Free GRIB file viewer download GRIB Files over SSB Email (Parts of this were extracted from AIRMAIL's FAQ) Grib requests can be formatted manually for Winlink or Sailmail users, but the format must be followed precisely; The format for a basic grib-file request is: "lat0,lat1,lon0,lon1" are the lat-lon limits (whole degrees followed by N/S or E/W)- this field is required, there is no default. "dlat,dlon" is the grid-increment in degrees (e.g. "1,1" for a 1-deg by 1-deg grid), if omitted the default is "2,2", The minimum increment is 1 degree, and even degrees is recommended (i.e. avoid "2.5,2.5"). "VTs" is a comma-separated list of valid-times (e.g. "24,48,72"), if omitted the default is "24,48,72". Available valid-times are 00, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 96, 120, 144, 168, 192, 216, 240 hours, referenced to 00:00z. Note that anything over 4 or 5 days should be viewed with increasing skepticism. "Params" is a comma-separated list of parameters ("PRMSL" for mean sea-level pressure, "WIND" for the gradient surface wind (actually at 10 meters, the standard height for "surface" wind), and "HGT" for 500mb height, if omitted the default is "PRMSL,WIND". A full list of the parameters are: WIND,WAVE,HGT,SEATMP,AIRTEMP For example, to request a grib file which covers 10N-35N and 90W to
160W, on a 1-degree grid for valid times of 24 to 196 hours, containing
surface pressure and wind, send the following email: send grib:10N,35N,090W,160W|1,1|12,24,48,72,96,120,144,168,192| This example is around 5K bytes and covers a good bit of ocean. The size is directly proportional to the number of points: i.e. the size and resolution of the grid, the number of valid times, and the number or parameters. This sample is 3600 points (20 lat points x 20 lon points x 3 valid times x 3 paramters), roughly 1.5 bytes per point). These are uncompressed binary files which get compressed when sent via Sailmail or Winlink radio links, so there is no advantage to pre-compressed files. Subscribing To: query@saildocs.com sub grib:10N,35N,090W,160W|1,1|12,24,48,72,96,120,144,168,192|days=30 (Cancellation instructions are sent with each file). Saildocs Info File Thank you for your interest in Saildocs, an Internet service for the bandwidth-impaired. Saildocs offers text-based document retrieval and subscription services for offshore sailors, adventurers, missionaries and others who somehow live their lives without broadband connections. There are currently two services offered, a document retrieval service which will return documents from the Internet or our own files, and a subscription service which will send Internet documents (for example weather reports) at scheduled intervals. Saildocs is supported by Sailmail (www.sailmail.com) but can be used by anyone who agrees to the terms and conditions (below). Document retrieval: Documents are requested by sending an email to: query@saildocs.com. The subject line can be anything, and the body of the message contains requests of the form "send xxx" where "xxx" is the name of the document. The word "index" has a special meaning and sends the current library index, and a document called "info" (this document) is always available. For example, to request the index and help documents, send the following message: To: query@saildocs.com send info You can follow this with the command command "quit", a line of dashes, or just end the message. Note that extra text at the end, such as an email-footer, may cause Saildocs to not respond. This is an anti-spam measure (and does not apply to messages sent from Sailmail). Requesting weather bulletins: send FZPN02.KWBC Other weather data: Requesting web pages: To: query@saildocs.com send http://www.sailmail.com This will fetch the Sailmail home page. Subscriptions: To: query@saildocs.com sub FZNT23.KWNM This enters a subscription for the Boston and Chesapeake Coastal forecasts (see the "nws-atl" index). By default these are fetched once per day. The period and time can be overriden by adding commands as follows: FZNT23.KWNM time=00:00 interval=6 This will fetch the document every 6 hours beginning at 00:00z. Subscriptions are normally entered for 14 days, a different period can be specificed as follows: FZNT23.KWNM days=7 A confirmation will be sent for any changes to a subscription. In addition, a full status listing can be requested by including the command "status", e.g. FZNT23.KWNM days=10 time=12:00 Un-subscribing To: query@saildocs.com cancel FZNT23.KWNM Some things to remember: Known limitations: Web pages translate to text with varying degrees of success. The fancier
the page, the worse the results. There are also other web-to-text services
that may produce a more useful output for some pages. For more information or to report a problem, please send email to support@saildocs.com. Enjoy the system, and be careful not to overload your email channel! ===== Saildocs is provided without charge thanks to the support of Sailmail,
More information on Saildocs is available by sending an email to Accessing Sailmail via Internet If you are using a version of AirMail that is version 3.3.069 or later, it is easy. Just press the "internet" button on the message index window, which looks like a lightning bolt. In the window that then opens up, press the "connect" button, which looks like a green ball. If your internet access is working you will retrieve and send all of your SailMail messages just as if you had a (very fast) connection via radio. To test your internet access to make sure it is working you can open www.google.com in your browser. If you can get to Google you should be able to send and retrieve your SailMail messages. (If not, see "Troubleshooting" below). For specific information on accessing Sailmail via an Iridium sat-phone, send a (blank) email to: IridiumPPP@saildocs.com -------------------------- If you have a version of AirMail that is prior to 3.3.069, and you can't upgrade now, then you can still retrieve your SailMail messages but the setup is slightly trickier. Read on... Recent Airmail versions have the telnet window pre-configured to connect to Sailmail. Simply open Modules menu, Telnet-client. Select station WRD719 (the Palo Alto station), make sure you have an internet connection, and click the green "connect" button. Airmail will connect to the Sailmail server via internet and send/receive messages, the same as a radio connection except much faster. The same compression is also used, making this a much more efficient connection than a POP3/SMTP email connection- this is especially useful for cell-phones and sat-phones. There is no reason to use a compression service when connecting via Telnet. The following details will allow you to set up earlier versions of Airmail, or to check your settings: To set up Airmail's telnet window, first select the Tools menu, Options
window, Modules tab, and make sure that the box to the left of "Telnet
Client" is checked. Click OK. Select "WRD719" and click the "Settings" button (or click "New" if there is no listing for WRD719). Check or enter the following settings: Remote callsign: WRD719 Click OK, then select "WHV382" (or click "New"), and check (or enter) the following: Remote callsign: WHV382 Click OK to save settings. (Note: Don't change the "B2" selection) To check mail, go to Airmail's Modules/Telnet menu, make sure that WRD719 or WHV382 is selected in the callsign box and click the green "connect" button (or the "Check All" button). ** Note: For quicker access via Iridium, use WRD719, make sure the port is "50", and enter the numeric IP-address "72.3.227.249" instead of "pop3.sailmail.com"-- this saves a few seconds. Note that this address may change if we need to shift servers-- so if it won't connect then enter the "pop3.sailmail.com" and note the address which is shown when you connect. (Don't include the quotes shown here). Troubleshooting If you get an error instead of connecting, then double-check your settings
and try port 50 instead of 50001, or vice-versa. Also try opening a
web page in a browser. If you cannot open a web page, then find out
why your internet connection is not working. There is one other trick, and that is to use Airmail's "mail client" window to access Sailmail's POP3 server. This is unlikely to be blocked for receiving mail, but may be blocked for sending mail. Here's the skinny: Connecting to Sailmail via Airmail's mail-client window: Now go to Airmail's Modules menu, Mail-client. If you don't already have a "Sailmail" tab, then click "New", enter "Sailmail" as the account-name (without the quotes, for all this), and enter the following settings: On the right side, under "POP3 connection", enter the following: On the left, under "SMTP connection" enter the following: Now click OK to save and close, and then click "Check all" on the mail-client window to check your mail. This uses the standard POP3 connection (port 110), that will certainly
not be blocked. If you want Airmail to also dial a telephone connection then check
the Note that as of June 1 2005 Iridium has blocked most internet ports,
as a More information: Also, for HAMS, remember that Winlink also supports Telnet but the
settings Cheers, Jim (revised 2007-08-23 jec)
LINKS Don Anderson's Weather Websites |