HAM Radio 1/HamRadio.cdr/misc/weatherb/wxrdr.doc

Text File | 1988-06-13 | 7.6 KB | 132 lines

Weather Radar Plotting Program, [ WXRDR ] - Ver. 3.x - (CW - 1987,1988)
By:  Phil Baughn & Mike McCauley  --------------  (All Rights Reserved)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Standard form 'raw'  radar data obtained from most services around  the
country is in the format of RADAR.DAT.

                   xxxyyyz - xxx=lat*10
                             yyy=(lon-50)*10
                               z=intensity

This program  reads  the data in RADAR.DAT,  or another data file,  and
plots  the results on  EGA and VGA monitors.   MCGA and CGA systems are
NOT  supported  as the best quality available on such systems  was  not
adequate  to  properly  reproduce  the  SuperRadar  images  as  we  are
accustomed to seeing.

The  program  is  completely 'menu-driven'  and supports your mouse  if
available.    On  some compatible systems with a mouse it is  mandatory
that you load both the mouse device driver AND run the mouse initiation
program before using this program,  one without the other may cause the
system to hang on some compatibles.   The files packed with the program
disk  (or  ARChive file)  MUST remain on the same disk or in  the  same
subdirectory  as the main program.   BRUN40.EXE is required so that  we
could make use of some extra and special subroutines which could not be
included in the standalone EXE method.  The only other compatibility we
have  encountered  is with FALCON DOS.   This companies version of  DOS
does not evidently properly support all of the functions that IBM's  PC
and Microsoft's MS-DOS do.

When you first start the program,  a default data file, WXRDR.PRM,  has
been  supplied  using  Lexington,   Kentucky as the  central  point  of
plotting.   This file can be customized for your specific locations and
color  desires using the standalone program RDCONFIG.EXE or by choosing
the  OPTIONS  SETUP feature from the main menu which  will  envoke  the
configuration  program for you directly from the main  program.    This
option  is  especially  useful when attempting to select your choice of
colors and  intensities as it allows immediate display of data from the
menu.  Should  this file, WXRDR.PRM, be deleted it will be necessary to
recreate it  using the program as just mentioned before any data can be
plotted.

This  program attempts to plot in as close to "SuperRadar"   format  as
possible just as the television weather broadcasts do.  We are sure you
will agree that this package does quite a good job.  The distance rings
appear elongated to compensate for the curvature of the Earth. The Lat-
itude & Latitude coordinates, data plot points, and city placements are
EXACT to the 100th of a degree.

The most cost effective service we have seen from which to obtain up to
the minute data for plotting is WeatherBank,  Inc.  which is accessible
at either 1200  or 2400 baud 24  hours a day for merely the cost of the
phone  call  (download of current radar data takes less than 1  minute)
plus 15  cents a minute.   For more information on WeatherBank  contact
either  author  of  this program or Steve Root at  WeatherBank  direct.
Steve  Roots number (voice)  is 801-973-3131.   WeatherBank  data  also
includes  a multitude of any other information which you might ever  be
interested in besides the radar data.   Future releases of this program
will contain additional sections and detail supplied by the WeatherBank
folks  along  with  a  free  usage  'test'   period  online  for  those
referencing this program.

Several radar data files have been included and can be dated by  simply
observing the date and time stamps which DOS has placed on the files as
they were downloaded.   These data files can be named however you wish.
If  multiple  .DAT files are available the program will display a  menu
with  time and date stamps for you to select from.   It is important to
note  that  ONLY standard .DATa files should be present  on  the  WXRDR
disk/directory.

A  batch file which envokes PROCOMM and automatically runs the  PROCOMM
script  necessary to 1 - call WeatherBank,  2  -  logon,  3  -  open  a
radar.dat file for data capture, 4 - retrieve the current radar data, 5
-   open  a file for ASCII non-radar data capture,  6  -  retrieve  the
selected data,  7  -   logoff,   and  8 - return you to the program for
immediate  plotting has been  included.   You will need to fill in  the
appropriate information as to your sign on passwords,  etc..   You must
also have PROCOMM available unless you wish to  rewite  another  simple
script  for any of the  other  communications programs which you may be
using.    A  sample GT-Powercom script has also been included.    Those
wishing  to  review these scripts and refine them for your  system  and
passwords  should  edit BOTH the appropriate script file,  RDR.DNL  for
Procomm, AND the batch file RDRDLOAD.BAT, which is the file called from
the  main  program menu to initiate the  communications  program.  This
automatic retrieval of current data and display is selectable as a main
menu option.

To  run the program,  first create a subdirectory for the  files,   (or
place  them  all on the same disk),  and copy the files  over.    Enter
STARTWXR  at the DOS prompt.   If you have PROCOMM,  either change  the
batch  file  RDRDLOAD.BAT to properly go to the PROCOMM  directory  and
return or copy the PROCOMM files over as well.   If Procomm is run from
a different directory,  use must also copy the completed RDR.DNL script
file to that directory.    Additionally,   a  data file filename may be
enter directly from  the  command  line to immediately plot rather than
going to the selection menu.  Use the format WXRDR30  (dataname) at the
DOS prompt to automatically display the data file (dataname).

This  program  represents many hours of effort as can be  plainly  seen
when run.  It is distributed as SHAREWARE.  It is copywrited and NOT to
be  considered as Public Domain software.   This program may be  freely
copied and distributed for review purposes only.   Should this  program
be  of  value  to  you after review,   the  authors  request  a  $40.00
contribution in return for your 'licensing' fee to use the software.  A
small  price  for the value received and to keep the SHAREWARE  concept
strong  and  active.   Your contribution will also grant you a  1  year
membership fee to The Mailroom RBBS in Lexington, KY. where support and
future  enhancements  will be released first.   The  Mailroom  normally
charges a $25.00  annual fee for its use alone as it contains over 3500
program files and has been established for nearly 4 years.*

Another  ARChive  file  has been included  named  PHOTO_WX.ARC.    This
program  package comes from another shareware author and should not  be
considered as a part of this WXRDR program.  It captures EGA screens to
disk  on command and allows the replay of them,  even the screen 9 mode
which  we  use,  upon request from the DOS prompt.   A  batch  file  to
automatically 'walk'  through the screens allows for time lapse movment
of the radar data files to be observed.

We sincerely hope you find this program as useful and informative as we
do and would be very interested in your feedback and comments.



* Information current as of 1/88.
  The Mailroom RBBS-PC
  [phone]  24 Hours Daily
  1200, 2400, 9600 HST Baud

  Messages to the program authors should be left on The Mailroom RBBS
  to the attention of either Phil Baughn, Mike McCauley, or SYSOP.