Release 1
DAMS-NT DigiRIT Operation Manual
12/14/2012
Microcom Design, Inc.
4
1.
Introduction
The Microcom Design, Inc. DAMS-NT DigiRIT system is an easy-to-use, low-cost solution to
receive satellite information from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Data
Collection System (DCS) via the Low Rate Information Transmission (LRIT) re-broadcast. The
primary component is the Microcom DAMS-NT DigiRIT Receiver, which provides all the
necessary functionality to receive, demodulate, and process the LRIT data stream to extract and
deliver DCS messages in an industry standard DAMS-NT format. Beyond the DigiRIT Receiver
itself, all that is required to complete the DigiRIT system is a satellite dish and a computer or
server. The DigiRIT Receiver can be supplied with a satellite dish or the Receiver can be
coupled with an existing GOES satellite dish; typically as part of an existing Direct Readout
Ground Station (DRGS). Typically, the computer or server is provided by the end user; since the
DigiRIT Receiver provides TCP/IP network outputs, no special hardware. Microcom can
provide a LRIT DCS Client application, or the DCS data can be ingested into an existing
DAMS-NT compatible software package.
1.1.
Manual Organization
This Operation Manual is divided into the following sections:
Section 1 provides introductory, background and theory of operation information.
Section 2 provides hardware installation and hardware overview information.
Section 3 provides information on configuring the DigiRIT Receiver for operation.
1.2.
Background
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Environmental
Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) manages, operates, and maintains the U.S.
Geostationary Operational Satellite System (GOES). The GOES primary mission is to
continuously observe changing weather phenomena from satellite-based sensors situated
approximately 23,000 miles from Earth. The GOES supports an environmental data satellite
radio relay Data Collection System, (DCS). The GOES DCS allows a remote radio set or Data
Collection Platform (DCP), which is land, sea, or mobile based, to transmit through the GOES
DCS and back to NESDIS receive stations.
The principal components of the GOES DCS are shown in Figure 1 and consist of:
1.
The geosynchronous spacecrafts (GOES East and GOES West);
2.
NOAA’s Wallops Command and Data Acquisition station (WCDA) located at
Wallops Island, Virginia;
3.
the NOAA Satellite Operational Facility (NSOF) located in Suitland, Maryland;
4.
the Primary Pilot uplink from WCDA;
5.
the Backup Pilot uplink from Wallops Back-Up site located at the Goddard
Spaceflight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Maryland; and
6.
approximately 30,000 remote sensing Data Collection Platforms (DCPs).