Documentation Information

Purpose

This document is a proposal and contract on many of the named metadata fields along with meanings intended usages, and terminology used within AVAPS infrastructure equiptment, software, and data set. This document, though a living document, should contain the entirity of defined meaning for named metadata parameters. Please voice all concerns, questions, and potential conflicts to the appropriate NCAR staff.

Release History

This document is a living document that is created from a set of version controlled configuration files and some crude parsing tools. The configuration is meant to be machine read, and various output sources, and documentation bits emitted, of which this document is one. The intent is that changes, whether small spelling corrections, or adding additional metadata parameters, require little manual tinkering, and the modifications can be disseminated automatically to necessary users.

This document has undergone the following releases:

Release	Date	Responsible Party	Summary of Changes
1	-	npotts	Initialize collection of fields and assembly of documentation

Creation

• Generation Date: 2024-10-23T11:08:08-06:00
• Repository Version: 1

Document Creation

This document is a living document that is created from a set of version controlled configuration files and some crude parsing tools. The configuration is meant to be machine read, and various output sources, and documentation bits emitted, of which this document is one. The intent is that changes, whether small spelling corrections, or adding additional metadata parameters, require little manual tinkering, and the modifications can be disseminated automatically to necessary users.

This document has undergone the following releases:

Release	Date	Responsible Party	Summary of Changes
1	-	npotts	Initialize collection of fields and assembly of documentation

---

Metadata Field Definitions and Rules

Requirements and Intents

Long term archival of any sort of data necessitates the collection and retention of associated metadata (data about the data) in order for the data to be of any long term use. This problem is neither AVAPS, nor NCAR specific - your general library is only as useful as the information about the contents in the books is organzied and correct. In effect, the library is only as good as its metadata is. If your local library has all the books in the world in a heaping pile on the floor, it is mostly useless for any sort of actual inquiry. The intent of the AVAPS-Metadata project is to name and accurately define common metadata fields that can be known about AVAPS sondes, soundings, and maintain the list for perpetuity to aid in the utility of the data itself.

Once this proposal is accepted (eg, a formally released version), the definitions and meanings of each field may not change, but the meaning may be clarified, made obsolete, or marked as invalid as needed. The intent is that more fields may be added in order to address new functionality, concerns, or changes in meaning. If there exists a field named "MSL" which is defined as Mean Sea Level based on WGS84, and a new MSL, which is defined as Mean Seal Level based on a better model (say EGM2008), these are two distinct metadata values, and should be treated as such - values using the second definition SHALL NOT commedier the first and keep going - they should further define the first definition and create a new field.

The initial design requirements had the following stated definitions, which should be followed in the spirit of intent.

• Single format of metadata to be shared at all levels of usage (sonde, production, data logging, and post-drop analysis).
• Format should be extendable in the future. EG: We should be able to add more fields without touching sonde firmware.
• Adding more fields is as simple as adding more #defines in code or alteration of the source documentation.
• If old code sees new fields, it should not misbehave/segfault/complain/die - It should make allowance for fields that may exist but may be unknown in functionality or meaning.
• Structure should map nicely into language constructs
• byte-dense, but not at the cost of readability

Formatting Rules

The format chosed is a simple string which is built by key=value pairs seperated by | symbols. key is a unsigned integer > 1, value is a string not containing any | characters, and multiple key=value fields are seperated by | characters. Generally speaking:

• key is an an unsigned integer > 0
  • ASCII encoded ("1", eg not 0x1)
  • Must match the following regex: `[1-9][0-9]+[\w]*?=`
  • Unique and well defined meaning. EG. 94 may be defined as 'launch pressure via a algorithm X', and "95" may be defined as 'launch pressure via algorithm Y'.
  • Definition for a key may optionally have a unit. (s, m/s)
• value is defined as:
  • A string not consisting of a '|' including escaped versions of '|' such as '\|'
  • ALL values explicitly match the following regex: `[^|]*`
  • Can contain newlines (\n) carriage returns (\r) and other various bits of binary information
  • A regex validator should be provided for each key that validates the contents of _value_

The follow is an example of a valid metadata formatted string 1=1|2=124435242|3=G5|4=2.05|5=20120718T160823|6=RD94|7=RSS904|8=Ublox NEO-6Q|9=845.79|10=845.053

The follow is an example of an invalid metadata string 0=invalid key|1=cannot escape|symbols

Table Definitions

For the sake of clarity and uniformity, the following metadata fields have the following definitions:

Label	Meaning
Human Name	Human readable abbreviated name for a field. This will be used in compiled code as named variables. Should be CamelCase, cannot start with a number, avoid underscores & hyphens
ID	The key assigned to this value. Once set, it cannot be ever reused, even in case of mistakes or mis-counting
Ver	Version when this field was officially defined
Unit	Physical unit, if applicable, such as seconds, meters per second, or grams
Originator	Source, or creating entity of this metadata field, if known
Validator	Regular expression to validate the incoming field, expressed as a string. Regular expressions, when referred to by this document, are Perl-style match-only regular expression. The dot operator (.) should match everything, inclusive of carriage returns, newlines, and the like. This is akin to the perl \m modifier. The following code example give examples for known languages: // Qt5 QRegularExpression re(".*", QRegularExpression::DotMatchesEverythingOption); // Golang re := regexp.MustCompile(`?(m).*`)
Definition	Technical definition for what the field contains, implications, or otherwise useful notes.

---

Metadata Fields

Format

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
1	^1$	1	This Document
Metadata table format - Any changes will increment this value by one

DropCommandSet

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
2	^[\d]+$	1	sonde
Sonde controlled command set to use. Corresponds to the returned value of SRCS in the Sonde ICD

SerialNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
3	^[0-9]{9}	1	sonde
Dropsonde serial number. This serial number is defined by the sensor module serial number assigned by Vaisala. It must be a 9 digit integer number and must include leading 0s where applicable.

TelemetryType

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
4	^[1-3]{1}$	1	sonde
Dropsonde Telemetry message Type, currently 1, 2, or 3.

FactorySndFirmware

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
5	.*	1	sonde
Sonde micro-controller Firmware version, as recorded at the time of production

PtuSensorFirmware

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
6	.*	1	sonde
PTH Sensor module firmware version.

GpsSensorFirmware

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
7	.*	1	sonde
The output emitted by the GPS unit in response to a UBX::MON::VER request. It usually looks like "EXT CORE 3.0 (107900) HW: 0000080000" or similar

FactoryGPSInitMsg

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
8	.*	1	sonde
* Field not stored on sonde * Initial GPS Generated messages

DropFrequency

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
9	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	MHz	1	sonde
Telemetry frequency chosen for drop. Data logging software is responsible for setting the frequency, but the change is reflected by the sonde.

GpsCuttoffAngle

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
10	^[.\d]+$	ø	1	sonde
Cut off for the elevation of GPS transmitting satellites, which are being used by the GPS module. The default (of missing) is 5 degrees above the horizon.

SstFirmware

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
11	.*	1	sonde
* Field not stored on sonde * Version code of the in situ sea surface sensor.

GpsNavigationMode

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
12	.*	1	sonde
* Field not stored on sonde * GPS Navigation mode (0-8) per the GPS

TCheckDelta

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
13	.*	°C	1	sonde
Measured temperature difference from temperature self check which is defined in sensor module Literature, is not well understood by NCAR, but yields useful information to the sensor manufacturer.

RHCheckDelta

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
14	^1$	%RH	1	sonde
Humidity self check which is defined in sensor module Literature, is not well understood by NCAR, but yields useful information to the sensor manufacturer.

DropHeatingAlgorithm

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
15	^[\d]+	1	sonde
Heating algorithm for the RS41 humidity sensor (currently only one algorithm exists, others may come). Sensor module operates in either a "raw" or "cooked" modes. Raw means raw measurments that has not been corrected are emitted where the end user (data logging software) will need to manually apply corrections. Cooked means the PTU sensor module performs best guess corrections for the environment, and further corrections are not to be performed. The returned value have the following meanings: -0: cooked, or pre-computed, RH values -1: raw, or non-altered, RH values, and require more proceesing before actual air RH can be retrieved.

DropHeatingUsed

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
16	^[\d]{1}	1	sonde
The sensor module's internal heater is either enabled or disabled. The output value has the following meanings - 0: RH heater is "off", or disabled - 1: RH heater is "on", or enabled

AppliedPressureOffset

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
17	.*	1	sonde
This is the applied offset in the sonde firmware to the value emitted by the pressure sensor. This transmitted (RF) value is defined such that P_sensor + AppliedPressureOffset = P_transmitted This value is stored in the sonde as an IEE754 float, and the sonde freely emits this as part of its metadata.

LastRegeneration

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
18	.*	timestamp	1	sonde
Timestamp of last regeneration, given in YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm format. This field should be set to "unknown" if not known.

LastRegenerationError

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
19	.*	1	sonde
Boolean flag indicating if there was an error on the most recent regeneration. - 0 / false / False: should be understood that the most recent regeneration completed successfully. - 1 / true / True: should be understood that the most recent regeneration encountered an error, or did not successfully complete.

PreDropPwrLvl

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
20	^[\d]+$	1	acs & sonde
RF Transmitter Power Level. Current dropsonde transmitters have been in the range of 0-63. Default is 63 or max power level. The data logging server may alter this per the requested user config. This is the value the sonde uses before launch is detected / set. The value is controlled by acs, but the sonde emits it as part of its metadata

RfPowerLvl

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
21	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	dBm	1	sonde
The RF transmit power level of the sonde once it transistions to full run mode. Again, this is not the current power level, but the level once the sonde enters run mode. The current power level can be deduced if launch detect has occurred or not. This field is also recorded as part of the production process as the power level as it left the factory.

FactoryRfOffset

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
22	^[\d]$	Hz	1	sonde
* Field not stored on sonde * Production adjusted frequency offset, in Hz, as measured at 403.00MHz

ShutoffDuration

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
23	^[\d]+$	1	sonde
Shutoff duration - how long the sonde will run, in frame counts, until self-terminating. 65536 / / missing means run until the battery dies.

BatteryVoltage

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
24	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	Volts	1	sonde
Sonde reported battery voltage, captured at the time of detection in ACS.

NominalBatteryVoltage

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
25	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	Volts	1	sonde
Sonde's self-reported ideal / nominal voltage. (eg 6V, 9V, etc)

FactoryRevisionCode

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
26	^[a-zA-Z0-9]{2}$	1	factory / snd
Sonde manufacturing Revision Control Code. Currently it consists of a letter and a number. This value is emitted by the sonde, but controlled by the factory.

LaunchDetectThreshold

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
27	^[\d]{5}$	1	sonde
Threshold for triggering launch detect, RD41 only.

LaunchDetectCount

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
28	^[\d]{5}$	1	sonde
Current value from the launch detect proximity sensor, RD41 only.

TransmitterPartNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
29	^[\d]{4}$	1	sonde
Part number for transmitter RFIC. Currently either 4464 or 4463.

TransmitterRevision

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
30	^[a-zA-Z0-9]+$	1	sonde
Revision for transmitter RFIC. Differentiates B1B with C2A.

PICPartNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
31	^[a-zA-Z0-9]+$	1	sonde
Part number for PIC microcontroller. Currently either PIC18F46K20 or PIC18F46K22.

ProductionDate

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
51	^[\d]{9}T[\d]{3}Z$	timestamp	1	factory
Production date. The date is stored in RFC3339 UTC ISO 8601 date format, YYYYMMDDThhmmssZ

FactoryProductCode

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
52	.*	1	factory
Product code. Currently defined to be one of the following RD94 - Vaisala produced large dropsonde, NRD94 - NCAR Research Dropsonde (aka mini) RD41 - Large form factor dropsonde with RSS941 module NRD41 - Small form factor dropsonde with RS941 module

PtuSensorPartNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
53	^R[S]{1,2}[\d]{3}$	1	factory
PTH Sensor module part number. Currently defined options are RSS904, RSS903, or RSS941.

GpsSensorPartNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
54	.*	1	factory
GPS receiver manufacturer's Part Number.

FactoryCalPressAvg

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
55	^[\d]+.[\d]+$	hPa	1	factory
Reference Calibration Pressure during production. Resolution should be 0.1 hPa.

FactoryCalPressCnt

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
56	^[\d]+$	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Number of samples takes in the above average

FactoryCalPressStdDev

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
57	^[\d]+.[\d]+$	hPa	1	factory
Standard Deviation of the pressure samples taken during the time of production

FactoryCalTempAvg

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
58	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	°C	1	factory
Reference Calibration Temperature during production. Resolution should be 0.1 °C.

FactoryCalTempCnt

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
59	^[\d]+$	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Number of Temperature samples taken during the time of production

FactoryCalTempStdDev

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
60	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	°C	1	factory
Standard Deviation of the temperature samples taken during the time of production

FactoryCalRHAvg

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
61	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	%RH	1	factory
Reference relative humidity during production. Resolution should be 1 %RH

FactoryCalRHCnt

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
62	^[\d]+$	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Number of calibrated RH samples taken

FactoryCalRHStdDev

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
63	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	%RH	1	factory
Standard Deviation of RH samples

FactorySndPressAvg

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
64	^[\d]+.[\d]+$	hPa	1	factory
Sonde Calibration Pressure during production. Resolution should be 0.1 hPa. Samples should be free of checksum errors and are representative of over-the-air transmission.

FactorySndPressCnt

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
65	^[\d]+$	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Count of samples in the average

FactorySndPressStdDev

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
66	^[\d]+.[\d]+$	hPa	1	factory
Standard deviation of the error-free samples

FactorySndTempAvg

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
67	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	°C	1	factory
Sonde Temperature during production. Resolution should be 0.1 °C. Samples should be free of checksum errors and are representative of over-the-air transmission.

FactorySndTempCnt

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
68	^[\d]+$	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * The number of samples taken to generate FactorySndTempAvg

FactorySndTempStdDev

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
69	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	°C	1	factory
The standard deviation of the samples taken from the sonde.

FactorySndRHAvg

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
70	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	%RH	1	factory
Sonde Calibration humidity during production. Resolution should be 1 %RH. Samples should be free of checksum errors and are representative of over-the-air transmission.

FactorySndRHCnt

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
71	^[\d]+$	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * The number of samples used to calculate FactorySndRHAvg

FactorySndRHStdDev

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
72	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	%RH	1	factory
The standard deviation of the sonde's RH samples

FactoryVersion

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
73	.*	1	factory
Production software version tag

FactoryRfError

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
74	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	Hz	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Frequency error measured at 403.00MHz and defined as Freq_reference - Freq_sonde

FactoryRfDev

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
75	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	kHZ	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * FM Deviation as measured during the production cycle, at 403.00MHz

FactoryRfERP

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
76	^[\d]+.[\d]{3}$	dBm	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Effective Resonated Power, as measured at the production facility, at 403.00MHz

ParachuteArea

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
77	^[\d]+$	cm^2	1	factory
Surface area of the inverted pyramid parachute.

SondeWeight

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
78	^[\d]+$	g	1	factory
Total sonde weight being launched.

SstPartNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
79	.*	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Manufacturer's part number of infrared sea surface sensor.

FactoryAddendum

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
80	.*	1	factory
Extra sensors or concise production-lot notes from time of production. Usually it is a string like "dev", "prototype" or "SSTv4" for additional sensors, experimental variants, or prototype runs. In normal production lots, this field should be empty / missing. Even for normal NCAR production runs, this should be empty.

FactoryName

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
81	.*	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Common name of the producer, Vaisala, NCAR, Garage-Shop Ltd, etc

FactoryTTFF

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
82	^[\d]+.[\d]{1}$	s	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Time to First Fix during production.

FactoryGpsAntenna

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
83	.*	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Identifying information for the GPS antenna - usually a model number, serial number, or similar

FactoryBatteryDateCode

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
84	.*	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Battery's Datecode (in lieu of a serial number)

FactoryPcbMfg

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
85	.*	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Manufacturer of the PCB

FactoryPCBDateCode

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
86	.*	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Manufacturer's PCB Date Code

FactoryPcbRevision

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
87	.*	1	factory
* Field not stored on sonde * Controlled PCB revision. Ideally this is a version string that comes directly off the silkscreen that is maintained by version control packages, not the human named

FactoryComments

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
88	.*	1	factory
Any comments input by the factory floor personnel. Stripped of \| symbols.

SondeDetectionTime

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
89	.*	timestamp	1	factory
Time when sonde was first detected and metadata extracted.

MetadataExtractionCmds

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
90	.*	1	factory
UUID of the command set used to extract metadata

DropUUID

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
91	.*	1	factory
UUID of soundings. All metadata and data associated with this sounding is tagged with this UUID

DropCreationDate

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
92	.*	timestamp	1	factory
Creation time of sounding - timestamp when channel was started and data recording starts

DropEndDate

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
93	.*	timestamp	1	factory
Final time when channel was closed.

DropCompleted

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
94	.*	1	factory
Should be true if the channel was closed successfully. If there was some serious errors and the data logger quit, this field would be missing

DropOperator

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
95	.*	1	factory
Operator responsible for launch (an email / username)

DropAddendum

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
96	.*	1	factory
DEPRECATED -- use OperatorComments instead. Standard operator notes - Free form text that has been manually processed to remove any | symbols that may be present

DropBattery

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
97	.*	V	2	factory
DEPRECATED -- use BatteryVoltage instead. Self-reported battery voltage at time of detection. Queried via SRBV command in ACS.

DropSoftwareVersion

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
98	.*	1	factory
ACS or AVAPS Launch software version tag

DropLaunchDetect

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
99	.*	timestamp	1	factory
Reported time when launch detect occurred This is not corrected for false launch detects

DropChannelDuration

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
100	.*	s	1	factory
Number of seconds channel was active

DropTerminationCond

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
101	.*	1	factory
Reason sounding was terminated. Currently, possible options are: ChannelStoppedMaxTime - Stopped because the channel was open for a maximal amount of time ChannelStoppedSounding - Stopped after nominal amount of time for a sounding has occurred ChannelStoppedNoData - No data after a defined timeout ChannelStoppedDataReconnect - Stopped because daemon was unable to reconnect to the data stream ChannelStoppedRcvrReconnect - Stopped because the low level hardware became unavailable ChannelStoppedManual - Manually halted

ChannelType

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
102	.*	1	factory
Type of Channel responsible for recording data. Currently, only type "1" is implemented, which wraps around a MGAUS / 400MHz receiver. It is anticipated that type "2" will designate the planned SDR chassis.

ChannelSerialNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
103	.*	1	factory
Serial number or identifier of receiver hardware

ChannelRxDial

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
104	.*	1	factory
Dial string (eg tcp://192.168.1.1:2000 or similar) used to connect to the Receiver

ChannelDmdDial

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
105	.*	1	factory
Dial string (eg tcp://192.168.1.1:2000 or similar) used to connect to the Demod stream

ChannelNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
106	^[\d]+$	1	factory
Self-assigned channel number (N of M channels). One based counting system (1, 2, 3, ..., M)

ChannelTermMax

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
107	.*	1	factory
Maximal amount of time the channel would have stayed open. In units like "1h12m32s"

ChannelTermSounding

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
108	.*	1	factory
Maximal amount of time the channel would have run after launch detect had occurred

ChannelTermNoData

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
109	.*	1	factory
Maximal amount of time the channel would have stayed open with no data

ChannelTermRecon

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
110	.*	1	factory
Maximal amount of time the channel would have stayed open when unable to reconnect to underlying hardware

ChannelRSSIPeriod

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
111	.*	1	factory
How often was the RSSI info off the receiver gathered

ChannelDataPeriod

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
112	.*	1	factory
How often would data be pulled off the demodulator

ChannelConnPeriod

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
113	.*	1	factory
Duration to wait for initial setup connection to complete

DropStreamType

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
114	.*	1	factory
StreamType chosen at Time of Drop. Should match FactoryStreamType, but that is not always true

ChannelChassisType

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
115	.*	1	factory
ACS standard chassis configuration files identify a number of known chassis configurations, such as chassis used by NOAA and NCAR, chassis for small airframes, and green vs blue chassis which feature respectively a green or blue backplane PCB. This field is the name of the specific configuration that was used.

DropProject

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
116	.*	1	factory
Human named project, usually a well-known named funded project such as OLYMPEX or CONCORDIASI

DropMission

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
117	.*	1	factory
Human named flight: NCAR usually uses names like RF01, TF02, whereas NOAA and NASA use slight variations on this.

DropPlatform

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
118	.*	1	factory
Human Readable Name for the aircraft / airframe used. Usually items like "NCAR G-V" or "NOAA P3"

DropTailNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
119	.*	1	factory
Registered Tail Number of the aircraft AVAPS is residing on.

DropLaunchObs

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
120	.*	1	factory
IWGADTS1 message at the time of drop. Should be altered by algorithms in case of late launch detect, or obvious delays in data messages.

DropPressureAddition

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
121	.*	hPa	1	factory
Operator Supplied Pressure Delta. Defined as P_reference - P_sonde

DropActivateCommand

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
122	.*	1	factory
UUID of the command that was responsible for the activation sequence

DropLaunchCommand

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
123	.*	1	factory
UUID of command responsible for the launch sequence

SuggestedMinGpsSats

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
124	^[\d]+$	1	factory
Suggested number of GPS satellites to consider as nominative

SuggestedMinBattery

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
125	.*	1	factory
Suggested minimal battery voltage. Values below this should be considered suspect

GpsAidingUsed

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
126	.*	1	factory
Flag indicating automated upload of GPS aiding information. True indicates aiding was used. False indicates aiding was not used.

FramesRecorded

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
127	.*	1	factory
Total number of frames recorded by the channel

LaunchOperator

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
128	.*	1	factory
DEPRECATED -- use DropOperator instead. User ID and email of the user responsible for launching the sonde

BinSondeFrom

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
129	^[\d]+$	1	factory
The bin the sonde originated from

GpsAidingCommands

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
130	.*	1	acs
The UUID which is tagged as the parent to any GPS Aiding information that has been sent to the sonde.

SuggestedOperatorOffset

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
131	.*	1	acs
This is the operator suggested pressure offset, defined as ??P_sensor + SuggestedOperatorOffset = P_transmitted??

DropHumanName

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
132	.*	1	acs
(Deprecated usage: DropHumanName is an autogenerated name for the sounding. The intent is that a string such as 'fuzzy-rodent' or 'lovely-apple' are easier names to refer to soundings than a proper UUID. There might be name collisions over time, but should not be over the course of a single or running ACS instance.) Current usage: Sonde serial number is used as the "name".

ConfirmedLaunchTime

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
133	.*	timestamp	1	acs
This is the timestamp of the confirmed launch detect that has been checked by some algorithm during the QC process. If this time is different than the one given by DropLaunchDetect, it is due to a human correcting the launch time, or some software bit altering the launch time.

DropHitSurface

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
134	.*	1	acs
True or false flag that indicates if the sounding hit the surface

ObservationNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
135	[1-9]+[0-9]*	1	operator
The relic refered to a 'obnumber' or observation number. This is a value that is assigned by a human operator, and it's exact meaning is totally uncontrolled, unvalidated, or otherwise used by ACS. The single constraint is that it is an integer greater than zero.

ObservationType

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
136	.*	1	operator
Much like ObservationNumber, this is a uncontrolled values used by some agencies. Its exact meaning and acceptable values is unknown to AVAPS infrastructure, but exists so that end users can use this as necessary.

OperatorComments

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
137	.*	1	operator
Freeform comment field to be utilized by ACS end users. The contents of this field are not controlled nor suggested. The end user can change or alter this field in any way that suits them.

SndifCardSerialNumber

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
138	.*	1	production
Serial number of the sonde interface card. Gets entered into the chassis during production.

AccountingCode

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
139	.*	1	operator
User-defined code for accounting purposes; e.g., funding entity, usage intent, etc.

MarkedAsDeleted

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
140	.*	1	operator
If this metadata field is present, the operator has indicated this sounding should be deleted. Training/test-dropping sondes is a typical use-case for why a sounding might be discarded.

MetadataString

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
141	.*	1	sonde
The raw metadata string, as returned from querying the individual metadata data-banks of the sonde and concatenating the results together. I.e., "1=1|2=1|3=190510743|4=3|5=03.06.0|6=00.01.10|9=404.200|7=SW:ROM CORE 3.01 (107888),HW: 00080000|...".

LastPacketLength

ID	Validator	Units	Added in Version	Originator
142	^[\d]+$	bytes	1	acs & sonde
The length, in bytes, of the last packet received from a sounding.

ChannelFirmware

ID	Validator	Added in Version	Originator
143	^[\d]+$	1	factory
Firmware version of the chassis receivers.