20040331: Help On viewing Lightning data (cont.)

------- Blind-Carbon-Copy

To: Karthik Samudram Jayaraman <address@hidden>
Subject: 20040331: Help On viewing Lightning data (cont.)
In-reply-to: Your message of "Wed, 31 Mar 2004 13:51:29 EST."
             <address@hidden> 
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 12:28:45 -0700
From: Unidata Support <address@hidden>

>From: Karthik Samudram Jayaraman <address@hidden>
>Organization: Western Michigan University
>Keywords: 200403282303.i2SN3trV018800 McIDAS NLDN display

Karthik,,

>So the NLDN data could be viewed using Only MC-Idas?

McIDAS and GEMPAK both can display NLDN lightning data.

>Could you guide 
>me how to achieive this task of viewing the NLDN data using MC-IDAS?

Here is a simple command example of displaying a lightning plot from
a McIDAS-X session:

SF 1
ERASE
NLDNDISP LIG- USA LATEST

This assumes that the ADDE server you are pointing at for the
dataset whose group name is RTPTSRC is ingesting and decoding
the lightning data and is allowing you access to the data.

The online help for NLDNDISP shows more of its possibilities:

HELP NLDNDISP
NLDNDISP - Plot/Contour NLDN lightning data
   NLDNDISP parm map time day <keywords>
Parameters:
   parm  | LIG, LIG-, LIG+, SGNL, MULT
   map   | mnemonic,SAT,OLAY,DEF (default=SAT)
           mnemonic  any map mnemonic defined in MAP context table
           OLAY      navigation from image; no map drawn (def)
           SAT       navigation from image; no map drawn
           DEF       define map using LAT, LON, SLAT, SLON keywords
   time  | reference time (def=current) see INT= keyword for time span
           FRAME  - plot data with same time as navigation frame
   day   | reference day (def=current)
Keywords:
***************************  Search Keywords  ****************************
   INT=int rel | data window time interval [HH, HH:MM, HH:MM:SS] and
           relation of interval to 'time' (C -Centered, L - less than,
           M - more than). (def=00:30 C - 30 minutes centered over 'time'
************************  Map/Navigation Keywords  ***********************
   CMAP= |  Basemap color (default=8)
   ELE=min max | min and max ELEment extents (def=frame size dependent)

 ...

The MCGUI has a simplified interface to plotting the data:

- - bring up a McIDAS-X session with the MCGUI running
- - click on Display and select Observations and then Plot/Contour
- - click on the 'Data type to plot' button and select Lightning
- - click on the 'Parameter to plot' button and select the lightning
  parameter you want to plot
- - click on the 'Map background' button to select the area you want
  the plot for (NOTE: lightning data is only available in the US)
- - click on the 'Display' button to plot

I recommend starting with a full view of the US to see where there
is lightning activity, and then selecting a map background that
is pertinent to that region.

Also note that you can plot lightning on top of a satellite or radar
image.  The sequence is to first display the desired satellite/radar
image and then overlay (click on the OLAY radiobutton) the lighting
on top of it.

These are not being added to the tracking system, but I am curious as
to why you want these excluded.  Hints like the ones above can benefit
everyone wanting to do the same thing.

Tom
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