[aprssig] Snow and Visibility on APRS

[Robert Bruninga]

> While the synoptic scale atmosphere is not that 
> precise, the specs on the instruments and their 
> reporting are. That's all I'm asking for, is
> the ability where the instruments can meet the WMO 
> and NWS specs for instrument reporting, realizing 
> that a lot of the APRS-WX stations reporting today 
> can't meet that. Yet.

But I'm afraid, we can only add additional precision external to
the existing format because now we have Uiview, Kennwood and
Yaesu parsing and decoding and displaying weather in radios and
other hardware, and so any change would obsolete those decoders.

So the only way would be to add a new field on the end of the
existing weather field that might carry the additional digits of
precision..  Then old applications can read the existing weather
to existing standard, and if they want to parse the new field on
the end to add all the additional digits of precision onto a
preset list of higher precision instruments, then that is OK.
But I think it might be a lot of work for not much gain.

Bob, WB4APR

> 
> Does this help?
> 
> gerry n5jxs
> 
> Robert Kirk wrote:
> > Gerry... I don't know what the APRS precision specs are 
> now, so I'm not
> > sure you're looking for better specifications of precision
(Are they
> > confusing/inconsistent?) or for increased precision itself
in APRS
> > reports. If the former, I'm all in favor; if the latter, I 
> think your
> > precision wishlist is too high (for synoptic APRS as opposed
to
> > micrometeorology studies). Values of whole temperature 
> degrees and wind
> > speed are perfectly fine. Likewise, pressure PPPP.p in
millibars (or
> > PP.pp in inches). The synoptic scale atmosphere is just not 
> that precise
> > itself, and weather map analyses just smooth out higher
precisions,
> > anyway. I'd suggest:
> > TTT (F or T
> > PPPPp (mb) PP.pp (in)
> > SSS  (K or MpS)
> > DD (wind direction 10 degrees)
> >
> > What does METAR suggest nowadays? I'm behind the times
> >
> > Bob Kirk
> > N3OZB
> >
> >
> > At 08:43 PM 8/19/2010, Gerry Creager wrote:
> >> It would be real nice to see precision addressed
appropriately for
> >> meteorological observations... TTT.t, for example, 
> PPPP.pp, wind which
> >> could be reported in knots or meters/sec, with at least 
> SSS.s precision.
> >>
> >> That's on my wishlist.
> >> gerry n5jxs
> >
> >
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> 
> --
> Gerry Creager -- gerry.creager at tamu.edu
> Texas Mesonet -- AATLT, Texas A&M University
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