SkywarnPlus: Your Advanced Weather Alert System

SkywarnPlus is a sophisticated software solution that works hand-in-hand with your AllStarLink (Debian) or HAMVOIP (Arch) node to keep you informed and ready for whatever the weather brings. Combining weather data with intuitive features, SkywarnPlus optimizes the efficiency and functionality of your node.

Key Features

• Seamless Integration: SkywarnPlus operates on a Debian (AllStarLink) or Arch (HAMVOIP) node.

• Real-Time Weather Alerts: The software checks the NWS CAP v1.2 API for live weather alerts for user-defined areas.

• Unlimited Area & Node Numbers: Users can define as many areas and local node numbers as desired.

• Automatic Announcements: Weather alerts, including when all warnings have been cleared, are announced automatically on the node.

• Tailmessage Creation: The software generates tailmessages for the node to continuously inform listeners about active alerts after the initial broadcast.

• Dynamic Changes to Node: Courtesy tones and node CW / voice ID automatically change according to user-defined alerts, optimizing communication during severe weather.

• Human Speech: Announcements are delivered in a natural, human speech for easier understanding.

• Efficiency & Speed: SkywarnPlus is optimized for speed and efficiency to provide real-time information without delay.

• Preserves Hardware: SkywarnPlus limits I/O to the physical disk, preventing SD card burnout in Raspberry Pi devices.

• Remote Control: Functions can be mapped to DTMF commands for remote over-the-air control.

• Highly Customizable: SkywarnPlus is extremely customizable, offering advanced filtering parameters to block certain alerts or types of alerts from different functions. Users can even map DTMF macros or shell commands to specified weather alerts, expanding the software's capabilities according to user needs.

• Pushover Integration: With Pushover integration, SkywarnPlus can send weather alert notifications directly to your phone or other devices.

Whether you wish to auto-link to a Skywarn net during severe weather, program your node to control an external device like a siren during a tornado warning, or simply want to stay updated on changing weather conditions, SkywarnPlus offers a comprehensive, efficient, and customizable solution for your weather alert needs.

Comprehensive Information

SkywarnPlus supports all 128 alert types included in the NWS v1.2 API.

911 Telephone Outage Emergency	Administrative Message	Air Quality Alert
Air Stagnation Advisory	Arroyo And Small Stream Flood Advisory	Ashfall Advisory
Ashfall Warning	Avalanche Advisory	Avalanche Warning
Avalanche Watch	Beach Hazards Statement	Blizzard Warning
Blizzard Watch	Blowing Dust Advisory	Blowing Dust Warning
Brisk Wind Advisory	Child Abduction Emergency	Civil Danger Warning
Civil Emergency Message	Coastal Flood Advisory	Coastal Flood Statement
Coastal Flood Warning	Coastal Flood Watch	Dense Fog Advisory
Dense Smoke Advisory	Dust Advisory	Dust Storm Warning
Earthquake Warning	Evacuation - Immediate	Excessive Heat Warning
Excessive Heat Watch	Extreme Cold Warning	Extreme Cold Watch
Extreme Fire Danger	Extreme Wind Warning	Fire Warning
Fire Weather Watch	Flash Flood Statement	Flash Flood Warning
Flash Flood Watch	Flood Advisory	Flood Statement
Flood Warning	Flood Watch	Freeze Warning
Freeze Watch	Freezing Fog Advisory	Freezing Rain Advisory
Freezing Spray Advisory	Frost Advisory	Gale Warning
Gale Watch	Hard Freeze Warning	Hard Freeze Watch
Hazardous Materials Warning	Hazardous Seas Warning	Hazardous Seas Watch
Hazardous Weather Outlook	Heat Advisory	Heavy Freezing Spray Warning
Heavy Freezing Spray Watch	High Surf Advisory	High Surf Warning
High Wind Warning	High Wind Watch	Hurricane Force Wind Warning
Hurricane Force Wind Watch	Hurricane Local Statement	Hurricane Warning
Hurricane Watch	Hydrologic Advisory	Hydrologic Outlook
Ice Storm Warning	Lake Effect Snow Advisory	Lake Effect Snow Warning
Lake Effect Snow Watch	Lake Wind Advisory	Lakeshore Flood Advisory
Lakeshore Flood Statement	Lakeshore Flood Warning	Lakeshore Flood Watch
Law Enforcement Warning	Local Area Emergency	Low Water Advisory
Marine Weather Statement	Nuclear Power Plant Warning	Radiological Hazard Warning
Red Flag Warning	Rip Current Statement	Severe Thunderstorm Warning
Severe Thunderstorm Watch	Severe Weather Statement	Shelter In Place Warning
Short Term Forecast	Small Craft Advisory	Small Craft Advisory For Hazardous Seas
Small Craft Advisory For Rough Bar	Small Craft Advisory For Winds	Small Stream Flood Advisory
Snow Squall Warning	Special Marine Warning	Special Weather Statement
Storm Surge Warning	Storm Surge Watch	Storm Warning
Storm Watch	Test	Tornado Warning
Tornado Watch	Tropical Depression Local Statement	Tropical Storm Local Statement
Tropical Storm Warning	Tropical Storm Watch	Tsunami Advisory
Tsunami Warning	Tsunami Watch	Typhoon Local Statement
Typhoon Warning	Typhoon Watch	Urban And Small Stream Flood Advisory
Volcano Warning	Wind Advisory	Wind Chill Advisory
Wind Chill Warning	Wind Chill Watch	Winter Storm Warning
Winter Storm Watch	Winter Weather Advisory

Installation

SkywarnPlus is recommended to be installed at the /usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus location on Debian (AllStarLink) and Arch (HAMVOIP) machines.

Follow the steps below to install:

1. Dependencies

   Install the required dependencies using the following commands:

   Debian (AllStarLink)

   apt update
   apt upgrade
   apt install unzip python3 python3-pip ffmpeg
   pip3 install pyyaml requests python-dateutil pydub
   

   Arch (HAMVOIP)

   It is a good idea to first update your HAMVOIP system using Option 1 in the HAMVOIP menu before installing the dependencies.

   pacman -S ffmpeg
   wget https://bootstrap.pypa.io/pip/3.5/get-pip.py
   python get-pip.py
   pip install pyyaml requests python-dateutil pydub
   

2. Download SkywarnPlus

   Download the latest release of SkywarnPlus from GitHub

   cd /usr/local/bin
   wget https://github.com/Mason10198/SkywarnPlus/releases/latest/download/SkywarnPlus.zip
   unzip SkywarnPlus.zip
   rm SkywarnPlus.zip
   

3. Configure Permissions

   The scripts must be made executable. Use the chmod command to change the file permissions:

   cd SkywarnPlus
   chmod +x SkywarnPlus.py
   chmod +x SkyControl.py
   

4. Edit Configuration

   Edit the config.yaml file according to your needs. This is where you will enter your NWS codes, enable/disable specific functions, etc.

   nano config.yaml
   

   You can find your area code(s) at https://alerts.weather.gov/. Select County List to the right of your state, and use the County Code associated with the area(s) you want SkywarnPlus to poll for WX alerts.

   IMPORTANT: YOU WILL MISS ALERTS IF YOU USE A ZONE CODE. DO NOT USE ZONE CODES UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

   According to the official NWS API documentation:

   "For large scale or longer lasting events, such as snow storms, fire threat, or heat events, alerts are issued by NWS public forecast zones or fire weather zones. These zones differ in size and can cross county boundaries."

   "...county based alerts are not mapped to zones but zone based alerts are mapped to counties."

   This means that if you use a County code, you will receive all alerts for both your County AND your Zone - but if you use a Zone code, you will ONLY receive alerts that cover the entire Zone, and none of the alerts specific to your County.

5. Crontab Entry

   Add a crontab entry to call SkywarnPlus on an interval. Open your crontab file using the crontab -e command, and add the following line:

   * * * * * /usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkywarnPlus.py
   

   This command will execute SkywarnPlus (poll NWS API for data) every minute.

Tailmessage, Courtesy Tones, & IDs

SkywarnPlus can automatically change and manage tailmessages, courtesy tones, and CW / voice IDs on your node. These functions require specific configurations in the rpt.conf file.

Tailmessage

SkywarnPlus can automatically create, manage, and remove a tailmessage whenever certain weather alerts are active to keep listeners informed throught the duration of active alerts. The configuration for this is based on your rpt.conf file setup. Here's an example:

tailmessagetime = 600000
tailsquashedtime = 30000
tailmessagelist = /usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SOUNDS/wx-tail

Courtesy Tones

SkywarnPlus can automatically change the node courtesy tone whenever certain weather alerts are active. The configuration for this is based on your rpt.conf file setup. Here's an example:

[NODENUMBER]
unlinkedct = ct1
remotect = ct1
linkunkeyct = ct2
[telemetry]
ct1 = /usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SOUNDS/TONES/CT1
ct2 = /usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SOUNDS/TONES/CT2
remotetx = /usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SOUNDS/TONES/CT1

CW / Voice IDs

SkywarnPlus can automatically change the node ID whenever certain weather alerts are active. The configuration for this is based on your rpt.conf file setup. Here's an example:

[NODENUMBER]
idrecording = /usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SOUNDS/ID/RPTID

Pushover Integration

SkywarnPlus can use the free Pushover API to send WX alert notifications and debug messages directly to your smartphone or other devices.

1. Visit https://pushover.net/ to sign up for a free account.
2. Find your UserKey on your main dashboard
3. Scroll down and create an Application/API key for your node
4. Add UserKey & API Key to config.yaml

Control Script

SkywarnPlus comes with a powerful control script (SkyControl.py) that can be used to enable or disable certain SkywarnPlus functions via shell, without manually editing config.yaml. This script is particularly useful when you want to map DTMF control codes to these functions. An added advantage is that the script provides spoken feedback upon execution, making it even more suitable for DTMF control.

Usage

To use the SkyControl.py script, you need to call it with two parameters:

1. The name of the setting you want to change (case insensitive).

   • Enable (Completely enable/disable SkywarnPlus)
   • SayAlert
   • SayAllClear
   • TailMessage
   • CourtesyTone
   • IDChange
   • AlertScript

2. The new value for the setting (either 'true' or 'false' or 'toggle').

For example, to completely disable SkywarnPlus, you would use:

/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py enable false

And to reenable it, you would use:

/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py enable true

And to toggle it, you would use:

/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py enable toggle

You can also use SkyControl.py to manually force the state of Courtesy Tones or IDs:

/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py changect normal
/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py changect wx
/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py changeid normal
/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py changect wx

Spoken Feedback

Upon the successful execution of a control command, the SkyControl.py script will provide spoken feedback that corresponds to the change made. For instance, if you execute a command to enable the SayAlert function, the script will play an audio message stating that SayAlert has been enabled. This feature enhances user experience and confirms that the desired changes have been effected.

Mapping to DTMF Commands

You can map the SkyControl.py script to DTMF commands in the rpt.conf file of your node. Here is an example of how to do this:

801 = cmd,/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py enable toggle ; Toggles SkywarnPlus
802 = cmd,/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py sayalert toggle ; Toggles SayAlert
803 = cmd,/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py sayallclear toggle ; Toggles SayAllClear
804 = cmd,/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py tailmessage toggle ; Toggles TailMessage
805 = cmd,/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py courtesytone toggle ; Toggles CourtesyTone
806 = cmd,/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py alertscript toggle ; Toggles AlertScript
807 = cmd,/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py idchange toggle ; Toggles IDChange
808 = cmd,/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py changect normal ; Forces CT to "normal" mode
809 = cmd,/usr/local/bin/SkywarnPlus/SkyControl.py changeid normal ; Forces ID to "normal" mode

With this setup, you can control SkywarnPlus' functionality using DTMF commands.

AlertScript

SkywarnPlus's AlertScript feature is an immensely flexible tool that provides the ability to program your node to respond to specific alerts in unique ways. By enabling you to map alerts to DTMF commands or bash scripts, AlertScript offers you the versatility to design your own extensions to SkywarnPlus, modifying its functionalities to perfectly fit your needs.

With AlertScript, you can outline actions to be executed when specific alerts are activated. For instance, you might want to broadcast a unique sound, deliver a particular message, or initiate any other action your hardware can perform and that can be activated by a DTMF command or bash script.

Understanding AlertScript

To utilize AlertScript, you define the mapping of alerts to either DTMF commands or bash scripts in the config.yaml file under the AlertScript section.

Here are examples of how to map alerts to DTMF commands or bash scripts:

AlertScript:
  Enable: true
  Mappings:
    - Type: DTMF
      Nodes:
        - <NODE_NUMBERS>
      Commands:
        - '<DTMF_COMMAND>'
      Triggers: 
        - <ALERTS>
      Match: ALL # or ANY
    - Type: BASH
      Commands:
        - '<BASH_COMMAND>'
      Triggers: 
        - <ALERTS>

In the examples above, <NODE_NUMBERS> are the nodes where you want the DTMF command to be dispatched, <DTMF_COMMAND> is the command to be executed, and <ALERTS> are the alerts to trigger this command. Likewise, for bash commands, <BASH_COMMAND> is the script to be executed and <ALERTS> are the alerts to trigger this script. Note that wildcards (*) can be used in <ALERTS> for broader matches.

The Power of YOU

AlertScript derives its power from its versatility and extensibility. By providing the capacity to directly interface with your node's functionality through DTMF commands or bash scripts, you can effectively program the node to do virtually anything in response to a specific weather alert.

Fancy activating a siren when a tornado warning is received? You can do that. Want to send an email notification when there's a severe thunderstorm warning? You can do that too. The only limit is the capability of your node and connected systems.

In essence, AlertScript unleashes a world of customization possibilities, empowering you to add new capabilities to SkywarnPlus, create your own extensions, and modify your setup to align with your specific requirements and preferences. By giving you the authority to dictate how your system should react to various weather alerts, AlertScript makes SkywarnPlus a truly powerful tool for managing weather alerts on your node.

Customizing the Audio Files

SkywarnPlus comes with a library of audio files that can be replaced with any 8kHz mono PCM16 WAV files you want. These are found in the SOUNDS/ directory by default, along with DICTIONARY.txt which explains audio file assignments.

If you'd like to enable IDChange, you must create your own ID audio files. Follow this guide on how to create audio files for use with Asterisk/app_rpt.

Testing

SkywarnPlus provides the ability to inject predefined alerts, bypassing the call to the NWS API. This feature is extremely useful for testing SkywarnPlus.

To enable this option, modify the following settings in the [DEV] section of your config.yaml file:

# Enable test alert injection instead of calling the NWS API by setting 'INJECT' to 'True'.
INJECT: false
# List the test alerts to inject. Use a case-sensitive list. One alert per line for better readability.
INJECTALERTS:
   - Tornado Warning
   - Tornado Watch
   - Severe Thunderstorm Warning

Debugging

Debugging is an essential part of diagnosing issues with SkywarnPlus. To facilitate this, SkywarnPlus provides a built-in debugging feature. Here's how to use it:

1. Enable Debugging: The debugging feature can be enabled in the config.yaml file. Open this file and set the debug option under the [SkywarnPlus] section to true.

Logging:
  # Configuration for logging options.
  # Enable verbose logging by setting 'Debug' to 'True'.
  Debug: false

This will allow the program to output detailed information about its operations, which is helpful for identifying any issues or errors.

2. Open an Asterisk Console: While debugging SkywarnPlus, it's helpful to have an Asterisk console open in a separate terminal window. This allows you to observe any issues related to Asterisk, such as problems playing audio files.

You can open an Asterisk console with the following command:

asterisk -rvvv

This command will launch an Asterisk console with a verbose output level of 3 (vvv), which provides a detailed look at what Asterisk is doing. This can be particularly useful if you're trying to debug issues with audio playback.

3. Analyze Debugging Output: With debugging enabled in SkywarnPlus and the Asterisk console open, you can now run SkywarnPlus and observe the detailed output in both terminals. This information can be used to identify and troubleshoot any issues or unexpected behaviors.

Remember, the more detailed your debug output is, the easier it will be to spot any issues. However, please be aware that enabling debug mode can result in large amounts of output, so it should be used judiciously.

If you encounter any issues that you're unable to resolve, please don't hesitate to submit a detailed bug report on the SkywarnPlus GitHub Repository.

Maintenance and Bug Reporting

SkywarnPlus is actively maintained by a single individual who dedicates their spare time to improve and manage this project. Despite best efforts, the application may have some bugs or areas for improvement.

If you encounter any issues with SkywarnPlus, please check back to the SkywarnPlus GitHub Repository to see if there have been any updates or fixes since the last time you downloaded it. New commits are made regularly to enhance the system's performance and rectify any known issues.

Bug reporting is greatly appreciated as it helps to improve SkywarnPlus. If you spot a bug, please raise an issue in the GitHub repository detailing the problem. Include as much information as possible, such as error messages, screenshots, and steps to reproduce the issue. This will assist in quickly understanding and resolving the issue.

Thank you for your understanding and assistance in making SkywarnPlus a more robust and reliable system for all.

Contributing

SkywarnPlus is open-source and welcomes contributions. If you'd like to contribute, please fork the repository and use a feature branch. Pull requests are warmly welcome.

If the spare time I put into the development of SkywarnPlus has helped you, please consider supporting!

License

SkywarnPlus is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.

Created by Mason Nelson (N5LSN/WRKF394)

Audio Library voiced by Rachel Nelson