ETA Grid Labeling Addendum
Software and Instructions

08 Dec 2004

This is the third addendum to the May 2004 McIDAS-XCD upgrade, version 2004. The first two were dated 17 June 2004 and 20 August 2004, respectively.

On 18 January 2005(delayed to 25 January 2005 - see announcement), the National Weather Service (NWS) will be changing the name for the ETA forecast model to NAM (North American Mesoscale). An official notice can be found at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/dm-cgi-bin/chgshow.pl?fn=P100405.txt. These changes will affect the NWS ftp sites as well as their documentation, but the data coming in from the NOAAPORT datastream will not be changed. However, we have made this addendum, which changes the value of the SRC field in the model's real-time grids from ETA to NAM and adds new RTGRIDS/NAM* datasets, available in order to maintain consistency with the NWS.

Three important notes:

• Installation of this addendum is recommended but not required. If you do not install this addendum you will not lose any data when the NWS makes their changes, but your grids will continue to be labeled ETA in the SRC field (instead of the new name, NAM).

• If you decide to install this addendum, you should give your users several days notice before installing it. The notice should inform users that if they have scripts, BATCH files, F-Key menus, McBASI programs or SKE entries with GRD* commands (GRDCOPY, GRDDISP, GRDIMG, GRDINFO and GRDLIST) that contain SRC=ETA, they must be changed to include NAM. The best way to do it is to add NAM without removing ETA (e.g., change SRC=ETA to SRC=ETA NAM). We recommend that you tell your users to make these changes as soon as possible, as it will allow their GRD* commands to work with both the current and future SRC field values.

• This addendum addresses the ETA to NAM name change for gridded data only; the name change issues relating to ETA MOS data will not be dealt with at this time. The NWS has not set a date for ETA MOS products to be renamed to NAM MOS. This change will also be in name only and will not affect functionality. But due to the substantial McIDAS-XCD and McIDAS-X code and configuration changes that will be required, we are deferring those changes until the May 2005 upgrade. The -XCD modifications will include the dataset names, schema files, configuration files, rapid access text and pointer files, decoder files, data monitors, make files, and installation batch files. The -X modifications will include the MOSRPT, STNLIST, and STNPLOT commands.

Optional Action:

Complete the steps below to obtain and install the addendum.

1. Login to your McIDAS-XCD workstation as user oper.
2. From a McIDAS-X session running under the oper account, inactivate the grid decoder.
   Type: DECINFO SET DMGRID INACTIVE
3. Download the file gbtbpds001.av1 to the ~oper/mcidas/data directory on your McIDAS-XCD workstation. It will replace the existing version of the file. (The file is used to determine the 3-4 character model name used in the McIDAS grid source field.)
4. Change the real-time grid configuration file to recognize NAM.
   1. From the McIDAS-X session, determine the location of the file RTMODELS.CFG.
      Type: DMAP RTMODELS.CFG
   2. Open RTMODELS.CFG for editing.
   3. Find all lines that begin with ETA= and in them change the ETA= to NAM=.
   4. Save and close the file.
5. Add new datasets using NAM in place of ETA.
   1. Login to your McIDAS-XCD workstation as user mcadde.
   2. Edit the file ~mcadde/mcidas/data/RESOLV.SRV.
   3. Find each line that begins with N1=RTGRIDS,N2=ETA... then copy and paste it directly below the original line.
   4. In each line that you added, change the value of the N2 field from N2=ETA... to N2=NAM....
   5. Save and close the file.

   Note: This procedure will retain the old datasets (RTGRIDS/ETA...) so your users will not have to switch to the new datasets (RTGRIDS/NAM...) immediately. When all of your users have switched to the new datasets you may delete the old ones.

6. From a McIDAS-X session running under the oper account, reactivate the grid decoder.
   Type: DECINFO SET DMGRID ACTIVE

This completes the instructions. If you have any questions, send email to the McIDAS Help Desk.