Camp Peary's Aviation "Light" Station Goes In Without a Hitch

Camp Peary, near Williamsburg Virginia recently purchased a “light” aviation system from Coastal Environmental Systems for a 3-mile long airfield on the base.
Click here to read press release in pdf format.

New Contract For Aviation Weather Stations In Afghanistan Awarded to Coastal

Coastal has been awarded a contract to supply the US Government with Aviation Weather Stations to enhance the meteorological observation capability in Afghanistan. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Tactical Aviation Weather Stations - Delivery Complete to Sweden & Poland

Coastal has just completed delivery of its Tactical Aviation Weather Stations to the countries of Sweden and Poland. These stations are designed specifically to meet the demands of tactical military use. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

ZENO^® Weather Stations - for Professional Applications

Ever wonder what a datalogger with a Universal Serial Interface, 32-bit microcontroller, and no programming required could do for your weather station? Introducing our new ZENO^® Weather Stations Brochure. Check it out to see what ZENO^® can do for you. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Commended for Hurricane Katrina Performance

At ground zero of the widespread chaos surrounding Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, four automated weather stations, designed and built by Coastal Environmental Systems, and located at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, not only survived, but continued functioning, eventually serving relief flights landing at Keesler. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

South Pole Weather Report - Now Available With Your Morning Coffee!

Have you ever wondered what the weather was like at the South Pole? (Is it cold, or really cold today?) Now, just a few clicks of your mouse, and you can find out! Coastal's improved ASOS weather station, installed at the South Pole, is now feeding "live" weather data to the Internet, for anyone to view. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal to Provide Wind Monitoring System at Perhaps Earth's Most Inhospitable Site.

Coastal's system will measure winds on Alaska's Bering Strait, in a location that can get 12 - 18 inches of ice build-up in 12 hours - where a tram to the top of a hill can be encased in 5 feet of ice - and where it's not uncommon to have to chip your way past each tower location due to ice blocks. Without this wind data, one could find themselves trapped at the top of the hill for days, waiting until it's safe to come down... Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Environmental Systems Now Provides Upper Air Meteorological Monitoring Systems!

Coastal Environmental Systems, the leading manufacturer of portable HazMat weather stations and permanent surface weather stations, adds Upper Air Meteorological Observing Systems (Radiosondes) to the list... Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Record Number of Portable Weather Stations Ordered!

Coastal set a company record, taking orders for over 40 portable WEATHERPAK^® weather stations, in just one month. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

N-TFS Connection for FMQ-19 a reality... SOON!

The contract has been signed, the interface set, and work has begun on the FMQ-19 Fixed Base Weather Station data feed to the U.S. Air Force and General Dynamics' N-TFS (New Tactical Forecast System)... Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Now - Even More Coastal Weather Stations at Thule, Greenland!

Four more FMQ-19 Aviation Weather Stations have been installed by Coastal's Installation Team... among the completed sites was Thule Air Force Base, Greenland - an augmentation for Coastal's Aviation Systems! Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Fixed Base Weather Systems Continue To Spread Across The Globe.

Coastal Environmental Systems' Installation Team continues to carry out site installations for the U.S. Air Forces' FMQ-19 Fixed Base Weather Systems contract. In just 5 months, 10 Air Bases received this system, which will automate collection of the Air Force's weather data at air bases worldwide - with many more sites lined up for installation each month. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

When the Next Shuttle Comes In, Coastal's Weather Stations Will Be There...

A contract for an expanded FMQ-19 weather system was recently awarded to Coastal Environmental Systems, Inc. by ITT Industries, Systems Division. The station will measure and monitor crucial weather data at Cape Kennedy, FL - the Space Shuttle's landing site. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Aviation and General Purpose Weather Station, Newly Commissioned at the South Pole.

A modified FMQ-19 system, newly installed at the actual South Pole, is part of an upgrade of the entire South Pole facility. With the increased activity bringing in more flights to the Pole, better weather measurements were required to increase flight safety. The South Pole's new weather station is bound to measure record lows. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Air Force Combat Weather Center's New Facility Receives Latest in Weather Monitoring Systems

Coastal Environmental Systems continues to carry out site installations for the U.S. Air Force FMQ-19 Fixed Base Weather Systems contract. The latest installation is located at Hurlburt Field,FL, at the Air Force Combat Weather Center's (AFCWC) new facility. The FMQ-19 system installed here will be used by the Air Force for testing and troubleshooting sensors, as well as for new software revisions. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

RAF Fairford, United Kingdom — FMQ-19 Installation Complete

Coastal Environmental Systems' FMQ-19 Installation Team completed another site installation this month for the U.S. Air Force's latest weather monitoring system, FMQ-19, which will automate collection of the Air Force's weather data at air bases worldwide. The site of the newest system is RAF Fairford, United Kingdom. Despite a few new challenges, the installation was completed on time. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

New MET System for Navy Warfighters — First SMOOS (U) Up and Running

SMOOS (U), the Navy's Shipboard Meteorological and Oceanographic Observing System (Upgrade), was recently installed on the USS George Washington (CVN73). The system, now up and running, includes interfaces to Naval Integrated Tactical Environmental (Sub) System (NITES) and the Moriah Wind System (MWS). The primary purpose of SMOOS is to measure meteorological parameters used to determine Evaporation Duct Height. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Air Quality Forecasting and Real-time Data

Would you like to know what the ozone level is going to be this afternoon? Or the NOx level in your neighborhood later this evening? The potential to know is closer than you think. Already you can get current readings of such pollutants with just a click of your mouse. The next step is perfecting Air Quality Forecasting, which requires not only pollution measurements, but current and forecast weather as well. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

SOUTH POLE to Receive First Ever Automated Aviation Weather Station.

Coastal Environmental Systems, Inc. was recently awarded a contract from the Navy to provide the first ever, automated aviation weather station at the actual South Pole. An automated avitation weather station is essential here to support aircraft landing. The system is expected to measure temperatures as cold as -70º C or less! Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Official Evaluation of Coastal's Performance on a National Weather Service Project Is In !

Coastal Environmental Systems has completed, and been evaluated on, phase 1 of the Fischer-Porter Upgrade for the National Weather Service. The Fischer-Porter Upgrade is the NWS' plan to modernize its century-old method of recording and reporting climatic data. Coastal's evaluation on the first phase of this project is given here. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal's HazMat WEATHERPAK^® Weather Stations Blanket Florida

A recent purchase by the Florida State Department of Community Affairs, Division of Emergency Management will place twenty-four Coastal Environmental Systems WEATHERPAK^® 400 TRx weather stations into the hands of Florida's regional HazMat teams. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal's New and Improved Web Site

Coastal Environmental Systems, Inc. is please to announce - and unveil - our brand new Web Site! Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Will a ZENO^® survive 10,000 years?
Coastal becomes part of a 10,000 year project.

Coastal Environmental Systems recently supplied the Long Now Foundation with a remote-site weather station. The Foundation, which seeks to "foster creativity in the framework of the next 10,000 years," has envisioned a project designed to work into the future — "about as long as the history of human technology is to date." Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Part of Infrastructure Development for Italy and the Dominican Republic

Coastal Environmental Systems, Inc. is providing its ZENO^® datalogger to system integrators building Seaport systems for Italy, and a variety of station types for the Dominican Republic. Twenty-two of Coastal's dataloggers will be provided to Microsigma Srl., in Italy, to become part of a large upgrade for 22 Italian shipping ports. And greater than 45 ZENO^®s will be provided to Eliovac S.A., in Argentina, for a large infrastructure upgrade effort in the Dominican Republic. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

George Divoky, Guillemots, Global Warming, & a Coastal Environmental Systems' WEATHERPAK^®

For the last 28 years, Dr. George Divoky has spent his summers on Cooper Island, approximately 330 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Drawn by a rare colony of guillemots, George has discovered a direct correlation between the birds' changing breeding habits and global warming. Dr. Divoky's study captured the attention of a New York Times writer, whose cover story on George caught the attention of others, including Coastal's CEO, Don Munro. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

FAA Commissions Newest Weather Station

Bedford, Massachusetts: The FAA's newest weather station SAWS (Stand Alone Weather Sensors) is commissioned. Coastal was awarded the SAWS contract to build 285 weather stations for installation at all U.S. Level C airspace airports. This is the last step prior to fielding all 285 sites. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

U.S. Air Force Chooses System Built by Coastal to Automate Weather Data Worldwide

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Coastal Environmental Systems a contract worth $60 million over five years. The contract, named OS-21 FBS, is for weather monitoring systems which will automate collection of the Air Force's weather data at air bases worldwide. Data will be used for air traffic control. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

U.S. Navy Awards Contract for New Shipboard Weather Stations

The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command of the U.S. Navy, has awarded Coastal Environmental Systems a contract for production of the Navy's Shipboard Meteorological and Oceanographic Observation System (SMOOS).  The four-year, fixed-price contract includes options that bring its cumulative value, for the best-estimated quantity, to approximately $16 million. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal to Update Century-old Method of Weather Monitoring

Contract with National Weather Service credits nationwide cooperative of voluntary observers and will equip them with high-tech weather monitoring systems manufactured by Coastal Environmental Systems. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Dives Into Water Quality Monitoring!

Using a Coastal Environmental Systems ZENO^® 3200, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) found a way to bring water quality data to the web - from a remote site, hourly, in an area that is difficult to get to and does not have sunlight availability! Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Supplies WEATHERPAK^®s to Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin has selected Coastal Environmental Systems' WEATHERPAK^® to supply weather information to its Air Surveillance and Precision Approach Radar Control System (ASPARCS), which Lockheed is building under contract for the U.S. Marines. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Works While All Stars Play!

Coastal begins shipping SAWS weather stations this week to the FAA.  These units are the first 25 of 161 ordered under the FAA's options.  Special plans need to be made to allow for shipping as this years All Star baseball game brings in the crowds. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Datalogger Now Available with NWS Algorithms!

The ZENO^® 3200, Coastal's datalogger / data acquisition system is now available with National Weather Service (NWS) algorithms to all customers for processing meteorological data. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

What A Year! Thanks To All Our Great Customers!

The last day of March signaled the end of Coastal's fiscal year, in which Coastal built more than 450 weather stations, as well as many other kinds of environmental monitoring systems... Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Products Populating Level "C" Airports

Continued shipping of Radiosonde Surface Observation Instrumentation System (RSOIS) weather stations to the National Weather Service (NWS), coupled with shipment of Stand Alone Weather Stations (SAWS) beginning this month to the FAA, means Coastal products are fast becoming an important data source for Meteorologists at Level "C" airports. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

New Ways to Display Weather Data at Airports

Coastal Environmental Systems is adding two new ways to display weather data at airports to our Aviation Weather Station product line.  Currently, data can be displayed on PC's and on a stand alone unit, as in the FAA systems. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Delivers!

Coastal Environmental Systems delivered 22 weather stations last month; four of which were shipped to Antarctica. Of those four, 1 was a stationary platform for an emergency landing field, and 3 were portable aviation stations that will be used to guide flight operations at summer camps, which are set up at various locations on the continent. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Awarded Contract for Emergency Landing Strip Weather Station by Antarctic Aviation Services (SPAWAR)

Coastal was awarded a contract to design and build an aviation weather station to operate on a desolate strip of ice and snow in the Antarctic,which can be used for emergency landings when the weather turns bad at McMurdo station. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal To Provide Palmer Station Antarctica With Their First Automated Weather Station - And What A Weather Station It Will Be!

Coastal will build an automated weather station to be used at Palmer Station in Antarctica for the National Science Foundation.  The station is quite isolated from all other encampments in the Antarctic, and as such, is of considerable importance for predicting weather in the Antarctic, as well as the rest of the world. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Navy Selects Coastal For Aviation Weather Stations To Be Used In The Antarctic.

Coastal Environmental Systems was awarded a contract for 3 Aviation Weather Stations to be used in the Antarctic. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Environmental Systems' WEATHERPAK^® Weather Station Survives the Impossible!

Coastal's agent in Chile has reported that a major storm which knocked down some very substantial electrical transmission towers and the electric companies weather station - could not knock out the WEATHERPAK^®. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Wins New National Weather Service Contract for Weather Stations!

Coastal Environmental Systems was awarded a contract for 62 weather stations, called Radiosonde Surface Observing Instrumentation (RSOIS). Click here to read press release in pdf format.

Coastal Wins Contract for METMF(R) Aviation Weather Stations

Coastal Environmental Systems was awarded a contract for 2 more Aviation Weather Stations to support the U.S. Marines METMF(R) program. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

FAA's Newest Weather Station (SAWS) Completes its Final Systems Review with Flying Colors

Click here to read press release in pdf format.

FAA Places Order For 12 Additional Weather Stations

Coastal Environmental Systems announces that the FAA has already placed an order for 12 additional SAWS aviation weather stations to be deployed in Alaska. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

FAA Contract Awarded

Coastal announces the award of a contract from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to build ZENO^®-based weather monitoring equipment used at Level "C" airports, for air traffic control. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

RWIS Contract

Award of contract from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority Road Weather Information Systems, for road weather reporting and monitoring. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

RWIS Contract

Award of contract from the Georgia Department of Transportation  Road Weather Information Systems, for road weather reporting and monitoring. Click here to read press release in pdf format.

AVIATION WEATHER - Award of METMF(R) Contract

Coastal Environmental Systems received another contract for 2 Aviation Weather Stations to support the U.S. Marines METMF(R) program. This brings the current total of this type of station to 40. The U.S. Marines use the METMF(R) to provide air support worldwide.

Each METMF(R) contains three Coastal WEATHERPAK^® weather stations. Two stations are "remote" and allow them to gather weather data up to several hundred miles from the central site. The other WEATHERPAK^® weather station is located at the central site. The stations incorporate data from wind speed and direction sensors, barometric pressure sensors (redundant), relative humidity sensors, air temperature, visibility and a ceilometer. From these sensors, several other measurements are calculated. The system outputs wind speed and direction, wind gust, humidity, dew point, temperature, pressure, visibility, cloud height and several pressure/aviation related variables (altimeter setting, etc.)

Croatia – Road Weather Information System Installed

The Winter Services Division of the Department of Transportation (Zagrebacke Ceste)  in the city of Zagreb, Croatia is using a Coastal Environmental Systems’ RWIS network of sensors and ZENO^® 3200 data acquisition systems. The city is located in a region of sub-freezing temperatures and high levels of snowfall during winter months. Ice and freezing rain are the cause of numerous problems at various intersections and bridges throughout Zagreb. From a network of four ZENO^®s, eight pavement surface sensors and several sensors that measure atmospheric conditions such as visibility, wind speed/direction, air temperature and humidity, the DOT can determine real-time, site-specific road conditions for appropriate response to keep the roads clear for steady traffic flow and public safety.

The photo seen at left is at one of the remote sites in Zagreb, installed by Protektor d.o.o. The station is equipped with pavement sensors, sub surface temperature sensor, wind speed and direction, air temperature and humidity, a visibility sensor and a GSM modem.

Award of Contract

Coastal was awarded a contract to add an aviation weather station to the existing network of stations at Thule Air Force Base in Greenland. Coastal supplied 8 stations in 1997 after the existing stations (supplied by another manufacturer) at Thule failed to survive the harsh climate there. Very high winds and extremely low temperatures create a very hostile environment for equipment. For more information, see our web page on Coastal's hostile environment aviation stations.

ZENO^® 3200 Customer Training

Coastal Environmental Systems’ customer training for the ZENO^® 3200 will be held at corporate headquarters in Seattle. Detailed courses given by our expert staff will train many of our customers on the more technical aspects of the ZENO^® 3200. For details please visit our ZENO® 3200 training page.

Award of Contract from Aviation Technical Services of Antarctica:
A Network of Automatic Weather Stations for Aviation Support in Antarctica

Aviation Technical Services (ATS) and the U.S. Navy contracted Coastal Environmental Systems to build a network of Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The data from the stations will be sent via radio to on-site ATS personnel who support aviators and others by providing timely and accurate weather forecasts, solving a long time and vexing problem for Antarctic aviators. In addition, the AWS network will provide real-time meteorological data to improve routine fog forecasts. Rapidly forming fog is a hazard for aircraft landing at McMurdo Station and other sites in the Antarctic. A joint team from Coastal Environmental Systems and the Navy will install the system.

Dr. Susan Tonkin, of Coastal Environmental Systems said, "Coastal Environmental Systems leads the industry in deployment of reliable meteorological equipment used in harsh, remote environments. The AWS must be delivered and up and running on-schedule at the first of the very short Antarctic summer. To achieve this, the equipment used by us is ‘Commercial Off The Shelf’ (COTS). Coastal Environmental Systems is one of the few companies in the world that has COTS capability for this type of critical and sophisticated aviation meteorological system. Additionally, COTS means the equipment has been proven in similar environments for years."

Ten ruggedized Automatic Weather Stations will measure winds, pressure, air temperature, dewpoint, (and a select few) visibility and cloud height. They will then radio the data to the weather office at McMurdo Station. Coastal Environmental Systems will provide all software, hardware, installation and training. Aviation Technical Services will use data to provide weather forecasts. Fog forecasting is difficult in this area, due to the rapid formation of fog near the runways and advection fog from the Ross Sea, so the stations will be installed on the Ross Ice Shelf.

Click here for more information.

Endorsement for Our Company

E-mails were recently exchanged between an Engineer with the U.S. Navy and an Engineer in a responsible position with the National Weather Service (NWS) concerning Coastal’s reputation for quality products and customer support. Following is a verbatim transcript of those e-mails with only the individual names and exact affiliation edited out.

THE NAVY ASKS
Subject: Coastal Environmental
From: U.S. Navy Engineer

"We are looking into buying a WEATHERPAK from Coastal Environmental Systems and are interested in your experiences with their weather stations, mainly reliability of the equipment, or any other comments you may care to offer."

NWS RESPONDS

"You should have no hesitation in purchasing one or several WEATHERPAKs from Coastal Environmental Systems. As an engineer, I can testify to the excellent reliability and performance of the ZENO 3200 data acquisition platform used in the WEATHERPAK from Coastal Environmental Systems. In my opinion, Coastal Environmental Systems produces the most sophisticated (32 bit) and robust weather systems designed for remote use. Just as important as producing a quality product, Coastal Environmental Systems believes in customer service. They listen to their customers."

Sincerely,

Engineer
National Weather Service

Announcing a contract with Niagara Mohawk for a WEB ACCESSED ORACLE DATABASE.

Niagara Mohawk (NIMO) can now access their meteorological data from anywhere. All they need is Internet access, a web browser and a password.

The nuclear facility needed a powerful tool that would allow them to compile annual summaries of their data for calculation of annual doses to man from routine releases of reactor effluents as well as to look at real-time data for daily emergency preparedness and plume dispersion prediction. The powerful tool is Oracle and the system integrator is Coastal Environmental Systems.

The reports generated from the database have been designed by Coastal to provide data in accordance with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Guide for Nuclear Facilities in Support of On-site Meteorological Programs. Historical data collected by Niagara Mohawk will also be imported into this database to eventually produce 30 to 50 year summary reports, another regulatory guide of the NRC. Various other reports drawn from this industrial-strength database can provide data for engineers to increase the efficiency of heat rejection, climate control and other designs for the nuclear plant.

An unlimited number of designated users can log on to NIMO’s password-protected database from a PC, Mac, or UNIX system by just connecting to the Internet. The simplicity of the database allows users to view, create and recreate reports from historical data as well as allowing the meteorologist to easily examine, edit and validate the data. Below is an example of an easy-to-use point and click report.

Click on the picture to see a larger version

What do you want your database to tell you? According to your needs, Coastal Environmental Systems can integrate various database options into your current or proposed weather monitoring system. Contact Pat Kelly for more information.

Universal Serial Interface

Want to reduce the amount of phone lines to your remote data collection sites?
Want to be able to collect data from all your sensors in the field?
Want to utilize some of the new – smart sensors available?
Want to be able to change settings/calibrate your serial/smart sensors remotely?
Want to greatly simplify your data collection while increasing the amount and type of data you collect?

Then you need the ZENO^® Universal Serial Interface!

Only the ZENO^® has a Universal Serial Interface to communicate with and collect data from other "smart sensors". These "smart sensors" represent the majority of new technology sensors that are being produced. They have their own microprocessor and electronic brain to perform their special measurement function. Only with the ZENO^® can you connect your weather station/data logger to these new sensor types and communicate directly with them to retrieve their data, process data, self-diagnostics, etc.

The ZENO^® can act as a "controller" to allow communications with all your smart sensors through a single telephone line, cell phone connection, or radio link!

The ZENO^® even has a "pass-through" mode so you can communicate directly with the smart sensors to calibrate, adjust or alter settings in them. (Examples of smart sensors: sonic anemometers, rain gauges, visibility sensors, humidity sensors, highly accurate barometers, soil moisture sensors/systems, new wind monitors, present weather sensors, cloud height sensors, water level sensors, flow sensors, water quality sensors, video cameras, snow depth sensors, infrared temperature sensors, altimeters, etc.) Click here to read the USI Application Notes in pdf format.

A Few Examples of the Ruggedness of Our Equipment

We have such a collection of WEATHERPAK^® "it takes a licking - but keeps on ticking" stories that we felt we finally had to share them. A WEATHERPAK^® is our compact and reliable, sophisticated weather station.  It measures 4 x 21 inches, weighs less than 12 pounds and is completely self contained - i.e. no other boxes of electronics, etc. Click here to read these stories in pdf format.

ZENO^® 3200 "Tells It Like It Is" Phonetic Voice Module

Announcing a product that gives the popular and reliable ZENO^® 3200 datalogger a voice to go along with its brain.

It is now possible to remotely access data over any touch tone telephone or cell phone, allowing you to get live voice reports from your ZENO^®. The Phonetic Voice Module works phonetically. This means the Phonetic Voice Module has an unlimited vocabulary and can speak foreign languages.

If you are collecting data from the ZENO^® by computer, a simple command gets you past the voice interface directly to the ZENO^® menus. Data fields may be inserted anywhere within the spoken message, so your message provides valuable information that is as changeable as the wind.

A message from a typical weather station might say: "…the current temperature is sixty-four degrees Fahrenheit, winds are blowing from the southeast at twelve miles per hour, rainfall is at zero point four inches since the beginning of the hour…"

Listen to a sample. 203 KB wav.file—20 seconds to download.

This optional interface adds functionality, but the additional circuitry of the speech interface does not consume any power while it remains idle, so the impact to the low power system is minimal. The system utilizes a single telephone line for both data and voice communications, so a second phone line at the remote site is not necessary.

Phonetic Voice Module is available as an option with a new ZENO^®, or added to an existing ZENO^® 3200 (in conjunction with a firmware upgrade). Please contact our sales department: pkelly@coastalenvironmental.com for more information.

Announcing A Contract From the National Weather Service to Build "Smart" Precision Digital Barometers Used At Airports to Calibrate Aircraft Altimeters

Resulting from over two years of research and development, Coastal Environmental Systems is pleased to announce the receipt of a contract from the National Weather Service (NWS) to build an unspecified number of "Smart" Precision Digital Barometers to be used at airports to calibrate aircraft altimeters. The Precision Digital Barometers provide NWS with the capability to assure the proper calibration of the all-important altimeter setting used at all instrumented airports—more accurately, quickly and safely, and with considerably less potential for human error, than ever before.

Coastal won the contract over at least six competitors.  A team led by Dr. Susan Tonkin, were able to match the capabilities of the company’s primary products—the ZENO^® 3200 remote electronic data acquisition system and related ZENOSOFT^™ firmware—to the rigorous NWS specifications to meet or exceed all development expectations.

Don Munro, CEO of Coastal Environmental Systems, said the company, "proceeded based on the belief that five years of development of the ZENO^® technology would afford an overwhelming head start over the competition that could not be matched, and we turned out to be right.  We look upon this contract as the beginning of a new product line in the aviation market with worldwide application."

Announcing Compliance with Level 2 of the NTCIP-ESS Communications Protocol. An Open Communications Protocol with  Capability to Revolutionize Remote Environmental Monitoring.

Agencies of federal and most state governments working cooperatively with industry have, for several years, worked to develop a communications protocol for Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) that will open the way for more innovation at reduced costs for such installations. The overall protocol, already in place for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) efforts is known as the National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation Systems Protocol or NTCIP. The RWIS addition is referred to as the Environmental Sensor Station protocol or collectively, NTCIP-ESS.

We are the first manufacturer of RWIS equipment to achieve compliance with NTCIP-ESS protocol, first level 1 (mandatory) and recently level 2 (optional). Don Munro, CEO of Coastal Environmental Systems, said his company entered the RWIS market with the stated objective of providing a completely open protocol solution. "Coastal has worked hard to cooperate and advance adoption of the protocol which was approved for use by AASHTO." He went on to say, "since AASHTO adopted the ESS protocol, and as more DOT’s choose to require it in their specifications, the old days of proprietary systems will end. Leading manufacturers of RWIS hardware and software, including Coastal Environmental Systems, will be energized to compete more vigorously to innovate exciting new RWIS technology and software at lower costs."

The attached NTCIP Compliance Statement provides more detail.