A.1 Introduction. All records are contained in the .dbf files. This Appendix reviews data entry guidelines provided agency personnel furnishing data and includes abbreviations used in the databases.
A.2 Glossary.
ASCII... An acronym for American Standard Code for Information
Interchange. It is a seven-bit code that defines 128 standard
characters, including control characters, letters, numbers,
and symbols.
Character String... A sequence of letters, numbers, or symbols. The
sequence 1234 Main Street, Anytown, is a character string.
Database.. A file or group of files containing records of related data.
Field... An individual data item in a record within a database file.
Field Name... The name assigned to a field. A field name may have up to
10 characters consisting of letters, numbers, and underscores.
It must begin with a letter and cannot contain embedded blank
spaces.
Field Type... Indicates the type of data that may be stored within a
field. Field types are character, date, logical,
memo, and numeric.
Field Width... The number of character spaces assigned to a field.
Query... A specific request for data or instructions.
Record... A group of related fields of information treated as a unit.
Relation... A connection established between multiple database files by
using a key field or expression as a common reference point.
A.3 Data Entry Sheets.
A.3.1 PORTABLE/TRANSPORTABLE EQUIPMENT
SPACES FIELD description [dBASE field name]
10 Capability category [CAPCAT]
- portable - transport [transportable]
[portable is man totable (20# or less, transportable requires
mechanized transportation]
50 Instrument/system name [SYSNAME]
[include any identifying numbers; example: AN/TMQ-31
and model, if applicable]
10 Instrument/system acronym [ACRONYM]
8 Date of Record [UPDATED]
[date entered/revised column reflects this update.
A field DATEREC, used in conjunction with FCM-I5-1993
data entry, is retained in the data fields for archive
purposes. It is not linked to the current .frm entry
"Date Entered/Revised" line.]
4 Serial number [SERNO]
[number, for OFCM administrative purposes, of entry from 1
to 9,999]
8 Department [DEPT]
[official acronym of department; example: DOC, USDA, DOD, etc]
40 Agency [AGENCY]
[sub-activity of department; example: NOAA National Weather
Service under DOC, e.g. NOAA/NWS]
30 Address [ADDRESS1]
30 Address [ADDRESS2]
15 City [CITY1]
2 State [STATE]
10 Zipcode [ZIP1]
20 Agency Point of Contact [POC]
[designated point of contact (POC) for agency or sub-agency]
15 POC phone number FTS [FTSNO]
8 POC phone number DSN [DSNNO]
15 POC phone number commercial [COMMNO]
15 POC fax number [FAXNO]
47 POC Email address [EMAIL]
10 Category/application of system [CATAPPL]
- sfc obs [surface observation collection]
- UA obs [upper air observation collection]
- sfc/UA [both surface and upper air observation collection]
- process [process data only]
- display [display data only]
- proc/dsply [both process and display data]
- obs-fcst [complete observation to forecast system]
- satsytem [satellite processing,display, dissemination,etc]
- multi-purp [multi-purpose system]
- comments [other item, explain in comments]
60 Purpose of system [PURPOSE]
[narrative of purpose/objective of system]
12 Development phase [DEVPHASE]
- R&D [research & development] - operational
- transition [transition R&D to operational]
8 Status of availability [STATUS]
- COTS [commercial off-the-shelf]
- GSA [on GSA schedule]
- dev agcy [available from developing agency]
- combine [combination]
- comments [other, explain in comments]
20 If on GSA schedule, Federal stock number [FEDSTKNO]
6 Cost [COST]
[current cost estimate in thousands of dollars]
8 Loan availability [LOAN]
[yes, no, or note to see comments]
4 Units in use [INV]
[number of units currently in use. Use comments to
discuss planned deployment scope of near-term systems]
30 Vendor [VENDOR]
[fabricator, producer of system]
Environmental Elements Sensed
[15 spaces max for each element,range, and accuracy entry;
19 spaces for sensor used entry (such as resistance wire
for air temperature)]
[ELEMENT] [RANGE] [ACCUR] [SENSOR]
1. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
2. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
3. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
4. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
5. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
6. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
7. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
8. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
9. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
10. __________ ___________ ___________ ___________
55 Other elements sensed [OTHERELEM]
[elements listed in narrative form, with range/accuracy
information, if available; example: lighting strikes, etc.]
7 Weight [WEIGHT]
4 Height [HEIGHT]
4 Width [WIDTH]
4 Length [LENGTH]
4 Diameter [DIAMETER]
50 Power source/needs [POWER]
[narrative; example: Nicad batteries,solar, 110VAC/15
amperes, line frequency 50-400 Hz,adapatability to
foreign powers source etc.]
15 Shelter requirements [SHELTER]
[narrative of needs; example: none, 8'x12' van, etc.]
8 Deployment mode [DEPLOY]
- manual
- air
- marine [ship or water vehicle]
- ground [ground transportation]
- combine [combination of modes;example: marine/air]
- comments [other, explain in comments]
25 Telemetry capability in/out [TELEMETRY]
- telephone - radio
- satellite - meteor burst
- combination [combination of modes; radio, satellite, etc]
- comments [other, explain in comments]
[how system receives and/or sends data]
9 System operation [SYSTEMOP]
- automatic [automatic] - semiauto [semiautomatic]
- manual - comments [other, explain in comments]
8 Self test capability [TESTCAP]
- adequate - some [some routines available]
- none
8 Availability of spare parts [SPARES]
- adequate - some - none
5 Maintenance requirements [MAINT]
- major - some - none
7 Source of maintenance [SOURCEM]
- inhouse - contr [contractor]
35 Number of persons required to operate/level of expertise
[narrative of number of persons nominally needed, followed by
descriptive term of specialty. Example: 2 met tech, 1
meteor. [OPERATORS]
5 Operator/system training availability [OPTRAIN]
- avail - none
9 Documentation level of system [DOCUMENT]
- extensive - moderate - minimal - none
[extensive =includes operation manuals, hardware maintenance
manuals, and complete schematics. moderate = operation manuals
and schematics. minimal= operations manual.]
20 Computer system integrated in system [COMPUTER]
[narrative of computer integrated in hardware; for
example: IBM compatible 486-50mhz, etc.]
25 Display [DISPLAY]
[narrative; i.e. real time video, etc.]
12 Software [SOFTWARE]
- integrated [part of portable or transportable system]
- transferable [can be taken to system]
- combination [combination of integrated and transferable
- comments [other, explain in comments
[if the system contains software, details of the
program(s) will be in the SOFTWARE data base. dBASE
can relate software to the system by querying the
instrument/system name]
303 Comments [COMMENTS, COMMENTS1 through COMMENTS4]
[narrative to expand or explain any item]
5 Page Number [PAGE_NO]
A.3.2 SOFTWARE
8 Capability category [CATCAP]
- software
50 Software name/title [TITLE]
[include any identifying numbers, if applicable]
20 Software acronym [ACRONYM]
12 Relevance to mobile meteorological equipment [RELEVANCE]
- integrated [part of system]
- transferable [can be taken to system]
- combination [both integrated and transferable]
- comments [other entry, explain in comments]
70 If integrated software, name of instrument/system in which
installed [HARDINSTAL]
[this description of the instrument/system should be
identical to that entered in the other databases to
ensure relational linking]
8 Date record entered or revised [UPDATED]
[date information entered in database; see note for
Port_tra.dbf]
4 Serial number [SERNO]
[OFCM administrative number of record from 1 to 9,999]
18 Department [DEPT]
[official acronym of department; example: DOC, USDA DoD, etc]
63 Agency [AGENCY]
[Sub-activity of department; example: NOAA National Weather
Service under DOC. eg NOAA/NWS]
63 Address [ADDRESS1]
63 Address [ADDRESS2]
26 City [CITY]
2 State [STATE]
10 Zipcode [ZIP1]
30 Agency Point of Contact [POC]
[designated point of contact (POC) for agency or
sub-activity]
15 POC phone number FTS [FTSNO]
8 POC phone number DSN [DSNNO]
15 POC phone number commercial [COMMNO]
15 POC fax number [FAXNO]
47 POC Email address (EMAIL]
13 Category of software [CAT]
- program - subroutine/mod [subroutine/module]
- auto data sys [automated data system]
10 Application of software [CATAPPL]
- sfc obs [surface observation collection]
- UA obs [upper air observation collection]
- sfc/UA [both surface and upper air collection]
- fcst/analy [forecast and analysis routines]
- process [process data only]
- display [display data only]
- satellite [satellite data reception/display]
- multipurp [multi-purpose software]
- comments [other, explain in comments]
11 Processing mode [PROCESS]
- inter [interactive] - batch
- combination [combination batch and interactive]
60 Software function [PURPOSE]
[narrative description of software function]
12 Development phase [DEVPHASE]
- R&D - operational
- transition
8 Status of availability [STATUS]
- COTS [commercial off-the-shelf]
- dev agcy [available from developing agency]
- in-house [agency in-house use only]
- comments [other, explain in comments]
35 Vendor/developer [VENDOR]
15 Programing language(s) [PROGLANG]
[ narrative; example: Fortran, C, etc.]
10 Program size [SIZE]
[size of program (megabytes)]
9 Documentation level of program [DOCUMENT]
- extensive - moderate - minimal - none
[documentation includes user operation manuals, etc.]
25 Computer operating system required [COMPUTER]
[narrative; example: DOS, UNIX, etc.]
10 Memory requirements [MEMORY]
[narrative; example: 640K, etc.]
56 Storage requirements [STORAGE]
- tape drive [tape drive(s)]
- disk/drum [disk/drum units]
- comments [other, explain in comments]
57 Other requirements [OTHERREQ]
[narrative of other requirements; example: math coprocessor,
extended memory, special software, such as PROCOMM PLUS,
etc.]
38 If transferable, magnetic storage media [MAGMEDIA]
[narrative of media, example: 3 1/2" or 5 1/4" high density
floppy diskettes, 1/2" 1600 bpi magnetic tape, 1/2" 6250 bpi
magnetic tape, etc.]
465 Comments [COMMENTS, COMMENTS2 through COMMENTS6]
[narrative to expand or explain any item]
5 Page Number [PAGE_NO]
A.3.3 ANCILLARY/COMMUNICATIONS
9 Capability category [CAPCAT]
- ancillary - comm [communications]
50 Instrument/system name [SYSNAME]
[include any identifying numbers; example: AN/TMQ-xx
and model, if appropriate]
20 Instrument/system acronym [ACRONYM]
10 Relevance to mobile meteorological equipment [RELEVANCE]
- integrated [integrated as part of system
- optional [optional equipment which may be added to
system(s)
- comments [other, explain in comments]
70 If integrated hardware, name of instrument/system in which
installed [HARDINSTAL]
[this description of the instrument /system should be
identical to that entered in other databases to ensure
relational linking]
8 Date of record entered or revised [UPDATED]
[date information entered in database; see note for
Port_tra.dbf]
4 Serial number [SERNO]
[OFCM administrative number of record from 1 to 9,999]
18 Department [DEPT]
[official acronym of department; example: DOC, USDA, DoD, etc]
63 Agency [AGENCY]
[sub-activity of department; example: National Weather Service
under DOC, eg, NOAA/NWS]
63 Address [ADDRESS1]
63 Address [ADDRESS2]
26 City [CITY]
2 State [STATE]
10 Zipcode [ZIP1]
30 Agency Point of Contact [POC]
[designated point of contact (POC) for agency or sub-activity]
15 POC phone number FTS [FTSNO]
8 POC phone number DSN [DSNNO]
15 POC phone number commercial [COMMNO]
15 POC fax number [FAXNO]
47 POC Email address [EMAIL]
14 Category/application of system [CATAPPL]
- comm interface [communication interface]
- network [communication network system]
- periphery [periphery hardware to enhance system performance]
- comments [other, explain in comments]
60 System function [PURPOSE]
[ narrative of the function/purpose of the equipment/system]
12 Development phase [DEVPHASE]
- R&D - operational
- transition [transition R&D to operations]
8 Status of availability [STATUS]
- COTS [commercial off-the-shelf]
- GSA [on GSA schedule]
- dev agcy [available from developing agency]
- comments [other, explain in comments]
20 If on GSA schedule, Federal stock number [FEDSTKNO]
6 Cost [COST]
[current cost estimate in thousands of dollars]
8 Available for loan [LOAN}
[yes, no, or note to see comments]
4 Units in use [INV]
[number of units currently in use. use comments to discuss
planned deployment scope of near-term systems.
34 Vendor [VENDOR]
7 Weight [WEIGHT]
4 Height [HEIGHT]
4 Width [WIDTH]
4 Length [LENGTH]
4 Diameter [DIAMETER]
56 Power source/needs [POWER]
[narrative; example: Nicad batteries, 110VAC/15
amperes, line frequency,adapability to foreign power
source etc.]
25 Telemetry capability in/out [TELEMETRY]
- telephone - radio
- satellite - meteor burst
- combination [combination of modes; radio, satellite,etc]
- comments [other, explain in comments]
[how system receives and/or sends data]
12 Type of data sent/received [TYPEDATA]
- sfc [surface observations]
- UA [upper air observations]
- satellite - radar
- lightning - products
- comments [other, explain in comments]
10 Data transmission limitations [DATALIMIT]
unrestricted [unrestricted access]
restricted [restricted access]
8 Baud rate [BAUD]
9 System operation [SYSTEMOP]
- automatic [automatic] - semiauto [semi-automatic]
- manual - comments [other, explain in comments]
8 Availability of spare parts [SPARES]
- adequate - some - none
9 Maintenance requirements [MAINT]
- major - some - none
5 Operator/system training availability [OPTRAIN]
- available - none
9 Documentation level of system [DOCUMENT]
- extensive - moderate - minimal - none
[extensive = includes operation manuals, hardware maintenance
manuals, and complete schematics. moderate = operations manuals and
schematics. minimal = operations manuals.]
28 Computer system used in system [COMPUTER]
[if applicable, computer integrated in hardware; example:
IBM compatible, 486-50mhz,etc]
12 Software [SOFTWARE]
- integrated [part of instrument/system]
- transferable [can be taken to system]
- combination [combination of integrated/transferable
- comments [other, explain in comments]
[if this section is applicable to the system, details of the
programs will be in the SOFTWARE data base, which dBASE can
relate by querying the instrument/system name]
459 Comments [COMMENTS, COMMENTS2 through COMMENTS6]
[narrative to expand or explain any item]
5 Page Number [PAGE_NO]