In this newsletter:

  HMEI Participation at ISO Meeting in Stockholm

  HMEI to meet with the Japanese Meteorological Business Support Center Members

  Mr. Gerhard Pevny to make Presentation on HMEI in Romania

  CIMO Expert Team Meeting on Surface Techniques and Measurements

  HMEI Chairman to attend the 20th Meeting of the JCOMM Data Buoy Cooperation Panel 

  HMEI Invited to the Commission for Hydrology (CHy) 12th Session

  25% Increase in HMEI Membership

  New Members and New Member Information

  HMEI Member Meeting at AMS 2005

  Microstep Displays the HMEI Certificate

  Update on Intercomparisons

  HMEI Secretariat Holiday Break

 
ISO Meeting in Stockholm
The HMEI Executive Secretary has been in contact with the Paul M. Fransioli who is the Secretary of the ISO 146, Air Quality, subcommittee SC5 Meteorology, following Mr. Fransioli's  recent article "The air in air quality " which appeared in the ISO Focus June 2004 magazine. The issues raised in this article are those which the HMEI Secretariat has also identified as important to the Hydro-Meteorology industry. 
This contact has resulted in an invitation from Mr. Fransioli to HMEI to attend the ISO/TC 146 (Air Quality) Committee Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, 13 - 16 September 2004. 
As the HMEI Chairman has other commitments at the time of this meeting, the Executive Secretary, Bruce Sumner, will represent HMEI at the meeting. The meeting will be reviewing comments on two standards, 17714 and 17713-1.  The former is a method to compare the performance of temperature shields, and the latter is a method to test the performance characteristics of anemometers in a wind tunnel. The meeting will also discuss proposed new work, including a follow-on standard applicable to testing wind vanes in a tunnel.  
HMEI has been informed that the meeting agenda will also be open for other new items and discussion. Therefore HMEI will be putting forward ideas for other types of standards which could be appropriate for our industry. These will include issues to do with standards for all Meteorological Sensors, Radiosondes, AWS, and Metadata amongst others. Co-operation between HMEI and ISO in regard to standards for our industry can only be beneficial to the industry as a whole and this is an opportunity for HMEI to influence standards decision making.
Mr. Fransioli and John Irwin also lead the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) International, meteorology subcommittee, D22.11. While most of their members are US-based, Mr. Fransioli has said that ASTM is expanding its influence beyond the US and he thus considers it might be worthwhile for HMEI to become acquainted with the ASTM work as well. This is something the HMEI Secretariat will be looking at further.

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HMEI meeting with MEMBERS  Japanese Meteorological Support Center members
The HMEI is to meet with members of the Japanese Meteorological Business Support Center (JMBSC) in Geneva on 1st October 2004. This meeting has been instigated by Mr. Hasegawa of EKO, who is a HMEI Council member.
The JMBSC are a group in Japan who promote Japanese Meteorological business interests and the use of Japanese meteorological information overseas. They also have a weather distribution service of data issued from, the Japan Meteorological Agency, conduct examinations for Certified Weather Forecasters, certify meteorological instruments in Japan, conduct meteorological training in Japan.
The members of JMBSC are very interested in learning about HMEI and European meteorological organizations. The meeting will be an informative one and hopefully will result in further fruitful links with the Japanese meteorological industry. 

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Mr. Gerhard Pevny to make Presentation on HMEI in Romania
Mr Gerhard Pevny of Logotronic GmbH (an HMEI founding member), will be making a presentaion on HMEI at the Annual Session of the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management of Romania, 4 - 6th October 2004, during his attendance at this meeting.
Mr Pevny is a great supporter of HMEI, and HMEI appreciates the presentations he makes at meetings to introduce HMEI to a wider audience.

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CIMO Expert Team Meeting on Surface Techniques and Measurement Techniques
This Expert Team meeting taking place in Geneva 13 - 16 October 2004, has several HMEI member companies who will be sending representatives. They are:
  Mr. Michael Caisse from ALL WEATHER INC.,
  Dr. Andrew Sandford from CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC
  Mr Gerhard Pevny from LOGOTRONIC, and 
  Mr. Hannu Kokko from VAISALA.
The full agenda of the meeting can be found on CIMO website at:
www.wmo.ch/web/www/IMOP/meetings/Surface/ET-STMT1_Geneva2004/DocPlan.html

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HMEI Chairman to attend the 20th meeting of the JCOMM Data Buoy Cooperation Panel 
Mr. Ben Dieterink, HMEI Chairman and President of KIPP & ZONEN, will be attending the Data Buoy Cooperation Panel meeting to be held in Chennai, India, October 18 - 22 2004.
Mr. Dieterink will give a short presentation/talk on HMEI during the workshop being held on Monday and Tuesday morning of the meeting.

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Commission for Hydrology (CHy) 12th Session
HMEI has been formally invited to attend the twelfth session of the Commission for Hydrology (CHy) of the WMO that will be held in Geneva,  20 to 29 October 2004. This invitation follows on a statement of support for the Commission's work made by the HMEI Administrator at the WMO Executive Council in May this year. 
The HMEI representatives at the meeting will be:
  Mr. Wolfgang Zasche from SEBA Hydrometrie, from 20th to 22nd of October;
  Mr. Gerry Allen from Lockheed Martin, from 23rd to 26th October; and
  The HMEI Chairman, Mr. Ben Dieterink, from KIPP & ZONEN, and the HMEI Executive Secretary from 27th to 29th October.

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HMEI Membership Increase
There was a significant 25% increase of the HMEI membership in the last two months. The new members, listed in the New Members section below, are considered by the Secretariat to result from the HMEI promotional mail-out in May, with the follow up phone contacts made by HMEI Executive Secretary, and the on going popularity of the HMEI Member Product Catalogue. This increase bodes well for HMEI's future, as other companies in the industry continue to contact HMEI  for information on joining our Association.

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HMEI NEW MEMBERS 
The Association of Hydro-Meteorological Equipment Industry welcomes the following companies as new HMEI members:

ALMOS SYSTEMS B.V. - Netherlands

AUTOMATED SCIENCES LLC - USA

DRS WEATHER SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL - USA

GRANT INSTRUMENTS (CAMBRIDGE) LTD - UK

IMKO INTELLIGENTE MICROMODULE KOHLER GMBH - Germany

METATRON - Israel

METEK METEOROLOGISCHE MESSTECHNIK GMBH - Germany

MPS SYSTEM S.R.O. - Slovakia

OTT MESSTECHNIK GmbH & CO. KG - Germany

PROTON ENERGY SYSTEMS - USA

REMTECH (S.A.) - France

SAGIM S.A. - France

SCINTEC AG - Germany

SEBA-HYDROMETRIE GMBH - Germany

SIAP + MICROS S.R.L. - Italy

TECMES INSTRUMENTOS ESPECIALES SOCI - Argentina

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New Member Information
This section provides information supplied by the member companies themselves. HMEI bears no responsibility for  this information. 

AUTOMATED SCIENCES LLC  - USA 
Automated Sciences manufacturers and distributes real-time direct reception weather satellite ground systems. These systems ingest and store the high resolution satellite imagery and provide powerful image processing tools to work with this data. Our more advanced tool, the Rapid Visualization Tool, maps the Earth and the full resolution imagery into a true 3D prospective allowing for rapid detailed data analysis. Our systems work with a wide range of environmental satellites including GOES, POES, MTSAT. Feng-Yun (FY) and EOS. We also provide LRIT terminals to replace WEFAX terminals. System benefits include automated and flexible operation, high reliability, remote maintenance capability, installation and integration services, and affordability.

DRS WEATHER SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL - USA
DRS Weather Systems, Inc. (formerly Enterprise Electronics Corporation, EEC) of Enterprise, Alabama, is the world’s leading manufacturer of weather radar and data processing systems.  Founded in 1971 in Enterprise, Alabama, we manufacture a complete line of C-, S- and X-band magnetron and klystron-based weather radars.  DRS Weather Systems (DRS-WS) is dedicated to weather detection and analysis with equipment that includes Doppler meteorological surveillance radar with automatic computer processing systems; range instrumentation radar; wind finding radar with radiosonde subsystems for artillery ballistics and upper air studies; high resolution meteorological satellite receiving systems and sophisticated meteorological data analysis and image processing software.  Although primarily a commercial manufacturer, the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force and a number of international military users are among DRS-WS’ past and present customers.  Through our international marketing network, DRS-WS meets the detection and analysis needs of both civil and military meteorological agencies, with over 800 installations worldwide.

GRANT INSTRUMENTS (CAMBRIDGE) LTD - UK
Grant Instruments, based near Cambridge, England, is an independent, privately owned company, founded in 1951. Since that time, Grant has built leading market positions in temperature controlled laboratory equipment, data logging systems and environmental monitoring solutions for advanced industrial and research applications.
The popular range of Squirrel dataloggers from Grant Instruments includes data logging and data acquisition systems for scientific, industrial and environmental applications. The high accuracy, flexibility and reliability of the datalogging systems makes them particularly suited to monitoring and sensing, applications including automotive testing, temperature measurement, humidity measurement, monitoring of humidity, voltage, current.
Grant Instruments also offers SquirrelView software for Squirrel data loggers and a range of temperature and humidity probes suitable for use with the range of data loggers and other compatible measurement systems. 
In addition to their datalogging range, Grant Instruments manufactures the Mini-Met, a rugged, battery operated weather station for permanent installation or portable application.

IMKO INTELLIGENTE MICROMODULE KOHLER GMBH - Germany
IMKO is a high-tech company engaged in the fields of environmental measurements, sensor detection and data logging. Mainly we develop and produce instruments used for local data collection and sensor applications.
They provide professional solutions for soil moisture measurement and data logging in hydrology, forestry, agricultural, environmental and earth science.

METATRON - Israel

METEK METEOROLOGISCHE MESSTECHNIK GMBH - Germany
Ultrasonic Anemometer - SODAR/RASS - Micro Rain Radar - Present Weather Sensor - Cloud Radar
These products make METEK GmbH one of the leading manufacturers of ground based remote sensing equipment. Experience since 1989 and a well trained staff of technicians and scientists have given the company a solid basis for the best customer support on installation, training, measuring and maintenance.

MPS SYSTEM S.R.O. - Slovakia
Sensors and measurement systems for meteorology, hydrology and environment monitoring. Applications  in meteorological and hydrological services, aviation, industry, traffic and agriculture.
Software for data acquisition. Processing, presentation and distribution.

OTT MESSTECHNIK GmbH & CO. KG - Germany
OTT Messtechnik is a large independent producer of complete hydrometric systems. Today ISO 9001 certifies our quality standard for products and services. Together with our subsidiaries and representatives we supply effective and efficient solutions within Hydrometry and Meteorology to more than 100 countries around the world.

PROTON ENERGY SYSTEMS - USA
Proton Energy Systems manufactures advanced on-site hydrogen generators that deliver pressurized hydrogen (13.8 barg) without the need for a compressor or caustic chemicals. Optional accessories available from Proton include water purification systems for the electrolyzer water feed and ASME certified hydrogen storage systems that can be customized to meet specific site requirements.  Tank packages come standard with proper pressure relief valve, vent stack, drain, and pressure gauge and are available in epoxy finishes or stainless steel for superior corrosion resistance.  
Factory Applications and Service Engineers are available to provide a full range of technical services including site planning, commissioning,  and service and maintenance training.

REMTECH (S.A.) - France
REMTECH is a company with offices in France and the U.S.A. which manufactures and maintains the REMTECH DOPPLER SODAR, the R.A.S.S. (Radio Acoustic Sounding System) and the DOPPLER SONAR.

SAGIM S.A. - France
For more than 70 years, SAGIM S.A. has been specialized in the supplying of units for hydrogen production via electrolytic and chemical processes to national and international meteorological services.
Thanks to its experience, SAGIM S.A. has become the world leader in the production of hydrogen via chemical process.
In addition to its manufacturing activity, SAGIM S.A. designs technical assemblies meeting the specific needs of its clients in areas such as electricity power generating plants and semiconductors, as well as in the field of the new energies intended for the fuel cell.
SAGIM S.A. also provides training services tailored to the needs of its clients and a high technical level, whether in the fields of quality, safety or international standards.
All our services, beginning with the order and following through to the commissioning of our installations at Customers' as well as the development stage, production, installation and after-sales service at Customer are ISO 9001 quality certified.
Taken together, all of these technical and human resources clearly differentiate SAGIM S.A. from its competitors

SCINTEC AG - Germany
Scintec is a developer and manufacturer of ground-based remote sensing systems using radio wave, acoustic and optical technology. Continuing scientific innovation, outstanding product design and quality and a customer oriented philosophy has made Scintec a global leader in this field.
Today, Scintec produces the most advanced and comprehensive line of wind and temperature profilers in sodar, radar and RASS technology. These systems are replacing towers, tethered balloons and radiosondes all over the world. Scintec also offers optical scintillometers for the measurement of boundary layer turbulence and heat flux. Customers include research institutes and universities, the military, airports, and weather services worldwide.

SEBA-HYDROMETRIE GMBH - Germany
METEOROLOGY MEASUREMENTS:
Rain gauges 
Meteorological sensors 
Data-loggers 
Also HYDROLOGY MEASUREMENTS for ground water, surface water and sewage.

SIAP + MICROS S.R.L - Italy
The company operates in the environmental and industrial monitoring area, the main fields regarding: Hydrology, Meteorology, Agrometeorology, Aeronautical Meteorology, Water Quality, Air Quality, Remote Control and Industrial Automation. SIAP+MICROS is a UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 certified Company.
The company manufactures sensors and data acquisition systems since 1925; during this period its products have reached almost every corner of the world. The reliable performance of SIAP+MICROS’ products is ensured by local maintenance and after sales services. Decades of experience in satisfying demanding customers in Italy and abroad guide SIAP+MICROS in developing complete solutions characterized by high  quality performance. SIAP+MICROS’ products and services range from off-the-shelf sensors to turn-key monitoring networks.
Besides a complete range of hydrological and meteorological sensors, SIAP+MICROS manufactures multi-parameter probes, compact systems for fully automated physical and chemical on-line analysis, refrigerated samplers and other equipment specifically designed for fresh and groundwater monitoring systems. All instruments can be connected to data acquisition system and can be integrated with third-party chemical analysers into advanced on-line hydrological and water quality monitoring stations. 
All software programs are developed in-house, and can be tailored made to match customer’s specific requirements and integrate several different modules (hydraulic models, statistical analysis, validation tools etc).
SIAP+MICROS belongs to TEI Group, the first Italian consulting engineering company specialized in the environmental field. Thanks to the synergetic combination of experiences and competences within the Group, the company can assist customers in developing their projects from the feasibility study to the supply and maintenance of the systems. The trust and appreciation of thousands of clients around the world are the best impulse to our constant endeavour to offer even more complete and competitive services.

 TECMES INSTRUMENTOS ESPECIALES SOCI - Argentina
TECMES, designs, develops and produces a broad range of equipment and systems including data acquisition units, control units, telemetry and transmission units, sensors, and software for measuring -both in-situ and at the processes levels- hydro-meteorological, physical-chemical and industrial parameters. All the data can be stored, processed and sent to long distances automatically or manually.
The great variety of equipments and instruments are classified in three areas of application: Control and Automization, Hydro-Meteorology, and  Agrometeorology.

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  HMEI Member Meeting at AMS 85th Annual Meeting in San Diego- January 2005
The HMEI has taken up Yale Schiffman's offer, from the at American Meteorological Society (AMS), for a booth for HMEI at AMS next year. HMEI will be asking members for any information brochures that they may wish HMEI to have available for visitors to our booth as well, of course, as the actual HMEI information.
The HMEI Member Meeting on Monday 10th January at the San Diego Convention Centre (where AMS is being held), will be in two parts. The first part will be an Open Meeting held from 10 am to 11.30 am on the theme of "Private Industry and Integrated Observing Systems". The second part will be a Closed HMEI Meeting held from 11.35 am to 12noon for private member's business.
The provisional agenda for the Open Meeting is:

• Opening and Welcoming of Guests
• HMEI President's Report
• Address by WMO Speaker
• HMEI Presentation "The Role of Private Industry in Supporting Integrated Observing Systems"
• Discussion
• Close of Meeting at 11.30am

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Microstep Displays the HMEI Certificate
HMEI has noted that Microstep - MIS  has placed the HMEI logo on the front page of its website. The HMEI logo in turn links to Microstep's HMEI membership certificate and a link to the HMEI website.
Mr. Dusan Mazurek from Microstep - MIS is a HMEI Council Member and the company is evidently proud to display its HMEI membership status. HMEI appreciates this level of support from its member companies and would like to encourage other members to likewise display their membership status.
Microstep - MIS is a Slovakia company which operates worldwide, specializing in monitoring and information systems for meteorology, aviation, environmental science, seismology, power engineering, civil defense and also information systems in tourism. Their website is: http://www.microstep-mis.com/
Any other members wishing to display the HMEI logo on their websites or in any of their publications, can contact the HMEI Secretariat for a copy of the HMEI logo.

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 Update on Intercomparisons

  Arrangements for the WMO Laboratory Intercomparison of Rainfall Intensity (RI) Gauges to being held 15 September 2004 to 14 March 2005 are proceeding well.
The start in the Laboratories in France (FR), Italy (IT) and Netherlands (NL) for each of the participating HMEI  manufacturers is as follows:
FR - OTT Hydrometrie -------------------   Model: Pluvio 250mm (Weighing)
FR - Cassella CEL Ltd. ------------------- Model: 100000E (Tipping Bucket)
FR - Design Analysis Associates ----  Model: H-340-SDI (Tipping Bucket)

IT  - SIAP+MICROS -----------------------  Model: UM7525 (Tipping Bucket)
IT  - CAE Srl ----------------------------------  Model: PMB2 (Tipping Bucket)
IT  - MPS system s.r.o.-------------------- Model: TRwS (Weighing) 

NL - Hydrological Services --------------- Model: TB-3 (Tipping Bucket)
NL - Vaisala OYJ ---------------------------- Model: VRG101 (Weighing)
NL - Yokogawa Denshikiki Co.---------- Model: WMB01 (Tipping Bucket)
NL - Geonor AS ------------------------------ Model: T-200B (Weighing)
Full details about this Intercomparison and all the instruments participating is available at: ttp://www.wmo.ch/web/www/IMOP/intercomparisons.html#RI-Sept2004

  The organizing of the WMO Intercomparison of High Quality Radiosonde Systems in Mauritius - February 2005 is underway. The computer for the data analysis is being supplied at the participating manufacturer's cost and the provision for the hydrogen is currently being considered.
HMEI understands that the Project Manager, Mr. Beenay Pathack, will be arranging the supply of the gas, with the gas costs being reimbursed by the participating HMEI manufactures. Consideration is being given to the purchase of a new hydrogen generator, which, after the Intercomparison, would be left for use by Mauritius Met. In this case the Mauritius Met would contribute funds for the purchase and the CIMO Executive Secretary has suggested that the manufacturers would contribute the same amount as they would pay for gas from external suppliers during the exercise. 
If a new hydrogen generator is in fact purchased, the CIMO Executive Secretary has suggested purchasing from PROTON ENERGY SYSTEMS. In the interest of fair representation of the HMEI member companies the HMEI Executive Secretary suggested that products from both PROTON ENERGY SYSTEMS and Sagim S.A. should looked at before a final decision is made.
Update: - HMEI has been informed that a hydrogen generator for Mauritius has in fact been donated by GCOS. This is a generator which was already in GCOS's possession and which GCOS have offered to Mauritius for use in the Intercomparison and which will remain in Mauritius after the finish of the Intercomparison.

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  HMEI Secretariat Holiday Break
The HMEI office will be closed for holidays from the 4th October to the 26th October 2004 inclusive. The Executive Secretary and the Administrator will both be away on holidays overseas during this period.