Feature and change requests

[Shannon Key]

I will use this thread to keep track of features and changes requested by users. Please feel free to post your additions. I can't promise we will be able to incorporate all of them at any given time, but we'll do our best.

I'll go back through old threads to compile the list over the next few days - please consider it a work in progress for now. They are in no particular order:

- GRIB2 scripting

- Fix old 500mb thickness plot problem (+500)

- Wet bulb potential plot or script

- Polar stereographic map projection

- Restore old map relief feature with blue sea

- Restore ability to delineate different precipitation types (e.g. rain, frz rain, snow), formerly done with "Winter Depiction"

- Add pressure trendlines to WeatherSymbols TrueType font

- Plot SST anomalies

[Greg Higgins]

Shannon,
Thanks for all of your assistance here. I know that it is difficult juggling a youngster, your job, Weather Graphics, home, family, etc!

My first question....do you and Tim want comments / solutions for what currently does not work with DA 1.40d? With Tim writing a major update, I thought it might be a mote point.

The second thing is in regards to the file digatmos.urx. Several of the URL's have changed, the data format has changed or there may be a bug. Specifically things I have been looking at the last several days:

Day 1 - 3 Convective Outlooks - it appears that SPC has changed a) the URL and b) the format as it no longer matches what is in the DA User Manual.

Kansas URL has changed (why would that particular URL be used?)

Complete MADIS from FSL-NOAA does not work, just hangs. I suspect that it is waiting for a user input as to what to do with the file. I pasted the URL into IE and it runs with no problem but then a download box pops up wanting to know if I want to save the file.

Course ETA and NGM URL's may or may not download and data does not plot even when the data is downloaded.

Obviously Warnings do not work as stated in the User Manual.

Also, under Preferences, General, Radar Source - AllsionHouse does not work. Tyler Allison's opinion is that the format has changed and DA has not been updated.

[Shannon Key]

Greg,

Yes, we would definitely like to have continued feedback. Thank you very much for this particular set of comments! I will pass them on to Tim and add them to the list above as appropriate.

Shannon

[tmagan]

The ablility to circle and plot tornadic, mesocyclone, and hail storms as well as 'storm tracking information'.

[carseman]

My request is to restore the ability to plot properly on Mercator projections.

Chris

[Shannon Key]

My request is to restore the ability to plot properly on Mercator projections.

Chris,

Is this a problem Tim is already aware of? If not can you please describe the problem for me so I can look into it? Thanks.

Shannon

[carseman]

Shannon,
I think that I and others have reported this to Tim in the past. This is one of the threads:
showthread.php?t=1231&highlight=mercator

Edit: I have just checked some old emails and Tim was aware of it from the "era of Equinox".

Chris

[Shannon Key]

Thanks, Chris, that's helpful.

[czenzel]

I talked to Tim a while back about the NEXRAD Level III Storm Tracking Information (STI) not working. When I use the function with storm data it says "Digital Atmosphere Read Past the End Of the File."

Another NEXRAD feature I would love to see is to set a NEXRAD data source of a custom server. I would like to enter a url with variables similar to the Data Retrival screen and download NEXRAD data via HTTP from my own NOAAPORT/Unidata-LDM server.

One last feature I would like to see is being able to set the visibility of the Legend block. Sometimes when you plot a lot of data the block gets in the way. If you set it for the font size of "1" it sometimes overlaps the square temperature and dewpoint value boxes. It would also to be nice to set the visibility of the NEXRAD legend block.

Thanks,
Christopher Zenzel

[Shannon Key]

I spoke with Tim about the Mercator projection plotting issue, and we are going to work on fixing that with a patch. I will try to get as many of the other things mentioned in this thread worked into the patch as well, especially fixes. We'll make an announcement in this forum when the patch is ready. It may be sometime in January as we are in the Christmas rush right now.

Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions and feedback.