650
NOXX20 KWBC 131746
ADMEMW
NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE FOR EMWIN
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS WASHINGTON DC
1140 AM EST FRI FEB 13 2004
TO: EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK /EMWIN/
USERS
FROM: LARRY CURRAN
CHIEF...TELECOMMUNICATION OPERATIONS CENTER
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE /NWS/
AND
ANGELO WADE
ELECTRONICS ENGINEER...GROUND SYSTEMS DIVISION
OFFICE OF SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE...DATA...AND
INFORMATION SERVICE /NESDIS/
SUBJECT: EMWIN TRANSITION UPDATE 2/13/04
THIS MESSAGE IS PART OF A SERIES OF TRANSITION UPDATE MESSAGES TO
INFORM EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK /EMWIN/
USERS OF NEW INFORMATION REGARDING THE TRANSITION OF THE EMWIN
DATASTREAM. TRANSITION UPDATE INFORMATION IS POSTED ON THE EMWIN
INDEX PAGE AT /USE LOWER CASE/:
HTTP://IWIN.NWS.NOAA.GOV/EMWIN/INDEXLIST.HTML
THE EMWIN WEB SITE HAS BEEN REVISED AND UPDATED TO NOW INCLUDE
THE EMWIN TRANSITION PLAN. THE EMWIN TRANSITION PLAN CONTAINS
THE REASONS FOR CHANGES RELATED TO THE NEW GENERATION OF GOES
SATELLITES... AN OVERVIEW OF HOW THE TRANSITION WILL BE MANAGED
AND A DESCRIPTION OF A PROTOTYPE RECEIVER DEVELOPED BY NESDIS
CAPABLE OF RECEIVING THE NEW DATA STREAM. THE TRANSITION PLAN
ALLOWS FOR A TRANSITION PERIOD FOR THE COMPLETION OF TESTING AND
ENCOURAGING VENDORS TO DESIGN AND MARKET NEW RECEIVERS OR
CONVERSION KITS. FUTURE UPDATES TO THE EMWIN WEB SITE WILL ADD
SPECIFICATIONS AND A USER GUIDE TO ASSIST MANUFACTURERS IN
DESIGNING RETROFITS TO EXISTING SYSTEMS OR NEW RECEIVERS.
WE WILL USE EMAILS AND DISCUSSION GROUP TOPICS THAT WE RECEIVE TO
UPDATE THE EMWIN FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS /FAQS/ LOCATED ON THE
EMWIN INDEX PAGE. CLICK ON /CONTACT US/ TO SUBMIT VIA EMAIL
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRANSITION.
HERE IS A BRIEF RECAP...EMWIN IS NOW BROADCAST FROM GOES
/GEOSTATIONARY OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE/ EAST AND WEST
SATELLITES. WHEN THE NEXT GENERATION GOES SATELLITE SERIES
(GOES-N AND BEYOND) BECOMES OPERATIONAL... THE EMWIN SIGNAL WILL
NO LONGER BE BROADCAST IN ITS CURRENT FORM. INTERNATIONAL
AGREEMENTS CALLED FOR A REDUCTION OF THE EMWIN BROADCAST POWER
LEVEL. CURRENTLY... GOES-N IS SCHEDULED FOR LAUNCH IN DECEMBER
2004... FOLLOWED BY A SIX MONTH CHECK-OUT PERIOD... WHICH WILL
INCLUDE A SCHEDULED TEST PERIOD FOR USERS OR VENDORS. FOLLOWING
THE CHECK-OUT PERIOD... THE SATELLITE WILL BE PLACED IN STORAGE
IN ORBIT UNTIL NEEDED OPERATIONALLY. TRANSITION OF THE EMWIN
BROADCAST TO GOES-N WILL NOT OCCUR UNTIL SOMETIME BETWEEN JULY
2005 AND 2008... BARRING MULTIPLE CATASTROPHIC SATELLITE
FAILURES. MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE PRESENT AND NEW EMWIN
SYSTEM ARE...
- PROVISION OF A DEDICATED TRANSPONDER OPERATING AT THE
LOWER POWER AND ON A DIFFERENT FREQUENCY
- USE OF A MORE EFFICIENT MODULATION AND ERROR CORRECTION
SCHEMES TO COMPENSATE FOR THE POWER REDUCTION.
THESE CHANGES IN THE SATELLITE BROADCAST SYSTEM REQUIRE
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE COMMERCIAL SATELLITE RECEIVERS
CURRENTLY IN USE, WITH THESE POTENTIAL IMPACTS...
- THE PROTOTYPE RECEIVER DESIGNED BY NESDIS WILL ALLOW
COMPUTERS TO USE SOFTWARE /TO BE PROVIDED AT NO COST BY
NOAA/ TO PERFORM SOME OF THE RECEIVER FUNCTIONS FORMERLY
DONE BY HARDWARE
- COMMERCIAL VENDORS MAY ELECT TO USE THE SOFTWARE BASED
DESIGN OR HARDWARE APPLICATIONS TO MEET THE SYSTEM
SPECIFICATIONS TO DESIGN CONVERSION KITS FOR RETROFITTING
CUSTOMER RECEIVERS ALREADY IN USE OR MARKETING NEW RECEIVERS
- WAYS AND MEANS OF MINIMIZING THE POTENTIAL COST IMPACT ON
USERS ARE STILL BEING EXPLORED.
RELEASE OF EMWIN SPECIFICATIONS AND AN EMWIN USERS MANUAL IS
BEING PLANNED FOR EARLY MARCH 2004.
A CONFERENCE FOR MAJOR USERS AND PROSPECTIVE VENDORS IS BEING
PLANNED FOR THE LATTER PART OF APRIL IN SILVER SPRING MARYLAND.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONFERENCE IS ALSO EXPECTED TO BE
POSTED ON THE EMWIN WEB SITE IN EARLY MARCH.
THE NEXT TRANSITION UPDATE MESSAGE IS PLANNED AFTER THE EMWIN WEB
SITE IS UPDATED TO ANNOUNCE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EMWIN USERS AND
VENDORS CONFERENCE IN LATE APRIL. FUTURE EMWIN TRANSITION
UPDATES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH EMWIN AND ALSO POSTED ON THE
EMWIN INDEX PAGE LISTED ABOVE.
END
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