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McIDAS-X and -XCD Fastrack Version 2008a
Now Available

22 October 2008 McIDAS Help Desk email notification to the mcidas-users list:

McIDAS-X Fastrack version 2008a was recently added to the McIDAS Website. See the Fastrack section of the McIDAS-X Software page for download and installation instructions. Each Fastrack release is a complete version of McIDAS-X (all modules, whether or not they've been modified).

Changes first appearing in Fastrack version 2008a include:

  • updates to WWDISP and WWLIST commands to accommodate the NWS 01 Sep 2008 changes to winter weather products; in particular:
    • TYPE=WINADV was added for winter weather advisories (whose definition was expanded as of 01Sep08)
    • TYPE=SNOWADV (for snow advisories - one of the products merged into winter weather advisories as of 01Sep08) is now a valid option only when using pre-01Sep08 data [inquiry 14195]
  • updates to MSG navigation routines to accommodate subsatellite points other than 0 deg longitude [14266]
  • updates to AVHRR Level 1b servers to work better with MetOp FRAC data; the updates include changes to improve performance, allow multi-band transfers, and improve navigation [14366, 14348, 14308]
  • updates for new Multi-Grid Wave Model (MGWM) and Global Forecast System (GFS) Alaska region data now available in GRIB2 format on NOAAPORT datastream; McIDAS-XCD sites will be able to create real-time datasets for these data if they install both the -X and -XCD Fastrack 2008a packages [14389]
  • update netCDF version that is packaged with McIDAS-X from version 3.5.0 to version 4.0 [14287]

The complete list of changes in version 2006b is available at the Fastrack Software Changes page.

Each Fastrack version is an intermediate release of McIDAS-X software. All changes in each Fastrack version have been tested by SSEC McIDAS User Services; however, a complete system test has not been performed. Therefore, Fastrack versions may not be as stable as a fully-supported upgrade (e.g., version 2006) and we recommend that you do not install Fastrack software on mission-critical workstations. We also ask that you report any problems you encounter with Fastrack software to the McIDAS Help Desk.


31 October 2008 McIDAS Help Desk email notification to McIDAS-XCD Site Coordinators:

McIDAS-XCD Fastrack version 2008a was recently added to the McIDAS Website. See the Fastrack section of the McIDAS-XCD Software page for download and installation instructions. Each Fastrack release is a complete version of McIDAS-X (all modules, whether or not they've been modified).

Changes first appearing in McIDAS-XCD Fastrack version 2008a include:

  • updates to the Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) decoder to accommodate the format change for the switch from 24-hour to 30-hour TAFs that is scheduled for 05 November 2008
  • corrections to the Ship/Buoy decoder to fix a problem introduced in the 2008 upgrade that resulted in anomalous data in Ship/Buoy MD files
  • fixes to ensure GRIB2 database entries are not missing level units where applicable
  • updates for the new Multi-Grid Wave Model (MGWM) and Global Forecast System (GFS) Alaska region data now available in GRIB2 format on the NOAAPORT datastream
  • fixes to correct improper handling of 5-digit string representation on 32-bit machines (e.g., 10000 m above sea level)
  • use of the station database file (STNDB.CORE) that was updated in McIDAS-X 2008a to include the negative sign in the latitude of Southern Hemisphere stations that are within one degree of the equator, and to include the negative sign in the longitude of Eastern Hemisphere stations that are within one degree of the Greenwich Meridian; plus the addition of four new C-MAN stations

Please note in the first bullet above that the scheduled date for the TAF format change is Wednesday 05 November. If TAF data is important to your users you will likely want to install this Fastrack 2008a package on your McIDAS-XCD workstation(s) by that date.

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