A picture of the board is now available: (The thumbnail is a link to a larger version.) This picture is of the completed product. This is what you will receive, in addition to manuals, if you purchase this product.
Recently a legality issue has been raised over the automated retransmission of NOAA weather watches and warnings. If we agreed with the "experts" on this issue we would not still be marketing our board at amateur radio operators. We feel our product provides an essential service to an essential service provider, amateur radio. You can now read our opinions and interpretations of Part 97.
Companion Equipment suggestions.
NEW BOARDS (June 26th, 2003) I have had a limited number of a new revision of the board made. The revisions is mainly to make my assembly and testing more streamlined. I've selected an online company to print my boards for me, even in small quantities, so I should be able to take small orders for some time to come. I can not guarantee that this will keep me developing the firmware or other issues with the product. If you want to know more, be sure to write. I may be able to accept payment for orders from online services that now exist. My contact information appears a little further down. Please note that the new board looks a slight bit different than in the photo below.
SOLD OUT (July 8th, 2002) I wanted add a note that we have managed to sell the entire allotment of NWSAMD boards earlier this year. This means that there are about 96 NWSAMD systems operating, many of which are not in amateur radio use. Every week I hear fairly good news about how the NWSAMD product is put to use. This occasionally includes requests for availability. I do not know right this moment what will happen with the product. It was designed in 1995. Many areas could use a little revamping. Several critical features were left out. We'll attempt slowly to sort things out as we spend most of our time at our day jobs.
We would love to hear from interested parties about some proposed changes. One is that we want to increase the number of signals on the radio interface connector, currently a DB9. We have considered using a DB15 (low density) and include the power input right on this connector. Maybe a barrier strip would be better? Are there any parties interested in pseudo balanced-line audio support?
FCC UPDATE (July 8th, 2002) Another thing I need to mention is that the FCC posted some updates to the EAS protocol in February. These changes will be reflected in WRSAME too. I have updated the firmware with both new contact information and with the new codes the FCC added to the list. The current firmware is 0.9904 3/12/2002. However, because of how the NWSAMD's firmware uses a sorted code table, the new table is incompatible with the old, and any upgrade will require careful updating of your EVENT CODE settings. The table went from around 32 entries to about 54 entries. A simpler approach to the event code and location code tables is still being discussed. If included with some hardware changes, the NWSAMD could be a very powerful product.
ABANDONED? (April 6th, 2001) We have processed very few orders in the last year. The NWSAMD product is just short of being abandoned. Support for existing users is still available. There is still available inventory to be sold, and some orders may still be accepted. People wanting to research or use the NWSAMD as an entry prototype to their own product may be interested in our remaining inventory. Call for details please. Contact information appears at the end of this page. There also is still some ongoing development on the firmware because of proposed changes to the EAS system which will also effect the WRSAME system. Please!!! All past customers should contact us to make sure contact information is still correct.
-- Old Information
A miniaturized version of the NWSAMD is in the works. This device is great for OEM's using a PC for advance decoding as the device only demodulates and buffers the SAME data. Please e-mail us for details or for ordering an evaluation unit.
Ever wondered about how severe weather warnings propagate from their origins? Well, if you happen to own one of the many older National Weather Service (NWS) receivers complete with a 1050hz warning detector you know how annoying the 1050hz tone is when the watch or warning doesn't cover your area.
This is where the NWSAMD comes in. The NWSAMD decodes Weather Radio Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) (and Emergency Alert System (EAS)) messages which are now used by the NWS (and others) to warn only specific areas (down to just a part of a county) of an important event (such as a tornado) in a hurry without bothering those who are not effected. The NWSAMD was designed to then activate an amateur transmitter to air the message from the NWS.
The NWSAMD greatly improves spotter activation by alerting monitoring amateurs in advance, yet only when they're effected. It often improves turn-out in such emergencies. When coupled with great cooperation between amateur spotters and NWS forecasters, lives and property can be saved.
The NWSAMD is not limited to amateur applications, however. It can be used anywhere a transmitter or Public Announce (PA) system can be used to announce the events to a private audience. It can even be used by pager systems to warn many people at once which could be an additional service to customers. It can not be used for any public broadcasting application, however, as FCC rules for broadcasters are more stringent.
The NWSAMD is a low power microcontroller based decoder. It is meant to decode SAME messages from an NWS receiver and transmit them over an amateur repeater as desired. It provides simple PC based configuration (via RS-232 serial communications) to control locations monitored, events monitored and limit transmission time. It can be interfaced to from existing controllers to permit additional control of the decoder. It can be mixed right in with any existing repeater system.
Features:
Requirements:
| Supply Voltage | 8 to 20 volts for linear regulated |
| Supply Current | 100mA or ½ watt typical maximum |
| 20mA or 100mW unloaded and idle | |
| Dimensions | 3½in x 5in x (approximately) 1in (not including connectors) |
| Communications Interface | 3 wire female DB-9 (DCE) RS-232C compatible at 9600 baud, TTY emulation |
| Radio/Media Interface | Both input and output through a single female DB-9; open collector PTT output with two CMOS or open-collector compatible inputs. |
| Future Expansion | Second Channel Decoder: Provides for dual decoding such as monitoring two NWS transmitters or an NWS transmitter and an EAS equipped transmitter. |
| Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) Control Decoder: Provides ability to control some functions via DTMF encoding on a third audio channel such as a repeater control frequency or a telephone control line. |
As always, more information can be received by writing msftrncs@midlands.net and
asking for NWSAMD information or by writing
Morris Softronics
304 South Nebraska Street
Hooper, Nebraska 68031
U.S.A.
requesting NWSAMD literature. You may also phone us at
1(402)654-2102 9am to 9pm Central Time..
NOTICE: The only additional literature available for this product is its user manual (still in rough draft).
A picture of the board is now available: (The thumbnail is a link to a larger version.) This picture is of the completed product. This is what you will receive, in addition to manuals, if you purchase this product. |
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