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National Weather Service
Jacksonville, Florida
Professional Development Plan for
Electronic Technicians
in the AWIPS - WFO transition era 1998-1999
September 1998
Training Goals for Electronic Technicians
In order to clarify what is expected of the Electronic Technicians (ET), a list of training goals is included below.
This list of goals is not meant to overload you, but is presented to illustrate what path you should take in your
training. Because of the unique nature of ET training, formal courses will be the primary training mechanism.
I. High Priority Goals: These
goals consist of those immediate future tasks that you will be concerned with as an ET. These skills, when combined
with the skills you have previously acquired will provide you with the basic skills necessary to fulfill your function
as an Electronic Technician in the future NWSFO Jacksonville Office. This training is coordinated by the SOO and
the ESA.
Goal: Electronics technicians
must be trained to maintain new equipment to be installed as operational systems in the near future.
1. New equipment and systems training:
This training consists of formal and informal training in new systems and hardware for new operational systems
including CRS, AWIPS, LDAD and satellite communications systems.
Goal: Electronics technicians
must be trained in data and network technologies, and extending the office capability in support of data acquisition
and operations using UNIX workstations, LAN and WAN networked computers, and automated work processes, eventually
using UNIX shell scripts to facilitate the office mission.
2. Data communications and network training:
This training consists of formal commercial training in data communications and networking, and is designed to
build the foundation for the AWIPS era. This training is expensive and will be coordinated through the ESA, SOO
and MIC. Finally, training in TCP/IP, scripting, and network performance tuning are desired for the ET staff in
the AWIPS era.
Goal: Demonstrate the highest
levels of professional training by developing the requisite computer skills for AWIPS and other modernized systems.
3. UNIX Training: UNIX is the
advanced operating system of AWIPS and the future Open Radar Product Generator. It is very sophisticated in that
it is a multi-task and multi-user environment. In other words, UNIX can perform different operations for different
users at the same time. It is an immensely more powerful operating system than AFOS or DOS and requires special
knowledge in order to effectively use its many features. Your computer skills with the systems which will be used
in the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) and other modernized systems will be paramount for
the future. The operating system of the AWIPS will be HP UNIX 10.2 with the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) now
installed in the SAC computer and very similar to the Linux workstations (Hera and Neptune) also running CDE. In
the next two years the WSR-88D RPG will receive an upgrade to include an open system UNIX computer as its central
processor (ORPG), and the new NOAA Weather Radio Console Replacement System (CRS) will also be UNIX based. An HP-UX
specific UNIX tutorial is available on PDW3 to provide early familiarization, until formal UNIX courses can be
procured.
4. Network Security Training ( for ESA ):
This requirement is to help the system administrator become more acquainted with the new security issues involved
with networked systems and how it is integrated into the Local Area Network (LAN) and the Wide Area Network (WAN).
The goal here is to able to keep the operational flow of information secure, and have a fundamental understanding
of how security procedures work with the LAN server, local data via LDAD, the various workstations, and the Linux-based
LDM data server, the Internet and Intranet servers, and gridded data via the WAN. Security is required to provide
reliable data feeds to computers in the office LAN, and to ensure operational program reliability with adequate
security from potential threats both intentional and unintentional.
Goal: Enhance training and skills
in EMRS and logistics management.
5. EMRS, logistics, and Administrative Training: As
part of the responsibility of the ET position, certain administrative tasks have been designated. Those tasks listed
which document and support the logistic pipeline are the primary goals to be accomplished. The Engineering Fundamentals formal course is designed
for the accomplishment of these goals, and to help the ET gain a better understanding of how the system operates,
and be able to make recommendations for improvements and configuration changes.
II. Lower Priority Goals: Legacy
systems and PC training will be an early goal of this years training in order to transition to Windows NT for the
office computers. Due to the intense load expected in both work and training as AWIPS integration and implementation
arrives, little additional emphasis can be afforded this item.
III. Other training opportunities:
Although the SOO and ESA will structure your training so that you will have the necessary information to acquire
the skills necessary to be an ET, you should assess your own training needs and direct your energies toward satisfying
your needs both from the perspective of your current and future responsibilities and focal point duties. Training
from local vendors and local university and other sources will be made available as time and resources permit.
From time to time, the SOO and ESA will review your training needs with you to ensure that you are headed in the
direction you wish to pursue. As professionals, your contributions to improved operations are the mark of your
professionalism. As such, innovative contributions are heavily weighted during the training evaluation.
Pat Welsh, SOO, NWSO JAX