ATIS messages

[Callum Presley 975002]

Hello

 

Is there a way of adding messages into the ATIS (such as LVPs, frequency information, expected Approach etc.) other than clicking Insert Item then having to stop multiple record playback then start it again?

 

Does UniATIS have the ability to insert the message "Air Traffic Low Visibility Procedures in force" automatically when cloud base or visibility falls below defined parameters?

 

Regards

 

Callum

[Jannis Wiese 1015833]

Hi!

 

In UniATIS you can set a specific ATIS for each airport. I think you should contact an UniATIS admin and request the ATIS format you need/want.

 

Regards,

Jannis

[Karl Kornel 964857]

Another option would be to make your own Atis Maker CGI. This would take the most work, but if you do alot of customizations, it might make things alot easier for you!

[Callum Presley 975002]

Yes I am a member of UniATIS but I don't want to insert temporary messages, such as LVPs, into UniATIS otherwise they'll permanently be there - I just wondered if there was an easier way of inserting them.

 

Thanks

 

Callum

[Karl Kornel 964857]

Yeah, that's really the only issue I can think about regarding the voice ATIS system: The only way to get the ATIS maker to add things like that into the script is to either make the ATIS maker smart enough for it to do so by itself, or you have to add stuff to the ATIS Maker URL.

[Stephan Boerner 945550]

By the way, did any of you talk to Sami about whether or not it is possible with uniatis, and if not, then if it is possible to implement? Back in the beginning of the beta phase, he put a lot of effort into making missing features possible.

[Sami Ylismaki 878340]

Whenever you need help with creating custom messages in UniATIS, please contact me directly by email or MSN/AIM/ICQ. Usually requests have been possible to implement with the functions provided by UniATIS, and when not, I have usually overcame the shortcomings by adjusting the code. Stephen was fortunate to inform me of the issue over here.

 

 

You can add temporary messages to UniATIS, however depending on the message, you have to toggle the messages on and off from the URL manually.

 

Some weather dependant messages are possible to automate with UniATIS by using the custom functions, depending on the weather type in question.

 

Cloud base is difficult to do straightforwardly with the current implementation, since it is not possible to find out the cloud base from among several cloud layers - there's no function to define which is the lowest. Although, since cloud base is a common attribute, I can easily create a string that contains the height of cloud base, which could be then utilized to trigger automated messages.

 

Visibility triggered message, in general, should be already doable. The only but comes with multidirectional visibility, since there's no functions to overcome multiple values with ease for the user end. Multiple visibility values along with clouds would require user scripting instead of simplier premade functions - which otherwise already can do almost anything for you.

 

However, with some imagination it's possible to overcome even these limitations. For example cloud base can be already interpreted by using the string custom function to look for the first approriate cloud layer in a string that contains the clouds, instead of looking for it from the decoded METAR, since clouds are always reported in order from the lowest to highest in the ATIS message. Custom functions do not have to be included into the ATIS message, so they can be utilized as triggers for other custom functions. Therefore also replace custom function can be used in conjuction with multiple conditions to create a string with certain message to trigger a string custom function that validates whether a message should be displayed in the ATIS output or not.

 

Temporary messages that are not airport, runway, ATIS code or METAR dependant can be only triggered by manually changing the generator URL, since ATIS generators doesn't receive any other information from Euroscope than airport, active runways, ATIS code and METAR. You don't have to edit the ATIS message itself for that, you only have to create an URL dependant custom function, which is then triggered by an URL parameter. After that every generated ATIS from then on includes the message, until you want to change the message again.

 

 

We can talk about implementation of these features in detail by email or instant messengers. Just let me know exactly how you want these messages to function.

Edited October 12, 2009 at 04:14 PM by Guest

[Sami Ylismaki 878340]

Another option would be to make your own Atis Maker CGI. This would take the most work, but if you do alot of customizations, it might make things alot easier for you!

 

That is the goal of UniATIS, to be as customizable as possible so most things could be implemented without creating a generator from the scratch. Amongst the other things this will avert typical problems such as common shortcomings in decoding METAR or in proper formatting of the ATIS message. Therefore there's no need for every generator coder to stumble across the same problems that the others too have came across before. It will take time to smoothen out the quirks of a generator, since not every shortcoming can be detected in a timely manner.

 

For example main development of UniATIS took roughly about 6 months, although the time was greatly influenced by the different formats of various countries. However implementing generator for a single country without multiple people involved in it would be much simplier, as every change could be made directly to the code by the creator, who at the same time upkeeps the local ATIS format. Not everyone is up to creating an ATIS generator, either due to lack of approriate skills or time (or both) and that's what I'm set to correct for them - to provide people with a generator which with they can create ATIS to their needs without having to code it by themselves.