From the time the "installAVNFPS.sh" command is issued to the time
forecasters can start using AvnFPS OB9, is less than a minute,
barring
any difficulties.
Your Aviation focal point or ITO should use the AvnFPS configuration
GUIs to
create the required configuration files for the new product. Here
are the steps to perform:
Use the AvnFPS configuration GUI "TAF Site Info" to create the
necessary configuration file for your new TAF. Click on the
'Update' button and be sure to fill in
all required text fields, especially the AFOS and WMO ID text
fields. Look at other TAF sites if you are unsure of
what these identifiers look like. Save your changes and
close this GUI.
Use the AvnFPS configuration GUI "TAF Products" to either add
your
new TAF to an existing group or create a separate, new group with the
new TAF its sole member. Enter the TAF ID into the "Idents" field
and press enter to add it to a group. Save your changes and close this
GUI.
Use the AvnFPS configuration GUI "Triggers" to add the new METAR
and TAF triggers to your text database. Make sure the TAF and
METAR text fields are filled in for the new TAF and press "Make" to
create the database triggers. Click on Close button to exit this
GUI.
Using your favorite text editor, open the
/awips/fxa/data/afos2awips.txt text file. Here you will
need to insert a new line consisting of the AFOS identifier of your new
TAF in the first column, and its corresponding WMO ID in the second and
third fields. Look at other TAF entries in this file if you are
uncertain of how it should appear. Save your changes.
Your Aviation focal point or ITO should repeat the last bullet
on px1 machine as well to take
care of the case of px2 failover to px1.
Finally,
for all these changes to take effect, restart
the AvnFPS
servers. You will need to be user 'fxa' on
any Linux
workstation to do that:
Restarting or bringing up a new AvnWatch GUI will show the new TAF
site--if its in the DEFAULT group, otherwise, use the "Backup" button
to select the group your new TAF is in. Initially the TAF button
will be red and the monitoring lights greyed out due to the absence of
metars and TAF to decode for that site. Either be patient
for the next metar for your new TAF to arrive, or request it from the
text database using the avntrigger.sh script, or, as any user,
run the command:
%
/awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/fetchText.sh
At this point, AvnFPS Monitoring GUI should begin monitoring the
new TAF if already issued, via another application, otherwise,
monitoring will not occur until the new TAF is issued and stored in
the FXA text database. If you don't want to disseminate
the TAF right away, see Q5.1 for instructions to
block its transmission to the outside world.
[Return to Top] Q2.2
I have a lot of
primary and backup TAFs. Do I have to redo these for
AvnFPS OB9?
No. However, some of your configuration files may be updated as
new, perhaps site-specific, attributes are added. If this was not
done, the new AvnFPS software may not start as some are critical for
AvnFPS
to function correctly.
[Return to Top] Q2.3
Where can we download the climate files? With the delivery of AvnFPS OB9, a new GUI was added to allow
WFOs to create new ones and update existing climate files as often as
desired. See the User's Guide for more information on this new
feature, here.
[Return to Top] Q2.4
How to create climate files for TAF QC checks?
These are files that have the ".##.nc" extensions in /data/adapt/avnfps/climate
directory. After downloading the HDF5 climate file and placing it
in the /data/adapt/avnfps/climate
directory, you will need to update the /awips/adapt/avnfps/etc/ids.cfg
file to specify the location of the new TAF climate file. See Q2.5. Once that is completed, manually run the
avnqcstats utility for the
site and month desired. Depending the directory permissions on /data/adapt/avnfps/climate, you
can do this as a ordinary user, or if it's more restrictive, as user
fxa.
Where TafID is the usual four-character ID of the TAF in
question. If you have many sites and/or months to do, you can
place this command in double loops.
If you use C-shell as your intepreter (as user fxa does), then the
following bit of shell programming will work:
% foreach site ( TafID1 TafID2
... ) foreach
month ( 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 )
/awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/avnstart.sh avnqcstats $site $month
echo Done with $site for month $month ... `date`
end end
Or if you use a borne-shell derivative, this will work:
$ for site in TafID1 TafID2 ... ;
do for
month in
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 ; do
/awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/avnstart.sh avnqcstats $site $month
echo Done with $site for month $month ... `date` done done
Normally, to do all twelve months of TAF climate QC files for a large
dataset (>15MB) takes appropriately 2 to 4 minutes, roughly 10 to 20
seconds per month. If avnqcstats utility is quickly going through
the months--taking just a few seconds for each one--investigate the
/data/logs/adapt/avnfps/avnqcstats_DOW (DOW == Day-Of-the-Week) log
file on the machine where you're running the script. There may be
a problem.
[Return to Top] Q2.5
What about the old climate files? Can they be removed now?
Yes. The climate files associated with the first-generation
climate tool can and should be removed now. These are files with
the
following file extensions: ".gz.tar", ".gz", or no extension at
all. HDF5 format files are needed for the current suite of
climate tools and have a file extension of ".hd5" For the TAF QC
functions, these files have
the ".##.nc" extension (where ## corresponds to the month, e.g. 01 ==
Jan, 02 == Feb, etc) and should be kept in the
/data/adapt/avnfps/climate
directory.
[Return to Top] Q2.6
How to view climatology from other locations other than my TAF sites?
Create the new HDF5 files for the site(s) using the Climate Data
Tool under the AvnSetup GUI. Once validated, you can start
any of
the climate tools to view the new site(s). The new sites you've
added should appear in the
'Site' window in each of the climate tools.
[Return to Top] Q2.7
How to update LAMP thresholds for my TAF sites?
With the delivery of OB9, stations now have thresholds for all 24
cycles of LAMP. The thresholds are quite static in nature
and are likely not to change in the future. If the LAMP team
redevelops the thresholds, we will announce that, and the new threshold
files will be posted here.
You will need to download the files for your sites and place
them in the /awips/adapt/avnfps/data/thresholds
directory. These files are in HDF5 format. No
uncompression or
untarring of files are required for these datasets. They are ready for
immediate use.
[Return to Top] Q2.8
What is this new "Climate Data" button in the AvnSetup GUI?
This is a new function to allow you to update and create new AvnFPS
HDF5 climate files as often as desired. See the new section
in the User's Guide for more details.
Q3.1
How do I rearrange the guidance tabs in the TAF Editor/View? I
like to put GFS-MOS first, for instance.
Just about everything in the TAF Editor/Viewer is configurable.
Some aspects of the GUI are customizable by the individual, like the
use of fonts and size of text windows, but others can only be done via
a configuration file. If you
want to change layouts, like the tabs in the TAF viewer, you will have
to coordinate
these changes with your staff as this is done via the gui.cfg file. For the
guidance tabs in the viewer, use the AvnFPS text editor (or
your favorite editor and go to the /awips/adapt/avnfps/etc
directory)
and open a file called "gui.cfg". In there, you will find a
section labeled "[viewers]",
like this:
# viewers: taf and metar must be
present, taf must be first on the list
[viewers]
tags=taf,metar,gfsmos,gfslamp,tug,nammos,etabuf,grids
The token ordering of the list for "tags" is how the tabs are arranged
in the TAF viewer. So if you want GFS-MOS to the first MOS
guidance tab from the left
(note the restriction: taf token must be
first in the list), a change like this will work
tags=taf,gfsmos,gfslamp,tug,nammos,etabuf,grids,metar
Save the file.
Changing this file does not require that AvnFPS servers be restarted,
just the
AvnWatch GUI. Under File, there is a "Restart" option, select
that and your changes to gui.cfg
will take effect.
See
this link
for more details on this and other configuration files in
AvnFPS OB9.
[Return to Top] Q3.2
How do I remove guidance tabs like NGM or AVN-MOS from
the TAF viewer?
See Q3.1 and, instead of rearranging them, remove
tokens from the "tags" list. For BUFR Eta, it corresponds to
"etabuf" token, likewise, AVN-MOS corresponds to "avnmos", NGM MOS to
"ngmmos" etc.
[Return to Top] Q3.3
The CCFP monitoring icon is grey for my TAF sites. What is wrong?
The CCFP is a seasonal product. So if it's wintertime, this is to
be expected. The Aviation Weather Center
issues the
product beginning in the early spring through late fall. It is
not
available during the winter months. So long as the MKCCFP#
products are arriving into the FXA text database, this indicator will
'light-up' once AWC begins
issuing the product in the spring and will cease--turn grey--in the
fall. The CCFP product covers the CONUS, but not Alaska or
the offshore offices. These WFOs can remove this indicator
from AvnWatch GUI, freeing up 'real-estate', so to speak, if they wish.
[Return to Top] Q3.4
How do I remove obsolete (or unavailable) guidance buttons in the
Weather Plot GUI?
To change the
guidance buttons in the weather plot GUI, use the AvnFPS text editor
(or
your favorite editor and go to the /awips/adapt/avnfps/etc
directory)
and open a file called "wxplot.cfg". In there, you will find a
section labeled "[viewers]",
like so:
Delete the guidance source tag you wish to remove from the
GUI. For instance, NGM MOS
will be discontinued in Spring 2009 and can be removed from the list.
[Return to Top] Q3.5
How do I get the weather plot GUI to print directly to the printer?
For the
guidance button in the weather plot GUI, use the AvnFPS text editor (or
your favorite editor and go to the /awips/adapt/avnfps/etc
directory)
and open a file called "wxplot.cfg." In there, you will find a section
labeled "[print]", like
so:
This will send the
image directly to the printer.
The convert program has lots of options so you may want to explore
those in more detail. What I've found is that the "jpg:-" token *has*
to be the last
one to the convert command, or it won't work.
[Return to Top] Q3.6
What is AvnFPS flight category monitoring?
Instead of monitoring ceiling and visibility seperately to
determine if an amendment is needed,
flight category monitoring combines the two elements. This
feature results in a new indicator on the AvnWatch GUI that flags the TAF only when differences
between TAF and observations are operationally significant. This
should reduce the number of amendments and -- when they are issued --
can
be more operationally significant: a benefit to our customers.
The instructions on enabling flight category monitoring can be found
here.
[Return to Top] Q3.7
What is this TAF/LAMP guidance tab in the TAF Viewer/Editor?
This is a new TAF generating technique for amendments and regular
issued times. Instead of starting from a "blank sheet" when
creating a new TAF, the underlying algorithm uses the current, official
TAF as its starting point. LAMP probabilistic guidance is
then used to examine differences between LAMP and the official
forecast. If the disagreement is significant, then the TAF is
updated appropriately with LAMP guidance. See this paper
for more details on the
algorithm's implementation.
[Return to Top] Q3.8
For a TAF the LLWS indicator is green, although we don't have a radar
or profiler assigned to it. Why?
AvnFPS now examines the ACARS wind profiles, looking for a match
between TAF
and departing/arriving destination given in the file. ACARS wind
profiles are derived from appropriately
instrumented aircraft. The wind profile is assigned a
three-letter identifier
designating the airport--which is most often just the leading letter
removed from the TAF ICAO ID--for example, IAD, PIT, or SEA but not
always! Check the ACARS profile in D-2D to determine the
proper ID for your TAF sites. This field is provided in the
TAF Site Info Editor. If you update it, be sure to restart
the AvnFPS servers for the change to take effect. Given the
nature of the measurement "system" (large carriers), ACARS wind profile
data (and the LLWS value
based on it) is not guaranteed to be available at all times at a given
airport. For small airports it is likely LLWS values based on
ACARS will profiles will
never be available.
[Return to Top] Q3.9
Why does AvnFPS use the visibility in the remarks portion and not the
one in the main body of the METAR?
This is most likely due to the visibility information in the remarks
being prefixed with the keywords 'SFC VIS'. In NWS
Instructions
10-813, it states that the TAF shall forecast surface visibility (ref.
NWSI 10-813, pg 3, section 4.2, first sentence), thus it's a true
'apples-to-apples' comparison when surface visibility in the
observation--wherever it is located--and forecasted visibilty are
examined.
Once you have AvnFPS OB9 up and running
routinely, you should consult the AvnFPS User's Guide Trouble
Shooting section for more information should problems arise later.
Q4.1
We experienced px1 (or px2) failover (or
failback), and the server icons on the AvnWatch GUI are red.
This means that the AvnFPS OB9 servers were not automatically
restarted. If you cannot be user "fxa" or cannot find someone at
your office who can, call the NCF and tell them you need the AvnFPS
servers
restarted. The command to do this is:
/awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/remoteServers.sh
restart
The NCF engineers have recieved training on AvnFPS, so they should be
familiar with the software and have no difficulties restarting the
servers.
[Return to Top] Q4.2
The AvnFPS server icons are green but we aren't
getting any new metars (or some other real-time text data).
AvnFPS gets its METAR, TAF and CCFP text products from the
Postgres
database via triggers as implemented in the
fxatext database's
watchwarn table. If you know that your data feeds from your
communications processor (cpsbn1 or cpsbn2 machine) are okay and can
call up these products using the textdb command, then its likely the
trigger entries in the watchwarn table have been removed.
See the AvnFPS User's Guide "Creating Database Triggers" on how to
re-create them, here.
After you've re-created them and if the textdb command fetches current,
up-to-date metars, tafs, etc., then you can manually update
AvnFPS by using a nifty little utility to fetch them out of the text
database:
If you do not supply an argument to the script, all products are
fetched out of the text database, which is usually the preferred option.
[Return to Top] Q4.3
Why do the server indicator lights on AvnWatch change from green to red
and back to green in a irregular fashion? It's not
even Christmas yet.
This behavior is almost certainly caused by a large time skew in the
system clocks between the server machine and the machine where AvnWatch
client is running. You or your ITO should compare times between
px2f and the client machine, using the date command. If the
difference is significant--say more than 30 seconds--then your ITO
should stop and restart the NTP (Network Time Protocol) daemon, ntpd, on px2f machine.
Once the system clocks are in sync, this problem with AvnFPS indicator
lights should go away. If not, contact NCF and open a trouble
ticket for further investigation.
This section is devoted to questions that aren't addressed above or in
the
AvnFPS User's Guide.
Q5.1 How to add a TAF to AvnFPS without
actually sending it out of the office?
This question is usually asked by a WFO when there is a new TAF to be
issued by the office in the near future and the forecasters want
to practice monitoring and issuing forecasts for the new site well
before the actual day arrives to officially issue them to the outside
world.
AvnFPS doesn't actually perform the actions to disseminate your
aviation forecasts to the NWS WAN or the NWWS. That's the
job of handleOUP.pl: a script that AvnFPS transmission server invokes
when it wants to issue products found in its pending queue.
The handleOUP.pl script consults several files to determine: 1) Proper
WMO
identifier for the product; 2) whether the product should be sent on
the NWWS; 3) and whether the product should be sent on the WAN.
Another action handleOUP.pl script performs is to store the product
into the local text database.
First, the ITO or focal point should follow the steps outlined in Q2.1 and before actually trying to save or 'transmit'
the new TAF, perform the following steps on px2 machine:
Using your favorite text editor, open the
/data/fxa/workFiles/wanMsgHandling/NWWS_exclude_CCC.txt file (CCC is your office three-letter
identifier). Here you will need to insert a new line
consisting of the AFOS identifier of your new TAF. By having this
entry in here, you will block the sending of your new TAF onto the NWWS.
Using your favorite text editor, open the
/data/fxa/workFiles/wanMsgHandling/WAN_exclude_CCC.txt file. You
may have to create it. Many offices do not seem to have this file
by default. Here you will insert a new line consisting of the
AFOS identifier of your new TAF. By having this entry in here,
you will block the sending of your new TAF onto the WAN.
Your Aviation focal point or ITO should repeat these steps
on the px1 machine as well to
take
care of the case of px2 failover to px1.
At this point, you should be able to compose your first TAF for the new
site. It will have to be "Sent" in order for it to be
monitored in AvnFPS (remember that the Aviation Focal Point or your ITO
should have blocked its transmission over the WAN). Once you've
done that, AvnFPS monitoring
lights will return to "normal".
When your office is ready to issue the new TAF officially, your
Aviation focal point or ITO should remove the TAF's AFOS entries from
the NWWS_exclude_CCC.txt and
WAN_exclude_CCC.txt files on
both px1 and px2 machines.
It is good practice to look at the handleOUP.log files in
/data/logs/fxa/YYYYMMDD directories on px2
(or px1 in case of failover)
to see the actual dispensation of
your text products.
[Return to Top] Q5.2
What do we do to get AvnFPS to support a 30-h TAF?
Start the TAF Site Editor for the affected airport and change
TAF duration text field from 24 to 30 [hrs]. Save your change and
then restart the AvnWatch
GUI. The AvnFPS servers do not need to be restarted, just the
client(s), for this kind of change. Once that happens, the
guidance TAFs and Syntax Checker will be 'aware' the TAF is 30-h long.
[Return to Top] Q5.3
What are these "ish-" files doing in the avnfps/etc directory and why
are they needed?
There are two "helper" files are crucial to the proper operation of the
new
Climate Data Tool:
ish-history: contains detailed historical information
about each station
ish-inventory: contains details about the inventory of
archived observations available for all stations
These files are regularly updated and made available by NCDC. New
versions should be downloaded by
the user of the Climate Data Tool at least once a year, and certainly
after the start of any new calendar year.
If they are not updated, you may not get the very latest data available
from NCDC for your climatology files.
