 |
|
|
|
 |
SBS1 BaseStation |
|
|
The original BaseStation software has now been replaced by a revised version (code name Snoopy) and users are being asked to upgrade. I would agree with this as there are many advantages in installing the latest version. Before going into these advantages I will describe how both versions work and, for the sake of clarity, I will describe the software by their release names: Spider is the original software version supplied with your SBS units.
Snoopy is the new version and has
significant display and database changes. How the system works Spider When you start your BaseStation software it detects the data being sent from your SBS unit. Aircraft picked up by the unit will display on the BaseStation screen - ADSB aircraft on both the main radar screen and the aircraft list but Mode S aircraft in the aircraft list only. As each aircraft is picked up a data file is created for it and stored in the UserData folder as an XML file. In effect you start with an empty database but this grows as your unit picks up more and more aircraft. The XML file will contain only the data being sent by the aircraft - usually the Mode S code and (if transmitted) the callsign.
After a few months of use you will probably have several thousand XML files on your system. If you wish to add further data to these files like registration and type you can do so whilst the aircraft is on screen - a double click will bring up an edit box - but otherwise it requires hand editing XML files or the use of third party utilities to access these. Snoopy upgrade The new Snoopy software has many new features in the screen display but it's real change is in the database for aircraft records. The XML files are replaced by a proper SQL database called BaseStation.SQB. This change is completely transparent to the user but the change allows far greater flexibility and editing capabilities.
New to Snoopy is the inclusion of BaseStation Reporter - a database viewer and editor. Reporter allows you to look at all aircraft records, whether BaseStation is running or not. It also stores session records showing all flights during each period the BaseStation is running. The aircraft records in Reporter can be edited with the new data being written directly to the SQL database. Third party applications can also read and write information to the SQL database - an example being the lookup facility in SBSPopulate from GAS.
|
|
Upgrading to Snoopy |
|
From Spider Kinetic have written a very good installation program that should automatically upgrade your existing Spider software. Before you start it is worth reading through the next few lines so you understand what will happen during the conversion. Read through the whole section before attempting the upgrade. You should open the existing Spider BaseStation (or look in the basestation.ini file) and write down your Home Location Latitude and Longitude values. These will otherwise be lost during the conversion as Snoopy has a new Location Manager for this data. The actual installation should be trouble free. You should install the upgrade into the same folder as your existing Spider software - your existing files will be replaced with the new software versions and a few new files will be added. At this point your original aircraft XML data will be left untouched - but when you first run the new BaseStation software your data will be converted. Read on please. The most important files in your existing Spider software are the data records for all aircraft. These are the XML files that are in your UserData folder. For long term users it is likely that tens of thousands XML files will be found on your system. These are vital and it would be extremely common sense to make a backup of the UserData folder as insurance in case problems arise during conversion. This is highly unlikely but it is always better to be careful. Snoopy doesn't use XML files. All the aircraft data in Snoopy is contained in the Basestation.SQB file - which will be empty when you first install the upgrade. Your data is converted the first time you run the new BaseStation software. It works like this: 1. When BaseStation starts it will look in your UserData folder for any existing XML files. 2. Each XML file will be converted and added to the basestation.sqb file. 3. As each XML file is converted it will be renamed e.g. 4001A5.XML will become 4001A5.XM~ Two problems may arise here. First is that if you have a large number of XML files they may not all be processed in one pass. The second is that the import process will stop if it hits a bad XML file. For the first problem it might be sensible to copy out all your XML files to a spare folder and only leave about 1500 records in the UserData folder. Run BaseStation and if it accepts all the files close it down again and copy back another 1500 files. Keep doing this until all your records are copied over. If your import hits a bad file and stops the only solution is to delete that bad XML file and restart BaseStation. Once you are sure all your XML files have been imported into the new software you should check your UserData folder. This should now only contain four files:
basestation.css
If you have any files ending in XM~ then
these can all be deleted (they have been successfully copied into the new
database.
Users of any previous Snoopy beta copies should know the form for upgrading but it is still worth pointing out a few traps. First is that it would be extremely sensible to make a backup of your basestation.sqb file. Second is that if you have tweaked Snoopy in any way you should backup the tweaked files. These may include the countries.dat file, replaced bitmaps, outline/waypoint files and the basestation.XSL file. From a previous Snoopy beta with the Vista database This is a trickier procedure. Vista was used by Kinetic as the first database for testing Snoopy and it ran into insurmountable problems. Some users may still have this on their system. If so the following procedure MUST be followed. 1. Check that you are running Reporter version 1.1.1.77 2. Use Reporter to export all your data to CSV. Check this file in Notepad to ensure all you data is there. 3. If you have tweaked Snoopy in any way you should backup the tweaked files. These may include the countries.dat file, any replaced bitmap files, outline/waypoint files and the basestation.XSL file. 4. Install the new software. 5. Use SBS Populate to import the CSV data back into your new Snoopy SQB file.
|
