WX Support Help

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The problem solver will guide you to a quick solution for common problems in a few easy steps, that do now require much reading.  Please try this guide before emailing support.

WX Support Help pages

 

  User's guide for SMS Services          User's guide for Web Services

The links above lead to two user's guides. The first guide briefly explains how to use the SMS Service, and the other how you can make use our Free Web Services.

Below is a table of contents with links to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), one for each of our two types of services (I and II). The FAQs are in the form of links on which you can click to view the answers. 
The last link (III) leads to a section from where you can access general TAF and METAR decoding resources supplied by relevant authorities.

If you do not find the answer to your question below, you also have the option to use the discussion forum. 
Alternatively, you are always welcome to send us an e-mail with questions, suggestions or other comments you may have.

Table of Contents

I.   The SMS Service (FAQs)  
II.  The Free Web Services (FAQs)  

III. TAF and METAR decoding resources

 

I. The SMS Service (FAQs)

  1. How do I use the SMS Service ?
    .
  2. How do I receive a single TAF or METAR instead of the complete info (TAF, long TAF and METAR) I get when sending the ICAO-code only (e.g. ‘EKBI’) ?
    .
  3. Do I pay for each message sent from my phone, or for each message I receive (e.g. when I type in an airport ident and get three pieces of info) ?
    .
  4. When sending a SMS request for WX info from my mobile phone I do not receive any reply. What's wrong ?
    .
  5. I would like to buy SMS message credits but noticed you don't have a secured server (no little yellow lock sign on my browser) <Shop secure as of 08-07-2002>. Is there an alternative way to order ?
    .
  6. I get a 'no long TAF available' info message each time I send the ‘WX????’ command (e.g.WXEKEB). 
    How do I avoid paying for the info message when requesting info for an airport from which long TAF is never available ?
    .
  7. When I write a message to send on my phone (e.g. WTEKBI) different text appears in the phone display. Why ?
    .
  8. My phone is set to add a signature (my name) to all SMS transmissions. 
    Are the WX Support commands recognised when text is added behind the command ?
    .
  9. Why can't I send SMS messages from my mobile phone at all ?
    .
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II. The Free Web Services (FAQs)

  1. How do I use the free Web Services ?
    .
  2. How do I make the map disappear from the screen below the weather data when using the ‘Airport Information’ service on the WX Support web site ?
    .
  3. Why can't I download wind charts or significant charts although I have Acrobat Reader installed ?
    .
  4. Can I view the WX Support web site with a Netscape 6.0 browser ?
    .
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III. TAF and METAR decoding resources

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* Some of the resource files below are in PDF format. 
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Abbreviated decode tables - from the World Meteorological Organization:

* “Aerodrome Actual Weather – METAR and SPECI Decode” (PDF) and
* “Aerodrome Forecast – TAF Decode” (PDF) 
        - Please scroll to second PDF page to view the decode table for TAF
Available in PDF file format via the web site of the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI).
 

Description of MOTNE1 group additions to METARs - from the Danish Civil Aviation Administration:

* “Information on runway state in METAR” (PDF) 
        - Please scroll to section 2.6 on second PDF page

Available in PDF file format via AIP Denmark on the web site of the Danish Civil Aviation Administration, Statens Luftfartsvæsen (SLV).

1: During the winter period from approximately 1 November to approximately 1 April, a number of European aerodromes broadcast runway conditions by inserting an eight digit MOTNE code at the end of METAR messages (MOTNE is the Meteorological Operational Telecommunications Network-Europe).
  

METAR/TAF Quick Reference Tables - from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA):

“METAR References”
 “TAF References” 

Available in HTML file format via the web site of the U.S.Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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SMS Service

1. How do I use the SMS Service ?

For instructions and commands describing how to use the SMS Service, please see the User's guide for SMS Services.

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2. How do I receive a single TAF or METAR instead of the complete info (TAF, long TAF and METAR) I get when sending the ICAO-code only (e.g. ‘EKBI’) ?

Sending only the IATA or ICAO code (e.g. EKBI or BLL for Billund airport) is actually a shortcut for the WX command (e.g. WXEKBI). The WX command returns all available weather information (METAR, TAF and long TAF).

To get TAF or METAR only, you can send the WT or WM command respectively in front of the relevant ICAO or IATA code (e.g. WTEKBI or WTBLL to get TAF for Billund, and WMEKBI or WMBLL to get METAR for Billund).

For details, please refer to 'Instructions' under 'Help' (icon in top frame of web site).

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3.  Do I pay for each message sent from my phone, or for each message I receive (e.g. when I type in an airport ident and get three pieces of info) ?

You always pay for each message you recieve.
There has been some confusion about the cost of messages. Below is an explanation of how it works and why:

The charge is not for the information itself, since METARs and TAFs are not an intellectual property of WX Support (- if payment was tied to the information, we would be charging you for something which is not ours to sell).
The charge is actually for delivering the information to you in a better and more convenient way.

To do so, we need to cover our costs such as
* Phone bill (for sending the messages)
* Leased datalines to data providers (such as the AFTN network)
* Internet connection
* Accounting (including sending invoices)
* Servers and database systems

Since you pay for the message itself (and not the contents), one credit is subtracted for each message sent from WX Support to your phone. This is the case even if a single long TAF has to be divided into more than one SMS message to send it to you in its entirety.

Only system information, such as a message stating that you have no credits left, is free of charge.

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4. When sending a SMS request for WX info from my mobile phone I do not receive any reply. What's wrong ?

If you have trouble receiving messages, please do the following:

  1. Make sure your mobile phone has room to receive more SMS messages. Some phones can not store more than 20 messages, and you may have to delete some messages to make room for new ones.
    .
  2. If this does not help, please double-check that you send to the correct number. Make sure to write "+4540606361" and not "004540606361", as sometimes "004540606361" will not work.
    .
  3. If you still get no reply, please send us an email with the number of your mobile phone along with the name of the phone company you use. Preferably also state the approximate time/date when you experienced the problem. If you experienced the problem while you ....(e.g. while abroad), please specify the name of that phone company as well.
    We will then send a test message to your phone. If we have a problem related to your phone company, we will try to contact them to solve the problem.

After previously experiencing some problems sending SMS messages to a few countries in the World, we now have two phone providers instead of one. If one provider fails, the system will automatically send you a SMS from our alternate provider.

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5. I would like to buy SMS message credits but noticed you don't have a secured server (no little yellow lock sign on my browser) <Entire shop secure as of 08-07-2002>. Is there an alternative way to order ?

The server is not secure, but the payment gateway is secure <Entire shop secure as of 08-07-2002. Verify by clicking on 'VeriSign Secure Site' logo in Online Shop window (via shopping cart on left-hand blue side pane after login).>. Your credit card information will not be transmittet in clear text. If you go to the page where you enter the credit card information, you can view the source of the HTML code (by right-clicking on the page and selecting ‘View Source’).
You will then notice, that the form which posts the credit card information, is not pointing back to www.wxsupport.com. It points to a secure payment server that handles all of our credit card transactions:
...........<FORM ACTION="https://pay.freeway.dk/secure/capture.asp" METHOD="POST" autocomplete=off>
Please notice the "https" instead of "http".

We are working on making the entire www.wxsupport.com site secure in order to make it more visible to our customers that the transactions are secure <Entire shop secure as of 08-07-2002. Verify by clicking on 'VeriSign Secure Site' logo in Online Shop window (via shopping cart on left-hand blue side pane after login).>.

To start using ordered SMS message credits right away, you need to pay directly by credit card.
Details on how to order are described on the shop pages.

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6. I get a 'no long TAF available' info message each time I send the ‘WX????’ command (e.g.WXEKEB). 
How do I avoid paying for the info message when requesting info for an airport from which long TAF is never available ?

You could request METAR only and TAF only by sending two individual messages, for example WMEKEB and WTEKEB.
Then you would avoid paying for a long TAF you know does not exist.

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7. When I write a message to send on my phone (e.g. WTEKBI) different text appears in the phone display. Why ?

Probably the reason is that you have a mobile phone on which the functionality ‘Predictive text input’ (or ‘T9 Dictionary’) is activated.
On most types of phones, you can turn of this function by pressing the phone key with the ‘#’-sign on it once or twice (depending on the brand of phone you have).
For details, please refer to the user’s guide for your particular mobile phone.

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8. My phone is set to add a signature (my name) to all SMS transmissions. 
Are the WX Support commands recognised when text is added behind the command ?

Such commands are recognised, only provided there is a space between the command and any text added behind the command (your name or other).
For example you can write "WMEKBI MyName", but not "WMEKBIMyName".

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9. Why can't I send SMS messages from my mobile phone at all ?

The solution to this type of difficulty is most likely out of our hands. Please call your phone company who should be able to help you sort out the problem.

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Web Services

1.  How do I use the free services on the WX Support web site ?

For access to the free web services, you must first have logged in. (If you have not already registered, please first go to the registration page and register as a new user to be able to log in.)
Then click on a relevant link in the upper section of the main menu (left-hand blue windowpane) and follow the on-screen instructions. 
Presently you can choose between Airport Information search, Wind Charts and Significant Charts.

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2.  How do I make the map disappear from the screen below the weather data when using the ‘Airport Information’ service on the WX Support web site ?

For a printer friendly wx page without maps, click the ‘Printer friendly’ or ’Show selected printer friendly’-button under the map or maps selected.

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3. Why can't I download wind charts or significant charts although I have Acrobat Reader installed ?

Please note that on a slow internet connection downloading charts may take several minutes. Do not expect it to work well on a mobile phone connected to a laptop.

All charts are not available at all times, but if you request a chart that is not available, you should get a message telling you that the chart is not available at that time. 

If you have problems viewing the charts, please refer to the Adobe Acrobat Reader support pages on the Adobe web site. There you can find information on the most commonly encountered Adobe Acrobat Reader related issues.

In case that does not resolve things, you can send us an e-mail with a description of the problem, your type of platform and the version of Acrobat Reader you use. We will then attempt to help you sort out the problem.

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4. Can I view the WX Support web site with a Netscape 6.0 browser ?

The WX Support web site is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or newer, but users of recent Netscape browsers should not have difficulties viewing the site.
Please write us an e-mail or post a message in the discussion forum if you are having problems using the WX Support services with your browser.

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