Control Twr.weather equipment .info.please

[Topcover]

Folks,

My company is about to update our tower weather equipment.We are looking at Vaisala and Muir Matheson's.

Small company so we need as much "bang per buck" as we can get.

Please let me know what you would recommend.

TC

[DB_TWR]

We use a "AWOS"system made by Aerotechtelub A/B Sweden, basically a sysem that collects info from anemomenters, forward scatter meters, celiometers, etc,etc. The system can use sensors from most major manufactures, as well as the ones made by Aerotechtelub.

The TWR workstation is a single PC screen, keyboard and mouse. It runs standard Windows NT, and has a much more user friendly interface then Vaisalla. The layout itself can be altered to suit the operator, storage of settings can be linked to personal login.
You can use it to issue metar/metreport/synop in eighter manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic modes.

ESSA twr uses the system as integrated info system, replaceing all other display systems for met data.

http://www.geocities.com/aforseth_atc/AD/AWOS.jpg
(C) Flightpix.com
AWOS on left monitor

[28right]

NATS uses the Muir Matheson SAMOS system at most of the Airports at which it provides the ATC. The MM system uses some Vaisala sensors and some from other manufacturers and runs on MS Windows. Their system has user friendly displays in the VCR's and also has the advantage of a graphical, time related display for the visibility and cloud. The MM system can be [and is, at some airports set up during specific periods to automatic output of METARS]. Unfortunately the UKMO will not, as yet, accept automatic METARS for onward transmission, thus such outputs are sent via the AFTN to the UKMO Forecasters for their consideration.

The MET observations are actioned in NATS VCRs by qualified ATSA's, who, if the unit is equipped with a SAMOS system donot have to posess a full MET Observers rating. They undertake the MET activities on a task sharing basis with their other ATC support duties. MM are working on further automation aspects of the production of airport METARS.