GOES DCS Transition to Communication Standard 2 (CS2) has Ended!

The thirteen year transition from DCS CS1 to CS2 concluded on May 31, 2026. The three major stakeholders in the DCS—NOAA, DCP operators, and manufacturers—developed this transition plan to allow manufacturers to develop and stock CS2 transmitters and for DCP operators to replace them through attrition or retirement over an extended period.

The DCS Program thanks the many agencies that have reached full CS2 compliance. We also thank the organizations that communicated their CS2 transition barriers and worked with us to develop extended plans and CS1 frequency assignment changes, which allowed us to create CS2 channels. Once the CS2 transition is complete the capacity of DCS will almost double.

If your organization has not transitioned to CS2, continues to operate CS1 transmitters, and has not contacted the DCS Program, it is violating its System Use Agreement and US Federal Regulations. The DCS Program will pursue regulatory or legal action against those organizations and will block transmitted data from GOES-E or GOES-W. Data relayed via DCS is critical to each user. The DCS Program has no desire to proceed with any punitive measures. Users who need to establish communication regarding the inability to complete the CS2 transition must contact the DCS Program as soon as possible. Also, users who wish to verify their status may contact the DCS Program.

Contact Information: goes.dcs@noaa.gov. GOES DCS Program

GOES DCS 1200 bps Test Channel

NOAA has recently identified the need for a 1200 bps test channel, available to DCS users and DCP manufacturers, that is compatible with the latest High Data Rate (HDR) Certification Standard version 2 (CS2) channel assignments. Currently, channel 99A/197 is designated as the HDR CS1 1200 bps test channel for both GOES East and West. In the interest of optimizing current CS2 channel usage, NOAA has selected channel 198 for use as the CS2 1200 bps test channel for both GOES East and West. As with the 1200 bps CS1 test channel, NOAA has determined that current test channel usage precludes the need to a separate 1200 bps test channel for GOES East and West.

With this latest designation, the current DCS test channels are defined as follows:

• GOES East 300 BPS (CS1 & CS2)  ->  Channel 195 (401.99200 MHz)
• GOES West 300 BPS (CS1 & CS2)  ->  Channel 196 (401.99350 MHz)
• GOES East & West 1200 BPS (CS1)  ->  Channel 99A/197 (401.99500 MHz)
• GOES East & West 1200 BPS (CS2)  ->  Channel 198 (401.99650 MHz)

For assistance or any questions concerning the use of DCS test channels, please contact 24/7 DCS Technical Support at (757) 824-7450 or wdcs@noaa.gov.