20000517: information for using UW datastream archive images (cont.)

>From: James F Garten <address@hidden>
>Organization: University of Michigan
>Keywords: 200005162009.e4GK9V421978 Unidata-Wisconsin images AREA DSSERVE 
>REDIRECT

Jim,

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you, but I was on travel.

>I have been learning how to use mcidas, but cannot find the answer to
>the following question:
>
>I downloaded a bunch of files from Wisconsin that have the format:
>
>200002230000.goes10vis
>
>I ftp'd them to my own machine where I am also running mcidas.
>but do not see how to take these files and name them into
>an "area" or "image group" so that I may look at them using
>mcidas. Have I missed directions in the learning guide that
>would show me how to do this?

The learning guide and online McIDAS Users Guide go over the components
of an ADDE dataset.  What you are probably lacking is the big picture
overview.

>Do I have to rename the files somehow?

For McIDAS-X versions 7.6 and previous (I say this because I just got
Version 7.7 and things have changed for the better :-).  Currently,
McIDAS needs images in AREA format to be located in files named
AREAnnnn, where nnnn is a 4-digit number (e.g., 0001 - 9999; 0000 is
illegal).

So, what I would do to get my feet wet (so to speak) is:

o FTP image files from the Unidata-Wisconsin archive site (you have already
  done this)

o decide on a file naming scheme.  This is where knowing how to use
  McIDAS comes in handy.  I suggest that you do the following:

  Decide on how many images of each type you are likely to want to
  keep around.  The default configuration I send out for realtime
  data (the data received by sites via the Unidata IDD) is 10 per
  image type (e.g., GOES-East VIS (0.65 um), GOES-East IR (10.7 um),
  GOES-East WV (6.8 um), GOES-West VIS (0.65 um), etc.

  After you know what images you are going to want to deal with and
  how many of each kind there will be, you need to decide how they will
  be named.  For example, here is the defaults sent with McIDAS-X for the
  realtime data available through the Unidata IDD:

  Image type      AREA number range (referred to as cylinder numbers)
  ---------------+---------------------------------------------------
  EDFLOATER-I       60 -   69  ->  AREA0060 - AREA0069
  MOLLWEIDE IR     100 -  109  ->  AREA0100 - AREA0109
  MOLLWEIDE WV     110 -  119  ->  AREA0110 - AREA0119
  GOES-West VIS    120 -  129  ->  AREA0120 - AREA0129
  GOES-West IR     130 -  139  ->  AREA0130 - AREA0139
  GOES-East VIS    140 -  149  ->  AREA0140 - AREA0149
  GOES-East IR     150 -  159  ->  AREA0150 - AREA0159
  GOES-West WV     170 -  179  ->  AREA0170 - AREA0210
  EDFLOATER-I      160 -  169  ->  AREA0160 - AREA0169
  RESFLOATER       180 -  189  ->  AREA0180 - AREA0189
  ANTARCTIC        190 -  199  ->  AREA0190 - AREA0199
  MDR              200 -  209  ->  AREA0200 - AREA0209
  GOES-East WV     210 -  219  ->  AREA0210 - AREA0210

  Since you may eventually want the realtime data, I suggest that you
  adopt the above scheme with some modifications:

  Image type      AREA number range (referred to as cylinder numbers)
  ---------------+---------------------------------------------------
  EDFLOATER-I     2060 - 2069  ->  AREA0060 - AREA0069
  MOLLWEIDE IR    2100 - 2109  ->  AREA0100 - AREA0109
  MOLLWEIDE WV    2110 - 2119  ->  AREA0110 - AREA0119
  GOES-West VIS   2120 - 2129  ->  AREA0120 - AREA0129
  GOES-West IR    2130 - 2139  ->  AREA0130 - AREA0139
  GOES-East VIS   2140 - 2149  ->  AREA0140 - AREA0149
  GOES-East IR    2150 - 2159  ->  AREA0150 - AREA0159
  GOES-West WV    2170 - 2179  ->  AREA0170 - AREA0210
  EDFLOATER-I     2160 - 2169  ->  AREA0160 - AREA0169
  RESFLOATER      2180 - 2189  ->  AREA0180 - AREA0189
  ANTARCTIC       2190 - 2199  ->  AREA0190 - AREA0199
  MDR             2200 - 2209  ->  AREA0200 - AREA0209
  GOES-East WV    2210 - 2219  ->  AREA0210 - AREA0210

  If you want to keep more of any kind of image, you will have to adjust
  your naming scheme accordingly.  Please note that there can NOT be
  an overlap in names.

o after FTPing the files you want and renaming them using a scheme like
  that listed above, you will need to create ADDE datasets so you can
  access the files.  The scheme we use for the realtime data is discussed
  in the Learning Guide.  The page that has dataset names that match
  our default names listed above is:

  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mclearn760/sat-1.html

  Since your data is not "realtime" (it is archive data), I would strongly
  suggest that you not use the RTIMAGES data set name.  Perhaps you could
  adopt something like ARCHIVE.  Then, you would simply substitute ARCHIVE
  for REALTIME and the new AREA numbers you chose for those listed in
  the HTML page in DSSERVE commands that you run to setup the data sets.

  For illustration, suppose that you decide to use ARCHIVE and you have
  named GOES-East VIS images AREA2140 - AREA2149.  The DSSERVE command
  that you would run would be:

  DSSERVE ADD ARCHIVE/GE-VIS AREA 2140 2149 "GOES-East North America VIS

  A file in the McIDAS-X distribution you can use as an example of
  how to setup a bunch of DSSERVE commands can be found in
  ~mcidas/data/DSSERVE.BAT.  This is a McIDAS BATCH file that can be
  run as follows:

  BATCH DSSERVE.BAT

  Of course, you would create a new file possibly named ARCHIVE.BAT, so
  your BATCH command would be:

  BATCH ARCHIVE.BAT

o once you have named the files and setup ADDE dataset names, the only
  thing left is making sure that your McIDAS-X session can find the
  files.  This will be automatic if you put the files in a directory
  in your MCPATH.  If you did not, you can use the REDIRECT command
  to specify where to find the files.  For example, if you put all
  of your renamed image files in a directory named /data/mcidas and
  this directory was not in your MCPATH, then you might tell McIDAS
  that it can find the AREA files in that directory as follows:

  REDIRECT ADD AREA2* "/data/mcidas

>Was I incorrect to ftp them directly to my machine instead of
>using some method within mcidas to do the transfer?

No, not at all.  You did exactly what was needed.

>(The directions show how to obtain some files from a ucar machine
>within mcidas.)

Huh?  Are you looking at: http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/data/unirec.html 

>Any help you can provide will be appreciated, and I am hoping that once
>I understand how to get these images loaded in that I will not bother
>you anymore....

No problem.  Please let me know if the above discussions was not what you
need to get going.

Tom Yoksas