NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards Console Replacement System (CRS)
The NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards Console Replacement System (CRS) is a personal
computer-based broadcasting console, installed at each NWS
office, that automatically translates and schedules written
National Weather Service forecasts and warnings into
synthesized-voice broadcasts over NOAA Weather Radio.
The automated broadcast programs for NOAA Weather Radio will
free NWS staff to spend more time on critical warning and
forecasting duties. In addition, the automatic weather
broadcast consoles will provide a more efficient means of
disseminating severe weather watches, warnings and emergency
information over NOAA weather radio.
The system is part of a multi-year improvement of the National
Weather Service s NOAA Weather Radio network. NOAA
Weather Radio and the CRS are critical to the NWS mission of disseminating
watches and warnings of hazardous weather for the protection of
life and property.
For System Test (ST), any new test software of the NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazard (NWR) Console Replacement system (CRS) and Voice Improvement Processor (VIP) are installed on a CRS Test system at the National Weather Service Headquarters (WSH) CRS/VIP Test Facility, Silver Spring, MD. There are two CRS Test systems, Alpha and Beta. Only difference between two test systems is that each CRS test system is interfaced to a different AWIPS test system (NMTW, NHDA) located in Silver Spring, MD. CRS Alpha test system is interfaced to AWIPS NMTW test system, and CRS Beta test system is interfaced to AWIPS NHDA test system.
Although both CRS test systems are fully configured with 13-transmitters interfaced to VIP workstations, they are not connected to the real transmitters. Instead, an amplified speaker is connected to the CRS Audio Control Panel (ACP) audio output jack from each CRS test bed to monitor various products. During ST, both CRS test systems are interfaced to the following equipment including:
- An Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) simulator to send test messages to the CRS.
- A Remote Off-Air Monitoring System (ROAMS) Monitoring Unit (MU) simulator to test the CRS/ROAMS MU interface. (http://www.weather.gov/ops2/crs/document/CRS_SOMV11.pdf)
- NOAA Weather Radio Specific Area Message Encoder (NWRSAME) encoders and decoders are used to test specific-area message encoding. (http://www.weather.gov/ops2/crs/document/CRS_SOMV11.pdf)
- AWIPS test systems (NMTW, NHDA) at the NWS National Headquarters Modernization Test (NMT) Facility for transmitting test messages to CRS; time synchronization; and Café formatter checkout.
- The AWIPS NOAA servers at the NWS Telecommunication Gateway for downloading the VIP software.
Once the CRS/VIP ST is successfully completed, the test software is ready for Operational Acceptance Test (OAT). A limited number of operational CRS sites are selected based upon a test objective to validate the test software for all types of CRS/VIP configurations.
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