UPS Replaced

Had to replace the AC-EMWIN system UPS. Past couple days it started acting squirrley. Would have some sort of hiccup which caused it to beep endlessly in one long, unending tone. When I'd go into the room to check, I'd find the red light flashing, and the desktop would be blank - no EMWIN software running.

I'd reset the battery. Red light would keep flashing. I'd turn the battery off and then back on. Wouldn't do anything. Unplugged it for a while. Didn't help, either. Left it alone and restarted the EMWIN software and let it be, to see what would happen.

In subsequent days, same thing would happen. Sometimes, after a while, the battery light would go green again, BUT, I'd find all the EMWIN software unloaded again, and a naked desktop (i.e., just the normal icons and folders, with no programs running), as if the system had been rebooted. Odd.

So, the battery was apparently having some kind of hiccup wherein it would shut down all the software that was running, shut down the computer, and then restart the computer. But in the occasions where it would reboot the computer, there would be no warning. No beep, nothing. AND, mysteriously, you'd find the battery light lit green.

This was not acceptable and obviously the battery was in a non-relilable state so I went out and purchased a new one.

The system is again operating normally.

New AC-EMWIN Facebook/Twitter Feeds

Spent the past week learning new ways to distribute the bulletins to Facebook and Twitter. Experimented and fiddled and finally got things working.

AC-EMWIN is now distributing some limited bulletins to our AC-SKYWARN and AC-EMWIN Facebook and Twitter pages.

We are ALSO distributing bulletins to the Facebook page of our friends at the Bradford County Office of Emergency Management so that their page can benefit from timely weather bulletins, too. Michael Heeder also advises us that he is receiving lots of compliments on the new weather bulletins being fed to the Bradford EM page, and on their timeliness.

AC-EMWIN "Adustments"

Downloaded an additional map database for the AC-EMWIN server software which allows painting of the TS/hurricane watches/warnings along the coastline. Had to take the server down very quickly - no one really noticed - in order to implement it.

Also made a few tweaks to the software not really worth mentioning they're so insubstantial.

Added a link to the NHC to the AC-SKYWARN page's side navbar, as well.

Two New Custom Bulletins Added to AC-EMWIN Line-up

We've added two new custom bulletins to the list of available items from AC-EMWIN...

1) LCHGNVFL - Launch Announcement Bulletin
2) LCNGNVFL - Launch Cancellation Notice

The Launch Announcement Bulletin (LCHGNVFL) will be sent out one hour prior to any rocket launch from KSC or Cape Canaveral to notify users of an upcoming launch. It is set up weeks or months ahead of time and is automatically sent by the EMWIN software one hour prior to launch.

The Launch Cancellation Notice will announce any launch cancellations or reschedulings which might occur. This bulletin, however, is forced to have to be sent manually by the AC-EMWIN sysop at some point after the abort announcement and could be delayed by some time depending upon where I am at the time the announcement is made and how close to the actual launch time it is made. If the announcement is made long before the actual launch date, then this bulletin should be sent out in time. If the announcement come minutes before the launch, I could be out photographing it and sending will not occur until after I have returned home.

To view the last version of the bulletin, see here:

http://alachuaskywarn.org/emwin/products.html