Fixes and features in the fxa-3.0 software build

• The interprocess communication system has been completely rewritten. Instead of the commercial product DEC Message Queue (DMQ), we are now using a socket-based IPC. Among other things, we expect this to eliminate one of our nagging problems that required us to do a full restart every 4-6 days.
• Localization software has been developed to allow WFO-A easily to be staged for any WFO. This software was used to prepare this current Denver version.
• Redundant databases and ingest systems are being installed [in Denver]. This will reduce the risk of a complete system failure by using two separate ingest systems for the SBN data (although both rely on one down-link), a back-up radar ingest, and procedures for fail-over of the AFOS interface from dendata1 to dendata2.
  The workstations will be split 3 (dendata2) and 2 (dendata1) between the two databases, with 3 text workstations on each.

New features

• Programs to support zone and nowcast preparation and amendment are added to the Tools menu.

Bug fixes

• With the cursor at the beginning of the line and word wrap on, pressing backspace did not perform correctly. Fixed.
• The word wrap splitting algorithm is changed so that lines are split only on whitespace, not on characters such as - and +.
• If a text browser was left open, it would use lots of CPU updating the inventory. This has been "fixed" by updating only when you to re-click on the NNN item.

New or remaining bugs

• The WarnGen window occasionally doesn't pop up automatically, because the text notification server has crashed or wasn't started). Workaround: Request DENWRKWGx from any window. (The warning expiration reminder won't work in this case.)
• The text subsystem still uses 3-character station IDs. As a result, the Help function in the browser and the button-2 popup station ID info on METAR messages have some problems. In the former, the trailing three characters are used (assuming a K), and some lower-48 sites are identified as Alaskan, and vice versa. In the latter, only Kxxx sites read 4 characters. Others read just the first 3, so Pxxx IDs are not found or are incorrect.
• Torn-away menus don't respond to changes in the edit state.
• The text database now distinguishes products by length. Short products (those less than 2000 bytes) are not vulnerable to the text database corruptions that have been an occasional problem. "Long" products must be defined as such; if a product exceeds the limit, but is not specified on the list of long categories, it will be truncated. Please inform FSL if you find any that are truncated so that they can be added to the list of long products.
• The text browser does not show all categories that are available for other sites. In general, all products appropriate for the U.S. are stored in the text database, so even though the text browser doesn't include them, they are there. An example is zone forecasts for many areas.
• A:HH CCCNNN still does not work properly, though A: does.
• Like many other products, pilot reports come in a collective and are stored under the site id instead of DEN. Thus, a pilot report referenced to BJC would be stored as DENPIRBJC. They can be called up collectively using "000" or by state using "CO.PIR"

New features

• Dial-out to surrounding radars is now available. Products are requested through the one-time request application (on the Applications submenu near the bottom of the kftg pull-down menu). The request is acknowledged in the radar status line at the bottom of the main window, where product receipt is also logged. A full menu for each radar is attached at the bottom of the kftg pull-down menu.
• A means of selecting products to animate by delta time instead of straight inventory is added (as a new "Set time resolution" choice in the load modes menu). For example, the user can load radar images at 15-minute frequency, to view a longer span of time in a given number of frames. (Successful use of this feature is of course subject to the availability of data.)

  If there are few or infrequent products, this can behave a bit oddly. For example, if there is only one of a given item available (e.g., try it with a map background), you get a bizarre menu, containing 2, -3579390, 4, -35791388, and 6 seconds. Another example is 2.4 deg Z/V, which is not a regular product. You might see times like 488.33 hours. In most cases, this feature works well.

• A map of WSR-88D sites is available on all scales.
• A map of county warning areas ("CWAs" on the menu) is available on all but the NH scale.
• A new application on the File pull-down shows information about the software version currently running.
• Several new features have been added to the Product Maker. We'll post a list here shortly (because I don't know what they are!).

Improvements

• The behavior of image combo has been improved in cases where there are missing times or the two images have different frequency.
• You can now set magnification for individual products from the button 3 pop-up.
• Wind gusts are now included with LDAD plots.
• The 24-hour change plot now uses altimeter settings to compute pressure change.
• There are now 10 baselines and 10 points instead of 5. The intention is that the new 5 will be reserved (by office convention) for use on the local scale, primarily for radar functions.
• The menus for radar applications and products have been improved to make it easier to recognize incoming request products, by adding identifiers (e.g., CZ, SRM) to the labels.
• Additional products are now available in the one-time request and RPS applications.
• The interstate highways map now covers the entire U.S.
• The LDAD plots now include weather data from a few ALERT stations, so even when the CDoT network is out there are some reports available.

Bug fixes

• Dewpoint trace on skew-Ts prints properly. (This fix was installed 18 Dec 96.)
• More than two versions of Redbook graphics are kept. (This worked prior to the November upgrade, and was fixed again on 8 January.)
• All METAR-reported wind gusts are now plotted.
• Switching from single-panel to four-panel mode caused sampling problems. Now fixed.
• NOWrad and Z/V auto-updates (and menu green times) now work correctly.
• The system no longer crashes if you load 3 families on top of one another. You should be able to stack 'em up until the screen is full of legends.

Remaining bugs

• "Novocaine" - Occasionally the workstation will not respond to any mouse inputs. Though these episodes still exist, the frequency and length (typically on the order of 5 seconds now, vs. 15-30 s previously) are reduced.
• LDAD plots - We still are lacking complete metadata on the CDoT stations, so there are a some stations we can't plot.
• METAR plots - Some obs don't get plotted despite the fact that data for those sites is in the text workstation for the times when they are missing. - this may be fixed
• Missing 88D products - the layer reflectivity maxima and echo top would not load even though they were on the RPS list. - not yet tested
• National-scale satellite images do not auto-update. (The entries on the "every image" menu do.)
• 4-panel charts don't print correctly. Only one panel prints, though all four labels are included.
• Once you're in 4-panel mode, you stay there until explicitly Clearing the screen. If you select products on a different scale, you'll get the same thing loaded in each panel.
• LAPS surface moisture convergence has the wrong sign. (This one should be fixed soon, if not already.)

New bugs

• The Northern Hemisphere and North American "every image" menus, though up to date, often yield zero or one image.

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This page is maintained by Joe Wakefield.

Last modified: 26 Feb 97