|
| |
Frequently Asked Questions
If you can't find the answer here, please ask in the SatSignal
Yahoo group.
Q01: <program name>.exe is missing from the Zip file.
A: You have Windows set to hide "system" files. In Explorer,
Tools, Folder Options..., View tab, uncheck "Hide extensions for known file
types", and possibly "Hide protected operating system files".
Q02: I get a message that VCL50.bpl is missing.
A: Please download and install the runtime Library Bundle.
Q03: I get a message that IJL15.dll is missing.
A: Please download and install the runtime Library Bundle.
Q04: I get a message that LPNG-PX.dll is missing.
A: Please download and install the runtime Library Bundle.
Q05: I get a message that IPL.dll or IPL<xx>.dll is missing.
A: Please download and install the runtime Library Bundle.
Q06: I get a message that NSP.dll or NSP<xx>.dll is missing.
A: Please download and install the runtime Library Bundle.
Q07: Message: Unable to find Function address
nspcbCartToPolar (or any function starting nsp...).
A: You have outdated or multiple copies of the nsp library on your system.
Please remove any old files named nsp.dll and nspXX.dll (where XX is any two
characters or letters). These files may be in the program's folder or in
your Windows System folder. Then download and install the runtime Library Bundle.
Q08: Message: Unable to find Function address iplCreatelmageJaehne (or any function starting ipl...).
A: You have outdated or multiple copies of the ipl library on your system.
Please remove any old files named ipl.dll and iplXX.dll (where XX is any two
characters or letters). These files may be in the program's folder or in
your Windows System folder. Then download and install the runtime Library Bundle
Q09: I'm having problems running a program in scheduled
batch mode, it seems to do nothing.
A: Ensure you have the "Interact with desktop" box checked, or
use the /interactive flag with the "at" command.
Q10: How do I keep accurate time on my PC?
A: Install NTP client software or similar
program
Q11: My program hangs when used over a network.
My file specification is: //OtherComputer/C:/MSG-1/Images/
A: The C: should be C$, and the "/" should be "\" as
in: \\OtherComputer\C$\MSG-1\Images\. By the way, I would not recommend
sharing a full disk like that (C$), share the \Images\ folder instead.
Q12: My program should display country boundaries, but
they are missing. Where can I get the country boundary data file countries.dat?
A: Download the Zip archive countries.zip,
and copy the countries.dat file contained in the Zip archive to the same folder
as the executable program. Depending on the program, you may then need to
tell the program where the country boundary data lives, and perhaps enable
display of the boundaries for each image.
For a step-by-step guide for one program, see here.
Q13: I sometimes see twinkling near country
boundaries. I have the "Inverse" option selected.
A: Some of the lines in the country boundary data are repeated.
Select the "Light" or "Dark" option instead.
Q14: Is Iolo's System Mechanic 7 compatible with your
software?
A: No, the program is incompatible with some of my software and may stop
it working.
Q15: How do I make my PC automatically log on?
A: The Windows XP Powertoys include TweakUI, which includes an
"auto-logon" setting function. There are three methods shown here, including using
TweakUI.
Q16: I installed the program on
Windows Vista and now cannot get the Help to
work.
A: Please download and install this Windows
Help update from Microsoft.
Q17: I run a two-PC system, and files in the TelliCast
\received\ directory don't get deleted.
A: Most often, this is caused by access permissions. For better
security, you should share just the \received\ directory (which then includes
any sub-directories rather than sharing the entire disk. Ensure that the
share permissions allow full access to the files (including delete), and that
the file access permissions, and the directory access permissions, allow delete
access to any user (i.e. including the network user).
In one extreme case, you may need to move the TelliCast \received\ directory to
a different disk. Lawrence Harris takes up the story.... Solution: I had checked many parameters and everything was in order - as far as
I could see. What I did this morning was to partition the drive, share the new
drive (D) and place all TelliCast processed files in separate directories on this
new (virtual) drive. No problem whatsoever in deleting the files. I have moved
MSG Data Manager on to the second computer and all is running perfectly with low CPU
requirements on the receive computer.
Q18: No disk space left! I've been running the
MSG Data Manager or AVHRR Manager or Metop Manager software for a while and now
I've run out of disk space. Can you help?
A: All three programs include a data purge facility whereby data older
than a set number of days is automatically deleted. Look for the Retention
Period settings to define how many days' worth of back data you wish to
keep. The default is 0 days, which means that data isn't deleted
automatically, and allows you to manage your own archive strategy. You can
use my ShowMan program to see graphically which
data uses the most disk space, and my TrimTree
program as an alternative way of keeping your data archive under control.
Q19: How can I use different boundaries to those in Countries.dat?
A: There are two choices here. (1) You can either add data to
Countries.dat, by selecting a region here,
editing the MapGen format file you save, and adding the data with my LonLatToDat
software (unsupported). (2) You can use the GSHHS
shoreline data instead.
Q20: I downloaded a new HTML Help file (file extension
.CHM) with Internet Explorer and I get an error message like: "navigation to this
web page was cancelled".
A: Internet Explorer has blocked you from running the new Help
file. Using Windows Explorer, right click the ReadHRPT help file (the one with the yellow ?)
then select Properties, Unblock. My thanks to Dale Hardy for pointing this
out.
Program-specific
If your question isn't answered here - why not ask on the SatSignal
self-help group?
Please see: EUMETSAT's trouble-shooting guide
FSY files are used to hold segments of data received from
EUMETCast. By putting the FSY file on a RAMdisk, the performance of a
EUMETCast system running under Windows 2000 or XP can be substantially improved,
with many fewer missed segments. The jury is still out on whether
performance is enhanced with Windows Vista when using a RAMdisk. With a
full Metop data stream, there may be more than one FSY file in the recommended
250MB RAMdisk.
Q01: I don't know how they work or really what they do - apart from the fact that
they act like a hard disk but much faster. Should they fill up?
A: Yes, just like any hard disk there is a fixed size for most RAM disks,
and they fill up as the size of the FSY file increases.
Q02: Why does the free space remain constant for so many hours then begin to
decrease?
A: The free space reflects the size of the disk minus the size of the FSY
file. Thus a decrease in the free space means that the FSY file has
increased in size. The size of the FSY file will increase from the moment
when the TelliCast software is first started. However, once the size of
data segments has stabilised (one complete set of data has been received), the
size of the FSY file will tend to be constant. It may well be that some
new data comes along - a CRM file or your first Metop segment - which needs more
total space, and hence the FSY file will once again increase in size. It's
also possible that in poor reception conditions, incomplete data will be left in
the FSY file, once again causing an increase. This incomplete data is
automatically removed after a certain time, but the software never decreases the
size of the FSY file, so the free space will never increase.
Q03: What happens when it becomes full (does it become full) and there is no free
space left?
A: If you let the RAMdisk fill, TelliCast will issue a warning message,
and limit the size of the FSY file to the total disk space (minus a small amount
for housekeeping). That's why it is recommended to define the
file_database_size parameter in the recv.ini TelliCast control file, so that the
RAMdisk doesn't fill. With an "80MB" RAMdisk, there are actually
80 x 1024 x 1024 bytes available (83 886 080 bytes), so a sensible value for the
file_database_size parameter would be 83000000. Be sure to count the
number of zeros carefully!
Q04: How big should my RAMdisk be?
A: Guide figures are:
- for Meteosat-9 and EARS-AVHRR data: 50MB
- for Meteosat-9, EARS-AVHRR, and Metop-AVHRR data: 80MB
- for a full Meteosat-9 and Metop data stream, including IASI
and GOME: 250MB
Q01: How do I set up for getting ATVOS data?
A: There are a number of steps involved:
- You may need to register with EUMETSAT to get the ATOVS data.
If necessary, complete the online registration form as described here
- To receive channel 1 data, you need to enable PID 500 (decimal) on your
SkyStar software. This enables EARS-ATOVS and EARS-AVHRR data, and SCAT data.
More information about data
channels.
- You should then be getting files named like: amsua_20070823_0509_noaa17_26826_gil.l1b.bz2
in the TelliCast directory you have associated with the "EUMETSAT Data Channel 1" stream.
- Once you are getting the data, in the MSG Data Manager, Channel selection,
Other, ensure that Manage Ch/1 data is checked, and that Copy Ch.1 data, ATOVS is checked.
This should then result in the data files being saved in your \Images\ directory, under, for example:
\Images\ATOVS\2007\08\24\
- The ATOVS Reader can open (IIRC) either the compressed BZ2 files:
amsua_20070823_0509_noaa17_26826_gil.l1b.bz2
or, if you have the MSG Data Manager option "Unzip Ch1. data" set, the uncompressed files such as:
amsua_20070823_0509_noaa17_26826_gil.l1b
Q02: Does the ATOVS Reader understand the BUFR format
data?
A: The ATOVS reader will handle both the L1B and L1D EUMETCast data, but not the BUFR
format data.
Q01: Why do I get errors such as 'cannot open \itouch-crash-info.txt' when I try
and start the program?
A: This is from the Logitech iTouch software. Stopping this, or starting it after starting AVHRR Reader,
solves the problem. (thanks to Paul Nicholson).
Q02: Why was there little coverage of the UK?
A: Previously, the service was in a trial status, with only the
Maspalomas station (in the Canaries) being active.
Q03: Why is the start button not displayed, and why
does the map view not reach down to the equator?
A: Try running in 1024 x 768 resolution, which is the required screen
resolution for this program. If you can't do that, then at least you can
use the File, Start monitoring menu item to start and stop the data collection
and processing.
Q04: Can I publish this data on my Web page?
A: Please see the Publishing Guidelines.
Q05: The network disconnects from the receiver PC after
a while.
A: This article (http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877_11-6061505.html)
suggests using the following command on the Receiver PC to prevent the server
for disconnecting an inactive network connection. You may need to reboot
the server PC for this to take effect.
NET CONFIG SERVER /AUTODISCONNECT:-1
Q06: Where should the Kepler data be placed?
A: Normally, the AVHRR Manager will share its Kepler data with either the
HRPT Reader or with WXtrack. There is a discussion about choosing Kepler
data locations here. Once you have
either or both these programs installed and working, you can press the Auto
button on the Setup, File controls dialog of the AVHRR Reader to complete the
process. If you need recent "historic" Kepler data (multiple
date entries for a single satellite), you can download KeplerUpdates.zip.
Q01: I upgraded to GeoSatSignal5 and now AutoGet
doesn't work.
A: Please upgrade to a more recent version of AutoGet.
Q02: Why I can't get the Bracknell data?
A: Please follow the instructions in the file AutoGet.txt for adding an
entry to your hosts file.
Q03: Why are there 12 channels listed in the Dundee
Met-8/Met-9 part?
A: The 12 channels correspond to the 12 SEVIRI channels listed here.
Colour is a false-colour image made by Dundee.
Q04: Please explain the GOES part. Does it cover
New Zealand?
A: GOES satellites cover the Americas, and the New Zealand coverage is right at the edge of the scan from GOES-W.
I suggest using MTSAT data instead.
Q05: Why are there two parts to the GOES options?
A: "Data to get" - is for routine data - every three hours. The GOES-E/GOES-W is for once a day data.
So you can either get a set of images ("Data...") or just one per day. Or both, of course!
Q06: What does Interval mean?
A: Interval means to get the data for every 30 minutes, or every hour and so on.
Q07: What does Back Days mean?
A: Back days means how far back the program should try and get data - so if you set it for two back days, it will try and get data for today and yesterday. Thee program checks whether the data exists on your PC before trying to get it again.
Q01: How can I get country boundaries displayed?
A: You need to download the countries.zip
file and then proceed as follows:
- Extract the file contained in the Zip archive. This file is named:
countries.dat.
- Move or copy countries.dat from where you extracted it from the Zip
archive, to the same folder where you placed the program executable file:
DwdHrptViewer.exe.
- Run DwdHrptViewer, and select the Setup tab.
- If the correct file name and directory do not appear in the "boundary path" box, use the Browse button
to tell the program the directory where you placed countries.dat, and
select countries.dat from that directory. Press
the Open button once the countries.dat file is selected to register its location with the DWDSAT HRPT
Viewer.
- Close down and restart the program, and you should have
boundaries next time an image is opened.
If you want to use an existing copy of countries.dat,
you can browse for that instead.
Q01: I do not want to see the ADMIN messages when the
program starts up.
A: In Options, Common Setup..., make the "Admin notice folder"
entry blank.
Q02: My Timestep .DAT images have washed-out land
masses.
A: Either (1) Disable Colour Reception options - open the
Timestep software and select Receive/Options/Geostationary and then remove the
ticks in the Visible, Infrared and Water vapour check boxes, or (2) if
there is a need to keep Colour Reception enabled, then the Process option can be
used to remove the overlay - open the Timestep software, then File/Open and
select a previously saved colour image. Once an image has been opened,
select Process/Remove overlay. You can then either Save or Save As and the
saved image will be processed correctly in GeoSatSignal. (Thanks to Steve
Cooper and Douglas Deans for working this one out).
Q03: Why does Browse EUMETCast not work?
A: Here are some suggestions about what you might check:
- that the images are being produced by the MSG Data Manager, and
in the correct date-folder tree structure.
- that in the MSG Data Manager: Setup, Dates in folders is checked.
- now in GeoSatSignal, use the Browse EUMETCast function, and
use Open folder to point to the \Images\ folder above the HRIT, LRIT and FSD
directories produced by the MSG Data Manager.
Q04: I get unexpected colours when animating a single
channel.
A: Turn off the caching of that animation.
Q05: How do I add my own cities or locations for
display?
A: Edit the text file Cities.dat to suit your needs. You can pick
any file named Ci*.dat for each job, so have multiple City files available to
suit more or less detailed map scales or land/sea applications.
Q06: I used to get accurate boundary overlays with
images from the EUMETSAT Internet-based image service, but they are no longer correct?
A: In the per-job setup, General tab, check the "Use new WEFAX
mapping" option.
Q07: Can I publish EUMETSAT data on my Web page?
A: Please see the publishing guidelines.
Q08: The automatic refresh doesn't work, what do I need
to set?
A: Auto-refresh uses File, Open latest menu to get the current data.
To configure auto-refresh:
- you must have a valid "Wildcard specification for latest
file name" path set.
- to set this, use Options, Job Setup..., General tab.
- a typical entry would be: C:\MSG\Images\HRIT\%yyyy\%mm\%dd\*ch09.jpg
- at run-time, the %yyyy, %mm and %dd values are replaced
with the current year, month and day.
- to check this, use File, Open latest menu, and ensure the
latest file is loaded.
- you can set the Refresh minutes (the minutes between
updates) to e.g. 15
- or set the value to zero for no automatic refresh.
- the refresh is automatic after you have opened one file
using the File, Open latest menu.
Q09: Animations don't work correctly in Vista.
A: Try this Microsoft
Patch
Q10: How can I handle compressed TIFF files in
GeoSatSignal.
A: Convert them to PNG using IrfanView. You could automate this in
a shell command file - as an example you can download
TIF2PNG.cmd.
Q01: I am processing EUMETSAT CRM data, but the program
seems to read the wrong file when I use the timestamp option?
A: The CRM GRIB data is date-stamped with the day of the start of
averaging, which will typically be one week before the day of
transmission. This is particularly confusing at the year change when
processing files sent on 2007 Jan 03 produces resulting images named 2006
December 27! The program did read the latest data, but that data
was internally time-stamped one week before.
Q02: Why don't I see any country boundary data?
A: For the correct display of country boundary data you need a country boundary data file. There
is a sample file Countries.dat, contained in this Zip
archive. Download
the Zip file, and extract Countries.dat to the same folder as the program file,
GRIBviewer.exe.
Q01: I get distorted colours and/or split images.
A: Update your display driver, or stop using 16-bit "hi-color".
Q02: The program exits without processing my image.
I am using monochrome images, or NOAA 3+5 and 4+4 images from WXsat.
A: The current version wants colour .BMP files. Please e-mail for a
beta update.
Q01: What is the format of the location (.LCN) files?
A: The location data is packed as single-precision latitude and longitude
pairs, with 51 points per scan line. The layout is in accordance with NOAA L1B data as defined here, for the Earth Location field (octet 614
onwards), but the data is floating-point rather than scaled integer:
http://www2.ncdc.noaa.gov/docs/klm/html/c8/s83133-1.htm
Q02: Where does the HRPT Reader look for its Kepler
data?
A: The HRPT Reader can use the same Kepler Data as WXtrack,
it that program is working correctly on the same PC. However, it prefers
to use multi-entry historic Kepler data, where there is more than one entry for
a a given satellite. This allows the program to produce correct overlays
even for older passes where the data in WXtrack would not be contemporary.
You can download sample historic Kepler data here,
and keep it up-to-date with my Kepler Manager
program (a licence is included with the registered version of WXtrack).
Q03: Where should I store the historic Kepler data.
A: In a folder named \Keps\Updates\ below where the HRPT Reader
executable lives. Suppose you HRPT Reader program lives in C:\David J
Taylor\HRPTreader\HRPTreader.exe. Then the correct path for the historic Kepler
files would be:
C:\David J Taylor\HRPTreader\Keps\Updates\noaa-17.txt
C:\David J Taylor\HRPTreader\Keps\Updates\noaa-18.txt
Q04: I am processing Metop data and get error messages
about Kepler data "M02" not found.
A: Please update to the current release
(V2.6.8) or later.
Q05: Can I publish AVHRR data from EUMETSAT on my Web
site?
A: Please see the Publishing Guidelines.
Q06: I use the new HTML Help file (ReadHRPT.chm) and,
although I can see the contents, if I try and open a topic I get an error
message.
A: If you downloaded the file from the Internet using Windows XP, the
file file may be "blocked" from access. Right-click the file,
Properties, and press the Unblock button.
Q07: Do you have an example of automating the HRPT
Reader?
A: Stefano Grassi kindly submitted this sample of a batch file he
uses. He writes: "In past twenty days, I have tested and successfully completed a batch
Windows file to automate the processing/internet upload of my HRPT system images through your
HRPT Reader. The batch file used has now these instructions:
- c:\HrptReader\ReadHRPT.exe c:\WinHRPT\*.HRP
-output:avhrrcol -FC:.jpg -output:avhrrtemp -temp:.jpg
- move c:\winhrpt\*.jpg c:\winhrpt\temporeale\
- move c:\winhrpt\*.hrp c:\winhrpt\archivio\
- ftp -s:c:\noaahrpt.txt ftp-server-address
- del c:\winhrpt\temporeale\*.jpg
Step (1) - HRPT Reader batch process to create .jpg file.
Step (2) & (3) - storage operation to clean the directory used by Timestep
software. This is a simple solution to HRPT Reader problem on my latest images
received. I had tested also your new tree function solution but without success.
Step (4) - upload to the web. Step (5) - deleting of all .jpg images to limit upload of the same images.
At http://www.datameteo.com/sat/noaalive1km/avhrrtemp.jpg you can find the
result of your tab temperature implementation in HRPT Reader batch mode. In
these days this function has work fine!
Q08: Why don't I see any country boundary data?
A: For the correct display of country boundary data you need both the
relevant and contemporary Kepler data available to the program (see the
discussions above), and you also need a country boundary data file. There
is a sample file Countries.dat, contained in this Zip
archive. Download
the Zip file, and extract Countries.dat to the same folder as the program file,
ReadHRPT.exe. You can then use the Options, Overlay options, Country
boundaries, Locate button to tell the HRPT Reader where to find the
Countries.dat file. You can point the HRPT Reader to another location if
you already have the file elsewhere on your system.
Q09: I have just updated to V2.7.2 and I get a message
about iplBlur being missing?
A: Please stop all SatSignal software programs, download and install the Full
Runtime Libraries (7MB).
Q10: I get error messages with Windows Vista.
A: I suggest installing the program in C:\Tools\ instead of C:\Program
Files\ as a temporary measure.
Q01: I can't get logged into the Space-Track Web site.
A: Did you ask for a username and password?
Q02: The Kepler Manager logs into Space-Track OK, but
all files say 0 unique names in the Progress Log?
A: Check by logging into Space-Track - they require you to change your
user-name and password and perhaps you forgot to do this.
Q03: I changed my password for the Space-Track web site
and included non-alphabetic characters, but now the Kepler Manager doesn't work.
A: Try keeping to plain letters and numbers, e.g. Hc53CSx9Z, for your
Space-Track password.
Q04: I get no MetOp-A Kepler data.
A: To make SpaceTrack supply the Kepler data for Metop, at the moment
(2006 Oct 20) you will need to add the catalog number for Metop-A to the Catalog
numbers list in the Individual satellite list. Enter: 29499 in the Catalog
numbers list. Be sure you have entered a file name where the data will be
saved.
Q05: I want to keep all the historic data form Metop-A,
but none gets saved even though I checked the Metop-A box.
A: First, ensure that you are actually downloading the Kepler data for
Metop-A as described above. If you want the Historical data for Metop-A,
you need to create an empty file named "metop-a.txt" in the
historical data folder (typically: \Keps\Updates\).
Q06: How can I relate all my Keplers together, and
where should I install the programs?
A: There is no hard and fast rule about where to install the programs,
but one suggestion is:
- Install WXtrack and its files in: C:\Tools\WXtrack\.
The Kepler path for WXtrack should be set to point to the same
directory. Run the program once to check it works OK.
- Install the HRPT Reader and its files in: C:\Tools\HRPTreader\. Create the directories
C:\Tools\HRPTreader\Keps,
and C:\Tools\HRPTreader\Keps\Updates\, and extract the Kepler
updates (e.g. noaa-17.txt) contained in this Zip
archive to C:\Tools\HRPTreader\Keps\Updates\. While no
setup is required, please run the HRPT Reader at least once.
- Install the Kepler Manager in: C:\Tools\KeplerManager\.
The program should automatically detect the correct paths, but perhaps you
have paths from a previous installation. Run the Kepler Manager, and
point the Group data path to: C:\Tools\WXtrack\, and the Historic data
path to: C:\Tools\HRPTreader\Keps\Updates\. Select the
required satellites (e.g. NOAA-17 and NOAA-18) in the Setup, Update historic
data check boxes.
- Install the AVHRR Manager to: C:\Tools\AVHRRmanager\.
Run the program, and press the Auto button. This should fill in the Kepler
Path as: C:\Tools\HRPTreader\, but you can enter this path by
hand if
required.
Q07: I ticked NOAA-17 in the "Update historic
data" list, but I get the message "noaa-17.txt not found".
I get similar messages for NOAA-12.
A: Please create the initial empty noaa-17.txt file, either with Notepad,
or by downloading and extracting noaa-17.txt from this Zip
archive. Be sure that the path to the historic Kepler data is
correctly specified in the "Save to, Save historic Kepler data to
folder" box. You must create a text file for each satellite for which
you want historic Kepler data.
Q08: I just updated my Keplers, but WXtrack reports
"Stale Kepler data".
A: This can happen for a number of reasons. (A) Sometimes the
satellite data hasn't been updated by Space-Track. Perhaps they have a
software issue or the radar measurements haven't been made. (B) The
tolerances set on your WXtrack are too tight. (C) You might have left an
old file in the WXtrack Kepler directory, and it should now be replaced or
removed. To see which file contains the stale data in WXtrack, use the
command: View, Satellite orbit (Kepler) data. Click on the Age
column header (the text "Age") and the entries will be sorted with the
most recent first. Click on the "Age" again, and the column will
be sorted with the oldest data at the top. The file containing the oldest
data will be listed next to the data age.
Q09: How can I keep all my Keplers up-to-date on all my
PCs?
A: You can schedule a batch file to run twice a week to download the
latest Keplers from the Space-Track Web site, and then distribute the new data
to your other PCs. Information about
scheduled tasks. You could also schedule the task to run every time
you switched on your PC - for example by putting a shortcut to the batch file in
your startup folder.
1 C:\Tools\KeplerManager\KeplerManager.exe -AUTO
2 copy *.tle C:\Tools\WXtrack\
3 copy C:\Tools\WXtrack\*.tle \\PC-1\WXtrack\
4 if EXIST \\PC-2\keps\updates\noaa-18.txt (
COPY C:\Tools\HRPTreader\Keps\Updates\ \\PC-2\keps\updates\
)
- Line 1 runs the Kepler Manager in automatic mode, creating
the new .TLE files in the same directory as the batch file (a holding
directory), and the historic Kepler data in the HRPT Reader
sub-directory. These directory locations are set in the Kepler Manager
program itself.
- Line 2 copies the new .TLE files to the working WXtrack
directory.
- Line 3 shows one example of copying the .TLE files from one
PC to another. In this case, PC-1 is sharing the directory where
WXtrack lives as a share named WXtrack.
- Line 4 shows how to check if a remote PC (PC-2 in this
case) is connected before you try and copy files to it. If the remote
file exists (i.e. if the PC can be seen over the network) the batch file
tried top copy the historic Kepler data for use by the HRPT Reader.
There is an FAQ about Metop reception here.
Q01: The program doesn't work on my Windows XP SP1/SP2
system.
A: Try setting the compatibility mode to Windows 2000. How do I do
this? Please see "Set Compatibility Properties Manually" here.
Q02: The HRPT Reader doesn't find the Keplers.
A: Please use V2.6.8.610 of the HRPT Reader or later. Please check
the beta page.
Q03: The country boundaries don't display.
A: Please download the file countries.zip and
place the contained countries.dat file in the same folder as the Metop Manager.
Q04: In the Browser view, I clicked Today but some
recent passes aren't showing. Why?
A: Perhaps the recent passes are ascending ones, and you don't have the
Ascending box checked?
Q05: Can I publish this data on my Web page?
A: Please see the Publishing Guidelines.
Q06: Why do I see a plain background in the World View
and Browser?
A: You can get just country boundaries following the steps in Q03
above. In versions V1.0.4 and higher, you can also place the UserMap.jpg
file in the same folder as the Metop Manager for a stunning world-map display
(such as that in WXtrack).
Q07: How do I manage ASCAT and GOME data?
A: To have the program manage GOME and ASCAT data, simply
enable reception of that data using the appropriate entries for recv-channels.ini,
and point the Metop Manager at the receive locations you have chosen.
For ASCAT data edit the recv-channels.ini entry for [EPS-3], and for GOME data
edit the entry for [EPS-5]. Ensure that the Process data box is checked on
the ASCAT and GOME tabs. EUMETSAT provide the EPSView
tool for visualising the data.
Q08: I run a wireless network between the receiver PC
and the processing PC, and I get some "Error processing file"
messages?
A: If the network connection between the receiver PC and processing PC is
slow (e.g. a wireless network at its range limit), files may not be completely
copied within a reasonable time limit, and hence the error messages. Be
sure that the network is working correctly, and is not marginal. You
should also be sure that you have a tmp_directory entry in your TelliCast
recv.ini file. There is more information here.
Q09: How can I view and process the .hpt files produced
by the Metop Manager?
A: You can use my free HRPT Reader software, which
you can register
to get increased functionality or just to say "thanks".
Q10: How do I get the new world-wide NOAA-18 AVHRR/GAC
data?
I understand this provides 24 hours/day, world-wide coverage.
A: There is a beta update to the Metop Manager
which allows it to handle the new data. You also need to (1) have
requested the data from EUMETSAT (see the GEO
Guide here) and (2) added lines like
those below to your
TelliCast recv-channels.ini file. Point the Metop Manager at the
directories which contain the new data. Note that the AVHRR data is in GAC
format, so each 3-minute chunk is a maximum of 360 lines high, and each line is
409 pixels wide. The NOAA-18 satellite, unlike Metop, does not record full
2048-pixel resolution for each whole pass. The data is continuous,
world-wide coverage 24 hours a day, but as the data takes rather less than a
full orbit to transmit, there is a quiet period in between passes. You can
discuss the new data in the Metop
Yahoo group. When first setting up the
program, remember to set the "Processed global NOAA files path" to
where the new data and images should be saved. The software allows you to
combine images into a multi-minute pass, and save the image with the scanner
"distortion" removed, and presents a world-wide composite of the most
recent daylight data received.
TelliCast Recv-channels.ini sample entries - alter the directories to
suit your own needs, but please ensure that each data stream sends its data to a
separate directory:
[EPS-10]
target_directory=received-EPS-Metop-AVHRR
[EPS-13]
target_directory=received-EPS-NOAA-AMSU-A
[EPS-15]
target_directory=received-EPS-NOAA-GAC
[EPS-16]
target_directory=received-EPS-NOAA-HIRS
[EPS-17]
target_directory=received-EPS-NOAA-MHS
To point the Metop Manager to the data, in the Setup,
File Controls tab:
- Global EPS Metop Data, AVHRR tab, choose the EPS-10 directory for the AVHRR
"received files path".
- Global EPS NOAA Data, NOAA AVHRR/GAC "received files path" select
the EPS-15 directory. Q11: Do I need a bigger
RAMdisk if I add the NOAA AVHRR/GAC files to an existing Metop receiver?
A: No. On my system (which takes Meteosat-9, EARS AVHRR, Metop
AVHRR, and NOAA-18 AVHRR/GAC data) a 90MB RAMdisk appears sufficient. Q12:
One person has reported incompatibilities with an ASRock K7S41 with AMD processor
system.
A: My own preference is for an Intel system, as I have had troubles with
AMD.
Q01: Why do I get no boundaries displayed?
A: Perhaps you did not copy Countries.dat into the folder where
MsgAnimator.exe lives. You can also right-click the animator icon to point
the animator to the country boundary file you want to use if it is located in a
different directory. Each
animation's Setup can have either no boundaries, or black, dark, light, white or inverse
boundaries. You can download the Countries.dat file from countries.zip.
Q02: Why do I get no city files listed on the setup
screen?
A: You need to copy the city data to the same folder as the
MsgAnimator.exe file. The files must be named starting "ci" and
be have the ".dat" file extension, so Cities.dat or Cities-UK.dat are acceptable
file names.
Q03: I changed my screen resolution and the Setup button is now
off-screen!
A: Right-click the animation window to access the Setup function.
Q04: Do I need to run the MSG Animator on the same PC
as the MSG Data Manager?
A: No, they can run on separate PCs, connected by a network. A
separate licence is normally required for each PC where the MSG Animator is run. If
they are installed on the same PC, be sure that the MSG Data Manager is
installed and working before you install the MSG Animator. If installed on
a different PC, be sure to set the Setup, Updates to a value other than
"None".
Q05: I run the animator but nothing happens. Why?
A: The MSG Animator will appear as an icon in the system tray area.
Right-click the icon to activate the MSG Animator functions.
Q06: The MSG Animator cannot find the images to animate
on a same-PC installation.
A: Try stopping the MSG Animator and then deleting the registry key:
HKCU\Software\David J Taylor\MsgAnimator\DataPath
Q07: The data path is correct, but the MSG Animator
still sees no files?
A: Be sure that you have these two settings checked in the MSG Data
Manager: Full image paths, Dates in folders.
Q08: How do I get animations running on a networked-PC
installation?
A: You will need to do two things: (a) tell the MSG Animator where on the
network to find the image files, i.e. the location which contains the HRIT, LRIT
etc. folders. This might be something like: \\msg-pc\c$\msg\images\.
Do not include the HRIT part of the path name. (b) for each
animation, set the Updates to be the interval at which you want the MSG Animator
to check for new updates, e.g. every fifteen minutes. This is required
because on a networked installation the MSG Data Manager cannot talk directly to
the MSG Animator to tell it that new data has arrived.
Q09: I no longer get HRV
animations.
A: Be sure that both the MSG Data Manager and the MSG Animator are the current released versions.
You may need to check that both the Animator and the MSG Data
Manager are set to to the same HRV window setting. MSG Data Manager: Setup, Advanced, Centre HRV window.
Select your choice from the drop-down list. Typically "Centred
on" Europe is a good choice. MSG Animator: right-click the system tray icon, and choose the region from
the Define HRV region in use sub-menu. Choose the same region as
the MSG Data Manager is set to, e.g. Europe.
Q10: I see black clouds when animating channel 09 with
Land/sea palette on. I was expecting light clouds. I am missing some
palettes I used to have.
A: Don't forget to place LutLandSea.bmp in the same folder where MSG
Animator lives. You can copy the LUT files from, for example, a
GeoSatSignal installation. Be sure to use Right-click, Copy rather than
accidentally Moving the files out of your working GeoSatSignal installation.
Q11: When I switch from a Visible to an IR or WV animation,
the selection are settings are lost.
A: The satellites often have different numbers of pixels in the visible
and the other scans, so the program behaves as if you have selected a new
satellite.
Q12: I get some dots where I expect to get internal
country or region boundaries displayed.
A: The data file Countries.dat contains some duplicated lines, which
un-draw themselves when the Inverse boundary style is selected, leaving just
some dots. Use the "Dark" or "Light" boundary style
instead.
Q13: I moved my MSG Animator but it still uses the
original "Temp" directory.
A: The MSG Animator remembers the setting between runs, by means of a string value stored in the registry.
Delete this string to make the animator choose its "Temp" path
afresh. Right-click and stop the MSG Animator. Delete the registry entry:
HKCU\Software\David J Taylor\MsgAnimator\TempPath. Restart the MSG
Animator.
Q14: The animation now shows as all black or all white?
A: Sometimes the animation builder produces and all-black animation, even
though the individual frames are correct. If this happens, please stop the
animation, accept the warning that all frames will be deleted. Stop and
restart the MSG Animator program, and rebuild the animation. Changing the
size by a couple of pixels may work as well. You may need to try this a
couple of times. You may also find that unchecking the Smooth animation
option reduces the likelihood of this happening.
Q15: Why does data from the eastern parts of Africa on
the HRV channel stop after certain times of the day?
A: The scan position is altered from time to time, as shown in a 2MB
animation from EUMETSAT. The scan is shifted westwards after a certain
time in the day.
Q16: Why do GOES or MTSAT animations not show with
land/sea boundaries when using a colour palette?
A: You need to either install GeoSatSignal on the same PC as the MSG
Animator, or perhaps better, copy all the files Mask*.png from a GeoSatSignal
installation to the same directory as the MsgAnimator.exe file.
Q17: Can I publish this data on my Web page?
A: Please see the Publishing Guidelines.
Q18: I upgraded to the MSG Animator 2.5 (or higher) and
my licence key is no longer accepted.
A: V2.5.0 was a major upgrade to the MSG Animator, and
required a new licence (which covers the more recent V2.5.2
and 2.5.4 as well). If you are an existing
user, you can get a reduced
price upgrade here. You should also provide the hardware
fingerprint for your system. You can upgrade all three programs in the
MSG Toolset Plus here.
If you have an older version, you may wish to back it up before overwriting with
the new version.
Q19: What settings do I need for Windows Vista?
A: Windows Vista is very new, and I have had to
make some rapid program modifications to the MSG Animator to overcome the
problems which Vista has introduced (it does not support certain formats, for
example). Please read the release notes to establish how best to use the
MSG Animator with Vista. In particular:
- You must use the TAnimate display option.
- The TAviWriter_2 option is
recommended.
- You may not use GIF
animations.
- You may not use Compressed
animations.
Options (1) and (2) are set by right-clicking the MSG
Animator icon, and checking the required item.
Options (3) and (4) are set per-animation using the Setup option.
Q20: Animations don't work correctly in Vista.
A: Try this Microsoft
Patch
Q21: Since moving to Vista, my animations are much bigger, and I
sometimes get a "white-screen" instead of the animation. How can
I resolve this?
A: There appears to more problem as the size of the AVI file approaches
256MB, so do what you can to reduce the size of the animation. In
particular, removing the "Smooth animation" option will half the size
right away. (Thanks to Ian Deans for this suggestion).
Q01: Why is the HRV image split?
A: This is likely to be the final format, and the MSG Data Manager
correctly handles such split images. The image is transmitted in this
format. There is a 2MB animation from EUMETSAT showing this here.
Q02: The HRV image seems to move slightly during the day,
quite apart from the region switch.
A: The rectified image from the satellite does move slightly, you need
to use the information in the prologue file to position the image
correctly. In the MSG Data Manager, Setup, Advanced..., Centre HRV
window, ensure that both Upper and Lower options are checked.
Q03: HRV animations seem blurred.
A: Switch off any in-between frame interpolation in your animation
program. This is really a personal preference.
Q04: Why are there some segments missing - it spoils
my animations!
A: Probably, your signal is weak or you are running a CPU-intensive task
on the Receiver PC. Uncheck Clear Images on the Setup tab if you prefer to have older data
rather than missing segments. See the Missing
Segments Checklist for possible causes.
Q05: I keep getting "Parameter is incorrect"
message.
A: This can be caused by the use of a non-supported OS, or by network problems seen by the MSG Data
Manager.
- If you are using Windows 98, 98SE or Windows ME, be aware
that these are not supported OSes.
- If you must use Windows 98 etc.
- ensure that the swap file is fixed
at twice physical memory.
- that your memory is at least 512MB.
- that you process the minimum number
of channels.
- Ensure you are running the current version of the MSG Data
Manager.
- Ensure that the Setup, Received files location is correct.
- Check that you can see (from DOS or Explorer) files in the
Setup, Received files location.
- Try disabling the disconnect timeout for network shares (see:
this
article).
Q06: I seem to have run out of file space on my FAT32
system, but I only have about a day's worth of data (10,000 files).
A: Because of the long file names used, the FAT32 file capacity is
reduced from 64K files, so use the NTFS file system instead. Means you must
run Windows 2000/XP on the Receiver PC or Processing PC if you wish to retain
the files.
Q07: Why am I not getting LRIT data?
A: Did you add the PID for LRIT data in Setup4PC (decimal: 301,
hex: 0x012D)?
Q08: I am having problems setting up the TelliCast
software
A: Perhaps the EUMETSAT
Trouble-shooting Guide or Bepi's step-by-step
Guide may help?
Q09: I get some missing segments, but the signal level
is good, and the Transponder Status screen shows no uncorrected blocks.
A: You may be overloading your Receiver PC with CPU-intensive
tasks. If not, you may need to set the buffering option in the TelliCast
recv.ini file. Try replacing the line: "log_file=recv.log" with
"log_file =>> recv.log". Be sure that you have fast disks on the
receiver PC (i.e. ones with an 8MB buffer and a UDMA 66/100 or SATA interface).
More suggestions.
Q10: I upgraded and now the program no longer
processes data, but appears to run?
A: Please check that your registration code is correct. If your
licence code is no longer accepted, please see Q34.
Q11: Why, on Foreign Satellite Data (FSD) images are
there sometimes missing segments that are not multiples of 464 lines in height,
or have curved edges?
A: The images were acquired in this state at EUMETSAT, it is not a fault
of your setup.
Q12: Why do I sometimes see slightly curved lines on
the images?
A: This is where one or more of the raw detector scans has not reached
the processing station. They are curved because the satellite is not
precisely at its nominal location (for example, MSG-1 is at 3.4°W not 0°) and
because the satellite's axis may not be quite parallel with the earth's axis, and
the images acquired by the satellite are processed to correct the
viewpoint. A straight line can therefore become curved after processing.
Q13: I upgraded to V1.3.4.351 (or later) and I no
longer get Met-5 IODC data.
A: Until April 27 2004, Met-5 data was being broadcast as part of the FSD
service, and you needed to have the "Use FSD (MSG1) Met-5 data" box
checked. It is on the Setup -> FSD tab. After that date, be sure
to clear the checkbox.
Q14: I upgraded to beta V1.3.6 and no longer get HRV
animations.
A: Be sure to upgrade both the MSG Data Manager and the MSG Animator.
Q15: I changed to the HRV wide option and now my
false-colour images seem to have the colour and brightness parts not correctly
aligned.
A: The program has retained the old width for the HRV data, because you
made the change while a cycle was running. Please carry out the following
steps:
- Uncheck "persistent images".
- Wait for the end of a 15-minute cycle.
- Move the most recent 12nw.jpg file temporarily somewhere else.
- Stop and reload the program.
- Reset "persistent images".
The program should not attempt to reload the existing channel 12 image, but
moving it out of the way ensures that it won't find it.
Q16: Why did data stop after 2004 September 30?
A: The transponder frequency on HotBird 6 was changed to 10853MHz.
Q17: What are the files named AMSU... and HIRS...?
A: These are files of ATOVS data from EUMETSAT Data channel 1. The
MSG Data Manager can process these files if you enable the Manage box on the
Setup, Channel selection, Other page.
Q18: I am having problems with EUMETCast reception.
A: Please see the EUMETCast
Troubleshooting Guide.
Q19: I only have 512MB of memory and it's running
out! What can I do to minimise memory consumption?
A: Disable reception of the following channels, in suggested priority
order: (1) all Met-8 LRIT channels (the data is duplicated in the HRIT), (2) all Met-7 data
(duplicates Met-8 coverage), (3) Met-8 HRIT channels 7, 8, 10, 11, (4) Met-5 WV data (unless you need it), and Met-8 channels 5 & 6.
Q20: Why did CLAI or CTH images stop after 2005 June
21?
A: The data format was changed by EUMETSAT from images to GRIB2, so there
is no image data to display.
Q21: Why is data in the TelliCast received folder is
not being deleted?
A: First, you should check the box marked "Delete files from
RX" in the Setup, File options panel. If this is checked but the
files still are not being deleted, ensure that the program has write access to
the directory where the files live. This might mean checking the permissions
on the folder of, if you have a two-PC installation, checking the permissions on
the network share.
Q22: GOES-9 (GMS) data stopped after September 14,
2005.
A: The data was replaced by data from MTSAT-1R. You may need
updated software - check you have at least V1.5.4 of the MSG Data
Manager.
Q23: Meteosat-5 and Meteosat-7 data stopped after 2005
October 25.
A: You may need updated software - please update to V1.5.4 or later of the
MSG Data Manager.
Q24: All data stopped after a particular date.
A: Please check that you are using the current version of the
software. Beta versions may be subject to a time-out limit.
Q25: Why does data from the eastern parts of Africa on
the HRV channel stop after certain times of the day?
A: The scan position is altered from time to time, as shown in this 2MB
animation from EUMETSAT. The scan is shifted westwards after a certain
time in the day.
Q26: Since early August 2006, I have been getting lots
of missing segments on the Foreign Satellite Data (FSD).
A: Check that you have upgraded your TelliCast client software to V2.4.4
B. If you do not have this update, please contact
EUMETSAT.
Q27: 12-channel image data stopped in the afternoon of
2006 September 23. Please note that this outage was fixed on 2006 October
10, at 09:00 UTC.
A: A problem developed with MSG-1 satellite, and EUMETSAT are now feeding
SEVIRI data from MSG-2. You may need to take a number of steps to restore
images:
- If you are not already running the current version of the MSG Data Manager
(the one with multiple Detail Image tabs), you should download the current version.
Please note that there is a small
charge for this upgrade. Amateur and Educational users can also upgrade
all three programs in their existing MSG-1 Toolset Plus. If you already have the MSG Data Manager V2.5.0 or later,
you do not need to upgrade again.
- Be sure that you have installed the MSG Data Manager
V2.5.2 or later (Help, About menu).
- You should download and install the MSG Data Manager beta
version V2.5.4,580 or later because only this version supports the mixed MSG-2 HRIT data and MSG-1 GOES/MTSAT data
currently being sent.
- Note that full versions are full installs (about 2.3MB
download), and you can install on top of an existing version (be sure to
close the program first, of course!). The beta version (about 600KB
download) contains just the .exe file which you copy yourself on top of the
installed version. You cannot use just the beta version!
- If you are unsure about using beta software, please read the information
here.
- Run the program, but do not press the Start button.
- Select the Setup tab.
- Press the Advanced... button.
- Select the MSG-2 satellite from the drop-down list (near the OK
button).
- You may get a reminder message to restart the program.
- Ensure that Satellite, Delete other is unchecked.
- Click OK to close the Advanced setup dialog.
- Select the Channel selection, FSD tab.
- Ensure that Generic naming is checked.
- Close the program and restart.
- Warning: if you have not cleared out the
files in the TelliCast received folder, it may take a long time for the
program to start processing files (perhaps ten minutes per day of
accumulated files). Four days worth of files could be 40GB, if you
were wondering where your disk space had gone, and might take 40 minutes to
start processing!
This should restore SEVIRI image data, the foreign satellite data, and the Met-5
and Met-7 data (according to your licence). The DCP/IODC, DCP/WMO/IODC,
MDD1 and MDD2 data had not been transferred to the MSG-2 service at the time of
writing, so would need to be copied manually. The service messages appear
to be duplicated between MSG1 and MSG2, so you can just delete the MSG1 version
of the messages from the TelliCast received folder once a day. If you
still don't get both HRIT and FSD images, please double-check on the program
settings listed above.
Please ask on the MSG-1
or SatSignal Yahoo
groups for more information. EUMETSAT resumed normal service on Tuesday, October 10,
2006 at 09:00 UTC, and you should once again select the MSG-1 satellite and
restart the MSG Data Manager.
Q28: I can't get colour palettes working.
A: Please ensure that you have both colour palette files (such as LUTLandSea-WEFAX-visible.bmp
and LUTLandSea-zw.bmp) and the land-sea mask files (such as MaskMet8FD.png)
installed in the same folder as the MSG Data Manager. Normally, the
program will look for the land-sea mask files in your GeoSatSignal folder, but
you may not have that program installed and running.
Q29: I select a colour palette for a thermal channel on
the detailed image display, but I get no colours.
A: Please be sure that right-click, Image enhancement is set to None (or
that Histogram equalise is unchecked). With a thermal image, applying any enhancement
such as "histogram equalisation" or "stretch" destroys the precise
grey-level to temperature mapping on which the LUTs rely.
Q30: I select a colour palette for a thermal channel on
the detailed image display, but I get the wrong boundaries.
A: Be sure that you have the appropriate Land-Sea masks. Either
install and run a copy of GeoSatSignal on the same PC, or copy the Land-Sea mask
files (Mask*.png) from a working copy of GeoSatSignal. Please note that these files
may updated from time to time.
Q31: I get an Error 126 - WaveletDLL.dll is missing.
A: One cause is that you are using a beta version, without copying
it on top of a working full install. Please install the MSG Data Manager
from the most recent current release, and then
follow the instructions for using beta software.
Q32: I just moved my TelliCast received files, and now
I get no data
A: Be sure to tell the MSG Data Manager where the new data is
located. Use the Setup tab, File; File controls panel; TelliCast received files location control.
Use the Browse button to location the C:\Tellique\received\ folder. As there may be a number of
hours of data to process, the initial run of the MSG Data Manager may take some time.
Q33: Can I publish this data on my Web page?
A: Please see the Publishing Guidelines.
Q34: I have version 1.x of the MSG Data Manager, and my
licence no longer works in V2.5 and later.
A: V2.5.0 was a major upgrade to the MSG Data
Manager, and requires a new licence (which covers the more recent V2.5.2 and 2.5.4 as well).
If you are an
existing user, you can get a reduced
price upgrade here. You should also provide the hardware
fingerprint for your system. You can upgrade all three programs in the
MSG Toolset Plus here.
If you have an older version, you may wish to back it up before overwriting with
the new version.
Q35: I am using a beta version, and the aspect ratio of
the GOES-E WV thumbnail is wrong, and sometimes it has white lines?
A: Please wait until the 3-hourly GOES-E WV is disseminated at the same
resolution as the 1-hourly data (2007 Jan 30), and this problem should
disappear.
Q36: How do I get the hourly FSD fill-in data?
A: This data started on 2007 Jan 30. The information below
is preliminary. A number of steps are required:
- Complete the EUMETSAT form or e-mail EUMETSAT Ops to have
the data added to your eToken.
- Check that you have the current versions of the
MSG Data Manager (V2.5.18.742 or later) and MSG Animator (V2.5.18.209 or
later).
- Ensure that you point the data stream from [EUMETSAT Data
Channel 4] either to your \received\ directory or your \received\Data
Channel 4\ directory. This may require editing your recv-channels.ini
file.
- On the MSG Data Manager, Setup, Channel selection, FSD tab,
ensure that Hourly FSD is checked.
Q37: Why is the hourly data from GOES-E and GOES-W
incomplete?
A: The schedule for the GOES-E and GOES-W satellites varies from hour to
hour. In particular, unlike the EUMETSAT and Japanese satellites, they do
not provide an hourly scan of the whole earth disk. Instead, they have a
3-hourly full-disk scan, and a more frequent higher-resolution scans of other
regions such as the North American region, hurricane regions etc.
Consequently, the hourly data varies in visible content with the 0300, 0600 etc
scans being full-disk, and the intermediate scans (0100 0200 0400 0500 etc.)
just covering North America. If you are animating South America, you may
prefer to use just the 3-hourly scans.
Q38: What settings do you recommend using with the
Meteosat-9 (MSG-2) data which
came on-stream on 2007 April 11, replacing the Meteosat-8 (MSG-1) data which
stopped on 2007 May 10? EUMETSAT
information about this change.
A: There is no need to change anything in your SkyStar DVB or TelliCast
client settings. The intention in the MSG Data Manager settings below is that source data other than MSG-2 will not be deleted,
and that FSD labelled MSG1, MSG2, MSG3 or MSG4 will be accepted and processed. First,
be sure you are running the MSG Data Manager V2.5.6.652 or later - the current
version is here. Please update your
software if the Help, About shows a version number less than V2.5.6.652.
- Setup; Channel selection; FSD; Generic naming: checked
- Advanced Setup; Satellite: MSG-2; Delete other: not checked
Please note that after changing the Satellite in the Advanced Setup a program
shutdown and restart is required, and you will get a reminder message about
this. Acknowledge the reminder (OK), and close the Advanced Setup
with an OK as well. Then stop the MSG Data Manager with the Stop button.
Press the Close button to exit the program, and start it once again. As
a check, in the Logs window you should see a message like: "Program V2.5.8.657 start on MSG-2"
confirming that the MSG-2 satellite has been selected. Now press the Start
button. There may be a short delay if you have a backlog of the new MSG-2
data to process. Remember to close down and restart the MSG Data
Manager after changing the satellite!
If you still have the older MSG Data Manager version 1 (retired in December
2005), you will need to upgrade to the current version. You can download
the software here, and have 30 days to
evaluate it. If you are an existing user, you can either upgrade
the MSG Data Manager alone or, if you have the MSG Toolset Plus, you can upgrade
all three programs.
Q39: I didn't get an e-mail about the MSG-1 to MSG-2 change. How
can I be sure of knowing next time?
A: Subscribe to the EUMETSAT
User Notification Service and select Operations Weekly Schedule.
Be sure to join the MSG-1
Yahoo Group where there are over 800 fellow users who can help you.
Q40: Can I process both MSG-1 and MSG-2 data?
A: Yes, by using two instances of the MSG Data Manager you can process
two independent data streams. However, these two instances must be
completely separate, installed in a different directory, and with different file
names. It's a little complicated, so please follow the steps carefully and
avoid overwriting your existing data.
- Configure your recv-channels.ini file to send [EUMETSAT Data Channel 5]
files to new, different directory. For example, if your MSG-2 data is
sent to D:\Tellique\, you could add the lines:
- [EUMETSAT Data Channel 5]
- target_directory=D:\Tellique\received5
- Create a directory for the new instance, e.g. C:\MSG-DM-rapid-scan\
- Copy (and not move!) all the files from your existing MSG Data Manager
directory to this new directory.
- Rename all the MsgDataManager files to a set with different, but
consistent names, for example:
- MsgDataManager-RS.exe
- MsgDataManager-RS.chm
- MsgDataManager-RS.ESN.lng
- MsgDataManager-RS.FRA.lng
- MsgDataManager-RS.ITA.lng
- MsgDataManager-RS.ntv.lng
- MsgDataManager-RS.RUS.lng
- Alternatively, you could achieve the required file copies automatically
with a command file in your existing MSG Data Manager directory, containing
commands such as:
copy MsgDataManager.exe C:\MSG-DM-rapid-scan\MsgDataManager-RS.exe
copy MsgDataManager.chm C:\MSG-DM-rapid-scan\MsgDataManager-RS.chm
copy MsgDataManager.*.lng C:\MSG-DM-rapid-scan\MsgDataManager-RS.*.lng
pause
This allows you to update your rapid-scan software directly after
updating your main MSG Data Manager software.
- Configure the new MSG Data Manager to accept files from D:\Tellique\received5\
and write them to a different directory tree to the existing program.
- Configure the new MSG Data Manager to look for MSG-1 and not MSG-2 data.
That's on the Setup page, Advanced..., Satellite, and select MSG-1 from the
drop-down list. The program will warn you to restart the MSG Data
Manager to pick up this new setting. Leave the "Delete
other" box unchecked.
- The image data produced will be full size, but with the active data only
occupying from about 15ºN - 65ºN.
- As the image data produced is the same between full-scan and rapid-scan,
all my existing software should continue to work with either data source.
Q41: MSG-1 Rapid Scan data is no longer correctly vertically aligned
for channels 1 to 11. It was OK until 2007 July 16.
A: EUMETSAT changed the Rapid Scan data to conform with the full-scan
data on July 16, rendering the corrections included in the MSG Data Manager
since 2003 no longer required. Until a new full MSG Data Manager is
released, please install the beta version. I
understand that further changes are still in the pipeline.
Q42: From 2007 October 04, I have started receiving data from Goes-E and GOES-W 3.9µm
channels that are not handled by the current MSG Data Manager - version V2.5.8. Is there an update?
A: You can use the beta version of the MSG Data Manager for the new data.
You can download it here. Once the new beta version has been proved
by widespread use, I will release it as a new "official" version. Your existing licence
key will continue to work, and there is no upgrade charge.
Q43: I hear that Meteosat-9 data will be replaced by Meteosat-8 data
for a week in December. Data stopped on 2007 Dec 03 at 12:00.
A: Please see this
EUMETSAT notice. If you did not know about the change, consider
getting the notices delivered automatically by e-mail from the UNS
service. Check back here if the changes suggested below haven't worked for
you, and please monitor the
messages in the MSG-1 Yahoo
group.
- You will need the current MSG Data Manager
(V2.5.12.700). The update to the current version is free for registered V2.5
users.
- On the Channel Selection, FSD tab, ensure that "Generic naming "
is checked.
- In Setup, Advanced..., Satellite, you should currently be using the MSG-2
satellite. Ensure that "Delete other" is not checked.
- After 12:00 UTC on Monday December 03, press the Stop button on the MSG
Data Manager and, in Setup, Advanced..., Satellite, select MSG-1, and close
the Advanced setup dialog. There may be a warning message reminding
you to restart the program.
- Close down the MSG Data Manager.
- Restart the MSG Data Manager, and you should have a normal data
flow. Note that the output file names are the same, and no changes to
either the MSG Animator nor GeoSatSignal should be required.
- If there are any products missing after the change, please ask in the MSG-1
Yahoo group, as you may not be alone!
- After 12:00 UTC on Tuesday, December 11, reverse the above process by
stopping the MSG Data Manager, selecting MSG-2, closing down the MSG Data
Manager and restarting it.
If you are reading this after 12:00 UTC on December 11, it's all over, and
you can revert to your normal MSG-2 settings. At least, until the next
time!
Q44: After running some MSG-1 parallel running data through the
system, why do I get a "floating point error" when restarting?
A: Some data has been stored as zero, instead of an actual value.
Please use the following procedure to clear it out. Create a restore
point, just in case. Using the registry editor, locate the registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\David J Taylor\MsgDataManager.
Delete the values: CalOffset01 to CalOffset12, and CalSlope01 to CalSlope12.
Q45: On or after 04 March 2008, I keep getting the error message:
"Column count (2752) wrong in segment".
A: Please upgrade to the released MSG Data Manager version V2.5.14 or
later. The current download is here. This version is required for the new MTSAT-1R data which EUMETSAT
started disseminating on March 04. If you are unable to update to the new
version, just uncheck the MTSAT-1R Vis, IR, WV, and mid-IR data in the Channel
selection, FSD dialog.
Q46: One or two people have reported problems which may be related to
virtual memory size growing with V2.5.14/16.
A: I have located the problem, and the problem code is disabled by
default in V2.5.18. Discussion of the
current results is in the SatSignal
Yahoo group.
Q47: DCP data stopped after 25 March 2008.
A: EUMETSAT moved this data to a new stream named [EUMETSAT Data Channel 9].
You will need to add an entry in your recv-channels.ini file to direct the new
stream to wherever data channel 3 data is currently sent. Do not
change your existing entry for data channel 3.
Q48: Can I process both Meteosat-8
Rapid Scan and Meteosat-9 full-scan data?
A: Yes, by using two instances of the MSG Data Manager you can process
two independent data streams. However, these two instances must be
completely separate, installed in a different directory, and with different file
names. It's a little complicated, so please follow the steps carefully and
avoid overwriting your existing data. More
information on the Rapid Scan Service.
- Update your MSG Data Manager to the current
release version (V2.5.18 at the time of writing).
- Apply any beta updates - there is beta V2.5.20.758 available
at the time of writing.
- Configure your TelliCast recv-channels.ini file to send [EUMETSAT Data Channel 5]
files to new, different directory. For example, if your Meteosat data is
sent to D:\ECast\received\, you could add the lines:
- [EUMETSAT Data Channel 5]
- target_directory=D:\ECast\received5
- Create a directory for the new instance of the MSG Data Manager, e.g.
C:\MSG-DM-RSS\
- Copy (and not move!) all the files from your existing MSG Data Manager
directory to this new directory.
- Rename all the MsgDataManager files to a set with different, but
consistent names. Note that only the .exe, .chm, and .lng files
should be renamed. For example:
- MsgDataManager-RSS.exe
- MsgDataManager-RSS.chm
- MsgDataManager-RSS.ESN.lng
- .. and for all the other language files
- Alternatively, you could achieve the required file copies automatically
with a command file in your existing MSG Data Manager directory, containing
commands such as:
copy MsgDataManager.exe
C:\MSG-DM-RSS\MsgDataManager-RSS.exe
copy MsgDataManager.chm C:\MSG-DM-RSS\MsgDataManager-RSS.chm
copy MsgDataManager.*.lng C:\MSG-DM-RSS\MsgDataManager-RSS.*.lng
pause
Copy and paste the four lines above into a new file called, for
example, REN-MSG.cmd. This allows you to update your rapid-scan software directly after
updating your main MSG Data Manager software. The pause statement simply allows you to examine what has happened.
- Configure the new MSG Data Manager:
- to accept files from D:\ECast\received5\ (TelliCast received
files location).
- to write raw data to the same directory tree as the existing program,
or elsewhere if you wish.
- to write image data to the same directory tree to the existing program.
- Remember to configure the new MSG Data Manager to look for MSG-1 and not MSG-2 data.
That's on the Setup page, Advanced..., Satellite, and select MSG-1 from the
drop-down list. The program will warn you to restart the MSG Data
Manager to pick up this new setting. Leave the "Delete
other" box unchecked.
- The image data produced will be full size, but with the active data only
occupying from about 15ºN - 65ºN.
- There is a beta version of the MSG Animator
available which knows about the new rapid-scan file names.
- There is a beta version of the next release of
GeoSatSignal (version 7) available, which includes rapid-scan support plus
much more. If you purchased or upgraded GeoSatSignal 6 after
1-Jan-2008, you can apply for an update key, otherwise there is a low-cost
update for existing GeoSatSignal users.
Q01: I get a screen filled with yellow when I check the
Highlight fire pixels box.
A: Perhaps you didn't supply the program with channel 7 (8.7µm) or
channel 9 (10.8µm) data? There is a new upgrade available which traps
that data error.
Q02: Can I publish this data on my Web page?
A: Please see the Publishing Guidelines.
Q01: Why does the program ask for Kepler Data in (for
example) the path C:\SatSignal\Keps\?
A: SatSignal can now use both current Keplers (from your WXtrack data)
and historical Keplers (from your HRPT Reader installation). If you wish
to process historical passes, please either install the HRPT
Reader, or install its Kepler data in e.g. C:\SatSignal\Keps and
C:\SatSignal\Keps\Updates. The file are per-satellite, e.g. NOAA-15.txt,
and the data sources are:
http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/archives/ --> Archive Kepler data
http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/archives/2002/ --> data for 2002
etc.
Q02: What are the requirements to make the overlay appear?
A: Data requirements: Kepler data from WXtrack or HRPT Reader, and
country boundary data from WXtrack (do you have the file Countries.dat?).
Program settings: Options, Overlay appearance... ensure the Line Attributes are set to show the lines.
Settings, EasyOverlay options... ensure Enable EasyOverlay is set
Q03: I get distinct bands in the noisy part of my image
where the lines are repeated, and the output looks like a spectrum display or
bar graph.
A: Uncheck the Options, Attempt resync setting.
Q04: Geostationary satellites don't decode.
A: Ensure that you have both Options, Tape input and Options, Attempt
re-sync unchecked.
Q05: I installed SatSignal on Windows Vista and the
Help does not work any more.
A: Please see the WinHelp information for Windows
Vista.
Q06: I'm now running Windows Vista. The mouse measuring distance
has stopped working, and the display appears "unstable".
A: You can try turning off the Aero effect:
- Right-click on the Desktop - select personalize.
- Select Windows Color and Appearance.
- Select "Open classic appearance properties for more
color options"
- Select Windows Vista Basic rather than Windows Aero
Q01: I've just installed the Sea-Ice and SST Viewer but
I'm seeing no data!
A: Please be patient! The sea-ice data is only sent once a day
around 04:00-04:30 UTC, and the SST data twice a day around 08:00 and 20:00 UTC.
Q02: But my system isn't even switched on at
04:00. How can I get sea-ice data?
A: Use the FTP service noted in the readme file.
Q03: Can I publish this data on my Web page?
A: Please see the Publishing Guidelines.
Q05: I installed SlideShow on Windows Vista and the
Help does not work any more.
A: Please see the WinHelp information for Windows
Vista.
Q01: Why do I get a dialog box saying "Invalid
floating point operation"?
A: Your Athlon processor does not quite match the Intel processor for
which the program is built. Please contact me for a simple fix.
Q02: I just upgraded to a Nikon D70 and the pictures
display as black.
A: Press the Quality button (which enlarges your picture) and they come
out normally on the TV (thanks to Paul Plante).
Q03: How do I get the correct directory structure on my
memory card?
A: Use the camera's Setup, Format Card function. Note that this
will erase all pictures presently on the card. You may need to take one
photo to make the camera write all the directory structures as well.
Q04: I can't get pictures to display on my TV/camera etc.
A: Sometimes the display device can be so fussy that it refuses to accept
anything other than its own images! The first thing to check is that you are using exactly the same file names and
folder structure for your imported images as would be used by images that the
device /does/ display. Perhaps get your dealer to supply a sample image
set to prove that the display device does actually work, then note the folder
structure and file naming conventions carefully. Even whether the names
are in upper or lower-case can matter. Then with TVwriter try the main output formats, and rename the files to
match exactly those which you found to work OK. The formats are:
Canon S100, Nikon, Nikon D70, Olympus E-10, Sony. Some of these are
only in beta versions. Finally, if this has produced a result, get back
to me and I can perhaps add the specific format/filename convention to TVwriter for
you.
Q01: My tracker azimuth and elevation are wrong.
The azimuth is 180 more than it should be, and the elevation is (180 -
elevation).
A: The tracker is working in flipped-mode. If you don't want this,
be sure that the Tracker, Options, Azimuth stop is set to "Ignore".
Q02: My EA4TX tracker doesn't work properly in Tracker,
Test, Point at object mode.
A: Try turning off "Send stop after command".
Q03: Sometimes yesterday's passes are listed as well as
today's, when I return to the Setup tab from the World Map tab.
A: This is expected behaviour.
Q04: I want to track the Hubble Space Telescope but it isn't
listed.
A: The HST is listed on the CelesTrak
site in the file science.txt.
Download this file and place science.txt in with the other Kepler data.
When you restart WXtrack, you will be able to select the HST for tracking.
Q05: I have a VIA Samuel 2 Processor and the
UserMap.jpg is not displayed on the background.
A: Convert the UserMap.jpg to UserMap.bmp and remove any JPEG files from
the WXtrack folder.
Q06: When accessing the Sunrise-Sunset function, you
get the error message "First Boot".
A: Please ensure your time-zone is set correctly.
Q07: I've recently upgraded my registered version to 3.5.2 but I now have a cross and 'EDI'
presumably to indicate Edinburgh, plus a large dotted circle on my map.
A: Please edit the file GroundStations.ini to suit your location.
Instructions are contained in the file.
Q08: The wrong background image sometimes appears when
I restart the program.
A: Set the Options, Map projection to Azimuthal, and then back to
Plate-Carree. This will cause the correct display background image to be
saved for future use. Ensure that the Options, Background, Standard is
checked for normal operation.
Q09: I turned on sounds through the Control Panel, but
I don't hear anything?
A: You need to restart WXtrack.
Q10: Updating the Keplers doesn't work?
A: There are a number of reasons why this may happen:
- You have a software firewall installed which is stopping
WXtrack from accessing the Internet. Set your firewall to allow the
program Internet access. This may also happen if you update WXtrack
and the firewall detects the program change.
- You have specified the wrong URL in the "From:"
field. It needs to be the full URL, including the http:// part:
http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/
- You are using a filename which is not available on the
CelesTrak Web site. WXtrack is normally supplied with files containing
data from the Space-Track Web site,
and named accordingly. For example: for the GPS satellites you have the
file named Navigation.txt, but the equivalent file from CelesTrak is named: gps-ops.txt.
Similarly, SpecialInterest.txt on Space-Track has an equivalent
Stations.txt on CelesTrak. Note that these equivalents may not contain
exactly the same satellites.
Q11: No matter what I do, I can't get background images
displayed.
A: Did you by any chance copy the program to the Desktop, rather than
creating a shortcut on the Desktop? If so, the program would be looking
for files such as UserMap.jpg on the Desktop rather than in C:\David J
Taylor\WXtrack\ or wherever the program was installed.
Q12: How do I set up WXtrack to control my transceiver or receiver using
WispDDE?
A: In WXtrack: under Tracker, select options. Select CX6DD WispDDE Client.
Under the Radio tab, you will need to select the satellite you want to use (you need to adapt the file named
"Radio.ini" located in the same folder where you have WXtrack).
Then, in WispDDE, you need to select WXtrack as the software to use as well as the type of radio you are using.
(From a note from Eskil van Loosdrecht, SM5SRR, Sweden.)
Q13: How do I display the age of the Kepler data?
A: Use the View, Satellite orbit (Kepler) data menu. Click on the
Age column heading (i.e. click on the actual word "Age"), and the
newest Keplers will be displayed at the top. Click on "Age"
again, and the oldest will be displayed at the top.
Q14: How do I get rid of the satellite icons?
A: The icons are displayed if an icon file with a matching NORAD number
is present in the same directory as WXtrack. For example, the catalogue
number of the ISS (Zarya) is 25544, so if an icon file #25544.icn or #25544.ico
is present, that icon will be used to draw the satellite. The .ico files
are Windows standard, the .icn are STSPlus standard. If you don't want
this behaviour, simply rename the file to, for example, #25544.hide.icn.
Renaming the file makes it easier to revert later!
Q01: I get an error message: "Exception
EAccessViolation in VCL50.BPL at 00000000. Access violation at
00000000. Read of address FFFFFFFF".
A: Have you installed the OpenGL libraries from Microsoft? Please
the Microsoft article Q154877
Q02: I have upgraded to a new graphics card and
WXtrackGL no longer works.
A: Upgrade to the most recent version, which now supports OpenGL 2.0.
|
