X version of WxMap.  WxMapNet replaces WxMap. 
• WxMap will now run as a 64 bit application.

Thanks for all of your suggestions, bug reports and assistance with the software. Work will begin on version 3.9 right away.  Watch the beta page for updates.

Suggestions for 3.9

• I have over 50 pending feature enhancements.  If you want to see a new feature, please send us an email.

WxDataSave, WxLocal and the Retransmission applications have been respectively released along with Weather Message 3.8. If you are using any of these applications, they must be upgraded at the same time you upgrade Weather Message.

Note: I recommend that users download and install the full Microsoft.Net Framework 4.0.  The Framework has two editions, Client and Extended.  You can use this link to download both editions - http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17851

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

Note: I am still working on a new Weather Message website.  The revised website will ultimately allow users to login and obtain their registration codes. 

NOAA to take over the Weather Wire Service

One of my users sent me a letter he received from CSC. CSC provides the Weather Wire service. Here is an excerpt from the letter.

Subject: Discontinue of Weather Wire Service

Dear Weather Wire Subscriber:

Our records indicate you receive the Commercial Weather Wire Service via C-Band or Internet. CSC has provided these services for the past twenty (20) plus years to our customers. It is with great regret CSC needs to inform you that NOAA Weather Service has decided not to continue the Weather Wire Program with CSC. As of now we do know that the Weather Wire Service will be provided directly from NOAA.

At this time, CSC doesn't have any particulars or contact information to disclose. CSC will continue to provide the Weather Wire Service until first quarter of 2012. As soon as we find out more information, we will inform all of our Commercial Weather Wire Customers whom the POC is and how to receive the information on the Service NOAA will provide.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause our customers.

Weather Message users who use this service need to follow this closely.

Weather Message 3.8 Beta 9

I have posted Weather Message version 3.8 beta 9 to the beta website.  It contains a fix that makes Twitter authorization work.  Twitter had changed their website and it had stopped working.  It also includes a couple of enhancements.

New Email Server

My office now has a new in-house email server.  I have moved Weather Message's email to that server.  If you experience a problem sending me email, please post a message to the Weather Message Yahoo group.

Novra S300 Firmware Update

Novra has released a firmware update for the S300 receiver.  The release notes list the following change:

S300 V2R7 Release Notes

- includes firmware modifications to improve NOAA data reception.

The firmware update can be found at this link http://www.novra.com/Website/Novra_Support.html Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Dadeville Tornado

Many of you have been sending me emails over the past couple of days. I wanted to respond to the group regarding the Dadeville Alabama tornado. I am glad to report that me and my family are ok. I did not have any damage from the tornado it was 7 miles south of my house.

My sister's home in Dadeville was destroyed. The only room left standing was the closet that they took shelter. I was trying to call her when I saw that the tornado was headed in their direction. One minute later she called me to tell me that they were trapped in the house and needed help. I immediately called 911.

I could not get to the house by road, so I walked a half a mile through the woods. All of the trees were blown over so it took some time. After searching the house, I found they were at a neighbor's house and ok.

As many of you know, I serve as a volunteer fire fighter and first responder in my local fire department. I went out to check on the other homes. As I reached the next house, one of their neighbors called out that they had someone injured.

I spent the next 45 minutes with an elderly lady who passed due to her injuries. The neighbor found her under a wall. Her house was completely missing. She had gone to what I think was the bathroom. In this case, the "safe" place was not safe.

In EMS we talk about the golden hour. Considering that I had to drive 15 minutes to get on the scene. Then walk through the woods to check on my family. Then start helping others, the golden hour had lapsed. The Dadeville Fire personnel got to me 5 minutes before she expired.

My sister, brother-in-law and nephew are staying with me right now. We spent yesterday salvaging the remains of their home. We saved a lot of pictures and personal items. Work will continue today.

I appreciate your emails, prayers and support. As weather enthusiasts and professionals, we must be diligent in our work to notify people of severe weather.

Novra S300 Arrives

It seems like déjà vu.  Back in January I blogged about my new S200 receiver which turned out to be the wrong receiver. I received my new Novra S300, the right receiver, and installed it today.  It is working fine with the current NOAAPort signal.  I will see how it performs with the new NOAAPort signal in April.

Hail Storm

I spend most of my time writing software and watching weather in other parts of the country.  Here is a photo of some hail that fell at my home on Saturday.

Weather Message Siren Controller Featured on WBRC Fox 6 News

The Weather Message Siren Controller was featured Tuesday February 1st and Wednesday February 2nd on WBRC Fox 6 News, Birmingham, Alabama. This was a great plug for our new software application.

Here are the links to the video.

WBRC Siren Activation Segment Tuesday Night WBRC Siren Activation Video Link

WBRC Siren Activation Segment Wednesday Night WBRC Siren Activation Video Link

NOAAPort - Novra S200 is the wrong receiver

After purchasing the S200 receiver and installing it here, I have now learned that this is the wrong receiver.  What I really need is the S300 receiver, which not currently available.  Apparently NOAA wanted to use VCM (variable coding modulation).  The S200 receiver does not support this capability.  Novra will releasing the S300 sometime between now and April.  I understand that the cost of the S300 is around $699.00.  There is a discount for current Novra S75 and S200 users.

Due to this situation, NOAA is delaying the DVB-S transition by 45 days.  Here is the text of the latest message.

WHAT - SBN/NOAAPORT EXPANSION AND HARDWARE UPGRADE DATE - JANUARY 19 2011 

NOTICE - 002 PLANNED IMPLEMENTATION DATE - MAY 18 2011

---------------------------------------
UPDATE OF NOTICE 001 TO IDENTIFY RECEIVER SELECTED FOR USE BY THE NWS AND DELAY OF THE PLANNED IMPLEMENTATION DATE
---------------------------------------

THE AWIPS PROGRAM OFFICE IS CONTINUING WITH ITS PLANS TO EXPAND THE BANDWIDTH OF THE AWIPS SATELLITE BROADCAST NETWORK SBN/NOAAPORT FEED FROM 10.24 MBPS TO ABOUT 30 MBPS IN MAY 2011.

AS PART OF THIS EXPANSION, THE SBN/NOAAPORT SIGNAL WILL BE TRANSITIONED FROM THE CURRENT DVB-S STANDARD TO A MORE EFFICIENT DVB-S2 STANDARD.

TODAY, THE NWS AWIPS PROGRAM AGREED TO A DELAY OF 45 DAYS TO  ALLOW MORE TIME FOR THE NOAAPORT COMMUNITY TO PREPARE FOR THE TRANSITION.

THE AWIPS PROGRAM HAS SELECTED A DVB-S2 RECEIVER FOR THE SBN/NOAAPORT EXPANSION PROJECT. WE WILL BE IMPLEMENTING A SINGLE DATA STREAM THAT WILL REQUIRE VARIABLE CODING MODULATION -VCM- OVER MULTI-PROTOCOL ENCAPSULATION -MPE- WHICH IS SUPPORTED BY OUR SELECTED RECEIVER.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT ONE OR MORE OTHER MODELS OF DVB-S2 RECEIVERS MAY ALSO BE SUITABLE. THE RECEIVER SPECIFICATIONS CAN BE FOUND ON THE NOAAPORT WEB SITE.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE BEING FINALIZED AND WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE NOAAPORT WEB PAGE AS THEY ARE COMPLETED.

IN PREPARATION FOR THE TRANSITION, THE NWS WILL BE PROVIDING A 30 DAY WINDOW STARTING APRIL 18 2011 UNTIL MAY 17 2011 OF DUAL ILLUMINATION WITH BOTH THE -DVB S- AND -DVB S2- STANDARDS TO ALLOW AWIPS SITES AND NOAAPORT CUSTOMERS TIME TO FINALIZE THEIR TRANSITION.

Novra S200 Arrives

I received my new Novra S200 and installed it today.  It is working fine with the current NOAAPort signal.  I will see how it performs with the new NOAAPort signal in March.

NOAAPort Signal Changes March 2011

In March 2011, the NOAAPort signal will change from DVB-S to DVB-S2.  That means if you are using the Novra S75 receiver, you will need a new receiver.  The Novra S200 will work with both DVB-S and DVB-S2.

This change will increase the data rate from 10.24Mbps to about 30Mbps.  There will be a 30 day window between March 5, 2011 and April 3, 2011 when both signals will be present.  After April 3, 2010, the DBV-S signal will be discontinued.

You can read more from this data management notice.

If you use NOAAPort, you need to plan on purchasing a new receiver.  Novra is offering a discount to existing S75 owners.

NWS Map Colors and Priorities

You will find a list of the colors used on the NWS web warning maps here:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/wwamap-prd/wwacolortab.php?x=1

and

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/wwamap-prd/faq.php

The priorities for the colors can be found here:

http://www.weather.gov/om/guide/Section6.pdf

NOAAPort Update

Here is the latest information announced in ADMNCF.

ADMNCF

Subject: AWIPS SBN Status Update

On Sunday December 5th at approximately 2100Z, the AWIPS NCF moved all AWIPS NWS sites to a temporary frequency due to SBN interference problems that were found on the original AWIPS SBN frequency.

During the past 24 hours, the NCF has worked with the satellite provider, GLOBECOM, to ensure all interference problems experienced throughout the weekend have been corrected. Today between 1930Z and 2000Z, GLOBECOMM will perform intrusive testing on the original AWIPS SBN signal.

All AWIPS offices are still currently using the temporary AWIPS SBN frequency and will not be impacted by the intrusive testing that is taking place. External NOAAPORT users that are currently using the original AWIPS SBN frequency may experience brief data outages while testing is taking place.

Tomorrow, December 8th between 1400Z and 1500Z, the NCF will re-point all NWS offices back to the original AWIPS SBN frequency. The switch back to the original AWIPS SBN frequqncy will be done remotely by the NCF and sites should not see any downtime as a result of the switch back to the original frequency. Once all sites have been re-pointed back to the original AWIPS SBN frequency, another admin message will be sent.

On December 8th at 1600Z, the temporary AWIPS SBN frequency that was established will be terminated. Any external NOAAPORT users pointed to the temporary AWIPS SBN frequency will need to switch back to the original AWIPS frequency before 1600Z on December 8th.

Thank you for your continued patience while these issues are being resolved.

All NOAAPort users should switch back to 1193.5 before December 8th 1600Z.

NOAAPort Receive Problems

There have been significant receive problems with the NOAAPort signal today.  After lunch my Novra receiver was not able to lock onto the signal at 1193.5 mhz.  Around 8:00 someone announced that the frequency may have changed.  Our friend Dave, KG4YZY, found out that the new frequency was 1138.5.  After updating the Novra with the new frequency, it is now locked and receiving data.

I don't know if this is a permanent change or only temporary until the original problem is resolved.

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.