NOUS41 KWBC 091341
PNSWSH

TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION NOTICE 08-81
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS WASHINGTON DC
940 AM EDT THU OCT 09 2008
         
TO:       SUBSCRIBERS:
	  -FAMILY OF SERVICES
	  -NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE
	  -EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK 
          OTHER NWS PARTNERS...AND NWS EMPLOYEES

FROM:	  KEVIN SCHRAB       
	  CHIEF... OBSERVING SERVICES DIVISION 
	  OFFICE OF CLIMATE WATER AND WEATHER SERVICES 
	
SUBJECT:  FIRST QUARTER FISCAL YEAR 2009 IMPLEMENTATION OF RADIOSONDE
          REPLACEMENT SYSTEM /RRS/ WITH TERMINATION OF OPERATIONS OF              
          RADIOTHEODOLITE TRACKING /ART/ AND RADIO DIRECTION 
          FINDING RADIOSONDES /RDF/

TWO UPPER AIR /UA/ SITES WILL CONVERT TO RRS TECHNOLOGY IN THIS FIRST 
QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 2009.  GREEN BAY WISCONSIN TERMINATED ART AND 
RDF RADIOSONDES ON 6 OCT 2008 AND DENVER COLORADO WILL TERMINATE ART 
AND RDF RADIOSONDES ON 20 OCT 2008. 

SID       STATION NAME        OUTAGE DATE

72645     GREEN BAY WI        06 OCT 2008
72469     DENVER CO           20 OCT 2008

NWS UPPER AIR OBSERVATIONS WILL RESUME APPROXIMATELY TEN DAYS 
LATER WITH THE USE OF THE RRS WITH GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM /GPS/ 
RADIOSONDES. EACH UA SITE WILL BE OUT OF SERVICE FOR ABOUT TEN DAYS. 
WHEN RESTORED... PARTS OF THE UPPER AIR CODED MESSAGES WILL BE 
SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER.

NWS HAS COORDINATED WITH ITS PARTNERS ON THE LONGER LENGTH OF 
THESE MESSAGES.

THE FORMAT OF THE MESSAGES WILL BE THE SAME WMO FORMAT FOR CODED 
UPPER AIR MESSAGES USED WITH THE MICROART LEGACY SYSTEM. THE 
NUMBER OF LEVELS IN THE CODED MESSAGES WILL BE TWO TO THREE 
TIMES GREATER FOR THE TTBB AND TTDD. AS A RESULT TWO CATEGORIES 
OF AWIPS TEXT PRODUCTS WILL INCREASE IN SIZE: SGL AND ABV. THE 
NUMBER OF LEVELS IN THE TTAA...TTCC...PPBB AND PPDD PARTS WILL BE 
RELATIVELY UNCHANGED. THESE CHANGES REFLECT UPDATED CODING 
PRACTICES AND HIGHER RESOLUTION LEVEL SELECTION CRITERIA. THE 
MAXIMUM SIZE LIMITS OF THE PARTS OF THE CODED MESSAGES ARE AS 
FOLLOWS: 

     TTAA:   15 LEVELS 		 
     TTCC:   10 LEVELS 	   	 
     TTBB:  135 LEVELS 	   	  
     TTDD:   40 LEVELS 
     PPBB:   40 LEVELS	  
     PPDD:   40 LEVELS 

IN ADDITION THE 31313 MESSAGE INDICATOR ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS 
PARTS OF THE MESSAGE WILL BE INCLUDED WITH EACH PART OF THE 
THERMODYNAMIC MESSAGE PARTS. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE 
MESSAGE REQUIREMENTS...REFERENCE WMO 306: MANUAL ON CODES:  
INTERNATIONAL CODES: VOLUME 1.1 PART A-ALPHANUMERIC CODES 
AND WMO 306: MANUAL ON CODES: REGIONAL CODES AND NATIONAL 
CODING PRACTICES: VOLUME II. USERS CAN FIND INFORMATION ON THE 
LEVELS SELECTION CRITERIA USED IN NWS CODING SOFTWARE ONLINE AT  
/USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/:

     HTTP://WWW.UA.NWS.NOAA.GOV

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK...PLEASE CONTACT:

     DOMINIC BOSCO
     NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE / OPS11
     1325 EAST WEST HIGHWAY
     SILVER SPRING MARYLAND 20910
     PHONE: 301-713-1841 EXT. 123 
     E-MAIL: DOMINIC.BOSCO@NOAA.GOV

NWS TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION NOTICES ARE ONLINE AT  
/USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/:

     HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/NOTIF.HTM

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