Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Virtual Weather Station User's Manual For Davis Instruments Vantage Pro, Vantage Pro2.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Ambient, LLC License Agreement READ CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SOFTWARE License Agreement. This software license agreement is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or entity) and Ambient, LLC. Copies and Adaptations. This software is copyrighted material. This license permits you to use one copy on a single computer. The license is not transferable. You may not rent, lease or loan the software.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Table of Contents 1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................................................. 10 2 VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION EDITIONS............................................................................................................... 10 3 WEATHER STATION PART NUMBERS.........................................................................................................
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.7.4 Quit Program Prompt........................................................................................................................................... 17 6.7.5 CPU Resources..................................................................................................................................................... 17 6.8 STATION SETTINGS ..................................................................................................................
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.16.1 Image Quality ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 6.16.2 Jpeg File Location................................................................................................................................................ 31 6.16.3 Jpeg File Naming Convention ...........................................................................................
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.29 VANTAGE PRO2 / WEATHER LINK SETTINGS ............................................................................................................... 46 6.29.1 Vantage Pro2 Settings .......................................................................................................................................... 46 6.29.2 Vantage / WeatherLink Highs and Lows .......................................................................................................
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 8.5 8.6 NETWORK CONNECTION ................................................................................................................................................... 58 DIAL-UP CONNECTION ...................................................................................................................................................... 58 8.6.1 Number of Dial-up Attempts...........................................................................................
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 8.18.1.3.2 Warning Alarms ................................................................................................................................... 84 8.18.1.3.3 Weather Warning Text Reports ............................................................................................................ 84 8.18.1.4 Climate Report...........................................................................................................................................
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 9.3 9.4 10 WEATHERFLASH (INTERNET VERSION OF VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION REQUIRED) ......................................................... 94 IMAGE SALSA ................................................................................................................................................................... 95 TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS.......................................................................................................................................
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 1 Manufacturer General Description Virtual Weather Station is a software package that allows you to connect your personal computer to your weather station to display, plot and store data for comprehensive monitoring and analysis.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Manufacturer Model Number Virtual Weather Station Reference 5 Getting Started HINT: Menu Shortcuts are displayed in blue font. Rainwise WS-2000 Rainwise 5.1 Rainwise WT-2000 Rainwise To install the software, run the following: Peet Bros 100 / 800 / 2000 Peet Bros Texas Weather Instruments 1-Wire Weather Stations Texas Weather Instruments If transferring the files to your hard drive, copy all of the files to a common directory and run setup.exe.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 5.5 Upgrade to Pro or Internet Editions Figure 2 - The Assistant To upgrade to Virtual Weather Station Pro or the Internet Editions, contact Ambient for upgrade costs. A registration number will be sent to you via Email. Enter this registration number by selecting the Upgrade button. 6 6.1 6.3 Conversions Menu Shortcut: Settings X Conversions You may select the units of measure in which the data is displayed throughout the software.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Problem Solution sensors is off by 3 degrees offset to 3.00 I installed my anemometer incorrectly, and when it points north, it should measure south Set the wind direction offset to 180.00 Table 2 - Examples of Calibration Figure 5 - Precision Figure 4 - Calibration 6.5 6.6 Communication Menu Shortcut: Communication X Communication Precision Menu Shortcut: Settings X Precision 6.6.1 Weather Station Precision is the number of decimal places.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide or the complete record mode (Peet Bros Station only). To allow Virtual Weather Station to execute without the sensor, inactivate the "problem" sensor by deselecting the Active checkbox. Figure 6 - Communication Settings 6.6.6 Sensor and Battery Status (WMR-918 and WMR-968 only) Menu Shortcut: Communication X Sensor Communication 6.6.6.1 6.6.7 Active Comm OK After communication with the WMR-918 or WMR-968 weather station is detected, a green LED will be displayed.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide continue running Virtual Weather Station. 6.6.7.4 Link OK After communication with the WMR-100 weather station is detected, the Link OK light will display Red or Green. If the LED is green, it indicates the console is communicating properly with the remote sensor. If the LED is red, the console has lost communication with the remote sensor. 6.6.7.5 Data OK 1. If the data is OK, OK will be displayed. 2.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide vws is the Virtual Weather Station installation directory, data is the directory path and data.csv is the name of the csv data file defined in step 1. 3. If you wish to access all of the historical graphs on the remote computer from the host computer (connected to the weather station), reference Figure 9 – Stationless Operation. Select the Run VWS remote checkbox and browse to the vws directory on the host computer.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.7.3 Hide Toolbar Select this option to hide the toolbar and status bar. This will increase the display viewing area. 6.7.4 Quit Program Prompt Prompts the user prior to terminating the program. 6.7.5 CPU Resources You can adjust the CPU resources VWS uses to run. The high setting will increase the performance of VWS but may decrease the performance of other programs.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide For more information regarding tags, please reference Section 8.13.1. The celestial calculator is a close approximation of the sunrise and sunset in your location and may be inaccurate by several minutes due to equation inaccuracy or your altitude (the equations are based on sea-level). 6.8.2 6.8.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Figure 12 –Multiple Station Settings 6.10 Real-time Data Virtual Weather Station continuously collects data from your weather station. The sample rate varies based on your weather station's specifications. See your weather station user manual for specifics on the sample rate. Figure 11 - Station Settings (Location and Altitude) 6.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.11 Weather Displays Table 3 provides a list of the weather displays and a description of each display. Description 6.11.1 Display Icon Weather conditions based on weather station prediction. Switches from day to night based on sunrise and sunset times. 6.11.2 Broadcast TV broadcast display. Logo and location name can be modified by selecting right-mouse click on display. 6.11.3 Cable TV Slide Designed exclusively for WeatherCentral Cable TV applications.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Description 6.11.4 Display Cable TV Slide 2 Designed exclusively for WeatherCentral Cable TV applications. Allows user to incorporate into cable TV slide show. 6.11.5 Color Spectrum Color bars change color based on adjustable color spectrum. Displays daily high, low and current value. Rate of change arrow represents rising, falling or steady. 6.11.6 High / Low Display Simple daily high and low display. Displays daily high, low and current value.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Description 6.11.8 Display Wind Direction Displays current wind direction. Display fills clockwise from the North. 6.11.9 Thermometer Thermometer gauge with rate of change arrow and high / low pointers. 6.11.10 Gauge Rotary gauge with rate of change arrow. If the maximum limit of the gauge is exceeded, the gauge displays a red alarm box. 6.11.11 Meter Meter gauge with rate of change arrow.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Description Display 6.11.12 Graph, Graph2 Plot one or two parameters vs. time. Data is based on database, and can be plotted over several hours or days. Provides an array of graphical styles and options, such as line style and auto scaling. Note - the graph will be empty if (1) the database is empty (example, when the program is first started, or (2) Data has not been collected in the plot time frame specified in the attributes window (the program was off).. 6.11.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Description Display 6.11.16 Moon Phase Current Moon phase or moon day. Table 3 - Weather Displays Parameter List. 6.11.17 Difference Between Graphs and Strip Charts Select the display type and parameter from the menu bar, and the display will be added to (or deleted from) the desktop. The graphs and strip charts serve two very different purposes. Table 4 - Graphs vs.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Attribute Figure 14 - Parameter List 2 6.12.2 Modifying the Display and Display Attributes Upper Limit Upper display numerical limit. Precision Numbers left of the decimal point. For example, a precision of zero is 76, a precision of 2 is 76.03. Background Color The display background color.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Attribute generate jpeg images. The images are then imported into Virtual Weather Station by defining the path to where the files are located. The images can be viewed as a still frame or a time lapse, providing a summary of weather over the course of the day. Description 8.8. X and Y Gridlines Change the number of gridlines displayed on graphs and strip charts. For more information on ImageSalsa, please visit the following: http://www.ambientweather.com/ExtDesc.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Display Setting Description images. Average Display Preferences Allows you to chose between a one hour filtered average, the daily average, the monthly average or the yearly average on the display. Table 5 - General Display Settings 6.13.1 To use the full screen display, double click anywhere on the background of the desktop (other than a weather element). To return to the normal display, hit any key. Figure 16 - Broadcast Display Attributes 6.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide \VWS\data\yyyydbase.csv Column Number where yyyy is the current year. Parameter If the database is damaged or deleted, simply rename the backup database. 22 Outdoor Heat Index 23 Dew Point 6.14.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Column Number Column Number Parameter Parameter 50 Outdoor Heat Index Rate 78 Channel 9 Temperature 51 Dew Point Rate 79 Channel 9 Humidity 52 Sea-level Barometric Pressure Rate 80 Channel 10 Temperature 53 Rain Daily 81 Channel 10 Humidity 54 Rain Hourly 82 UV 2 55 Last 24 Hour Rain 83 UV 3 56 Rain Rate (Oregon Scientific Only) 84 THW Index 57 Wind Run Daily 85 THWS Index 58 Degree Days Heating Daily 86 Channel 4 Temperature Rate
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.14.3 Editing and Deleting Database Records 6.15.2 You can recall and edit any of the database records by date or record number. Once you retrieve a database record, the data can be edited to correct errors. 6.14.4 Oregon Scientific WMR-968 (Radio Shack Wireless Weather Station) Channel Ch 1, 2, 3 Temperature Resizing the Database To resize the database, select the Resize Database number.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.16.2 6.15.4 Davis Instruments Wireless Vantage Pro2 and Vantage Pro2 Plus Channel Ch 1, 2, 3 Temperature Ch 1, 2, 3 Humidity (leaf wetness, soil moisture) Part No.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.17.6 threshold for one day. One degree day is also the amount of heat which accumulates when the temperature is 24 degrees above the threshold for one hour. 6.17.1.1 On November 1, 2001, the National Weather Service (NWS) implemented a replacement Wind Chill Temperature (WCT) index for the 2001/2002 winter season.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Temperature for Outdoor Temperature. In these special cases, Virtual Weather Station allows you to swap or interchange these parameters. Figure 20- Advanced Parameter Settings 6.17.8 Figure 21 - Rainfall Settings Rainfall Settings 6.17.9 Menu Shortcut: Settings X Rainfall Dominant Wind Direction Counter Menu Shortcut: Settings X Dominant Wind Direction Some stations calculate the daily and monthly rain.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.18.1 Daily Highs and Lows Daily highs and lows are calculated by Virtual Weather Station. Note that Virtual Weather Station must be running for the daily highs and lows to be recorded. 6.18.2 Average Values Average values for all of the weather parameters are calculated by Virtual Weather Station based on a one hour time period.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide No. Parameter Name Measured by Calculated Calculated Station by Station by VWS No.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide No. Parameter Name Measured by Calculated Calculated Station by Station by VWS Channel 3 Temperature Rate3 9 43 Channel 3 Humidity Rate3 9 44 Evapotranspirati on Rate4,5 9 45 UV Index Rate4 or Battery Voltage Rate5 9 Solar Radiation Rate4,5 9 47 Wind Chill Rate 9 48 Indoor Heat Index Rate 49 No. Parameter Name Measured by Calculated Calculated Station by Station by VWS 60 Total Rain Avg. 9 61 Channel 1 Temperature 3 Avg.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide No. Parameter Name Measured by Calculated Calculated Station by Station by VWS Daily High No.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide No. Parameter Name Measured by Calculated Calculated Station by Station by VWS No.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide No. Parameter Name Measured by Calculated Calculated Station by Station by VWS No.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide No.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide No. Parameter Name Measured by Calculated Calculated Station by Station by VWS No.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.20 Daily, Monthly and Yearly Summary Virtual Weather Station provides a daily, monthly and yearly summary. The high, low, averages and integrated values are recorded as well as the time and date of the highs and lows. You can edit the daily extremes. The summary data is independent of the database as described in Chapter 6.14 - Database. 6.20.1 9 2001_10, which corresponds to the monthly extremes, averages and rates for October 2001.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide prediction, select Icon Automation Weather Station Prediction. The display includes the number of samples for the year. This panel is updated hourly. 6.21 The Davis Vantage Pro2, Oregon Scientific and Radio Shack weather stations include forecast predictions. The predictions are based on trends, and predict the weather 2448 hours in advance, accurate to approximately 75%.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide P1. Parameter 1 as defined in the smart forecast section. P2. Parameter 2 as defined in the smart forecast section. Condition. (AND) or (OR). Specify the condition required for forecast to be active. For example, if Parameter 1 and Parameter 2 are TRUE, select P1 AND P2. Value. The value compared against the parameter. Figure 26 - Icon Settings 6.23 Forecast. The forecast if the condition is met. Smart Forecast ON. The condition is met if the LED is red.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Example: "Send an alarm when the Outside Temperature is less than 70.00" Outside Temperature < 70.00 "Send an alarm when the Wind Speed is greater than 20.00" Wind Speed > 20.00 Sound (Wav) or Exectutable (exe, com, bat) Filename. Specify the wav file to play or the executable to run. Figure 28 - Alarm Sound Settings VWS includes sample wav files in the sounds subdirectory. 6.25 Reference Section 6.24.2 for details on launching executable or batch files.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide data logger. Reference Figure 29 - Rainwise Settings. The following settings can be adjusted. 6.27.1 Sea-level Barometer Adjustment (418 MHz systems only) 9 mm is minute 9 ss is second 6.27.10 Increment Logging Interval The sea-level barometer setting can be adjusted in the Rainwise Computer Interface. In addition, the barometer. You can also adjust the barometer in the calibration offset. See Section 6.3 for more details.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide calibration offsets, barometric pressure sea-level correction, and setting date and time. Figure 32 – Vantage / WeatherLink Alarms 6.30 Figure 30 – Vantage/WeatherLink Settings 6.29.2 WeatherHawk Settings Menu Shortcut: Settings X WeatherHawk Settings Vantage / WeatherLink Highs and Lows 6.30.1 Menu Shortcut: Settings X Vantage Highs and Lows Address Settings Define the PC Address, Logger Address, Timeout period in seconds and number of retries.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 6.30.5.3 Cancel Download Data To determine these values: select the barometer display on your weather station monitor and toggle between REF and ABS and enter the values into Virtual Weather Station. Cancels the current download 6.30.5.4 Last Download Record Provides a marker for the last record downloaded from archive memory. The next time Virtual Weather Station is launched, the next record will be downloaded. 6.30.6 Reset 6.30.6.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide continue the WeatherLink database. Combine with a third party PC Auto Call Center to provide a complete PC-based phone answering system. Keep up to date on your local weather, advertise your service, and stay connected to the weather! Enter Your Station Directory, the location of the WeatherLink executable file, and select if you want to automatically generate NOAA monthly and yearly summary reports within WeatherLink. 6.34.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide stored in the following location: 7 \VWS\data\daily\yyyymmdd.txt Virtual Weather Station Pro Edition 7.1 where yyyy is the year, mm is the month and dd is the day. For example, data stored on May 9, 2000 is designated by the filename: File Settings (Data Logging) Menu Shortcut: Settings X File Settings \VWS\data\20000509.txt Virtual Weather Station includes a data logger, which provides a permanent record of your weather data.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Ch 3 Humidity Wind Chill In Heat Ix Out Heat Ix Dew Point SL Barometer 0 76.3 74.7 75.7 46.7 29.03 2:18pm 2:18pm 4:46pm 2:18pm 4:11pm 2:18pm 0 60.0 65.2 66.2 39.0 29.00 2:18pm 3:09pm 3:09pm 3:09pm 3:09pm 4:49pm 0 63.4 69.2 69.1 40.2 29.01 Figure 39 – Archived Data Text File the filename: 7.1.4.1 Daily Archive Files 9 \VWS\data\archive\20000509.txt The daily archive files are stored in the following location: 9 The date stamped format is the same as the daily.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 7.1.6 Summary Files The file is stored in the following location: This file provides a summary of the average, high and low values for each parameter specified in the File Parameter List (reference Section 7.1.8). Date 9 \vws\data\summary\daysum.txt An example is shown in Figure 40 – Example Daily Summary File.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Column Identifier Prototype 14 Outside Temperature (°F) Floating Point 15 Barometer (in) Floating Point 16 Total Rain (in) Floating Point 17 Daily Rain (in) Floating Point 18 Hourly Rain (in) Floating Point 19 Weather Condition, where: Integer Column 21 22 23 24 Channel 1 Temperature (WMR968/WMR-918, Davis Vantage Pro2) Floating Point Channel 1 Humidity (WMR-968/WMR-918 only) Floating Point Channel 2 Temperature (WMR968/WMR-918, Davis Vantag
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide day. At the bottom of the column, the dominant wind direction recorded during the month is displayed. Figure 42 – CSV Output File Format. 7.3 Climate Reports There are two types of climate reports - monthly and yearly. 7.4.1 7.4 To modify the monthly climate report, enter the month and year, and modify the stored values.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Dom Dir. The dominant wind direction for the month. At the bottom of the column, the dominant wind direction recorded during the year is displayed. GLOBE is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based education and science program sponsored by the United States Government. For more information, please visit www.globe.gov. This program requires you meet the registration requirements set forth by GLOBE. Please contact GLOBE to determine if you qualify.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Figure 43- General Description Referencing the figure above, the weather station (1) communicates to your PC (2) through the serial port. Virtual Weather Station displays graphics on your PC. The graphics are converted to jpeg files for insertion into your web page. Virtual Weather Station uploads these jpeg files and html text files to your remote web server (3) automatically based on a schedule you define.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Figure 44 – Webpage example created with the Virtual Weather Station Weather Website Builder. jpeg files to another location on the network without using ftp or web server options. 8.2 The following sections outline settings for your specific application. Internet Features and Operation The following section describes methods for displaying your weather data on the Internet or Intranet. 8.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 8.6.3 8.4 Connecting to the Internet Use the Following Dial-up Networking Connection Select one of the dial-up networking connections defined in the Windows Dial-up Networking. Most Internet service providers provide the following features: A direct connection to the Internet 8.6.4 A remote World Wide Web Server Username, Password and Domain Dial-up networking account information. A remote Ftp Server 8.6.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 8.7 General FTP Settings The following general FTP Settings allow you to control each FTP session. 8.7.1 FTP Timeout The timeout period for each FTP operation. 8.7.2 Successive Login Attempts Number of successive attempts to login to the FTP server. 8.7.3 Maximum Connect Time The maximum time period to remain connected to the server. This prevents extended connections due to slow internet connections or failed connections. 8.7.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phase Alpha Numeric Thermometer 148 295 442 589 736 883 --- 1177 1324 1471 1618 1765 Wind Speed 002 149 --- 443 590 737 884 --- 1178 1325 1472 1619 1766 Gust 003 150 --- 444 591 738 885 --- 1179 1326 1473 1620 1767 Indoor Humidity 004 151 --- 445 592 739 886 --- 1180 1327 1474 1621 1768 Outdoor Humidity 005 152 --- 446 593 740 887 --- 1181 1328 1475 1622 1769 Indoor Temperature 006
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phase Alpha Numeric Graph Gauge Thermometer Wind Direction High/Low Color Spectrum Parameter / Display Wind Chill 019 166 --- 460 607 754 901 --- 1195 1342 1489 1636 1783 Heat Index In 020 167 --- 461 608 755 902 --- 1196 1343 1490 1637 1784 Heat Index Out 021 168 --- 462 609 756 903 --- 1197 1344 1491 1638 1785 Dewpoint 022 169 --- 463 610 757 904 --- 1198 1345 1492 1639 1786 Sea-l
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phase Alpha Numeric Graph Gauge Thermometer Wind Direction High/Low Color Spectrum Parameter / Display Channel 2 Humidity Rate (WMR- 041 968/WMR-918, Davis Vantage Pro2) 188 --- 482 629 776 923 --- 1217 1364 1511 1658 1805 Channel 3 Temperature Rate (WMR-968/WMR-918, Davis Vantage Pro2) 042 189 --- 483 630 777 924 --- 1218 1365 1512 1659 1806 Channel 3 Humidity Rate (WMR- 043 968/WMR-918, Davis Va
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phase Alpha Numeric Graph Gauge Thermometer Wind Direction High/Low Color Spectrum Parameter / Display Channel 1 Temperature Average 061 (WMR-968/WMR-918, Davis Vantage Pro2) 208 --- 502 649 796 943 --- 1237 1384 1531 1678 1825 Channel 1 Humidity Average (WMR-968/WMR-918, Davis Vantage Pro2) 063 209 --- 503 650 797 944 --- 1238 1385 1532 1679 1826 Channel 2 Temperature Average 063 (WMR-968/WMR-91,
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Alpha Numeric Moon Phase Graph --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Indoor Temperature High --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Outdoor Temperature High --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Barometer High --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Total Rain High --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phase Alpha Numeric Graph Gauge Thermometer Wind Direction High/Low Color Spectrum Parameter / Display Sea-level Barometer High --- --- --- --- --- --- 979 --- --- --- --- --- --- Wind Direction Low --- --- --- --- --- --- 980 --- --- --- --- --- --- Wind Speed Low --- --- --- --- --- --- 981 --- --- --- --- --- --- Gust Low --- --- --- --- --- --- 982 --- --- --
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phase Alpha Numeric Graph Gauge Thermometer Wind Direction High/Low Color Spectrum Parameter / Display Solar Radiation Low (Davis, WeatherHawk) --- --- --- --- --- --- 997 --- --- --- --- --- --- Wind Chill Low --- --- --- --- --- --- 998 --- --- --- --- --- --- Heat Index In Low --- --- --- --- --- --- 999 --- --- --- --- --- --- Heat Index Out Low --- --- --- --- -
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phase Alpha Numeric Graph Gauge Thermometer Wind Direction High/Low Color Spectrum Parameter / Display Pressure Trend --- --- --- --- --- --- 1022 --- --- --- --- --- --- Beaufort Scale --- --- --- --- --- --- 1023 --- --- --- --- --- --- Date --- --- --- --- --- --- 1024 --- --- --- --- --- --- Time --- --- --- --- --- --- 1025 --- --- --- --- --- --- Sunris
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phase Alpha Numeric Graph Gauge Thermometer Wind Direction High/Low Color Spectrum Parameter / Display Channel 10 Humidity (WMR100) 2073 2220 --- 2514 2661 2808 2955 --- 3249 3396 3543 3690 3837 UV Channel 2 (WMR-100) 2074 2221 --- 2515 2662 2809 2956 --- 3250 3397 3544 3691 3838 UV Channel 3 (WMR-100) 2075 2222 --- 2516 2663 2810 2957 --- 3251 3398 3545 3692 3839 THW Index 2076 2223 --- 2517 266
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Graph2 Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phase Alpha Numeric Graph Gauge Thermometer Wind Direction High/Low Color Spectrum Parameter / Display Channel 10 Humidity Average (WMR-100) 2109 2257 --- 2514 2661 2808 2955 --- 3249 3396 3543 3690 3837 UV Channel 2 Average (WMR100) 2110 2258 --- 2515 2662 2809 2956 --- 3250 3397 3544 3691 3838 UV Channel 3 Average (WMR100) 2111 2259 --- 2516 2663 2810 2957 --- 3251 3398 3545 3692 3839 THW Index A
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide To create a template file, save the template with an htx file extension with any text editor or web authoring tool. 8.13.3 Complete List of Tags Menu Shortcut: Internet X HTML Tags To view the complete list of tags, select the Complete Tag List icon located in this window. 8.13.4 Inserting HTML Tags Into the Templates There are three types of File Tags: Each weather parameter has a unique file tag.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Tag Name Description Tag Name Description ^vmh###^ vmh = Virtual Weather Monthly High on Figure 49 - Color spectrum for the HTML Tags.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Tag Name Description Tag Name Temperature. Example: ^mtrKLAX014^ Example: ^mtrKLAX005^ ^mtr005ABCD^ ^mtr015ABCD^ ABCD = METAR identifier, 005 specifies the METAR Dew Point. Example: ^mtrKLAX005^ ^mtr006ABCD^ ABCD = METAR identifier, 006 specifies the METAR % Relative Humidity. ^mtr017ABCD^ ABCD = METAR identifier, 007 specifies the METAR Pressure. ^mtr010ABCD^ WARNING DATA ABCD = METAR identifier, 008 specifies the METAR Wind Direction.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Tag Name Description Tag Name precipitation meso_sta# # = location (1 to 15) ^almmtd#^ almmtd - Almanac normal month-todate precipitation meso_loc# conditions # = station number (1 to 30) meso_url# climate_icon – Current weather conditions meso_url – Mesonet URL link to weather website # = station number (1 to 30) chancetstorms = Chance Thunder storms chanceflurries = Chance Flurries chancerain = Chance Rain chancesleat = Chance Sleat clear = Clear cloudy =
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Tag Name Description Tag Name # = station number (1 to 30) meso_gust# ^world_id^ meso_loc – Mesonet Station ID Description World location identification, used for linking weather maps to the Wunderground, as defined in Section 6.8.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Tag Name Description Tag Name Chance Sleat Clear Cloudy Fog Flurries Hazy Mostly Cloudy Mostly Sunny Partly Cloudy Partly Sunny Rain Sleat Snow Sunny Thunderstorms Unknown 5-DAY FORECAST DATA forecast_nexrad # 5-Day Forecast NEXRAD ID for use with Wunderground nexrad graphics. # = station number (1 to 4) forecast_country # 5-Day Forecast country ID for use with Wunderground graphics.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Tag Name To view HTML settings, select [Internet][HTML Settings] from the taskbar. This panel specifies the template file location and the Web Page or HTML Filename. The following settings are available: Description x = 5-day forecast day (1 to 5) # = location (1 to 4) temp_for_lo#_x 9 Low daily forecast temperature background color, based on Figure 49 Color spectrum for the HTML Tags. Update HTML Timer. Specifies how often to update the HTML panels. 9 On.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide FTP server which typically is running on a remote computer. 8.15.1 Connecting to Your Remote Ftp Server Verify you can connect to your Ftp Server. Select [Internet][Login] from the menubar. Menu Shortcut: Internet X FTP Login Figure 51 - Creating Web Pages with Virtual Weather Station Tags 8.14 HTML File Tags File tags can be inserted into the HTML template (htx) to display data from a text file directly in your web page.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 8.15.2.1 Sending Jpeg Files Displayed in Virtual Weather Station Desktop to the Internet (Jpeg FTP Settings) For each element on your desktop, a jpeg image is generated. The files are sent to the created and sent to the Internet at the same time based on a schedule. Reference Figure 54 - Jpeg FTP Settings. The following sections describe the jpeg FTP settings. 8.15.2.1.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide server). based on a schedule. The files include any public file addressable from the Internet, and must be in text format only. Menu Shortcut: Internet X FTP Upload File (Send) The files are saved on your local drive and can be used for display in your web pages using file tags (see the section on File Tags for more details). FTP (ftp://) or HTTP (http://) files can be downloaded.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Virtual Weather Station allows you to send E Mail messages and attachments when alarm limits are exceeded. You can also send periodic weather reports. To view the E Mail settings, select [Settings][Email] from the menubar. Enter the following information: based on the entries, providing foreign language support. The weather report data is appended to the Email message specified in the Email panel. 8.16.3 E-Mail (SMTP) Server.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide The benefits of having the U.S. standardize to these new code formats are as follows. Hourly and special observations are used both as stand alone data for the sites and as inputs to global weather models for both analysis and forecasting. It is this global use of each small bit of information which drives the need for standardization. Additionally, the increase in international flights between the U.S. and other nations from more U.S.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Figure 61 – METAR Icon Display Settings 8.17.6 METAR Settings Figure 62 – METAR Icon Settings Menu Shortcut: Modify Display X METAR Icons To define METAR settings, select [Modify Display][METAR Icons] from the Menubar. 8.17.7 METAR Report Generator Menu Shortcut: METAR X METAR Generator The following METAR settings are adjustable. Parameter Since METAR is the reporting standard for weather observations, VWS generates METAR reports so you can share weather data.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 8.17.8.1 METAR Summary Text Report following file location: The METAR summary text reports are located in the Location Last Update Date and Time Van Nuys 05/29/2001 09:51pm Burbank 05/29/2001 08:53pm Los Angeles 05/29/2001 09:50pm 9 Temp Dew HtIx Chill %Rh °F °F °F °F 66 68 63 61 55 59 71 70 68 66 63 60 \data\metar.txt Press Rain Wind Wind % in in Dir Spd 83 64 88 29.91 29.90 29.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide following: by registering your weather station or select the following link: Warning Priority http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/index.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Text reports are generated for each location (numbered 1 through 15) in the following location: \vws\data\warnings\#.txt where # is the location number. Figure 69 - Climate Reports 8.18.1.5 Five Day Forecast Menu Shortcut: Wunderground X 5-Day Forecast Figure 68 –Weather Warnings 8.18.1.4 Virtual Weather Station will download the 5-Day forecast data from the National Weather Service for any location around the world.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Figure 70 – Five Day Forecast 8.18.1.6 Mesonet Mesonet is a combination of the words "mesoscale" and "network". In meteorology, "mesoscale" refers to weather events that range in size from a few miles to a few hundred miles. Mesoscale events last from several minutes to several hours. Thunderstorms and squall lines are two examples of mesoscale events. A "network" is an interconnected system.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide real-time radar maps such as the image shown in Figure 73. map. To create a map background, you must determine the longitude and latitude of all four corners of the map. Virtual Weather Station will automatically place the weather stations in the proper location. Note that longitude values are negative for the United States. A common mistake is to enter a larger value (less negative) on the left hand side of the map then the left hand side of the map. 8.18.1.7.2.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Customize the font size, type, and format (bold or italic). Settings button. 8.18.1.7.3.4.1 Title and Date Stamp 8.18.1.7.8 Data Age (only display last xx minutes) This feature adds a title and a time and date stamp to the upper left hand corner of the image. You can delete stations that have expired based on a defined time frame. For example, if the reported data is over one hour old, you may want to remove it from the map display. 8.18.1.7.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide any timeout problems with Internet functions. For more information, contact support@AmbientWeather.com. Figure 77 – Internet Status Messages and Error Log Figure 76 – APRS Settings 8.19 Internet Status and Log 9 Virtual Weather Station Add-ons Menu Shortcut: Help X Internet Status and Log 9.1 8.19.1 Turning Off the Internet Functions To turn off all internet functions, select the Turn Off All Internet Features switch. 8.19.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 9 Control sprinkler systems after a rain. 9 Control your irrigation system 9 Monitor and control your pool, spa or air conditioning systems. 9 Monitor your home automation and environmental conditions from anywhere in the world over the Internet. 9.1.2 X10 Controls Virtual Weather Station communicates to HomeSeer (www.homeseer.com) home automation software to provide a complete environmental control and monitoring system using X10 Control Technology.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide http://www.ambientweather.com/ExtDesc.asp?id=113 9 Use spoken audio files as background sounds on your website 9.2 9 Combine with a third party PC Auto Call Center to provide a complete PC-based phone answering system.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Table 17 – Text to Wav File Conversion takes tag information and converts it to text files. For more information on obtaining National Weather Service text data, please visit http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/data 9.2.3 Temporary Files (\vws\voices\wav\*.wav) TTS Voices and Microsoft’s TTS Center For more information on Tags, please reference Section 8.13.1. The Microsoft Text-to-Speech engine was included with your WeatherVoice distribution kit.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 9.2.4.9 Sample Rate The sample rate of the converted speech (wav) file. The output sampling rate is based on your modem or application. Most modem output frequency is 8,000 Hz. Most computer applications are recommended at 16,000 Hz.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide 9.3 WeatherFlash (Internet Version of Virtual Weather Station Required) WeatherFlash is the first Web-based, real-time, comprehensive monitoring and analysis interface that is completely controlled by you! You pick the display options, you pick the colors, you design the layout, you select the update interval. With Ambient's WeatherFlash, you are in control.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide To learn more about WeatherFlash, please visit http://www.AmbientWeather.com/WxFlash/ 9.4 Image Salsa ImageSalsa captures images from your webcam and creates a series of jpeg images for web page insertion, real-time streaming video, graphical and text overlays, and integrates with Virtual Weather Station to create real-time weather displays.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Problem Solution Your serial port is defective Your weather station serial port is defective. Unplug the station's AC adapter from the utility and run the station on battery power. If the LEDs display communication, reconnect the station's AC adapter. If the unit stops communicating again, contact Oregon Scientific. See Advanced Communication Troubleshooting Tips Communication only occurs while on the batteries and not the AC.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Problem Solution The celestial calculator is a close approximation of the sunrise and sunset in your location and may be inaccurate by several minutes due to equation inaccuracy or your altitude (the equations are based on sea-level). You can account for this inaccuracy by entering a number in the offset (-60 minutes to +60 minutes). Sunrise and sunset are off by one hour, or did not change with the Daylight Savings Time Change.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Problem Solution cause long delays. The font size is incorrect after changing the font type Changing font type can also change the font size due to font size limitations. To restore default fonts, select the Default button from the font settings window and restart the program. The Moonrise (or Moonset) is showing -- instead of the time Approximately once a month, the moon does not rise (or set) on a given day.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Problem Solution The Daily Rain is not correct The program must be running at midnight for today's daily rainfall to be correct. The Weather Station does not store daily rainfall. The monthly rainfall reported in the NOAA report does not agree with the sum of the daily rainfall. This is due to the station total rainfall reset by the user, or the values for minimum or maximum rain edited by the user. Reference 6.20.3 for more details to correct this.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Problem Solution If your computer is running other utilities, the clock speed may be affected even more. Your computer may need a tune-up. Here are some useful hints: 1) Don't run continuous virus checking. Have virus scanner scan your files on a batch basis. Continuous virus checking slows down your computer. 2) We have had excellent luck with two parts of Norton Utilities: (a) Norton Optimization Wizard (gets your swap file to the right size) (b) WinDoctor.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Problem Solution instructions on the right: 4.00.950 Install Service Pack 1 first, then install the Kernel 32 Update. 4.00.950a Install the Kernel 32 Update. 4.00.950B Service Pack 1 and Kernel Update not needed. 4.00.950C Service Pack 1 and Kernel Update not needed. NOTE: The kernel update should only be applied if you have already installed Service Pack 1 for Windows 95. If you have Windows 95 version 4.00.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Problem Solution Microsoft Operating System Memory Leaks System Socket Web Server Error Check to make sure you are connected to the Internet, or you are not conflicting with another Web Server running on your PC. Quit the Virtual Weather Station program and manually connect to the World Wide Web. Relaunch Virtual Weather Station. • Another application is dialing and taking over the modem when VWS dials.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Table 18 - Troubleshooting Tips connection description. 10.1 Advanced Communication Troubleshooting Tips for Oregon Scientific Weather Stations If you followed the troubleshooting tips above and could not find a solution, you likely have a problem with your station's communication port, the cable or your computer. To verify that you are receiving data, launch Hyper Terminal, which is a terminal emulation program distributed with most Windows operating systems.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Term Definition barometric pressure remain constant, in order to attain saturation by water vapor. When this temperature is below O°C, it is sometimes called the frost point. GUST A sudden significant increase in or rapid fluctuations of wind speed. Peak wind must reach at least 16 knots (18 miles per hour) and the variation between peaks and lulls is at least 10 knots (11.5 miles per hour). The duration is usually less twenty seconds.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Term Definition of sunrise is calculated for mean sea level. See sunset for comparison. SUNSET The daily disappearance of the sun below the western horizon as a result of the earth's rotation. In the United States, it is considered as that instant when the upper edge of the sun just disappears below the sea level horizon. In Great Britain, the center of the sun's disk is used instead. Time of sunset is calculated for mean sea level. See sunrise for comparison.
Virtual Weather Station User's Guide Air speed Number and description Features kph mph breeze 7 near gale large trees sway 51–61 32–38 8 gale twigs break from trees 62–74 39–46 9 strong gale branches break from trees 75–87 47–54 10 storm trees uprooted; weak buildings collapse 88–101 55–63 11 violent storm widespread damage 102–117 64–73 12 hurricane widespread structural damage above 118 above 74 Table 20 - Beaufort Scale 11.
