Weather over phone

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jesse

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Jesse
I'm thinking about setting up a system to provide weather to pilots for any airport with a metar over the phone. This could expand to other features as time goes on.

I recall someone saying there used to be a company that did this--and they quit? If so--I'm curious how they had you enter in the identifier of the airport. Entering letters with numbers on a phone isn't always very easy.

I'm trying to think of the best way to code this.
 
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jesse said:
I'm thinking about setting up a system to provide weather to pilots for any airport with a metar over the phone.

I recall someone saying there used to be a company that did this--and they quit? If so--I'm curious how they had you enter in the identifier of the airport. Entering letters with numbers on a phone isn't always very easy.

I'm trying to think of the best way to code this.
Click to expand...

I'd sure like a SMIS interrogation of some sort.
 
alaskaflyer said:
LOL! A typo, I meant SMS. Send a text message containing an airport code, a server responds with a text message with the METAR and/or TAF.
Click to expand...


I've considered that. But currently my interest is in phones. lol

Basically I'm trying to build and expand on my VOIP knowledge and I thought maybe I could come up with some cool service for pilots in the process.
 
jesse said:
I'm thinking about setting up a system to provide weather to pilots for any airport with a metar over the phone. This could expand to other features as time goes on.

I recall someone saying there used to be a company that did this--and they quit? If so--I'm curious how they had you enter in the identifier of the airport. Entering letters with numbers on a phone isn't always very easy.

I'm trying to think of the best way to code this.
Click to expand...
It does not work bad to just hit the number 2 twice for B and 3 times for C, etc. You just have to have a clear point where you step to the next letter. Better that than some kind of conversion table for Base 26.:)
 
Any AWOS did it before.
If IIRC you entered the 3 digit/letter designator by typing just once, ie, you would hit "4" once for "i" and the anyAWOS system would give you a list of airports with a number, "press four for podunk regional, press five for podunk international press six for podunk intergalactic space port..."
It was pretty decent, and then it started costing money.
Here is how the system works, IIRC they couldn't make any money on a free system so you may have an uphill battle.
http://www.anyawos.com/Howto.html

I think that you might have some real money to be made from offering a private FSS service, one which would have briefer that you actually could connect with, one who actually knew something about local weather, and actually could file flight plans with. I don't think anything in the FAR's requires that you get your briefing from an actual FSS system, just that you have the information prior to your flight.
 
I use to use Any AWOS while traveling but quit when they added "user fees".
If the system was available for free (advertisements prior to the METAR would be fine) I'd use the system.
Good luck!
​
 
It's not usually a good idea to jump into a business where the only company in the field just quit unless you know something they didn't. If you think you have a way to get more paying sponsors than ANYAWOS did, give it a go, but they tried running purely on sponsor money for quite a while before making it fee-for-service. We'll see how long they last on that basis -- nonscientific survey suggests the only question is when the life support machines are turned off and the entire service, even for a fee, is dead.
 
jesse said:
I've considered that. But currently my interest is in phones. lol

Basically I'm trying to build and expand on my VOIP knowledge and I thought maybe I could come up with some cool service for pilots in the process.
Click to expand...

since 877-ANY-AWOS failed, I would suggest expanding to do more, assuming you're trying to make money. If you're trying to do something out of the kindness of your heart for pilots, with no expectation of profit, then hell yeah!

Maybe you can come up with some sort of flight plan system. Have the pilot enter origin and destination, and have the system read off VOR to VOR for him, and then give weather along the route. While cumbersome, it'd be kind of fun.
 
You know what would be neater that another clone of AnyAWOS would be a duats type interface to metars via the WAP browser on a cell phone.
 
http://www.my-cast.com/about.jsp

I haven't used the service in a while, so I'm not sure how they're doing, but they've been around for several years and I was always happy with their service when I was actively flying.
 
While I realize that nothing is ever free, in this I was ever hopeful. It just seems that bouncing a server somewhere for a METAR (why isn't NOAA or the FAA providing this?) shouldn't require a monthly subscription.
 
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infotango said:
I think that you might have some real money to be made from offering a private FSS service, one which would have briefer that you actually could connect with, one who actually knew something about local weather, and actually could file flight plans with.
Click to expand...

Gee, why does this sound familiar?
 
alaskaflyer said:
While I realize that nothing is ever free, in this I was ever hopeful. It just seems that bouncing a server somewhere for a METAR (why isn't NOAA or the FAA providing this?) shouldn't require a monthly subscription.
Click to expand...

That's a real good question. It would seem like a good adjunct to ADDS.
 
As I recall the subscription ANY AWOS kept you connected to their system so you could listen to multiple AWOS. On the free AWOS, those little advertisements were being sold for $10 a month. The one thing I recall when I used the service (it was great from the cellphone) was the advertisement for their service. I think of all the calls I made, I only ever heard one other non ANY AWOS ad.
Once connected to the service, you would enter the airport code using the buttons on the keypad. BOS was 267. You would get a list of ALL the airports that fit those 3 digits (the 2 could be a B, D, or D).
While a great idea, I think their downfall on the free service was getting advertising.
PS: caution is needed dialing the number. 1-800 gets you an ADULT number.
 
Ron Levy said:
It's not usually a good idea to jump into a business where the only company in the field just quit unless you know something they didn't. If you think you have a way to get more paying sponsors than ANYAWOS did, give it a go, but they tried running purely on sponsor money for quite a while before making it fee-for-service. We'll see how long they last on that basis -- nonscientific survey suggests the only question is when the life support machines are turned off and the entire service, even for a fee, is dead.
Click to expand...

I wasn't planning on attempting to make money. I want to do something as more of a learning experience than a direct attempt at profit. Until you have the experience and the skills an attempt at profiting with such a thing is obviously going to fail.

Skyhog said:
If you're trying to do something out of the kindness of your heart for pilots, with no expectation of profit, then hell yeah!
Click to expand...
Exactly--Just a fun project.

I'll think about it some more today from the cost/technical side. If I do not use a 1-800 number the cost is almost non-existent for me. There would be no good reason to use a 1-800 number because any pilot friend that I know that may use it is going to use their cell phone and not care anyways.
 
jesse said:
I've considered that. But currently my interest is in phones. lol

Basically I'm trying to build and expand on my VOIP knowledge and I thought maybe I could come up with some cool service for pilots in the process.
Click to expand...


The one thing I'd appreciate is a number to call to get local area TFRs. It seems like such a waste of everyone's time to call FSS for that, especially when there are long hold times. OTOH, I think it would be better if LM would just put this on a TIBS. Every time we go out for a local flight we are supposed to check for TFRs but there's just no easy way to do that without a computer and even then, you get way too many from far away.
 
Jesse,
I have a couple of perl scripts that I use to get METARs to my cell phone by text messaging a list of aiprot id's. I'll upload them to your server running the AFD/dTPP if you'd like to start with those. They download the METAR from aviationweather.gov on demand. I've been thinking about a database version that gets the whole list (like weathermeister).

silver-eagle said:
Once connected to the service, you would enter the airport code using the buttons on the keypad. BOS was 267. You would get a list of ALL the airports that fit those 3 digits (the 2 could be a B, D, or D).
Click to expand...
I was thinking this would be better. However I ran a quick check on the list of ICAO airport IDs in the AFD database. The worst combination is 772:
+-------+-------+------------------------------+
| aptid | state | aptname |
+-------+-------+------------------------------+
| PPA | TX | PERRY LEFORS FLD |
| PPC | AK | PROSPECT CREEK |
| PRB | CA | PASO ROBLES MUNI |
| PRC | AZ | ERNEST A. LOVE FLD |
| PSB | PA | MID-STATE |
| PSC | WA | TRI-CITIES |
| RPB | KS | BELLEVILLE MUNI |
| RQB | MI | ROBEN-HOOD |
| SPA | SC | SPARTANBURG DOWNTOWN MEML |
| SPB | AK | SCAPPOOSE INDUSTRIAL AIRPARK |
| SRB | TN | UPPER CUMBERLAND RGNL |
| SRC | AR | SEARCY MUNI |
| SSC | SC | SHAW AFB |
+-------+-------+------------------------------+

Joe
 
I just use my PDA to pull up information from both ADDS and Wunderground.com where I can get any data on either site, including radar. For METARs and TAFs, I use the following URL written into a button my my Treo. I'd think the same thing would work on any web-enabled phone.

Code: 
http://adds.aviationweather.gov/metars/index.php?submit=1&station_ids=[KGVL,KGVL,KAHN,KPDK,KFTY,KLZU,KRMG,KRYY,K47A,KATL,KJFK]&chk_metars=on&chk_tafs=on&std_trans=raw
 
silver-eagle said:
Once connected to the service, you would enter the airport code using the buttons on the keypad. BOS was 267. You would get a list of ALL the airports that fit those 3 digits (the 2 could be a B, D, or D).
Click to expand...

The other way to enter alphanumerics is by using a two digit number. The first digit is the key the letter is on and the second digit is the position of that letter. For example B=22 T=81, etc. A number can be represented by a zero+number, eg 01, 02,etc. Since a character is always two digits it makes parsing the input much easier.
 
miker said:
The other way to enter alphanumerics is by using a two digit number. The first digit is the key the letter is on and the second digit is the position of that letter. For example B=22 T=81, etc. A number can be represented by a zero+number, eg 01, 02,etc. Since a character is always two digits it makes parsing the input much easier.
Click to expand...

Or since Jesse is using it as a skill development exercise how about voice recognition. Mike-Sierra-Papa should be accurately decoded most of the time.

Joe
 
What I'd really love is a free version of weathermeister. A guy on the red board coded one up but then he didn't update it and finally took it down. :(

Jesse, I think this is a cool project. Isn't VOIP fun?
 
Areeda said:
Jesse,
I have a couple of perl scripts that I use to get METARs to my cell phone by text messaging a list of aiprot id's. I'll upload them to your server running the AFD/dTPP if you'd like to start with those. They download the METAR from aviationweather.gov on demand. I've been thinking about a database version that gets the whole list (like weathermeister).


I was thinking this would be better. However I ran a quick check on the list of ICAO airport IDs in the AFD database. The worst combination is 772:
+-------+-------+------------------------------+
| aptid | state | aptname |
+-------+-------+------------------------------+
| PPA | TX | PERRY LEFORS FLD |
| PPC | AK | PROSPECT CREEK |
| PRB | CA | PASO ROBLES MUNI |
| PRC | AZ | ERNEST A. LOVE FLD |
| PSB | PA | MID-STATE |
| PSC | WA | TRI-CITIES |
| RPB | KS | BELLEVILLE MUNI |
| RQB | MI | ROBEN-HOOD |
| SPA | SC | SPARTANBURG DOWNTOWN MEML |
| SPB | AK | SCAPPOOSE INDUSTRIAL AIRPARK |
| SRB | TN | UPPER CUMBERLAND RGNL |
| SRC | AR | SEARCY MUNI |
| SSC | SC | SHAW AFB |
+-------+-------+------------------------------+

Joe
Click to expand...

I'd be a little concerned about the source of that information. Scappoose Industrial Airpark ( SPB ) is in Oregon, not Alaska. :D
 
Ghery said:
Select Oregon and you get the same thing for SPB. It kind of jumped out at me as I've flown in and out of there a couple of times, and drive by it often when driving to meetings in Hillsboro, OR.
Click to expand...

Ghery,

I believe you found an error in the NACO database.

I'm kind of happy it wasn't a bug of mine but in the long run it doesn't matter much.

Would you like to report it or should I?

Joe

ps your comment on trust is right on!
 
KennyFlys said:
For METARs and TAFs, I use the following URL written into a button my my Treo. I'd think the same thing would work on any web-enabled phone.
Click to expand...

Kenny, thanks so much for posting that URL. Just what I have been looking for!
grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Dwight B. Van Zanen said:
It does not work bad to just hit the number 2 twice for B and 3 times for C, etc. You just have to have a clear point where you step to the next letter. Better that than some kind of conversion table for Base 26.:)
Click to expand...

Wouldn't work without some sort of disambiguation still...

CCB = 22222222
CBC = 22222222
BCC = 22222222

Any Awos was pretty decent, with its one-hit-per-letter and disambiguation menu. I'm not sure you can do better than that.
 
Areeda said:
Ghery,

I believe you found an error in the NACO database.

I'm kind of happy it wasn't a bug of mine but in the long run it doesn't matter much.

Would you like to report it or should I?

Joe

ps your comment on trust is right on!
Click to expand...

Go ahead and report it.

"To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer."
 
Ghery said:
Go ahead and report it.

"To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer."
Click to expand...

This is more interesting than I thought.

I've found 71 duplicate 3 letter IDs in my database. I've tracked a bunch of them to the XML file from naco.faa.gov.

It makes some sense with the Alaska ones as their ICAO codes start with P not K. But they also duplicate the airport name which is not right.

More investigation then I'll write them.

Joe
 
I looked into this some more.

It seems this may be a feature rather than a bug. I've attached the list of duplicates on the FAA site.

As far as I can tell they are fudging a way to get one airport into 2 AFD books. So the Alaska set has airports in Washington and Oregon listed as being in Alaska but if you open the AFD page it lists them in the proper state with other airports from AK. There are also some border airports such as KALN (Alton IL) that is listed also as being in Missouri and KHTW as being in OH and WV.

Joe
 

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Areeda said:
I looked into this some more.

It seems this may be a feature rather than a bug. I've attached the list of duplicates on the FAA site.

As far as I can tell they are fudging a way to get one airport into 2 AFD books. So the Alaska set has airports in Washington and Oregon listed as being in Alaska but if you open the AFD page it lists them in the proper state with other airports from AK. There are also some border airports such as KALN (Alton IL) that is listed also as being in Missouri and KHTW as being in OH and WV.

Joe
Click to expand...

and I thought I was curious... :D
 
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