AWIPS !! with AllisonHouse Feed

[Nathan Parker]

Is anyone here using AWIPS II CAVE with an AllisonHouse feed, or would I be better off sticking solely with GR2Analyst/GRLevel3/RadarScrope/RadarOmega with AllisonHouse Chaser and Baron XM Mobile Threat Net for backup?

Thanks!

 

[Drew Terril]

What is your intended purpose? Is this meant for at home (with a dedicated internet connection), or is this for chasing? GR2A and AWIPS are very bandwidth intensive, and my personal philosophy regarding mobile data usage is to minimize my bandwidth usage to the extent possible. The former two are much better suited to a home setup, particularly on a desktop with multiple monitors. A desktop is easier to upgrade to keep up performance wise, and for that type of usage, two or more monitors are really nice. I primarily use GRL3 on my laptop when chasing (I'll run RS on a tablet) with MTN as a backup. I have not subscribed to AH, so I don't have any input on that.

 

[Nathan Parker]

By the way, this should have read AWIPS II. Not sure how the !! got in there.

I have a Windows PC at home, but it is a notebook, so the graphics might not be powerful enough. My Internet connection is 300M, but it can be glitchy at times, so might not be good enough to run it.

I mainly use radar apps for storm tracking, so I probably wouldn't use the extra datasets in AWIPS for the hassle that would be involved.

I will be taking the Windows PC on the go at times on low-bandwidth hotspot connections, so at those times, I should definitely use GRLevel3 and MTN. When I don't have cell coverage, MTN will be super beneficial.

Side question: Is RadarScope on Windows worth it at all, or should I just stick with GR all the way? I wonder if it'd be any useful in areas with slower cellular data, but then again, I'd have MTN.

I'm getting MTN as soon as the new satellite receivers are in stock. I can't wait to signup.

 

[Drew Terril]

If you already have GLR3 on your laptop, there's not a lot of reason to get RS. I bought it to try out on my Windows 10 laptop, and found myself never opening it up since GRL3 could do considerably more. If you don't already have GRL3, you'll have to do somewhat of a cost analysis vs what you get with GRL3 to see if you can make do with RS or if GRL3 is more in line with your needs. Same goes for people who already have RS for PC and are considering going to GRL3. It's all about if it's worth it for what you do.

 

[Nathan Parker]

Good info. I already own GRLevel3 and GR2Analyst. I may purchase RS just to familiarize myself with it on Windows down the road, but I'll see myself using GRLevel3 a lot more.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I've been a customer of AWIPS II Cave product from Allisonhouse for a couple years. Like anything, there's a learning curve to it but it is very convenient. I also can make cool animated gifs of weather graphics for my website.

I leave a water vapor loop going 24/7 for the most part from GOES-West. If you have an extra machine, I would suggest giving it a try. You can get a RedHat license for free using the developer account

 

[Nathan Parker]

Thanks for the info. Would the Windows version work on a machine with 12GB RAM and Intel CPU and GPU, or do I need more power?

 

[Ben Holcomb]

That should be fine. nVidia GPUs work better, the Quadro line. I believe that is what the spec to Raytheon was from the NWS when they built AWIPS II. The machine I use for AWIPS is semi old. I'm running a Intel I7 9700KF/32GB RAM/nVidia Quadro K4200 with a couple monitors for mine.

I haven't done the Windows version, but I imagine it may lag some compared to the native Linux version.

 

[Nathan Parker]

Good to know. Thanks! Eventually I'd move it to a desktop, but I only have a notebook I could run it on at the moment.