Tyler Allison
EF5
Al will be taking on that role. As the NWS rep he can play bad cop and I can stay good cop
-
After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.
I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.
For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.
From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.
Sincerely, Jeff D.
SpotterNetwork reports
- Thread starter cedwards
- Start date
Al will be taking on that role. As the NWS rep he can play bad cop and I can stay good cop
Shane Adams
Actually I've come to embrace the ridiculous things I hear over the scanner from "trained" spotters. At the end of a long chase, sometimes it feels like I should be paying for that level of entertainment. My favorite thing is when they try to be all scientific with the reporting, and they jumble a bunch of buzzwords into something so silly it makes you laugh out loud.
God bless 'em, they're trying.
God bless 'em, they're trying.
AH is providing a great service to all with the SN. Let's keep it the way it is. The bigger picture is that it provides a service to the public via the NWS. This is the most important thing to remember. It's an efficient and reliable way to get timely info. to who needs it the most. The more they (the NWS offices) use it, the better. You can always choose not to have info. published in your SN profile.
I would assume that if you are a experienced chaser, you would have the NWS numbers to call in reports the old fashioned way. I would also assume that it works the other way, that the offices wil see the name and/or callsign and have a idea who it is and have the spotters number and be able to call them for a sitrep also. I much prefer to report over the phone, as its faster and you actually speak with a human. I have many personal contacts at a number of offices that I can call my reports directly to and I hope that others have them too.
Don't get me wrong, I love SN, but I guess what I am saying is: If you don't know the number, don't answer it, and consider not publishing the data on your profile. The few bad reports come from inexperience, maybe a few emails with a correcting direction will solve that. The few phone calls from news organizations and such is the result of them just trying to get the scoop on their competitors and spread the news first. I don't really see a problem with them using the service nor calling us chasers. I do think tho that if TA has any direct contacts or exact proof of these types of calls,
that he should get the contact info. and contact them back an explain the situation to them and get them to pony up something to assist him in providing this service. This could also be a great marketing opportunity to get the SN service out to all major news organizations...
I would assume that if you are a experienced chaser, you would have the NWS numbers to call in reports the old fashioned way. I would also assume that it works the other way, that the offices wil see the name and/or callsign and have a idea who it is and have the spotters number and be able to call them for a sitrep also. I much prefer to report over the phone, as its faster and you actually speak with a human. I have many personal contacts at a number of offices that I can call my reports directly to and I hope that others have them too.
Don't get me wrong, I love SN, but I guess what I am saying is: If you don't know the number, don't answer it, and consider not publishing the data on your profile. The few bad reports come from inexperience, maybe a few emails with a correcting direction will solve that. The few phone calls from news organizations and such is the result of them just trying to get the scoop on their competitors and spread the news first. I don't really see a problem with them using the service nor calling us chasers. I do think tho that if TA has any direct contacts or exact proof of these types of calls,
that he should get the contact info. and contact them back an explain the situation to them and get them to pony up something to assist him in providing this service. This could also be a great marketing opportunity to get the SN service out to all major news organizations...
Mike Parker
IMO, the bottom line is that most of us really respect SN. It is one of the greatest things to be able to overlay chasers positions on a radar program and be able to see their relation to a particular storm. I have come to rely on SN for that purpose over the reporting aspect of it. I am not saying that reports aren't useful. Mike Shively did an excellent job of reporting to SN today. His reports were precise, informative and reliable. I have no doubt that he also reported to the proper NWS office as well. I personally appreciated it because I was able to see in near real time the results of the storm he was on. However, reading the reports as they come in is not why I have SN on my radar program. I use it for location purposes of fellow chasers.
I am not a member of SN so I am not aware of the sign up process but it seems clear to me that a simple explanation of some basic "rules" of reporting when they sign up would clear up some of the stupid and meaningless reports. I swear, I am still laughing about that "very dark clouds" report. Anyway, I am grateful to Tyler for being able to use SN. Having to read stupid reports like that doesn't really diminish the quality of the product, in fact, it adds a little humor sometimes.
I am not a member of SN so I am not aware of the sign up process but it seems clear to me that a simple explanation of some basic "rules" of reporting when they sign up would clear up some of the stupid and meaningless reports. I swear, I am still laughing about that "very dark clouds" report. Anyway, I am grateful to Tyler for being able to use SN. Having to read stupid reports like that doesn't really diminish the quality of the product, in fact, it adds a little humor sometimes.
David Drummond
Member
Just a suggestion I noted the last time I tried to make a report. The windows it loaded took forever to load on a 1xRTT connection. That is the primary reason I currently do NOT make reports over it. Maybe it could be lightened up some for the slow cell data areas?
Jeff Snyder
EF5
I'd 2nd this. Actually, the "best" option would be to include the reporting procedure in the GUI itself. In other words, make the reporting a part of the program so that it does not need to load a webpage (which has plenty of graphics, HTML code, etc).
I also 2nd the desire to include hail size (estimated wind speed) in the GRx placefile for hail (wind) reports. Seeing a report of "hail" in the GRx placefile isn't particularly helpful by itself; including the size of the hail would make it much, much more useful. Just my 2 cents.
Tyler Allison
EF5
I hope to have a new version of the SN client out soon (Im working with a new developer) and I'll make the 'submit report' option go to a bare bones page...text only as thin as I can get it
-Tyler
Tyler Allison
EF5
That's coming in the version after this next one. Requires more changes to the GUI than just some bug fixing.
Should be fixed here in a minute.
-Tyler
al pietrycha
EF0
[FONT="]Hello,
[/FONT] [FONT="]I’m writing to briefly explain some of benefits from SN reports, and what happens to your report after hitting the ‘Send in Report’ button. Note, the following url contains a map depicting which WFOs (shaded red) directly receive your reports. Although not completely depicted, LOX, AMA, OUN and SJT are also included for direct reporting (translation = your report arrives in-house along with an audible and visual alarm upon arrival). If not shaded, the office does not see your report unless someone is monitoring the SN Google Maps interface, or some other third party software.
[/FONT] [FONT="]http://www.stormeyes.org/pietrycha/tmp/cwa3.gif[/FONT]
[FONT="]
The following bullets were taken from a talk I give outlining the SN.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Target user → storm chasers / mobile spotters.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Highly accurate position reporting.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Chasers → A fantastic resource for real-time severe reporting, and yet, often under utilized due to the lack of an effective communication bridge between the mobile spotter / chaser and the NWS, particularly in NWS county warning areas containing low population densities. The SN helps greatly to fill the communication gap.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Ability to monitor chasers / mobile spotters through various third-party software.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Ability to have rapid, real-time information to assist the warning decision process.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Ability to quickly and easily receive reports across a large domain without the need for additional manpower that is normally needed to solicit reports - a passive process.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Mitigates information from becoming lost or misinterpreted in the verbal translation of a report.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-The appropriate participating NWS phone number is provided to the chaser when they attempt to submit a report.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Immediate confirmation is provided to the chaser/spotter that the report reached the SN and NWS (ESpotter success/failed, SN worked/failed).
[/FONT] [FONT="]-**It takes less than 60 seconds for a report to arrive into a WFO. Often under 15 seconds**
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Spotter contact information (phone and/or email address) is included (optional) within the narrative of the report so the NWS forecaster can quickly and directly contact the spotter should a question exist requiring additional information.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Within the narrative, the spotter’s SN identifier is included in the report.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-The report is explicit in differentiating between the spotter and the event; the spotter is located at… or the event is located at… This feature added to help minimize confusion that can arise at a NWSFO (e.g., “Is the tornado 2 miles north of town X, or is the spotter 2 miles north of town X?â€). – Note to trigger “the event is located at†feature, you need to move the balloon to the appropriate location on the Google map.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]I hope this helped clear up some questions.[/FONT]
--Al
[/FONT] [FONT="]I’m writing to briefly explain some of benefits from SN reports, and what happens to your report after hitting the ‘Send in Report’ button. Note, the following url contains a map depicting which WFOs (shaded red) directly receive your reports. Although not completely depicted, LOX, AMA, OUN and SJT are also included for direct reporting (translation = your report arrives in-house along with an audible and visual alarm upon arrival). If not shaded, the office does not see your report unless someone is monitoring the SN Google Maps interface, or some other third party software.
[/FONT] [FONT="]http://www.stormeyes.org/pietrycha/tmp/cwa3.gif[/FONT]
[FONT="]
The following bullets were taken from a talk I give outlining the SN.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Target user → storm chasers / mobile spotters.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Highly accurate position reporting.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Chasers → A fantastic resource for real-time severe reporting, and yet, often under utilized due to the lack of an effective communication bridge between the mobile spotter / chaser and the NWS, particularly in NWS county warning areas containing low population densities. The SN helps greatly to fill the communication gap.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Ability to monitor chasers / mobile spotters through various third-party software.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Ability to have rapid, real-time information to assist the warning decision process.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Ability to quickly and easily receive reports across a large domain without the need for additional manpower that is normally needed to solicit reports - a passive process.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Mitigates information from becoming lost or misinterpreted in the verbal translation of a report.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-The appropriate participating NWS phone number is provided to the chaser when they attempt to submit a report.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Immediate confirmation is provided to the chaser/spotter that the report reached the SN and NWS (ESpotter success/failed, SN worked/failed).
[/FONT] [FONT="]-**It takes less than 60 seconds for a report to arrive into a WFO. Often under 15 seconds**
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Spotter contact information (phone and/or email address) is included (optional) within the narrative of the report so the NWS forecaster can quickly and directly contact the spotter should a question exist requiring additional information.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-Within the narrative, the spotter’s SN identifier is included in the report.
[/FONT] [FONT="]-The report is explicit in differentiating between the spotter and the event; the spotter is located at… or the event is located at… This feature added to help minimize confusion that can arise at a NWSFO (e.g., “Is the tornado 2 miles north of town X, or is the spotter 2 miles north of town X?â€). – Note to trigger “the event is located at†feature, you need to move the balloon to the appropriate location on the Google map.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]I hope this helped clear up some questions.[/FONT]
--Al
Scott Bell
EF1
I was impressed yesterday with how effective Spotter Network is. We were situated on a good east-west road, shifting back and forth to watch the freight train of storms streaming through north central Missouri, and the phone rings. NWS is asking what we see on a particular storm that's running past us at that moment. This is the second time I've seen/heard of this happening this year. That's a tremendous service/way of linking various spotters and chasers on the ground to those that are responsible for getting warnings out to the public.
Sure there's some noise from people that don't understand what the tool is designed for. We can work to get that fixed, but I wouldn't change the software too much. It's simple to use and works very well for what it was designed for.
Great software Tyler!
Sure there's some noise from people that don't understand what the tool is designed for. We can work to get that fixed, but I wouldn't change the software too much. It's simple to use and works very well for what it was designed for.
Great software Tyler!
Tyler Allison
EF5
Hot damn! That's exactly what it was suppose to allow.
Tim Stoecklein
EF5
I'm glad to hear it's being used more and more as this type of tool. I've had experiences with Topeka and Pueblo NWS offices initiating contact for a visual. Our NWS guru from Pueblo made special mention of SN during the spotter training for our Skywarn group here, and I had nothing but encouraging comments about the program. I echo the thanks to you Tyler, it's a great tool!
Tyler Allison
EF5
Try now David. If you click on the 'Send Report' button on the SN client it will take you to a _VERY_ slimmed down version of the report system. It's the smallest I can make it.
There is a link you can click in the middle of the page to take you to the old 'high res' version.
-Tyler
Bill Tabor
EF5
I agree, this is really cool Tyler. Great work! You should be really proud, as your skills and talent may be saving many lives and preventing injury on a macro level. I just started using it and so far only for reporting my position, but I will consider submitting reports this way as well. What Al says is very informative; however should a report of something such as a tornado also be phoned in additionally to logging on SN?
Last chase my connectivity was an issue but I likely will have that fixed by next chase.
Last chase my connectivity was an issue but I likely will have that fixed by next chase.
Van DeWald
EF2
Speaking from the NWS perspective, YES, PHONE IN THE TORNADO REPORT! That's a life threatening event, and needs to be reported live. While SN is a great resource, there's no guarantee that folks in the NWS may be looking at it, or even have time to look at it. When you submit a report, you'll also get the NWS 800 number at the top of the page, so by all means, let us know immediately by speaking to a live person, otherwise we may not hear about it.
Van
Van
