YAWS - Yet Another Weather Service...

YAWS - Your FAST, FREE cell/mobile phone access point
for TAF, METAR, NOTAM and other aviation data.

So what is it?

YAWS - an acronym for 'Yet Another Weather Service' is a free service from activitae.com that accesses aviation resource data on the web and returns it to your phone using either Wireless Application Protocol, (WAP) or Internet Protocol/Transfer Control Protocol (IP/TCP).

Most phones these days transfer wireless data using a General Packet Radio Service, (GPRS). GPRS can be always on and connected. You are only charged for the data you send or receive.

The early WAP enabled phones could only read pages written in a very restricted form called WML. WAP Markup Language supplies a 'Deck' of 'Cards', i.e. a stack of small screens of data, to your phone. Only text data is really viable using WML although some form of low resolution images are possible.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the language of the Internet. Modern phones can understand XHTML, a standards rigid form of HTML. However, some phones rely on an Internet Gateway at the service provider to 'translate' XHTML pages to something the phone can understand.

The most up-to-date and top of the range phones are in effect small computers wirelessly connected to the internet. These phones use IP/TCP just like your desktop or laptop computer.

YAWS provides data that can be understood by most mobile devices in use today.

 

What sort of phone do I need?

If you are looking to buy a new phone you will get better results from activitae.com by using an IP/TCP enabled phone. But that is not to say other phones are not worth using. Far from it! At the time of writing, (June 2006), just under half our users access the older WML pages - these users are clearly satisfied with a text only service. But WML usage is declining as more users change their phones. And if you want more - say graphics depicting winds aloft, or images of rainfall radar then you will better pleased with a phone capable of connecting via IP/TCP.

 

What kinds of data can I get on my phone?

The answer to that is to go and have look at the PDA start page. Come back here when you've finished!!

 

What is the point of YAWS if you only get data on my behalf?

YAWS does more than just fetch data! TAF and METAR data streams are available from source if you wish. Try them, but you will be disappointed. Typically such pages are designed for full-blown web browsers with the luxury of a large bandwidth. YAWS cuts out all the extraneous material, such as logos and banner-ads; adds relevant extra information such as sunset times and nearest alternates and formats the data for a small screen. If you request a graphic, say of winds aloft, the graphic is formated and reduced in byte-size, to lower data costs, and screen-size to make it fit your phone.

 

Is it really free?

Yes! Accessing data via activitae costs nothing except your normal call charges payable to your service provider. Activitae is free for general aviation pilots and other private users. It is run, as a service to the aviation community, by a GA pilot who firmly believes aviation data to ensure your safety should be free! All that is asked of you is that if you like the service you tell your flying friends about YAWS.

 

Are the connection charges expensive?

It depends on your service supplier. Whilst their data charges are high when viewed by cost per Mb transferred, accessing YAWS will only transfer a small fraction of a Mb of data to your phone. A typical call charge to get TAF and METAR will cost around 3p (UK) or 5 cents (US). These charges are far lower than text messaging charges. Frequently it takes two or more text messages to get TAF/METAR data for one station hence doubling or tripling your SMS text costs.

 

Will my phone work?

Most likely, yes! Select the nearest description of your phone below.

1. My phone is capable of connecting via WAP 1.0 - 1.2.1
2. My phone is capable of connecting via WAP 2.0 and/or receiving XHTML
3. My phone is a Smartphone or PDA; it is IP/TCP capable.

 

Is YAWS reliable?

Yes! But like any computer system it is only as good as its parts. And sometimes parts fail. The current uptime is 99.7%
Occasionally the YAWS may system may need to be taken offline for software updates or maintenance. So users may know when the system is being worked on, colour-coded flags are deployed atop all YAWS pages.

White: Normal network service.
Amber: Maintenance scheduled.
Black: Maintenance imminent.

The coloured flag is clickable and will take you to a summary warning page describing the event.

 

 

 

What links do I need to use?

There are two links depending on your answers to the numbered questions above.
If you answered yes to question 1, use ../wap
If you answered yes to either question 2 or 3 use http://yaws.mobi

 

Problems

Some answers and suggestions.

WAP 1.0 - 1.2.1

The link to bookmark in your phone is ../wap but older phones with a very small user memory may find ../orig.wml works better.

WAP 1.0, onwards, is an early web-phone format, now largely superceded, at leaset in the UK, but it is great for getting text-only aviation data. The screen shots below show what is available. Depending on your phone's memory some data may not fit into very old phones. But every effort has been made to keep page size below 4Kb.

This WAP format is a legacy format and there will be no further development from activitae for early WAP phones users. Users are urged to use later formats if at all possible.

		The phone shows the opening screen. Scroll down to reveal more options. Use the up/down button to focus on text entry boxes and active links.
		Use the keypad to type the ICAO code designator for the airport that you require weather. Use the tab down function on your phone to highlight 'Get weather now!' and press 'go' on your phone
		Results show that LFAT does not propagate TAF or METAR data. But alternates, within 60 nm are displayed for you to choose. Scroll down to check other nearby weather reporting stations
		Lille-Lesquin LFQQ has this data available; scroll down to see more.
		ICAO look ups can be performed on either an ICAO code or an airport name. Partial airport names are permitted

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WAP 2.0 - XHTML capable

The link to bookmark in your phone is http://yaws.mobi/

		What you see on your screen depends both on phone model and your phone supplier. The XHTML pages that are collected from activitae are translated in a 'Gateway' by your phone service supplier to match the capability of your phone. The opening page to YAWS is opposite; tab to focus on the code entry box and key in your ICAO code. Use tab to take focus away from the entry box when you have entered 4 letters. Then tab to the 'Go' button and select. Most text pages should appear as intended. However you may be disappointed with the quality of some of the images you receive. This is caused by 'optimizations' that take place in the Gateway of your service supplier and are beyond the control of activitae
Thanks... for your excellent GPRS site. It's the most useful one I've found and it's obviously been tailored to exactly the right level of pilots' needs!" PPRUNE Contributor		Please note that to aid your browsing - where ever you see   # Access key links   you should (depending on phone model) be able to just press the indicated number or letter on your keypad to be taken to the link. The start letters of any button are also access key active. WAP - Wait And Pray? Because there is translation in the service provider's gateway, your browsing experience may be slowed by the performance of the gateway. At busy times your service provider may be swamped. Consider this when making a phone purchase.

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Smartphone or PDA

The link to bookmark in your phone is http://yaws.mobi

	Smartphones and PDAs make a direct call using IP/TCP to the resources accessed by activitae.com. These devices may run Symbian, Pocket PC or other proprietary operating systems. They are characterized by having internet connectivity as an integral part of the phones function. I.e. it is a small web-enabled computer that has phone access as well. The only problem with devices such as these is the wireless connection. Data transmission rates are slow and data is charged by how much you send and receive. To enable the fastest access to graphical and other data, activitae modifies all images to reduce their physical and byte size. In other words graphics display on your small screen more easily and take less time to download. Also since the data transfer size is reduced so are the connection charges paid to you service supplier. Activitae, of course, is free to GA pilots and other private users, and makes no charge to supply your data. The images shown either side are very representive of the kind of quality you can expect to see. In fact My Sony Ericsson screen display is a little better than the images shown here!
"Used ur links off website to get weather for work today! All computer systems down in dublin & met office web broken! Bmi says thankyou!! Captain v impressed!" (BMI First Officer via text message) "I am off on a flying trip to France next month and find YAWS WAP invaluable for when you are at the deserted French airfield with no briefing services available. YAWS is excellent - keep up the good work." (Email from a user) "If you are responsible for this site then I take my hat off to you. First time I have ever managed to get sensible MET & TAF on my mobile and it is FREE!! ... A mine of useful info, Well done!!" Pilot Web Contributor		How do I access YAWS from my Smartphone or PPC? Just bookmark the link http://yaws.mobi. It must be stressed that this URL is for use on phones that can understand XHTML or HTML; it WILL work correctly from your browser!! From this link you can get TAF and METAR data, look up NOTAMs, winds aloft and perform calculations and units conversion. See more smartphone screenshots here

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Phone Simulation.

Problems.

Images not getting updated.

Some phone browsers will insist on caching or storing pages you have previously browsed. While YAWS takes all steps possible to tell your browser NOT to cache time-sensitive pages, some still do. So check the date carefully and tell your browser to reload the page if necessary.

Image quality is poor.

The image quality is so poor you cannot see the data. This may be an effect of the so called 'optimization' that takes place at your service providers gateway; often images are reduced in quality to keep data transmission to low levels. If you have a Java enabled phone you may find that the Opera Mini browser helps.

It takes a long time to get my data.

You make a request via a slow wireless network (9600 baud) to activitae. This is many times slower than your desktop browsing experience. Activitae needs to collect your data - sometimes with two or more requests to other computers across the world which may or may not be busy. Data must then be processed and then returned back over the slow phone network. Just wait and be patient. The VERY WORST thing to do is to re-activate the request to activitae. All this does is destroy everything before and start all over again. If the times are very large before you see data being returned talk to your service supplier with a view to transferring elsewhere.

Want to Do It Yourself?

Why would you want to? But this legacy page is still available if you really do - A guide to getting weather without using YAWS as a portal.

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