McIDAS-X for XP Fastrack Version 2010.1
Software and Instructions

This page contains the software and instructions for installing McIDAS-X for XP version 2010.1, a fully supported Fastrack release. Significant modifications made since the previous release (version 2009.2) include:

• updated the GVAR server and calibration module with correct coefficients for GOES-15
• updated the netCDF image write server so that the netCDF image files it creates via the CF=YES keyword in commands IMGCOPY, IMGFILT, IMGOPER and IMGREMAP are fully CF-compliant (the server in McIDAS-X 2009.2 contained errors that resulted in netCDF image files it created not being CF-compliant)
• updated the GRDIMG command so that the day and time assigned to the output image matches the forecast day and time of the grid, as calculated using its FHOUR value (e.g., if the source grid has day=100 time=06 fhour=36 the image output by GRDIMG will have day=101 time=18)
• updated the MSG navigation module and the ADDE server to correctly label the starting coordinate for the infrared image; with this correction, the upper-left image coordinate for a full-disk infrared image is 3,3 and the center pixel is at earth coordinate 0°,0° and image coordinate 5571,5571; Compatibility Note: in order for this fix to work as stated, both the client and server workstation must be running version 2010.1 (if the server is running 2010.1 and the client is running an earlier version, or vice-versa, there likely will be an offset of up to 1 line and element compared to previous versions of McIDAS-X)
• reverted the Tcl/Tk version from 8.5.7 back to 8.4.2 to correct problems on Linux and other platforms; Mac OS X users may still see problems with an enlarged font when using the GUI
• included preliminary updates for new radar products available on NOAAPORT; the remaining updates (including default datasets in McIDAS-XCD, server updates, new image enhancements and user-friendly access to the datasets via the IMGDISP.CORE file in McIDAS-X) are planned for the next -X and -XCD Fastrack releases
• updated the McIDAS-XRD package (which is included in the McIDAS-X installation files) to include two new commands (DIRLIST and NL) and six new servers (maadir, maaget, maaadir, maaaget, maaaadir and maaaaget); also made significant updates to the IMGPARM command, including the ability to create a multi-banded image of parameters

Before installing Fastrack version 2010.1, make sure you view the complete list of Fastrack 2010.1 Software Changes, and, if you do any programming or local code development/modification also view and complete the appropriate actions described in the Fastrack 2010.1 Programmer Notes (pdf). You might want to print or download these two documents for future reference.

McIDAS-X 2010.1 is a fully supported Fastrack release. This means that the software is fully supported by SSEC, and that each change to the software has been tested on all of the supported workstation configurations. Full system testing will occur at least once on each platform during each calendar year. If you elect to install 2010.1, we ask that you notify the McIDAS Help Desk if you encounter any bugs. Please be sure to mention that you are running version 2010.1.

Also note that if you plan to upgrade to 2010.1 from a version earlier than 2009.2, you must first read and perform any required actions in the release documents for each of the versions you skipped so you know about their major changes and any required actions in the interim. For example, if you are upgrading from version 2007 to 2010.2, you must first read and perform any required actions in the release documents for versions 2008, 2009.1 and 2009.2. See the past versions page for links to those and other materials from past versions.

 

To obtain and install McIDAS-X and/or McIDAS-XRD 2010.1, complete the following steps.

1. Download the following files to the ~mcidas directory on your McIDAS-X for XP workstation.
   Note: The installation will fail if the names of the downloaded files do not exactly match those listed below. If your web browser changes the names of the files during download (e.g., mcidas2010.1.tar.gz becomes mcidas2010.1_tar.gz), you must rename the files to those below before installing.

   File name	Size	Description
   mcidas2010.1.sh	20 KB	install/uninstall script (right click to download)
   mcidas2010.1.tar.gz	138 MB	compressed tar file containing binaries, source and data files; compiled version of -X & -XRD ~600 MB
   mcidas.mcenv	8 KB	environment variables used by McIDAS-X
   mcidas.profile	4 KB	template for creating a .profile file in user accounts that don't have a pre-existing .profile

2. To install McIDAS-X and/or -XRD 2010.1 on your workstation, complete the instructions in the section titled "Installing and Configuring McIDAS-X" in Chapter 1 of the McIDAS User's Guide.