From wlee@stout.atd.ucar.edu  Thu Mar  7 16:31:11 1996
From: wlee@stout.atd.ucar.edu (Wen Chau Lee)


Subject: VORTEX message #5 & #6


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                       VORTEX Message #6

	Recently, a few VORTEX data users reported that they have problems
reading ELDORA field tapes. We found that the majority of the problems
resulted from incompatible descriptor length ( the second integer of each 
descriptor) and its physical length. Translator uses this number to 
locate the next descriptor. If these two numbers do not agree,
Translator will find wrong info and crash.

The solution is to add a line:

 setenv OPTIONS "DESC_SEARCH"

in your translator script. This line force the translator to step through
the descriptor on the tape without using the length provided on the tape. 
However, using this option will significantly slow down the translator.
We recommend you activate this option ONLY when you encounter problems 
reading the tape.

If this option does not solve your problem, please let us know.


Wen-Chau Lee