When Beloit had AWOS (Automatic Weather Observation System) placed in the Moritz Memorial Airport location, it was working great until mid late summer of 2025 when the then manager Halley Roberson was called about it. When it was checked on with the company they confirmed that it had stopped working because the city had not paid the phone bill on which it operated.
The system was placed around 15 years ago through a Kansas DOT grant and the newest was placed around three years ago.
The F1 Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) from DBT Transportation Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of ADB SAFEGATE, is a type-certified system that meets the current FAA Advisory Circular 150/5220-16 requirements for non-federal airports. The F1 AWOS incorporates state-of-the-art sensors with aviation weather display software, and is supported with expert service.
The F1 AWOS system is designed to grow with your airport. All systems are scalable. With an open system, an ADB SAFEGATE Service F1 AWOS system can be customized to incorporate sensors that detect thunderstorms as well as other problematic weather phenomena, such as freezing rain.
After the AWOS program was paid for on the first time outage and started working again it failed to work around mid August of this 2026 year and again the company confirmed that the City of Beloit had not paid their bill. They said it would cost $1500 to $2000 for them to come right away and so they would wait for two weeks later as a visit. But once again it was checked on their end and they confirmed again that the city had not paid the bill and they were notified about this issue.
An Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) is a ground-based network of sensors that continuously measures real-time weather conditions at an airport and broadcasts the report for aviation safety.
The AWOS tracks wind speed and direction, gusts, temperature, dew point, altimeter settings (barometric pressure), visibility, cloud height and ceilings, and precipitation depending on the system level. It generates a computer-generated voice message updated at least once per minute.
The AWOS broadcasts the weather via VHF/UHF radio frequencies to pilots in the air or near the airport, and is frequently accessible via dedicated telephone dial-up lines or automated phone services.
“Our annual subscription is around $5,180 and has been paid to DBT Transportation LLC,” said City Manager Mandy Lomax.
The phone line situation is being looked into and for those questioning it not working on their phone systems, this is the reasoning given as to why.
DBT says they inspect the service every quarter through this subscription, but if the bill is not paid for the phone line services, it cannot be worked on. “Our Periodic Maintenance service provides complete system status checks, updates, and calibration, as well as replacement of worn parts. The service is available on site. Periodic maintenance is usually carried out annually by our qualified technicians, who perform complete system status checks, and then provide recommendations and instructions concerning system upgrades and performance. Furthermore, your equipment will also be calibrated to ensure it continues to operate reliably.”
The city has since paid the phone bill this past week. The DBT manager contacted the city manager and was directed to the City of Beloit employees again after three phone calls. The employee was asked to go out and reset the system and was told by airport manager Travis Lattin that the city needed to pay the phone bill or it would still not work. After that conversation, the bill was paid and is good to go.
An out of town pilot recently talked with the Beloit Call editor and spoke on how important the AWOS system is for the pilots that will be flying into the City of Beloit airport for safety reasons and on what the weather is forecasting. It also provides for added revenue to Beloit as utilizing the airport for activities after they land.
The three times in 25 years or so that Lattin has been in charge of the AWOS system, it has not worked three times – one because of power line problems and the other two because of the city not paying their cellular bill.
