METAR/SPECI Aviation INTERCEPT® Software
Data Displays and User Interfaces
The following functions are accessed through the Aviation INTERCEPT® Data Display and User Interface:
- Display the most current observation
- Review logged data
- Edit reports
- Set local weather alerts
- Monitor the performance of all parts of the system for maintenance purposes
- Set-up and configure the system
Each data display has some user configuration functionality as noted.
Definition of DPU Users
Aviation INTERCEPT® (AI) allows for three AWOS User Groups. Each AWOS User has password protected access to various User Interfaces. The User Groups are: Weather Observer (WO), Maintenance Technician (T), and Administrator (A). Password authentication is done using operating system user authentication and database authentication.
Weather Display Graphical User Interface (GUI)
The AI application Weather Display graphical user interface is shown to the right. (Click for a larger image).
The Aviation INTERCEPT® Weather Display shows the following information (at a minimum):
- Wind Speed: Immediate, 2 minute or 10 minute averages; 2 minute peak wind; Aviation 10 minute Wind Gust
- Wind Direction: Immediate, 2 minute or 10 minute averages; Variable Wind Direction
- Altimeter Setting: average
- Temperature and Dew Point: average
- Surface Visibility
- Sky Condition: Cloud Height, Layers, and Vertical Visibility
- Present Weather: METAR code
- Precipitation Accumulations
- Current OMO and METAR or SPECI reports
- Status windows to indicate operational status of all critical data collection (sensors and hardware – DCU) and data processing (DPU)
The Data Processing Unit calculates many more parameters, including all of the automated observing parameters as per ICAO and FMH-1. The customer can choose to have any of those calculated parameters shown on Aviation INTERCEPT® Weather Display.
Optional parameters include:
- Wind Reports and RVR at the Touchdown, Midfield, and Rollout
- Relative Humidity
- Sea Level Pressure (QNH or SLP), Field Pressure (QNH), QFF, Sensor Pressure, Density Altitude, Pressure Altitude: averages in millibars or inches of mercury
- Hourly minimum and maximum Air Temperature
- Precipitation Detection
- Ice Accretion
- Thunder Storm Activity
All of the data is displayed numerically. In addition, Winds and Thunderstorms are displayed with graphical analogs.
The "STATUS" windows at the bottom of the display will alert the user to any system component or process that is questionable. Any component or process that is in a "warning of alarm state"" is noted in a short color-coded text message. The yellow messages are warnings that data is still valid but may be going bad. Red messages are alarms announcing that something has failed – data will be effected. Failures will also eventually result in some value being reported as "M" for missing.
From the Aviation INTERCEPT® Weather Display, with the correct User Status and Password, the User can do the following:
- Access the RVR and Thunderstorm displays
- Access the individual sensor displays
- Access report editing and augmentation
- Access the Local Weather Alerts setup
- Access graphs for certain weather parameters
- Access the System Status and Maintenance GUI
- Access and read, Report and Maintenance log files
- Access the system and site configuration parameters
RVR Summary Screen
Runway Visual Range (RVR) Display
The Aviation INTERCEPT® includes an optional RVR display. The RVR display screen shows the Runway Designators, the Touchdown, Midpoint, and Rollout Readings and Trends, as well as the Edge and Center Runway Light Step Settings. The RVR display screen is shown to the right. (Click for a larger image).
From the RVR UI, the user can select and set the following:
- Select Runways
- Set Alarms
- Set Edge and Center runway light step settings
Wind Speed Graph (Click for a larger image).
Graphs
The Graphs menu is optional. It provides access to charts that allow the viewing of the last 3 hours of the following data:
- Temperature/Dew Point
- Station Pressure
- Cumulative Precipitation
- 10-minute Visibility
- 10-minute MAX Wind Speed
- 2-minute Wind Speed
- 2-minute Wind Direction
Custom METAR
Editing Template
Report Editing & Augmentation
There are templates for editing or augmenting the METAR and SPECI reports. The user is allowed to make corrections prior to the report being sent out, or in the case of a SPECI, the report can be created and sent out. The standard User Interface for editing METAR and SPECI reports allows the user to directly edit the text of the METAR and SPECI reports. WO and T/A users have password protected access to the Report Editing and Augmentation. The Data Editing user interface allows for the following:
- Views of current report logs
- Ability to create a manual report
- Augment an existing report with data or remarks
As an option, we have created customer defined graphical templates for editing the reports. An example of a particular customer's METAR editing template is shown above right. (Click for a larger image).
Aviation INTERCEPT®
Alarm Set-up Display
Local Weather Alerts
The user can set local weather alerts based on the data ranges. Weather Alerts are set by entries in the Alerts form, shown right (click for a larger image). Data range alerts reach the Observer as yellow-highlighted field backgrounds, drawing attention to the field(s) whose values have gone out of range.
Maintenance GUI
T/A users have password protected access to the Maintenance User Interface Screen. The following functions are included in the Maintenance User Interface:
- Quick and easy view of the status of the system and all of its components
- Allows real-time and recent activity access to information going into the log files or equivalent data
- Password protected Login/Logout
- Allows for direct access to the System Configuration and Site Initialization screens
The Maintenance GUI displays an overview of the AWOS system with operational status including timestamps for last data received/sent through each channel. Error conditions will be highlighted by an obvious change in color of the device or communication path. The operator will be able to drill down easily to the section of the Maintenance and Troubleshooting guide describing the error condition and steps to remedy. (Click picture above right for a larger image).
An Example of a Log File
View of METAR Reports
Log File Generation & View
Aviation INTERCEPT® Software generates the following independent, uncompressed ASCII data log files:
- Sensor Log Files include raw data feeds from the external devices.
- Report Log Files include all of the reports generated – OMO, METAR, SPECI, SYNOP and operator generated reports.
- Maintenance Log Files contain all the Built in Test (BIT) information filtered from the external device data messages, monitoring of communication port activity, and internal AI self check information.
Each log file has the following settings: Enable, Path, File Name, Interval, Age, and Size. The set up of the log files is done in a configuration file.
The log files are available in one-minute intervals. There is more than adequate hard drive space to log all of the files and the database for more than one month. Log files may be selected and viewed through the GUI.
T/A users have password protected access to view all the Log files. An example of the log file display is
shown above right. (Click for a larger image).
Database & Log File Archive
The database is the data repository for AI. The Aviation Weather Algorithms pick up new data elements from the database and store computed values back to the database.
The archive consists of a daily script that compresses the data from the database and all of the log files for the previous 24 hour day and places the archive in a defined location. This archive files can be written to a DVD-R. A week's worth of archive files could be stored on a single DVD-R. On a Linux system the data is archived using tar and then compressed using gzip. In order to view data for a particular date, the compressed file would be read from the DVD, uncompressed using gzip and then opened using tar. The command to do both a file called archivefile.tar.bz2 would be:
bzip2 -cd archivefile.tar.bz2 | tar xvf -
On a Windows system, zip is used to both archive and compress the files. Archive files off the DVD would be extracted using WinZIP.
Site Setup Screen
System Configurations & Site Initialization Parameters
The System Configurations and Site Initialization Parameters (SCSIP) are configured using a combination of the Site Setup Screen and a text editable configuration file. The Site Setup Screen permits convenient alteration of some set up parameters such as: general airport information – airport name, location, and ICAO identifier, and field elevation. To the right is a view of the Site Setup Screen: (Click for a larger image).
Those Setup parameters that do not apply to the customer's requirements will be removed from the screen.
Additional site configuration options that are not likely to change over time can be set by changing the password protected, text editable, configuration file. The kinds of thing which are set in this file are:
Additional Configuration Options
- FDCU set up: Sensor metadata, Port information, the Barometer and Ceilometer have advanced settings, such as: elevation, pressure reduction ratio
- Change system units of measurement
- Set up external output interfaces: Displays, LAN, Internet connectivity, Dial-up
- Set properties of the log files
To the right is an example of what the Test Editable Configuration File looks like: (Click for a larger image).
Aviation INTERCEPT® Help Menu
On-Line Help
Aviation INTERCEPT® includes an online help subsystem, of which one section is displayed in the accompanying image: (Click picture for a larger image).
