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FTS Reaches for the Sky

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-05-14T15:07:21-07:00

With FTS’s Victoria headquarters closed for the day, at an estimated cost of $60,000 to the company, and the expense of transportation (not forgetting a delicious lunch at a waterside eatery), FTS invested around $100K in its employees on this one excursion. “Days like this have a huge impact on employee engagement. All of the planning and organization that had to go in to the day really shows how much the company values its employees” said Caree Brignall, administrative accounting clerk with FTS. David Illing, CEO was adamant that all staff should enjoy the trip, but was also keen to stress the long-term benefits of such an event. “Boeing has a long tradition of leadership and innovation, and we put the same principles into practice at FTS,” he said. “The day at Boeing was more than a fun field trip, it was a chance to build morale by having employees connect and interact in a way that can’t be done in the office.” It was certainly a day that FTS staff won’t forget in a hurry, and serves to prove why the company continues to rank highly as one of Victoria’s most desirable employers.

VIDEO - River of Fire - A Prescribed Burn in the Everglades

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-05-09T20:47:51-07:00

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Water Survey of Canada win for FTS

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-05-01T16:05:30-07:00

The dataloggers are integrated into existing water quality or water quantity stations across the country. In order to feed the various public services that WSC supplies, various telemetry options are added to the stations. These telemetry options are also included as part of this contract. “We can offer Environment Canada environmentally hardened phone modems, or GOES transmitters for remote stations along with their EDAS units” said FTS’s Sheldon Foisy, the Business Development Executive working closely with WSC to fulfill their demands. “Different provinces have different needs, and we listen carefully to help put in place solutions that meet each province’s unique sensors, terrain and applications” continued Foisy. FTS has also seen a large number of provincial partners place orders since WSC announced the award. Partner agencies are different government organizations who are running their own programs and need data from the WSC sites. Hydro-electric companies augment their own water monitoring programs with WSC sites, as do many municipal or provincial groups. Standardizing on the same equipment for their own monitoring needs ensures that the quality of data remains high, and in addition makes servicing the equipment easier as there is local expertise within WSC to help out.

QDs used in fight against forest pests

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-05-01T16:01:11-07:00

The QDs collect data every 15 minutes, and transmit on an hourly basis. Operators on the ground and in the air can poll current weather data during a spray program via direct radio contact to the stations, enabling action to be taken quickly and effectively. Having experienced the accuracy and reliability of FTS technologies in fire weather monitoring, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources clearly saw the benefits of deploying QDs in other areas of forest management.

A Decade of GOES Transition: CS2

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-05-01T15:02:07-07:00

...Q: When do I need to upgrade my CS1 GOES hardware? A: Current CS1 hardware will continue to work as normal until 2023, so there’s no rush! Q: Is my current GOES hardware compatible with CS2? How do I upgrade it if it is? ...Some older units cannot be upgraded, while newer units will need to be sent back to FTS for upgrading. Locate the serial number of your datalogger or external GOES unit. Refer to the upgrade details in the table “FTS GOES equipment compatibility with CS2” below. Q: How do I determine what model my current GOES hardware is? A: If your GOES transmitter is integrated into an Axiom datalogger, it’s easy—it’s an F6-G5. If it’s an external unit, check the information in the table below. ...GOES transmissions will not be faster or slower, only the number of channels is greater, allowing NOAA to increase the amount of GOES traffic. ...By May 2012, all new GOES transmitters that are sold will be CS2-capable. The CS2 transmitters will accept and operate with CS1 NESDIS channel assignments and existing CS1 transmitters will continue to operate until 2023.

...May 2012 - Any new GOES transmitters purchased (including products which integrate a GOES transmitter) must be CS2-capable. CS1 transmitters can continue to be used. 2023 - CS1 standard is no longer supported, any GOES transmitters without CS2 capability will no longer transmit. ...The transition to the CS2 standard is mostly transparent—meaning there is really no effect that will be felt. If you examine closely enough you’ll notice the GOES transmitter will perform slightly differently (for example, the typical power level will be slightly lower) but there will be no difference in how data is sent or received. An existing CS1 channel assignment and NESID can be used by a CS2 transmitter and you can continue to use a CS1 transmitter until 2023. ...The deadline for manufacturers to begin selling CS2-capable GOES transmitters is May 2012. FTS has tested our G5 GOES transmitter thoroughly in the last 6 months leading up to this date, so that the product will have all the reliability of prior (CS1) transmitter.

Axiom’s Success is Extreme as Sales Approach 1,000 Units

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-05-01T14:50:44-07:00

Designed to be simple to use and to maintain, the F6 eliminates the need to take a laptop and cables into the field and it incorporates an easy to operate, touchscreen user interface. This significant feature has had a huge impact. With no laptop malfunctions, dead batteries or forgotten cables to worry about, our Axiom customers are now making fewer onsite maintenance visits, saving significant time and money. They are also spending less time getting trained on use of complex software, which saves additional money.

GOES Transition Nears Completion

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-05-01T13:02:20-07:00

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Fixed RAWS Maintenance Down Mexico Way

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-05-01T12:47:44-07:00

Unlike the 20 ft. (6.1m) high fixed RAWS used throughout the US, those in Mexico comply with the WMO standard and have 32 ft. (10m) towers with double set guy wires. These robust constructions are often firmly fixed into concrete pilings and as a result, full infrastructure maintenance may involve pulling the towers down and reinstating them with a newly constructed tower. The majority of sensors used on the Mexican stations are the same as those employed on typical fire RAWS throughout North America. Each of the multiple sensors on all 37 stations were thoroughly checked to validate calibration, ensuring ongoing accuracy. We know that reliability of equipment is absolutely critical in remote monitoring deployments. This is why we are committed to making sure that FTS customers receive ongoing dedicated service and maintenance programs.

Let's Talk AirTalk

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-05-01T12:06:29-07:00

The result is a voice coming through your handheld radio that is not only noticeably louder (about 50%) but significantly clearer and easier to understand. “It’s remarkable how much more natural and human-sounding the new voice is” observes Chris Barteaux, FTS Director of Sales. “Of course, customers will have to get used to a male voice instead of the female voice we used to have” he adds. “but, there’s no question that the new voice will more reliably get the message through.” Beyond the new voice, the other most noticeable improvement we’ve made is a new user interface on the Axiom’s touchscreen for configuring AirTalk, something that used to require a laptop, ancient software called Hyperterminal, code-writing prowess and lots of patience. “Most customers found reprogramming the old RVT to be way too cumbersome, and elected to have FTS do any configuration changes” states Michael Junkin, Manager of Software Development. “Our new UI gives customers complete control over how AirTalk acts and what it speaks, but makes it simple and efficient—even on-site”. Now instead of hand-coding in a text-based environment on a laptop to create or modify the configuration, you can point-and-click to create new messages, determine what weather conditions will trigger alerts, change the DTMF codes, etc.

The AirTalk user interface is efficient and simple to use.

The last significant change that AirTalk brings is that AirTalk is no longer a separate unit, but has actually been shrunk down enough so that it could be fit into the Axiom datalogger. This makes new Quick Deploy RAWS lighter, eliminates one more cable connection and point of failure, and reduces power consumption. It is available as a separate unit for retrofitting existing stations, but for new systems, you’ll just order an Axiom with the integrated AirTalk option. Owners of FWS-12S dataloggers take note: AirTalk is not compatible with these products. ...Because we eventually plan to integrate this same mission-critical voice messaging technology with other communication methods (cellular, voice-over-IP, etc.), we wanted a name that reflected the concept of a voice appearing out of thin air, reporting information from a remote station. ...While AirTalk does not work with the Project 25 (P25) standard, it is the next step toward it. ...We’ve also snuck a couple more new features into AirTalk that weren’t present in the old RVT: • A new audit log of all AirTalk activity helps diagnosing problems and provides accurate account of communication requested from crews and sent by the station. • Ability to suspend AirTalk functionality in general or just specific alerts. • Ability to remotely suspend or enable AirTalk functionality through special reserved DTMF codes. For example, entering “9999” will suspend AirTalk, and “0000” will re-enable it. • Ability to choose whether AirTalk should automatically be enabled or disabled after a power cycle. ... • Supplied with a library of pre-defined phrases that can be assembled into reports as needed by the user. ...Owners of existing Axiom dataloggers will need to upgrade the application software to at least version 2.55.8 in order to use AirTalk (in addition to purchasing an AirTalk external unit). The latest version of the datalogger software is always available in the technical support section.

QD is lost and found

sales@ftsfireweather.com — 2012-04-30T11:52:51-07:00

Shortly after the story was broadcast on the local 10pm news a call came in from a member of the public saying that they had found the high-tech equipment earlier that morning. The passing motorist has spotted the large black case containing the station and sensors lying at the roadside. A Forest Service spokesman announced that it appeared to have, er, fallen off the truck on the way to the burn site. We’re delighted to hear that the portable weather station has been returned and will continue to be deployed by wildfire crews to monitor wind speed, air temperature and humidity, helping to keep them and the public safe during the coming fire season. Source: KPAX News