Converting FORM 700 Series to LMR

Form Types 701, 702, 703, 720, & 721

No. Field Element	Description Procedure

No.

==============================================================================

RPTIN

RPTID

1 B10	10-deg box	Compute based on Lat/Long; translate to LMR

2 YR 800	year	Translate to LMR

3 MO 696	month Convert local to GMT; translate to LMR

4 DY 695	day Convert local to GMT; translate to LMR

5 HR	hour Convert local ship time or 75th merdian	/690 (local ship time)	time to GMT; translate to LMR

/691 (75th merdian)

6 TI	time indic. Set to 0; nearest whole hour (GMT)

7 LON 751 longitude	Longitude is in degree & minutes; hemisphere

/802 (hemisphere)	is reported as E or W except when an
estimated	position Then: E = D; W = V:
convert to LMR convention (0-359.99 degrees	east). If	estimated position set LI
(lat/long indic.) = 3 (interpolated
position) in LMR format.

8 LAT	750 Latitude	latitude is in degree & minutes; hemisphere

/801 (hemisphere)	is reported as N or S except when an
estimated position Then: N = M; S = R:
convert to LMR convention (-90.00 to 90.00;	90 south to 90 north). If estimated position	set LI (lat/long indic.) = 3 (interpolated	position) in LMR format.

9 LI	lat/lon indic. Set to 4; if degrees and miniutes

(reported position)

Set to 3; if position estimated or
interpolated

10 DCK	deck Set deck to 700; 1912-1946 U.S Merchant Marine

11 SID	source ID Set ID = 56; (NCDC keyed data)

12 PT	platform type Set to 5; ship

13 QI	quality indic. Left blank; assign as missing

14 DS	dup status Left blank; assign as missing

15 DC	dup check Left blank; assign as missing

16 TC	track check Left blank; assign as missing

17 PB	pressure bias Left blank; assign as missing

Note: need to design a consistency check to	to compare pressure corrected (inches)

against barometer as coded (millibars)

18 DI	wind dir. indic. Set to 1; 32 point compass

Note: based on the reports it appears

that many observers were using a more

course resolution (e.g. 16 pt. or even

8 pt. resolution)

19 D 612	wind direction Code according to table 8, LMR
documentation

Note 1: code values range from 0-32 plus

37 = variable and 39 = dash (-).

Note 2: after the conversions were turned off the directions may appear as alpha	characters (e.g. SSW, SWxS, etc.)

712	On the Form 720, the wind direction
(WNDDEG) is reported in whole degrees (0-	360)

20 WI	wind speed indic. Set to 5; Beaufort force

21 W 711	wind speed Convert to tenths of meters per second
according to Table K5-5, page K29 COADS Release 1, Reference Manual

22 VI	vis. indic. Set to missing (no visibility reported)

23 VV	visibility Set to missing (none reported)

24 WW	667	The 700 series uses Beaufort weather codes

/668	Convert according to table 1 (not yet
/669 developed). Then translate to LMR format

Table 1

Beaufort weather CLCOM conversion LMR conversion

symbols codes codes

B (blue sky)	0	00

/clear/good

/fair/none/blue

C (cloudy)	2	03

D (Drizzle)	51	51

E (wet without rain)	14	21

F (fog)	12	47

G (gloomy weather)	16	16

H (hail)	88	89

K (smoke)	4	04

L (lightning)	13	13

M (mist)	10	10

O (overcast)	3	03

P (passing showers)	81	81

Q (squalls, rough)	97	18

R (rain)	61	61

S (snow)	71	71

T (thunder)	17	17

U (ugly weather)	18	07

V (unusual visibility-	0	00

exceptionally clear)

W (dew)	11	11

X (hoar frost)	48	48

Z (haze)	5	05

Fog (written out)	45	45

Funnel Cloud	19	19

Note: All these symbols can be used in combination (up to three). Whenever,

this occurs always select the higher value based on the LMR code numbers

(e.g. OPQ = 81, CRZ = 61, CR = 61, CPH = 89, and OC = 03) with the following exceptions:

Any non-precipitation event grouped with thunder should be coded as 17 unless grouped with a funnel cloud which should be coded as a 19.

BC (partly cloudy) = 02

Any combination containing thunder (T = 17) and P(passing showers, R(rain), or S (snow) should be coded as a 95 (thunderstorm no hail). Any combination with T(thunder) and H (hail) should be coded as a 96 (thunderstorm with hail), for example:

RT = 95

ST = 95

HT = 96 any combination with HT should = 96

RST = 95 and any combination (excluding H) with RT and ST = 95

CRT = 95

PRT = 95

CST = 95

PST = 95

The original keyed Beaufort weather values (or CLICOM conversion codes) will be placed in the supplemental atachment.

25 W1 past weather	None reported in the 700 form series.

Assign as missing.

26 W2	2nd past weather Assign as missing. None reported.

27 SLP 707	sea level pressure Convert corrected barometer report in
/607 inches or millimeters to millibars using	/708	the conversion of 1 inch = 33.8639
/608 millibars or 1 millimeter = 1.333224
millibars. If the corrected value is not	available then the correction must be made using the proper procedures based on whether it is an aneroid or mercurial barometer. Translate into LMR.

704/604 Attached thermometers (degrees F/C respectively)

28 T1 701	temp. indic. Set to 6; whole degree Fahrenheit

29 AT 701	air temp. Convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius and	translate to LMR. C = (F-32)/1.8

30 WBT 702	wet bulb temp. Convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius and translate to LMR.

31 DPT	dew point temp. Not reported; assign as missing

32 SST 744	sea surface temp. Convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius; translate to LMR

33 SI	SST method indic. None of the 700 series contains information

on the SST method (bucket, intake, etc.) of	collection. For those reporting a SST set

SI = 8 (unknown method), otherwise set to	missing.

34 N	714	total cloud amt.	The total cloud amounts in the 700 series

were all reported in tenths and were never

contaminated by the 0-9 radio code as

happened to the 500 form series. Therefore, convert the tenths to eights using table 2 below. All cloud amount values are to be preserved by storing the original value in

the supplemental attachment. CLICOM converted a dash (-) to an eleven (11).

Table 2

Converting cloud amounts in tenths to eights

tenths	eights

0	0

1	1

2 or 3	2

4	3

5	4

6	5

7 or 8	6

9	7

10	8

Obscured	9 (not used)

11 (=dash) blank

35 NH	lower cloud amt.	Never reported in the 700 series.

Assign as missing

36 CL 620	low cloud type	First cloud type does not necessarily	conform to a low cloud type. Move to the supplemental attachment and assign as missing in the LMR format.

37 HI	cloud ht. indic. Assign height indicator as missing, because	cloud heights were not reported in the form	700 series.

38 H	cloud height Assign as missing; not reported

39 CM 621	middle cloud type Second cloud type does not necessarily conform to a middle cloud type. If present move to supplemental attachment and assign as missing in the LMR format.

40 CH 625	high cloud type Third cloud type does not necessarily	conform to a high cloud type. If present move to supplemental attachment and assign as missing in the LMR format.

41 WD	wave direction Assign as missing; place sea direction

in supplemental attachment because the only other sea information reported is the sea state which does not translate well to the modern code.

42 WP	wave period Assign as missing; not reported

43 WH	wave height Assign as missing; not reported.

Place sea state in supplemental

attachment

44 SD	swell direction Assign as missing; not reported

45 SP	swell period Assign as missing, not reported

46 SH	swell height Assign as missing, not reported

47 C1	country code Assign as missing, not applicable

48 C2	2nd country code Assign as missing, not applicable

49 SC	ship course Assign as misssing, not reported

50 SS	ship speed Assign as missing, not reported

51 A	bar. tendency Assign as missing, not reported

52 PPP	amt. of SLP change Assign as missing, not reported

EXCEPTION: Place 2 hour pressure change	reported on form 703 in the supplemental

attachment (element # 28) and the direction	of change in element # 27 (characteristic	of change). Then convert to tenths of	millibars (form 703) and multiply by 3/2 to produce an estimated 3hr PPP to be placed in element 52 (LMR). For the LMR bar. tendency, convert `+' to `2'(increasing steadily or unsteadily); `-' to `7'
(decreasing steadily or unsteadily) and a +0000 or -0000 to a `4' (steady, pressure the same as 3 hours before).

53 IS	ice accretion Assign as missing; not reported

54 ES	ice thickness Assign as missing; not reported

55 RS	ice accretion rate Assign as missing; not reported

56 II	ID indic. Set to 10; composite information

57-

64 ID(8)	ID/call sign Assign 8 digit identifier as call sign.

Note: first two characters (57 & 58)

represent country of registry

(see list below) and the next six

digits (59-64) represent a single voyage

each numbered sequentially as they were

digitized. The 8 characters can be used

for track checking, but not for ship
identification.

Codes	Country

AS, OS	Austria

AU	Australia

BX	Belgium

CH	Chile

CI	China

CN	Canada

CU	Cuba

CZ	Czechoslovakia

DD, DL	Germany

DN	Denmark

DR	Dominican Republic

FI	Finland

FR	France

GR	Greece

HK	Hong Kong

HO	Honduras

IY	Italy

JP	Japan

MX	Mexico

NK	Nicaragua

NL	Netherlands

NO	Norway

PH	Philippines

PL	Poland

PM	Panama

PO	Portugal

RA, RS	USSR

SN	Sweden

SP	Spain

SW	Switzerland

TH	Thailand

TU	Turkey

UK	United Kingdom

US	United State of America

YG	Yugoslavia

65 OS	observation source Assign as missing

66 OP	observation plat. Assign as missing

67 T2	2nd temp. indic. Assign as missing; Wet bulb temperature

is reported on form 600 series.

68 IX	stn/weather indic. Assign as missing; not applicable

69 WX	wave per. indic. Assign as missing; not applicable

70 SX	swell per. indic. Assign as missing; not applicable

71 IRD	IMM receipt date Assign as missing; not applicable

72 A6	allowance 6 flag Assign as missing; not applicable

73 CK	checksum Perform as outline in LMR documentation

74 AC	attachment count Assign as described in LMR documentation

Irregular section to follow:

75 AL	attachment length

76 AID	attachment ID

77 AD	attachment data

Supplemental Attachment

Field	Element	Positions	Description

No. No.

1	1-3	Form Type (e.g. 500, 601, 721, etc.)

2	694	4	Day of the week (GMT)

3	693	5-6	Greenwich Mean Time (00-23)

4	649	7	Octant ( 0-3; 5-8; missing = space)

5	711	8-9	Beaufort Force (0-12; a dash = 13 or -)

6	610	10	Visibility (0-9)

7	666	11-12	Present weather (00-99)

8	665	13	Past Weather (0-9; a dash = 11 or -)

9	667	14-19	Beaufort weather ( as initially coded /668 {alpha characters} or converted by

/669 CLICOM {numeric code values}

10	606	20-21	Barometer as coded (PP; 00-99)

11	707	22-25	Barometer as read (inches to
/607 hundreths or millimeters to tenths)

Note: The instrument correction

in the header record is not always in

the same units as the "barometer as read"

units.

12	26-29	Attached Thermometer

704	Fahrenheit (whole degrees)

/604	Celsius (to tenths of a degree)

Note: It is not always the case that if the

barometer is reported in inches that the	attached thermometer is in Fahrenheit or if

in millimeters the temperature is in
Celsius. There is occasionally a mixture.

13	708	30-33	Barometer as corrected (in. to hundreths)

/608 Barometer as corrected (mm to tenths)

If both are reported (608/708) select

the one that has the units that agrees with

field # 9 (barometer as read), otherwise, convert the one that is available to agree.

14	34	Barometer type

15	35-39	Barometer correction

16	40	Air Temperature Indicator (S = stationary
thermometer; P=psychrometer; O= other)

17	714	41-42	N, total cloud amount (as recorded in tenths	or code) (0-10; a dash = 11 or -)

18	716	43-44	Nh. Low cloud amount (as recorded in tenths
or code) (0-10; a dash = 11 or -)

19	620	45-48	Cloud Type

e.g. FT511/FT601/FT701 - Cloud type 1

FT522/FT523 - high cloud type

20	615	49-52	Cloud movement (direction)

/640	direction of upper (high) cloud movement

21	621	53-56	Cloud Type

e.g. FT511/FT601/FT701 - Cloud type 2

FT522/FT523 - middle cloud type

22	641	57-60	Direction of middle cloud movement

23	625	61-64	Cloud Type

e.g. FT511/FT601/FT701 - Cloud type 3

FT522/FT523 - low cloud type

24	645	65-68	Direction of low cloud movement

e.g. FT522/FT523/etc.

25	754	69-71	State of Sea (alpha or numeric)

/657 Note: there is a problem between the
conversion codes and the non-converted codes	in the range of 1-10 since they have
different meanings, yet appear the same.

26	807 72-75	Sea (wind wave) Direction (right justify - 8 /655 pt scale; coded 0-9 or coded using alpha representation; a dash = 11 or -)

27	755 76-79	Swell Direction (right justify - 8 pt scale;	/803	coded 0-9 or coded using alpha representation; a dash = 11 or -)

28	757 80-82	Character of swell (same as state of sea)

/804

29	605 83	Temperature difference (air-water) in

code (0-9)

Note: observer often entered

actual difference instead of

code. This can generally be checked

since both air and sea temperatures are

part of the basic record.

30	663	84	Characteristic of change of the barometer

/805 (a) in 3 hours (0-9; a dash = 11 or -)

Note: exception for form 703, a plus or

minus will be placed in this field to

indicate the direction of the 2 hour

pressure change reported in element 28

below (pp).

31	664	85-86	(pp) Barometer change in two digit code
/806	(00-99)

Note: exception for form 703, place the

two hour pressure change in this field

(hundreths of inches)

32	87-112	Ship Name (26 characters allocated)