NOAA Recorder Schedule (DOMSAT)

AVHRR data recorded on board the satellite (LAC and GAC) is transmitted to designated receiving stations. These receiving stations also receive live HRPT data, and retransmit all the AVHRR data to local receiving stations via DOMSAT satellite link. NOAA generates a schedule of passes to be recorded on board the satellite and the time they will be retransmitted via DOMSAT. The NOAA recorder schedule is available on the NOAA bulletin board.

XPLOT schedules passes to be acquired via DOMSAT link by reading the NOAA recorder schedule. This is accomplished by selecting the From Recorder Schedule option in the File Menu. The schedule contains dates and times for live and recorded scenes received by NOAA which are retransmitted via DOMSAT link. The file may contain scenes for one or more NOAA satellite(s) (e.g., NOAA-11, NOAA-12) and for any of the three AHVRR "data types" (HRPT, LAC, or GAC).

                

The first step is to select a NOAA recorder schedule file. A file selection box will pop up, allowing you to select a file (the default schedule name is *.sch in the current directory).

                    

Once a recorder schedule file is selected, it is scanned to determine which satellites and data types are present. A panel will pop up indicating which satellites and data types are present. You may then select the satellites and data types that you want to work with, and all others will be ignored. Pressing the Accept button will cause the Schedule Contains panel to pop down, and the Recorder Criteria panel to pop up.

                

The Recorder Criteria panel allows you to automatically schedule certain classes of scenes based on satellite, receiving station, data type, and direction. To add an automatic scheduling criterion, select the combination of attributes by pressing one of the buttons in each box. Then press the Add button. This will cause the criterion to be displayed in the scrollable list, and you may recombine the options and add more criteria. If one item in the data type, receiving station, or direction set is not selected, the item will show a "???" for that field. This indicates ALL options for that field will be automatically scheduled. An existing criterion may be deleted by selecting it in the scrolling list and pressing the Delete button. A criterion may be modified by selecting it in the scrolling list and pressing the Modify button. The selected criterion will disappear from the scroll list, and its fields will be correctly selected in the toggle buttons below. You may then modify the desired fields and press the Add button to re-add the modified criterion. When all criteria are set, press the Go button to read the schedule and select passes. All scenes not automatically scheduled will be displayed on the screen for manual scheduling or deleting. The scenes that were selected may be viewed using the Review scheduled passes option in the File menu.

The file selection box remains displayed until the schedule is actually read by pressing the Go button in the Recorder Criteria panel. The operation may be canceled at any time prior to this by pressing the Cancel button on the file selection box.