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Virtual Weather Station Version 12 User`s Manual

1. 5 2 3 Davis Instruments 5 3 RUNNING VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION 5 4 LICENSE INFORMATION cccccccsssccsscccssscsssssccsseccsscescsssscssecessescsssccssecessesesssccsssecesssecsssccsssecessecesssccsssecesseeesssecesseces 5 5 UPGRADE TO PRO OR INTERNET EDITIONS cccccssccsscccssscscsseccsssecsssescsssscsssecessssesssscsssecesssscsssscsssecessseesesecssseses VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION BASE EDITION FEATURES cscssssssssscsccecceccsscsscscceccescescescescseccecseees THEA SSISTAN T da 6 2 CONVERSIONS eene 6 2 1 Unit Conversions D 6 2 2 Total Rain Offset ossee 6 3 CAPEIBRATION eite eo EEEO see bee ee EEE a a ee E OEE eec allan Ea 6 4 PR 5 ES NE ra ti 6 5 COMMUNICATION 6 5 1 Weather Matinal ete eine 6 5 2 Communication DIE A a 16 6 5 3 Baud Rate 6 5 4 Communication Rate 6 5 5 Complete Record Mode Peet Bros Only 6 5 6 Sensor and Battery Status WMR 918 and WMR 966 only 6 5 6 1 Comriurnicatlon OK ld diete 6 5 6 2 Battery OR Asc erae Aperte Ane s Er e tic un rca dide e mE I cath 6 5 7 I Wire Stations vom 6 5 8 Stationless Operation A 6 5 8 1 Connecting to a Computer Across t 6 5 8 2 Displaying METAR Data in the Stationless Mode 6 5 8 3 File Timer Access eee ie iens 6 6 1 Start Program Hidden 6 6 2 Reboot Schedule cote e e RENE ee RE RUN a aair 6 6 3 CPU Resources STATION SETTI
2. o 7 Evapotranspiration Avg Solar Radiation Avg O Wind Chill Avg N 1 Indoor Heat Index Avg 2 Outdoor Heat Index Avg 3 Dew Point Avg 4 olo o o O 5 9 x ea level Barometer Avg N al Wind Direction Daily High 6 Wind Speed Daily High N 7 Wind Gust Daily High 8 Indoor Humidity Daily High 9 Outdoor Humidity Daily High Indoor Temperature Daily High 1 Outdoor Temperature Daily High 2 Barometric Pressure Daily High 3 Total Rain Daily High 4 Channel 1 Temperature High 85 Channel 1 Humidity High hannel 2 Temperature High 87 Channel 2 Humidity High 47 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide z e Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 88 Channel 3 Temperature High Evapotranspiration High 1 UV Index High oO 2 Solar Radiation High 3 Wind Chill Daily High 4 Indoor Heat Index Daily High 5 Outdoor Heat Index Daily High ew Point Daily High o 7 Sea level Barometer High o o c oo e 2 e wo as c 3 a lt I Q po y ind Direction Daily Low ind Speed Daily Low 100 ind Gust Daily Low 101 Indoor Humidity Daily Low 2 Outdoor Humidity Daily Low A o 103 Indoor Temperature Daily Low 4 Outdoor Temperature Daily Low E 105 Barometric Pressure Daily Low 106 Total Rain Daily Low 107 Channel 1 Temperature Low 108 Channel 1 Humidity Low 109 Ch
3. F oom Rain Rate in hour BEES Outdoor Temp Rate F hr 8 Indoor temp Rate F hr EA Le Barometer Rate in hr Channel 1 Temp Rate F hr Channel 2 Temp Rate F hr as Channel 3 Temp Rate F hr Figure 27 CSV Output File Format 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 Indoor Heat Index F 3 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 63 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 27 Other Display Features 6 27 1 Minimizing the Program and Display When the display is minimized the title bar displays the outdoor temperature humidity wind direction and windspeed on the taskbar RE 71 42 Nw G0 Figure 28 Minimized Taskbar Display 6 27 2 Hiding Virtual Weather Station To hide Virtual Weather Station double click on the Taskbar icon To display after hiding double click on the taskbar 8t dadep 029 8M 11 094 Figure 29 Virtual Weather Station Taskbar Icon 6 28 WeatherLink Automation Davis Instruments only Menu Shortcut Settings gt WeatherLink PCLink Automation You can automatically download data to the WeatherLink program using Virtual Weather Station This assures that data is stored in both programs for users that wish to continue the WeatherLink database 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 Enter a schedule
4. Menu Shortcut Internet gt HTML File Tags File HTML Tags File HTML Tags Filename Location 1 10 Filename Location 11 20 usm 3 Un 3 HA le e Eel Le ILL es ees Pome eee tome m ILL el e ILL eed HA 71 o ee 777 Close Figure 43 File Tags 8 15 Ftp Operation The File Transfer Protocol FTP is part of the TCP IP protocols for data transmission on the Internet and is used mainly to transfer files between computers FTP is a client server protocol in which an FTP server waits for FTP clients to connect to the server and issue requests Generally FTP servers require clients to provide a username and password before processing any requests An FTP server administrator determines the user access policy for the server Many FTP servers allow anonymous access with restrictions to the server To log onto an FTP server anonymously clients enter anonymous as the username and their e mail address as the password 94 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Virtual Weather Station provides FTP Client functions that connect to and perform operations on a specified FTP server Virtual Weather Station does not provide functions that let your program behave as an FTP server When your program calls the FTP Client functions it connects to an 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 S
5. Scroll Panel 3 5 4 NOTE For Full Screen Display or Scrolling Left Double Click on Display Press any Key to Cancel Scroll Timer No Scroll Panels Average Display Preferences Average Display Preference 1 Hr Filtered Average vi Close Figure 15 General Display Settings 6 13 Database Menu Shortcut Settings P Database Settings Virtual Weather Station generates a database for storing data for plotting and graphing This data is stored in a comma separated file located in the following directory path V WS data dbase csv where csv stands for comma separated value This database can be viewed edited and deleted 6 13 1 Database Timer A database timer allows you to customize how often data is written to the database The database is limited to 20 000 records so the recommended minimum database timer is 10 minutes Once the database reaches 20 000 records is automatically resized to 15 000 records A backup record of the database is stored in the following file VWSi data yyyydbase csv 35 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide where yyyy is the current year If the database is damaged or deleted simply rename the backup database 6 13 2 Database Format The database format is outlined in Table 6 Database Format 36 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Column Parameter Number Date with the following format YyyyMonth
6. 125 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution IS Cn The strip charts lose the data Strip charts are intended for plotting data real time and the when the program is shut down data is not saved permanently to a file Reference the section on graphs vs strip charts The minimum and maximum Virtual Weather Station must be running to record daily highs daily values are not correct and lows data not stored in your weather station s memory Rate of changes are not correct Rate of change is set to zero when Virtual Weather Station is started Virtual Weather Station calculates the rate of change by calculating the derivative of a parameter and then filtering it over one hour Thus the rate of change equation factors all of the measurements taken in the last hour and may not exactly match the change in one hour Determining the actual change in one hour would require every measurement within the hour to be saved which is not practical and would require the software to be operational for more than one hour Instead Virtual Weather Station uses calculation techniques standard in the engineering community for calculating rate of change Virtual Weather Station s rain rate may not agree with the rain rate calculated by the weather station because different techniques are used How do I display more decimal Change the precision from the display s attributes panel For points for a parameter example chan
7. Comfort Index 140 09 20 02
8. EM MM ig i Mir Vapor Pressure Wind Run Year Channeli Humidity F p Fr r RA Daily Rain Stress Index Channel 2 Temp EN EM MM MU x a Hourly Rain Comfort Level E Channel2 Humidity JJ Pf r Yesterday Rain Forecast Channel 3 Temp M EM MU MU i E Rain Rate Barometric Trend a Channel3 Humidity mM EM EM MU ELO Daily Wind Run Pressure Trend EvapoT EM Ma i Deg Day Heating Beaufort Scale a UV Index E MM M M Am Deg Day Cooling r Date a Solar Radiation EM EM MJ MI 3 Moon Phase Day Time a Wind Chill um MM MM M s Rain Month FP Sunrise Average Preferences Deg Mon Heating Sunset m Average Preferences Moonrise E y Moonset Figure 12 Add Delete Displays with Parameter List 6 11 1 Modifying the Display and Display Attributes Right mouse click on any weather display To modify any of the displays right mouse click on the display The following display attributes are adjustable Attribute Description Display Title can be modified for each display Display Title Display Title 2 Only valid for graphs and strip charts Displays second graph title 09 20 02 29 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Attribute Description Title Color Changes the title color Title Color 2 Only valid for graphs and strip charts Changes the title 2 color Lower display numerical limit Upper Limit Upper display numerical limit Precision Numbers
9. Gnd Color El v Create jpg image required for FTPs and Web pages x gridlines y gridlines Discard Panel Figure 13 Display Attributes 6 11 2 Broadcast Display Settings Menu Shortcut Modify Display f Broadcast Display The broadcast display can be customized with your own logo image and title To view the broadcast display settings right mouse click on the broadcast panel 31 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 11 2 1 Displaying the Icon The icon can be displayed on the Broadcast display To specify the method for updating the icon select the Icon Settings Button 6 11 2 2 Changing the Background Image A custom image can be displayed in the broadcast display 6 11 2 3 Changing the Logo Image The default logo image is for Ambient This can be customized to include your own personal logo 6 11 2 4 Web Cams Weather Cams and Dynamic Images WebCams or WeatherCams can be displayed in the broadcast panel To display a WeatherCam image a software package such as WebCam32 or ISpy is required to 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 6 11 2 4 1 Displaying the WeatherCam Image in the Broadcast Panel To display the WeatherCam image in the Broadcast panel launch WeatherCam32 or
10. You can print this text file to create a permanent record of this report The monthly text file is located at the following location VWS data noaa yyyy_mm txt where yyyy is the year and mm is the month The yearly text file is located at the following location VWS data noaa yyyy txt where yyyy is the year 8 Virtual Weather Station Internet Edition Virtual Weather Station Internet Edition features Email FTP File Transfer and HTTP file transfer You can automatically send files to an FTP server or automatically send e mail when alarm conditions occur 74 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide The software automatically converts display panels into jpeg images that any client using a World Wide Web WWW or Web browser can access The software is compatible with standard Web browsers and requires no additional networking software or configuration Telephore Cable Modem ISDN T1 or T3 Anonymous FTP Server example NOAA FTP Download ownio ar Telephore Cable Modem ISDN T1 or T3 FTP Upload A EMAIL Remote Server Intranet Service Provider Intranet A Web Server Weather Station Your PC runni Windows 95 98 or NT EEE Local Area Network lient Figure 35 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 jp
11. ccccccsscssssscsssssessesscsscsscessessessessesessesseseeseeceecossaseasesuesuesuesuesuessesseenseneeneenseseeseeces 67 Zo Daily A re d e RARE GREEN SER ERR EROR IRAE ORE 68 TA IDateiStamped Eie sostenido et HP ERE 66 5 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide LL e ds VE E E TAS A O RR 7 1 4 1 Daily Archive Files 7 1 4 1 1 Previous Daily Files rer ee sire ner hehehe aene 7 1 4 2 Monthly Archive Files essere neret 7 1 4 3 Yearly Archive Files 71 5 Date Stamped Archive File 7 1 5 1 Date Stamped Archive Daily Files 7 1 5 1 1 Previous Daily Files 7 1 5 2 Date Stamped Archive Monthly Files 7 1 5 3 Date Stamped Archive Yearly Files serorei eerie r n arsina s e ee e trenen nene eere LLO Summary A RRELEE RN RUNE aia TAGE sFileUpdateTiniernia a TAS Create Modify File List eei date ad iaa 71 7 2 CLIMATE REPORTS sees 7 3 MONTHLY CLIMATE REPORT 7 3 1 Modifying the Monthly Climate Report 7 4 YEARLY CLIMATE REPORT sess 7 41 Modifying the Yearly Climate Report 7 5 CLIMATE REPORT TEXT FILE AND PRINTING CLIMATE REPORTS 8 VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION INTERNET EDITION eere eret tetas ton tonta tonta santa en en ena senoase 74 8 1 WEATHER WEBSITE BUILDER 5 5305 etr er er RAT UR eer coe cae RN d ee rede ee Ere PINE ReEE 8 2 INTERNET FEATURES AND OPERATION cccsscssessessesscecceseessscesecscescesseseesscaecsecsscsecsecseesaesesessseeseesee
12. If the problem persists reboot your computer and make sure no programs are running Turn off the virus protection This can interfere with the installation process If your microprocessor is overheating you may receive this message from the operating system Keep your computer in a cool place to reduce crashes Some low power mode or power savers will cause the program to crash when communicating to the serial port Turn off the power saver by selecting Right Click on the desktop Properties Screen Saver Settings Energy Savings Features of Monitor and Turn off monitor Your graphics or display card driver may be outdated or incompatible Virtual Weather Station uses high resolution graphics that all display drivers must support However display cards and their associated drivers are notorious for incompatibilities with the Windows Operating System You can determine your graphics card manufacturer by selecting Right Click on the desktop then Display Properties Settings and Advanced Properties You may be 124 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem The mouse moves on it s own or does not operate after launching the software How do I find the longitude and latitude for my location The Sunrise and Sunset Times are Incorrect Sunrise and sunset are off by one hour or did not change with the Daylight Savings Time Change Solution able to download the latest graphics driver from the manu
13. Moon Phase The desktop can be completely customized including size and location of the displays You can choose hundreds of different display combinations Select the display type and parameter from the menu bar and the display will be added to or deleted from the desktop Right mouse click on the display to modify the individual display attributes Note that some of the check boxes will be dimmed depending on the display For example the Forecast can not be displayed from the graphs or strip charts because it is not saved in the database All parameters can be viewed using the alphanumeric display NOTE Sensor options vary from station to station Check your Weather Station user s manual for the complete list of weather parameters 28 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Stat ion User s Guide TE Parameter List E Parameter Value Rate Avg High Low Parameter Value Rate Avg High Low Wind Direction POP FP Indoor Heat Index m EM EM ME um Wind Speed fF ff Fr Fr Dutdoor Heat Index WU EM MI MM Wind Gust uw m A NI MU m E EM MH Indoor Humidity OT T T ASE Barometer EM EM MU M e DA LBS UN Parameter Value Parameter Value E M m m m m Pressure Altitude Deg Mon Cooling Dutdoor Temp m EM M Cloud Base Ht Wind Run Month Barometer uu E MU MU E j Air Density DeaYear Heating A Total Rain ng EM MM M j Virtual Temp DeaYear Cooling Channel 1 Temp
14. Virtual Weather Station must be running for rate of change values to be recorded When Virtual Weather Station is restarted the rate of change values are reset to zero NOTE Available sensors vary based on your weather station See your weather station manual for more details 43 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station S 1 Wind Direction z ind Speed ind Gust z o 4 Indoor Humidity 5 Outdoor Humidity Indoor Temperature 7 Outdoor Temperature Barometric Pressure Total Rain 0 Channel 1 Temperature Channel 1 Humidity 2 Channel 2 Temperature 3 Channel 2 Humidity 4 Channel 3 Temperature 15 Channel 3 Humidity 6 Evapotranspiration 7 UV Index 18 Solar Radiation No Wind Speed is displayed as wind gust on the weather station See Section 6 8 Real time Data for more details Wind Gust is calculated from the wind gust displayed on the weather station See Section 6 8 Realtime Data for more details Optional Sensor Davis Instruments only 44 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station 9 Wind Chill N 0 Indoor Heat Index 1 Outdoor Heat Index 2 Dew Point 3 Sea level Barometric Pressure 4 Pressure Altitude 5 Cloud Base Height N 6 Density Altitude N 7 Virtual Temperature n
15. control View WeatherFlash with the most popular browsers Netscape Opera Mozilla IE and more Quickly and easily configure WeatherFlash using your favorite browser Display only the information that you choose including text graphs off site graphics and more WeatherFlash is not limited like our competitors products Color WeatherFlash your way utilizing the complete Web compatible color palette WeatherFlash updates from 1 second to 1 minute to once daily its up to you Absolutely no programming knowledge is required to use WeatherFlash No need to run out and buy Macromedia Flash WeatherFlash is self contained WeatherFlash is not limited by your ISP s Web server it runs in your browser WeatherFlash does not require any DLL s special hardware or software to be installed WeatherFlash allows multiple page displays Virtual Weather Station brings your PC to life but add on Ambient s WeatherFlash with it s rich array of dynamic and colorful gauges dials graphs and charts and now your Web site will come alive for your visitors too Using Ambient s WeatherFlash you are in complete control of everything The WeatherFlash interface is completely customizable you can arrange the virtual instruments based on your own personal preferences select your colors update interval and much more WeatherFlash and your imagination you literally can choose from over 1 000 ways to display you
16. mo ml Tc wm o mo ml E TT PA wP A OO F mu wl CO NEW 0 ur WELL ran L r 5 rl m ml E a TT IP UT AQ d Open jpeg file jpeg filenames are icon01 jpg to icon30 jpg Figure 53 METAR Icon Display Settings 8 17 6 METAR Settings To define METAR settings select Modify Display METAR Icons from the Menubar The following METAR settings are adjustable Parameter Description Auto Update METAR Active Create METAR File Schedule 107 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Description Distance Units METAR cloud height and visibility is expressed in km or kft and miles Server There are two servers to obtain data The NOAA server is the official government server but is slow and does not include private weather station owners The HamWeather Server is a mirror server is much faster and provides access to the network of personal weather station owners data Table 11 METAR Settings Menu Shortcut Modify Display P METAR Icons P METAR Settings iB xi M METAR Settings v Auto Update METAR Active Schedule 7 v Create Metar File Sl M General Display Settings Distance Units SI km English kft and miles m Server NOAA X3 Hamweather Update Now Figure 54 METAR Icon Settings 8 17 7 METAR Report Generator Since METAR is the reporting standard for weather observati
17. 0 00 oo a Outdoor Temp 0 00 0 00 El Barometer gt 0 00 gt 0 00 5 Total Rain gt 0 00 0 00 E Wind Chill gt 0 00 5 0 00 a Indoor HeatIndex lt 0 00 E 0 00 2 Outdoor Heatindex 0 00 2 oo a Dew Point oo 2 000 H S L Barometer gt 0 00 0 00 El Pressure Altitude 0 00 E 0 00 2 Cloud Base Height 0 00 3 oo a Air Density l 0 00 Fl 0 00 5 Recall Archive Record 7 Degree Days Heating E 0 0 5 Dele Year 1595 Mari mie E Degree Days Cooling 0 0 Number of Samples 0 eo cd Figure 20 Daily Summary 6 18 5 Changing Daily Monthly or Yearly Rain The daily rain is calculated by subtracting the minimum daily rain from the maximum daily rain To change the daily monthly or yearly rain you must calculate the difference between the daily maximum and minimum rain and enter it in the minimum rain field The daily rain is stored by Virtual Weather Station as the difference between the maximum daily rain and the minimum daily rain or Daily Rain Maximum Daily Rain Minimum Daily Rain To change the total rain modify either the daily maximum rain or minimum rain field The same is true for monthly and yearly rain Note that changing the daily rain does not change the monthly or yearly rain automatically You must edit the monthly and yearly rain fields as well Your station is not capable of reporting daily rain so Virtual Weather Station must be operating 24 hours per day to capture the total
18. 000 points on multiple graphs can cause long delays 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 Approximately once a month the moon does not rise or set on a given day The chart 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 turned off e This problem is generally a result of bad sensor data from your station but can be repaired in your database The data shown in graphs is stored in the database To fix this data go to Settings Database Settings and edit the database This problem is generally a result of bad sensor data from your station but can be repaired in your archive memory The data shown in the NOAA reports is stored in the archive memory To fix this data go to Settings Daily Archive Settings Monthly Archive or Settings Yearly Archive and edit the data Virtual Weather Station launches Notepad to vie w text files This is a problem with Notepad Use another text editor such as Microsoft Word or Wordpad to view the data Virtual Weather Station prefers high resolution or 16 bit color Some images may result in poor quality at lower resolution settings 127 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s
19. 8 lt apor Pressure co Wind Direction Rate O Wind Speed Rate Co 1 ind Gust Rate C2 2 Indoor Humidity Rate C2 3 Outdoor Humidity Rate Co 4 Indoor Temperature Rate 5 Outdoor Temperature Rate 6 Barometric Pressure Rate 7 Total Rain Rate 38 Channel 1 Temperature Rate C2 9 Channel 1 Humidity Rate A 0 Channel 2 Temperature Rate 41 Channel 2 Humidity Rate lt E 45 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide z e Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 42 Channel 3 Temperature Rate S 3 Channel 3 Humidity Rate 4 Evapotranspiration Rate 5 UV Index Rate Solar Radiation Rate S 6 A 7 Wind Chill Rate 8 Indoor Heat Index Rate 9 Outdoor Heat Index Rate O Dew Point Rate 1 Sea level Barometer Rate Ox olol et o o O z D gp 2 gt ind Direction Avg 3 Wind Speed Avg a 4 Wind Gust Avg 5 Indoor Humidity Avg 6 Outdoor Humidity Avg 7 Indoor Temperature Avg 8 Outdoor Temperature Avg al 9 Barometric Pressure Avg o 1 Channel 1 Temperature Avg 2 Channel 1 Humidity Avg 63 Channel 2 Temperature Avg 64 Channel 2 Humidity Avg 46 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide z e Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 65 Channel 3 Temperature Avg Channel 3 Humidity Avg
20. 968 WMR 918 Channel 3 Temperature Rate 042 189 483 630 777 924 1218 1365 1512 1659 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 3 Humidity Rate WMR 043 190 484 631 778 925 1219 1366 1513 1660 968 WMR 918 Evapotranspiration Rate Davis PA 1367 1514 1661 485 only UV Index Rate Davis only Baba peed usns Moss 1667 Solar Radiation Rate Davis only E c o EA 1222 136911316 1663 83 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display un 9ads 10109 mo YBIH U0 1199410 PUIM J9J9UO0UI9Y 9119UNN eudiy eseud uoo uonnquisig yeu duis Wind Chill Rate 0 054 201 055 202 di Ce Channel 1 Temperature Average 061 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 1 Humidity Average 0e3 209 ar o 1679 Total Rain Average WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 2 Temperature Average osa 210 504 651 798 945 1239 1386 1533 1680 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 2 Humidity Average 211 505 652 799 946 1240 1387 1534 1681 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 3 Temperature Average 065 506 653 800 947 1241 1388 1535 1682 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 3 Humidity Average 507 654 801 948 1242 1389 1536 1683 WMR 968 WMR 918 Evapotranspiration Average 0e7 214 508 655 802 949 1243 1390 1537 1684 Davis only UV Index Average Davis only Davis only ENS E Bio al eli dl ross dl ony di PE dd pesce Bip Emp tt ee only 84 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display Channel 1 Temperature High
21. Command from the operating system I commonly receive timeouts during e Increase the CPU usage during FTP operation by selecting Internet FTP FTP General Settings Max CPU During FTP Why does WINOLDAP run e Virtual Weather Station accesses some applications through the multiple times and not shutdown command line This is because WINOLDAP is not being automatically closed when it finishes In order to remedy this you need to modify the DOS box properties for CONAGENT EXE CONAGENT PIF or _DEFAULT PIF probably in windows 1 Start Explorer 2 Locate one of the above files in the Windows System directory 3 When over the file click the right mouse button 4 Choose Properties from the speed menu 5 Choose the Program tab 6 Turn on the Close on exit option Table 13 Troubleshooting Tips 10 1 Advanced Communication Troubleshooting Tips 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 1 Launch Hyper Terminal Select Start Programs Accessories Hyper Terminal from your Windows Desktop Run Hyper Terminal by selecting the Hypertrm icon Enter a Name any name is OK for the connection description Select Connect Using and Direct to Com
22. Figure 9 Stationless Operation From the remote computer browse to the data csv file generated by the host computer as described in Section 6 26 3 From the remote computer select the Run VWS Remote checkbox and browse to the location where VWS is installed on the host computer 4 The program will automatically quit and must be restarted 19 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Stationless Settings Stationless Settings Comma Separated Value csv File Location Use METAR File 4 METAR File Location Run WS Remote Remote Vw S Location For stationless or local networking only If running V WS on a remote computer browse to the directory location where vws exe is located WS executable File Access ann Timer sec S Figure 9 Stationless Operation 6 5 8 2 Displaying METAR Data in the Stationless Mode Virtual Weather Station can be configured to gather data from a METAR station and display this data VWS creates a csv file from the METAR data To specify the METAR data select the Use METAR file checkbox and select the METAR File Location button to browse to the csv file location 6 5 8 3 File Timer Access Set the file timer access to the rate at which the host computer updates the csv file For example METAR data updates may occur once per hour Continuous file access particularly across a network will degrade the performance of the remote computer 6 6 General Prog
23. KLAX Los Angeles CA Figure 51 METAR Station Setup 105 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 8 17 5 Displaying METAR Icons on the Desktop Yan Nuys CA 3 t 66 2 F WIND BAROM HUM 13 29 88 83 06 02 2001 04 51pm Figure 52 METAR Icon After you have selected a specific METAR station for download you can display this data on your desktop Reference Figure 53 METAR Icon Display Settings Enter the Site identifier and the title your wish to display on your desktop To display the icon check the Display Checkbox Create a jpg file if you wish to display the image on your website The files are named icon1 jpg to icon30 jpg based on the display number The jpg images are saved in the same file location as the other desktop images unless you specify a different directory on the panel The icon background changes from day to night based on your local sunset time To adjust the day and nighttime text color select the color boxes Menu Shortcut Modify Display gt METAR Icons 106 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide METAR Icon Display Settings METAR Icon Settings Day Text Color Night Text Color Units ir Pedir ON Mm METAR Stations Create Create Display Site Title ipgfile Display Site Title ipg file 1 m kex Los Angeles CA m 1 r Jl O r m m ww zM I Jw REL O 5 rl r 9p 8 un L1hL A Ae E
24. Updates the computer interfaces clock with the following format MMDDhhmmss Where MM is month DD is day hh is hour 24 hour time mm is minute ss is second 6 23 10 Increment Logging Interval The computer interface switches to the next logging interval and outputs the new value below 1 2 5 10 15 20 30 or 60 minutes 6 23 11 Battery Voltage Sensor package battery voltage 6 23 12 Version EEPROM revision code for the interface and sensor package 57 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Rainwise Settings 290 i Figure 23 Rainwise Settings 6 24 Rainwise Data Logger Your Rainwise Computer Interface is equipped with a Data Logger Each time the program starts Virtual Weather Station downloads the data recorded since the last time the software communicated to the Rainwise Computer Interface Each recorded data point will be updated to the display 6 25 Vantage Weather Link Settings 6 25 1 Vantage Pro Settings Menu Shortcut Settings gt Vantage WeatherLink Settings The Davis weather station console can be programmed for calibration offsets barometric pressure sea level correction and setting date and time 58 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Figure 24 Vantage WeatherLink Settings 6 25 2 Vantage WeatherLink Highs and Lows Menu Shortcut Settings gt Vantage Highs and Lows The highs and lows are stored in the Davis weather station console You can
25. WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 1 Humidity High WMR 968 WMR 918 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 2 Humidity High WMR 968 WMR 918 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 3 Humidity High WMR 968 WMR 918 Evapotranspiration High Davis only UV Index High Davis only Davis only un 9ads 1009 Y e MO1 uBiH JOJOWOWIOYL m N x 51 N N N N Oo o co oa NI N A o g 1 7 5 85 911 9UNN eudiy aseud Uoo uonnquisiq yeyo duis 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display Wind Chill High Heat Index In High Heat Index Out High Dewpoint High Gust Low Indoor Humidity Low Outdoor Humidity Low Indoor Temperature Low Outdoor Temperature Low Barometer Low Total Rain Low CD o gt J lt 2 UJ D 2 s 3 v Q D 2 I Ko gt Channel 1 Temperature Low WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 1 Humidity Low WMR 968 WMR 918 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 2 Humidity Low WMR 968 WMR 918 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 3 Humidity Low WMR 968 WMR 918 Evapotranspiration Low Davis only UV Index Low Davis only Davis only S s y 3 o ea o n EJ g El r0 F 8 O fe 2 El E e c ro o 3 5 T 86 oueuinw eudiy seyd uoo uonnquisiq ueyo duis Y al c c A c N Ke Re Al 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Tank Meter Strip Chart Distribution Moon Phas
26. allows you to automatically transfer files from your PC to the Internet and from the Internet to your PC There are three categories of FTP operation described in the following sections 96 09 20 02 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 46 Jpeg FTP Settings The following sections describe the jpeg FTP settings 8 15 2 1 1 Creating Temporary Jpg Files First On the Server Broken links can occur if a web surfer views your web page while a file is in the process of uploading To avoid these broken links select the Create Temporary File First on the Server This option creates a file tempfilename jpg and then copies tempfilename jpg to filename jpg The process of renaming a file on the server takes much less time than transferring the file to your server avoiding the broken links 8 15 2 1 2 Send Files to this Location on Server Browse to your server location to specify the location the jpeg files will be sent Menu Shortcut Internet P Jpeg FTP Settings Jpeg FTP Settings JPG Ftp Settings Create Temporary File First on Server Send Files to this Location on Server E ts FTP Automated Schedule Figure 46 Jpeg FTP Settin
27. automatically reset these highs and lows Weather Monitor II and Weather Wizard III only at a given time of day based on the schedule 59 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide m x m x a x m Figure 25 Vantage WeatherLink Recorded Highs and Lows 6 25 3 Vantage WeatherLink Alarm Settings Menu Shortcut Settings gt Vantage Alarm Settings Davis weather station console audible alarms can be set and cleared 60 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide l Vantage Alarms dl Vantage Alarms High Low High Out Temp F 100 Solar wW sqm 10 0 In Temp F 10 0 Heat Index F 10 0 Out Hum 2 0 UV Index 00 In Hum jo UV Med 10 0 Dew Point F 0 0 10M Wind mph 40 0 Wind Chill F THSW 10 0 Wind mph D Bar Rise hr 10 00 RanRate h 0 00 Bar Fall hr 0 00 Daily Rain in 0 00 Rain Storm in 0 00 f Hi Flood in 000 IMP m Flash Flood in 4 0 00 eg PUN e 32 768 represents NO ALARM Figure 26 Vantage WeatherLink Alarms 6 26 CSV File Export Realtime Data can be exported to a csv file for other programs to utilize Two files are created e data csv this file uses the native units as described in Figure 27 CSV Output File Format e data2 csv this file uses the converted units as specified by the user example C for temperature The data 1s formatted as follows 1 00 2001 10 28 0 6 59 0 0 48 42 100 77 53 30
28. colorful gauges dials graphs and charts The desktop is completely customizable you can arrange the virtual instruments based on your own personal preferences or application You have literally over 1000 ways to display your data You do not even need a station to operate Virtual Weather Station The data can be collected across a network or downloaded from a METAR compatible weather station Virtual Weather Station runs on any Windows 32 bit operating system 95 98 NT 2000 ME XP 2 Virtual Weather Station Editions There are three editions of Virtual Weather Station based on features 1 Virtual Weather Station Base Version This version provides real time display of the weather parameters 2 Virtual Weather Station Pro Edition formally Weather Lab This version adds detailed data analysis and reports 3 Virtual Weather Station Internet Edition This version provides all of the features in the Base and Pro Edition and adds Internet features This manual is separated into the three editions 3 Weather Station Part Numbers The software operates with Davis Instruments Oregon Scientific Huger Rainwise and Radio Shack weather stations Table 1 Station Part Numbers and Corresponding Reference in Virtual Weather Station provides a cross reference if your station s part number is different Manufacturer Part Number Corresponding Reference in Virtual Weather Station Accuweather 63 1016 WMR 968 9 09 20 02 Virt
29. file location specified in Step 2 Select the Create Variables Button to list the 39 variables VWS imports to HomeSeer These variables will now be listed in the HomeSeer Main Menu 9 1 6 Purchasing the Virtual Weather Station HomeSeer Plug in To purchase the HomeSeer plug in visit http www weatherconnect com x 10 116 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 9 2 WeatherVoice Internet Version of Virtual Weather Station Menu Shortcut Settings P WeatherVoice Turn any PC into a Weather Report Telephone Call Center with Ambient s WeatherVoice add on Anyone can keep up to date on your local weather anywhere Advertise your services keep a watchful eye on your home cabin or business indoors and out with a simple phone line and voice modem Ambient makes this possible with Virtual Weather Station s Voice Generation System For more information visit http www weatherconnect com WeatherVoice Virtual Weather Station s WeatherVoice is a text to speech converter WeatherVoice is compatible with most text to speech voices These text files can be automatically updated inserting real time weather conditions from your weather station or even forecasts and warnings from the National Weather Service With WeatherVoice you can e Use Virtual Weather Station s File Tags to insert live weather conditions from your weather station or your local METAR station into your outgoing answering message e Download from t
30. have only those rights provided for such Software and any accompanying documentation by applicable FAR or DFARS clause By installing this software you indicate acceptance of the aforementioned License Agreement 2 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Table of Contents 1 GENERAT DESCRIPTION o tvccectssacecosesacatsascnceseosoneosiesens cenosssesavsssnusseasontarabssseescsesoenduesenaveatootnatsedgntasessssusnss punsatnersacesoss 9 2 VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION EDITIONS 0 0 0 2 ssssssssssssesssssssesnsesssesesesssesnseessessesssecesesssesesesssssesessessesesssesseees 9 3 WEATHER STATION PART NUMBERS ssssssscccstnssessesnsnsescescntvecsniccesesnessscvonescuosssencuedsnsscisatosveedosvensbssasceisesssieveseanedes 9 4 HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS AND DISPLAY PREFERENCES 11 4 1 HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENT S 4 2 DISPLAY PREFERENCES evs err e tee m er e a e e ORC AES e e cactus ED E P irt tev Pete etn 5 GETTING STARTED 2iiscics cotssccesesssecasasestecdesssedeostosascodsnonscestessesevessnavsess RERO EN PR SPUR ns csvessnscoesssnesosenevecbosnssecsvoscasncscnsncetess 11 5 1 INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE 5 5 rer ere RR RR RR NE 11 5 2 CONNECTING YOUR COMMUNICATION PORT TO THE WEATHER STATION esee enne 11 5 2 1 Oregon Scientific Radio Shack and Huger Weather Stations sese 5 2 2 Rainwise Weather Stations eese 6 6 1 6 6 GENERAL PROGRAM SETTINGS 6 7
31. of programs running in the taskbar or resident to your system delete them When you close all your programs you should only see about 6 7 programs in your task list 4 Get enough memory gt 64Mb 5 Run as few real mode drivers as possible take everything out of your autoexec and config sys 130 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem The language does not change when changed from English What are channels 1 2 and 3 I receive Invalid Page Faults and General Protection Faults in Kernel32 DLL Solution 6 Its fun to load a lot of programs to try them out but every one of them leaves traces behind in the form of vxd s dll s and registry entries that will eventually slow up your system beyond repair In the meantime they slow it down and cause odd functionality 7 If all else fails reinstall Win98 Don t just reinstall over your existing windows directory either Wipe out c windows and c program files and start again You may have to spend 4 hours reinstalling your apps but your computer will run faster you will use less disk space and it will be more reliable e Download a Clock Synchronization program which synchronizes with the atomic national clock One example is www beaglesoft com Virtual Weather Station provides limited foreign language support To change the titles to the language of choice edit each individual display Channels 1 2 and 3 are designated channels for
32. on which it occurred is displayed Heat Deg Days The number of heating degree days accumulated for each month At the bottom of the column the total heating degree days accumulated during the year is displayed 73 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide e Cool Deg Days The number of cooling degree days accumulated for each month At the bottom of the column the total cooling degree days accumulated during the year is displayed e Rain The rainfall accumulated for each month At the bottom of the column the total rainfall accumulated during the year is displayed e Average Wind Speed The average wind speed for the month At the bottom of the column the average wind speed for the year is displayed e High Wind Speed and Date The high wind speed for the month and the time at which it occurred At the bottom of the column the highest wind speed recorded during the year and the day in which it occurred is displayed e 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 7 4 1 Modifying the Yearly Climate Report Menu Shortcut Settings gt Yearly Archive To modify the yearly climate report enter the year and modify the stored values 7 5 Climate Report Text File and Printing Climate Reports A text file is generated once per day for both the monthly and yearly climate report or whenever the window is opened for viewing
33. periodically creates jpeg 38 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide images for inclusion in your web page providing real time weather conditions which can be viewed from a web browser You can only generate jpeg images for weather displays currently on your desktop 6 14 1 Image Quality You can adjust the image quality of the jpeg image Increasing the quality increases the file size In general the image quality is the same for 80 100 The recommended quality is 80 6 14 2 Jpeg File Location Specifies where the jpeg files are saved For web server applications save in the web server root directory 6 14 3 Jpeg File Naming Convention To view the filename for the jpeg image right mouse click on the weather display and the jpeg filename will be displayed For example the jpeg filename for the Outdoor Temperature Spectrum is wc007 jpg Jpeg File Settings Jpeg Properties Image Quality p pe y 80 0 50 100 Jpeg File Location ee ee eee Jpeg Files d r Jpeg Update Jpeg Update Timer 4 No Update Scheduled Update Jpegs Now Figure 17 Jpeg File Settings 39 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 15 Advanced Parameter Settings Menu Shortcut Settings gt Advanced Parameter Settings Virtual Weather Station provides the following advanced parameter settings 6 15 1 Degree Days Heating and Cooling Because temperature plays an important part in t
34. reporting it can be deactivated to continue running Virtual Weather Station 6 5 6 2 Battery OK A status LED will provide you with the status of the remote sensor batteries If the LED is red it is time to change the batteries If the station is not reporting the battery may be low or 17 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide interference is present To allow Virtual Weather Station to execute without the sensor inactivate the problem sensor by deselecting the Active checkbox Sensor Communication Sensor Communication Status Active Device Battery OK Comm OK M Display ial ll Ww wind E M Rain E i Ww Outdoor Thermo Hydro 2 M Indoor Thermo Hydro Baro p Channel 1 Thermo Hydro EH Channel 2 Thermo Hydro b Channel 3 Thermo Hydro E WMR 918 968 Optional Sensor Sensor Upgrade Status Please waitfor sensor communication status OK Iv Automatically close after communication OK Note may take up to one minute Close Figure 7 Sensor Communication WMR 918 and WMR 968 only 6 5 7 1 Wire Stations All 1 Wire Stations utilize PointSix s OneSix DDE Server To download the OneSix server please select the following link http www pointsix com support software OneSix32 exe For more information visit http www pointsix com cgi bin PointSix cgi Software 6 5 8 Stationless Operation You do not even have to own a weather stati
35. standard code for hourly and special surface weather observations METAR SPECI took effect The METAR acronym roughly translates from the French as Aviation Routine Weather Report A special report SPECI is merely a METAR formatted report which is issued on a non routine basis as dictated by changing meteorological conditions The SPECI acronym roughly translates as Aviation Selected Special Weather Report Meanwhile the international standard code format for terminal forecasts issued for airports TAF also took effect The acronym translates to Aerodrome Forecast The Federal Aviation Administration FAA which determines aviation requirements in the United States has determined that the domestic transition to the METAR TAF code is vital to the standardization of these reports worldwide The National Weather Service NWS and Department of Defense DOD are complying with this requirement 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 locations than ever before lends itself to developing a more seamless international standard for aviation Moreove
36. the optional sensors described in the section Error Reference source not found Invalid Page Faults and General Protection Faults in Kernel32 DLL are generally caused by a lack of system resources out of date video drivers or a corrupt swap paging file If you encounter the problem on a regular basis the following instructions should help resolve the problem 1 Windows 95 users ONLY Windows 98 users proceed to step 2 If the kernel32 dll error occurs while you are browsing and you are using Windows 95 this problem could be occurring due to Windows 95 bug The bug is present in earlier versions of Windows 95 and Microsoft has posted an update which resolves the problem In order to determine which updates you need right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and select Properties from the menu Click on the General tab to make sure it is in front 131 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution If you have the version of Windows 95 on the left you should follow the instructions on the right 4 00 950 Install Service Pack 1 first then 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 00 950 with no letters after the number you should first visit t
37. the wav file to play or the executable to run VWS includes sample wav files in the sounds sub directory Reference Section 6 20 2 for details on launching executable or batch files e Browse Browse to the wav file location e Alarm LED LED Displays RED when the alarm condition is met Otherwise the alarm LED will remain gray e Alarm Timer Specifies the frequency you wish to sound the alarm The alarm is also played at start up 6 20 2 Launching Executable or Batch Files VWS starts running a program and returns without waiting for it to exit The executable can be either an MS DOS or MS Windows executable including exe com bat and pif files If you need to execute a command built into command com such as copy dir etc you can call command com C DosCommand args where DosCommand is the shell command you want to be executed For example command com C copy c temp file tmp c tmp would copy file tmp from the temp directory to the tmp directory Refer to your DOS documentation for further help with command com exe com and bat DOS programs use the settings in default pif in your Windows directory when running You can change their priority display options etc by editing default pif or by creating another pif file Refer to your Microsoft Windows documentation for help on creating and editing pif files 54 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Alarms Alarm Sound
38. x where x is the comport designation Select 9600 baud 8 data bits Parity None 1 stop bit Flow Control Hardware Control Qu PA O up9 You should see binary data on the display every time your station sends data example 4 P 3 Py 7 If you see data streaming on the display contact Ambient LLC support weatherconnect com 8 If you do not see data streaming on the display please contact Oregon Scientific your PC 134 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Manufacturer or the cable manufacturer 10 2 Support For tips and troubleshooting select the following link http www weatherconnect com support 11 Glossary of Terms The following is a glossary of weather and instrument terms Term Definition AIR DENSITY The ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume it occupies In oceanography it is equivalent to specific gravity and represents the ratio of the weight of a given volume of sea water to that of an equal volume of distilled water at 4 0 degrees Celsius or 39 2 degrees Fahrenheit ATMOSPHERIC See barometric pressure PRESSURE BAROMETRIC The pressure exerted by the atmosphere as a consequence of PRESSURE gravitational attraction exerted upon the column of air lying directly above the point in question The measurement can be expressed in several ways One is in millibars Another is in inches or millimeters of mercury Hg Also known as atmospheric pressure BEAUFORT WIND A sy
39. you run a program that uses Windows Sockets in Windows 95 a gradual increase in the memory used by the operating system may occur over time especially if the program opens and closes a large number of sockets It is a good practice to download the latest operating system version and patches from the www microsoft com website In addition the following link provides insight to operating system memory leaks Microsoft Operating System Memory Leaks Check to make sure you are connected to the Internet or you are not conflicting with another Web Server running on your PC e Quit the Virtual Weather Station program and manually connect to the World Wide Web e Relaunch Virtual Weather Station Another application is dialing and taking over the modem when VWS dials These subversive applications wait until you establish a connection to the Internet and then download or upload data Close all applications except VWS to see if this is the problem Select Ctrl Alt Delete once to identify hidden applications If you selected Use Default Internet Connection under Network Settings The status InternetAutodialHangup 0 function does not work and will not hang the phone Check out Microsoft s http support microsoft com support kb articles Q235 6 66 ASP link for more information 133 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution e Low quality modems do not always respond properly to the Hang
40. 07 degrees The high today was 74 and the low degrees The high today was today was 53 The current wind speed is 12 vhi007 and the low today was miles per hour vlo007 The current wind speed is vxv003 miles per hour The current temperature at Los Angeles Airport is 72 degrees The current temperature at Los Angeles Airport is mtr004KLAX The forecast for the greater Los Angeles area degrees is as follows TODAY LOW CLOUDS AND FOG THROUGH MID MORNING OTHERWISE MOSTLY SUNNY HIGHS IN THE 80S TO LOWE TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AREAS OF LATE THROUGH MID MORNING LOW DS AND FOG OTHERWISE MOSTLY CLEA ID 50S TO MID HIGHS IN THE MID 80S TO MID 90S DAY NIGH HROUGH TUESDAY MOSTLY CLI IN THE UPPER 50S ROUND 70 HIGHS IN THE 90S TO 102 ESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY MOSTLY CL IN THE UPPER 50S TO AROUND 70 HIG E 90S TO 104 The forecast for the greater Los Angeles area is as follows c NvwsNdataNforecast txt Table 12 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 TTS Voices and Microsoft s TTS Center The Microsoft Text to Speech engine was included with your WeatherVoice distribution kit The text
41. 30 14 0 76 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 53 77 53 53 0 000 52 0 0 0 Column Identifier Prototype Csv File Version ID XX XX Floating Point 61 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Column Identifier Prototype 5 Hour 24 hour format Wind speed mph Wind Gust mh Wind Direction degrees Inside Humidity Outside Humidity 13 Inside Temperature F 14 Outside Temperature F 15 Barometer in 16 Total Rain in 18 Hourly Rain n 19 Weather Condition where Integer 0 clear 1 few clouds 2 scattered clouds 3 broken clouds 4 overcast 5 drizzle 2 rain frozen rain e showers 9 mist 10 tornado 11 fog 12 smoke 13 hail 14 haze 15 ice crystals 16 sand 17 snow grains 18 snow a snow showers lightning thundershowers 62 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Column Identifier Prototype Channel 1 Temperature WMR 968 WMR Floating Point 918 only Channel 1 Humidity WMR 968 WMR 918 Floating Point only Channel 2 Temperature WMR 968 WMR Floating Point 918 only Channel 2 Humidity WMR 968 WMR 918 Floating Point only Channel 3 Temperature WMR 968 WMR Floating Point 918 only A Channel 3 Humidity WMR 968 WMR 918 Floating Point only Evapotranspiration Vantage Pro Plus only Ca UV Index Vantage Pro Plus only EE Solar Radiation Vantage Pro Plus only Outdoor Heat Index F Floating Point Dew Point
42. 52 29 93 Si 29 93 S 29 93 50 29 94 50 29 94 48 29 94 48 29 94 52 29 95 52 29 95 50 29 96 54 29495 Figure 57 METAR Historical Reports Overcast Haze Broken Clouds Broken Clouds Broken Clouds Broken Clouds Broken Clouds Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist Overcast Mist OY 1 000 O F2 p i00 O O IN ISP Non Pn n DODDFPOWSCONNNNENNANFH Qo ww www U C O O Vis BBR WwW WwW oc0o00000000rrerryNyn 0 00000 iO 1O E E E OO O O O N I M D D Do I I9 O O o0 O0 ooo d A Owe Fe aS aS uS 0 C0 us I I IND I WW w 8 17 8 3 METAR Raw Data The raw METAR data is located in the following file location metar KABC txt where KABC is the METAR identifier 110 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 2001 06 03 18 56 KPHX 031856Z 28010G15KT 10SM CLR 34 M01 A2967 RMK AO2 SLP025 T03391006 Figure 58 Raw METAR Data 8 17 9 Learning More About METAR To learn more about METAR visit the United States Government National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Website at http www nws noaa gov oso oso1 0so12 overview htm 8 18 Weather Servers 8 18 1 WxWatch com Menu Shortcut Servers f Ambient s WxWatch com You do not even need your own website to share your METAR data around the world Ambient s www WxWatch com provides an internationally recognized weather
43. DayHourMinute Pressure Parameter 28 Vapor Pressure Wind Direction Rate per hour Wind Speed Rate Outdoor Temperature Rate Barometric Pressure Rate Total Rain Rate Channel 1 Temperature Rate Channel 1 Humidity Rate 40 Channel 2 Temperature Rate Channel 2 Humidity Rate Rate Pressure Rate 9 Yesterday Pain Oregon Column Number Uy o o o uy o o Uo oo mn n o2 N 37 Column Parameter Number Rain Rate Oregon Scientific Only Wind Run Daily Degree Days Heating Daily 58 Degree Days Cooling Daily Moon phase Monthly Rain Degree Days Heating Monthly Degree Days Cooling Monthly Wind Run Monthly 64 Degree Days Heating Yearly 65 Degree Days Cooling Yearly mmm Wind Run Yearly Table 6 Database Format 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 13 3 Editing and Deleting Database Records 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 13 4 Resizing the Database To resize the database select the Resize Database number Decreasing the database size can improve the operating speed of Virtual Weather Station J mue EE S3b3b 4b4bk4 4b4b4h4b4b4b4b4b4b4b4b4b4 Figure 16 Database Settings 6 14 Jpeg Files Shortcut Settings P Jpeg File Settings Jpeg is a standard image format for web pages Virtual Weather Station
44. Each weather station uses a different method for calculating wind gust You can override your 40 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide station s default method and select the maximum within a specified number of samples 6 15 6 Filtered Average Time Constant The time constant for the filtered average can be varied The filter is based on a low pass filter differential equation The output value reaches 63 of the input value after one time constant the default time constant is 60 minutes or one hour and will reach 95 of the input value after five time constants default 300 minutes or five hours 6 15 7 New Wind Chill Calculation On November 1 2001 the National Weather Service NWS implemented a replacement Wind Chill Temperature WCT index for the 2001 2002 winter season The reason for the change was to improve upon the current WCT Index used by the NWS and the Meteorological Services of Canada MSC the Canadian equivalent of the NWS which was based on the 1945 Siple and Passel Index The new formula made use of advances in science technology and computer modeling to provide a more accurate understandable and useful for calculating the dangers from winter winds and freezing temperatures In addition clinical trials have been conducted and the results of those trials have been used to verify and improve the accuracy of the ne w formula Standardization of the WCT Index among the meteorological community is imp
45. Guide Problem Solution The numerical markers on the ribbon and temperature displays are not evenly spaced The Dew Point of the weather station is reporting LL or limited to 32 F 0 C and Virtual Weather Station is reporting a value The sea level barometer does not report what is entered in the Station Settings window The software is reporting a cloud base when there are no clouds in sight A Virtual Weather Station parameter displays a different number than the station console The Daily Rain is not correct The monthly rainfall reported in the NOAA report does not agree with the sum of the daily rainfall Yesterday s rain as reported by the weather station is not the same as yesterday s rain recorded in the summary panel The software attempts to put a numerical marker at even increments but this is not always possible To improve your numerical marker increments select a high and low range value that results in a difference of a multiple of 10 For example a low of 40 and a high of 60 will provide a difference of 100 This will produce better marker increments then a low of 20 and a high of 100 The Oregon Scientific unit does not report dew points below 32 F 0 C but Virtual Weather Station continues to report these values Virtual Weather Station only reports the sea level barometer from your station Reference Section 6 7 3 for more details This is only an estimate based on relative hum
46. ISpy and begin automatically generating the jpg image Once this image is created and automatically updated browse to the location on your hard drive by selecting the Browse button in the Broadcast Panel 6 11 2 4 2 Sizing the Image The image can be sized to fit inside the control or the control can be resized to fit the image size Select the Size Control to Image pull down menu 6 11 2 4 3 Image Time Stamp To display the last update time of the WeatherCam image select the Image Time Stamp checkbox 6 11 2 4 4 Daytime Update Only Since nighttime WeatherCam images can be uneventful select this checkbox to stop updating the WeatherCam image at night 6 11 2 4 5 Time Lapse A time lapse of the WeatherCam image can be displayed Select the Time Lapse checkbox the 32 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide lapse rate and the number of images in the time lapse Note that the time lapse feature can only be viewed on the computer and not over the Internet 6 11 2 4 6 Reset Display at Midnight Memory leaks may occur with some operating systems when updating images To reset memory at midnight select the checkbox and the panel will be discarded and reloaded M v Size Control to Image Figure 14 Broadcast Display Attributes 6 12 General Display Settings Ment Shortcut Mo lify D SI lay gt General D spl Ay Settings General display settings change all of the display settings at the same time Refe
47. J9UO0UUI9Y 9119UNN eudiy eseud uoo uonnquisig yeyo duis Wind Direction Wind Speed Gust Indoor Humidity Outdoor Humidity Indoor Temperature Outdoor Temperature Barometer 1331 gs p Toral Rain Rain A Temperature WMR 010 a is B E E un E Sida Bs 968 WMR 918 Channel 1 Humidity WMR 011 158 452 599 746 893 1187 1334 1481 1628 968 WMR 918 Channel 2 Temperature WMR 012 199 453 334 1335 14 1529 968 WMR 918 968 WMR 918 Da i 968 WMR 918 SLM Bieb Re bt Dl 968 WMR 918 II a E eps re s A rw SEES puce DEN SL e ipu qp sr sea d Heatindex Out 168 462 903 1344 1491 1638 pail E Md e Do Na is 82 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display mo7 ybIH 101199110 PUIM 9119UNN eudiy uonnqguisiq ueyo duis JO OWOWIOYL c e Cloud Base Air Density Virtual Temperature Vapor Pressure EE E s la Wind Direction Rate d ES 177 911 Gust Rate e i Indoor Humidity Rate 19 Outdoor Humidity Rate 180 eee p sD i TD 182 4 2 Outdoor Temperature Rate EE eee bed Barometer Rate 036 188 ri 918 Channel 1 Temperature Rate 038 185 479 626 773 920 1214 1361 1508 1655 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 1 Humidity Rate WMR 039 186 480 627 774 921 1215 1362 1509 1656 968 WMR 918 Channel 2 Temperature Rate 040 187 481 628 775 922 1216 1363 1510 1657 WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 2 Humidity Rate WMR 041 188 482 629 776 923 1217 1364 1511 1658
48. List Close Figure 34 File Settings 7 2 Climate Reports There are two types of climate reports monthly and yearly 7 3 Monthly Climate Report Menu Shortcut Reports Monthly Report The monthly report consists of the following data for each day of the month Day Each row in the report shows information for a single day The date for each row appears at the left of the row Mean Temp The mean temperature for the day At the bottom the mean temperature for the month is shown High and Time The high temperature for the day and the time at which it occurred At the bottom of the column the highest temperature recorded during the month and the day on which it occurred is displayed Low and Time The low temperature for the day and the time at which it occurred At the bottom of the column the lowest temperature recorded during the month and the day on which it occurred is displayed Heat Deg Days The number of heating degree days accumulated on each day At the bottom of the column the total heating degree days accumulated during the month is displayed 72 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Cool Deg Days The number of cooling degree days accumulated on each day At the 7 3 1 bottom of the column the total cooling degree days accumulated during the month is displayed Rain The rainfall accumulated on each day At the bottom of the column the total rainfall accumulated duri
49. NGS 6 7 1 Eongit de andLatitude oi 6 7 2 VIAL AAN E TN FE RU Pr e e pe RR RITE EE 3 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide IA a anes Be ER d 22 6 74 Air Data Calculator correcting Pressure to Sea level Conditions eese 22 6 7 5 Celestial Calendar nia 6 8 REAL TIME DATA 5 RI RR SEED DEDERE t 6 9 WEATHER DISPLAYS tret nonni tee seo ie ien 6 9 1 Icon WM 918 WMR 918 and WMR 968 only 6 9 2 Br a DIE M 24 6 9 3 COLO PEU ad 0 9 4 SHIT LOW DISD LG sr iria 6 9 5 Distribution Chart 6 9 6 Wind Direction eee ode iit eite o d 6 9 7 TAS A A hk Rd ab a ee seed a Ns es EA EE EER AEE A 0 9 8 4 GOUG C28 A A NEU NINOS ERIT a O99 Mete addict 6 9 10 Graph anni 6 9 11 Strip Chart 6 9 12 Taka nds 6 9 13 Alpha Num EET 6 9 14 MOOW Phas 2 S GERE E RR redet e a EUR NO 6 9 15 Difference Between Graphs and Strip Charts 6 10 CUSTOMIZING DISPLAYS eese eene nen tenth nnns tn sns 6 11 6 11 1 Modifying the Display and Display Attributes eese eerte tenete tenerent tete nene nens 6 11 2 Broadcast Display Settings nai 6 11 2 1 Displaying the Icon 6 11 22 Changing the Background Image 6 11 2 3 Changing the Logo Image eere 6 11 2 4 Web Cams Weather Cams and Dynamic Images 6 11 2 4 1 Displaying the WeatherCam Image in the Broadcast Panel 6 11 2 4 2 Sizing the Image epe tee
50. NS ao caian 6 15 1 Connecting to Your Remote Ftp Server 6 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Automatic Ftp Features ie 96 6 15 2 8 15 2 1 Sending Jpeg Files Displayed in Virtual Weather Station Desktop to the Internet Jpeg FTP Settings 97 8 15 2 1 1 Creating Temporary Jpg Files First On the Server 8 15 2 1 2 Send Files to this Location on Server sese 8 15 2 2 Sending Upload User Selectable Files to the Internet FTP Server sees 8 15 2 3 Sending Upload the Entire Contents of a Folder to the Internet FTP Server 8 15 2 4 Retrieve Download Files from the Internet 8 16 EMAIL WEATHER REPORTS AND ALARMINQG eret enne nnne then tinens ne teste sensn serere 6 16 1 Email Settings dei eet RH ta bie aee e Re RR eva ae 101 6 16 2 Weather Reports cce REP Ree eic de tede dede ter 6 16 3 Email Alarms deer He E REDE ee RO e Re ege 6 16 4 Reporting Alarm Codes Only 8 17 METAR 6 17 1 General Description 6 17 2 Finding METAR Repollo e HE eee reo pee ca OTT reet Do ede Eee ERE eer 103 6 17 3 Locating a Station Near YOWL eee roe e ERE NIRE rete restore E Rent 6 17 4 METAR Station Setup eese 6 17 5 Displaying METAR Icons on the Desktop 6 17 6 METAR SCS tees 8 17 7 METAR Report Generali a RETI Rb RR OH ER IHR RAD 6 17 8 METAR Text RepOrtSiiii 8 17 8 1 METAR Summary T
51. OL will limit Virtual Weather Station s automated features 85 Network Connection To access the Networking Settings including dial up networking select Settings Network Connection from the menubar Reference Figure 38 Networking Connection Setup Panel There are three primary ways to connect to the Internet 1 Never Dial a Connection Typically used for routers 77 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 2 Use Default Connection Connects using the defined default connection to the Internet Typically used for LAN and Proxy servers 3 Use Dial up Networking Uses Virtual Weather Station s Remote Access Service RAS utilities for Dial up Networking Typically used for telephone DSL or cable modems 8 6 Dial up Connection If you specify Use Dial up Networking the following settings are available 8 6 1 Number of Dial up Attempts Defines the number of unsuccessful dial up attempts per session 8 6 2 Number of Seconds to Wait Between Attempts The number of seconds between dial up attempts Allows some modems extended time to hang the phone line 8 6 3 Use the Following Dial up Networking Connection Select one of the dialup networking connections defined in the Windows Dial up Networking 8 6 4 Username Password and Domain Dial up networking account information 8 6 5 Dial up Automation 1 Stay Connected after Dial up Stays connected to the remote server after dialup 2 Disconnect after Inter
52. Settings No Parameter Condition Value Sound wav or Executable exe com bat Alarm EMail 1 Aea oo ES A r 2 si ISS EE oo ee a r xem I ee a r i dcaa w ses i3 T 5 vi w oo om 6 lam oo rom 7 AA oo om 8 vxi w oo om Alarm Update Timer 3 No Update Scheduled Figure 22 Alarm Sound Settings 6 21 Synchronize Date and Time Menu Shortcut Settings Synchronize Date and Time Your computer may lose time because of accuracy of the ROM BIOS Virtual Weather Station allows you to synchronize your computer clock to the Weather Station s clock automatically This is particularly useful because the WMR 918 and WMR 968 are equipped with the RF Clock feature that synchronizes to the atomic clock Europe only Check your WMR 918 968 Weather Station Instruction Manual for more details on this feature Note that you must be the Administrator for this function to work on an NT based machine Make The WM 918 station does not report the year so careful attention must be taken at the beginning of each year 6 22 Desktop Options 6 22 1 The Taskbar Virtual Weather Station displays an icon on your taskbar To hide Virtual Weather Station 55 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide double click the Virtual Weather Station icon on your taskbar To display Virtual Weather Station when hidden double click on the Virtual Weather Station icon again 6 22 2 The Toolbar When minimized Virtu
53. Stationless mode of operation 6 5 2 Communication Port Select the communication port Refer to the chapter on Troubleshooting Tips for more information on selecting the correct communication port if you are unsure 6 5 3 Baud Rate The baudrate is adjustable for the Davis and Rainwise stations 6 5 4 Communication Rate Specify the communication rate that VWS communicates to the weather station If the computer performance is poor try increasing this timer 16 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 5 5 Complete Record Mode Peet Bros Only Defines whether the data output is in the data logging mode or the complete record mode Peet Bros Station only Communication Communication Weather Station Select Station xj Stationless Settings Communication Port Baudrate a 9600 y Communication Rate sec Peet Complete Record Mode Eror Messages No error Close Figure 6 Communication Settings 6 5 6 Sensor and Battery Status WMR 918 and WMR 968 only e Menu Shortcut Communication Sensor Communication 6 5 6 1 Communication OK After communication with the WMR 918 or WMR 968 weather station is detected a green LED will be displayed After all of the remote devices have reported this window will automatically close Virtual Weather Station will begin updating when all of the sensors have reported can take up to one minute Note that if a sensor is not
54. TTS Center 9 2 4 Weather Voice Set up sess 9 2 4 1 Open Text File 9 2 4 2 Converted File 9 2 4 3 Open Wav File 9 2 4 4 Voices 9 2 4 5 Text to Wav Conversion Timetable eire erra eintreten eso errante ev ed re dotes 120 T 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 9 2 4 6 E ANN 120 9 2 4 7 Volume esses 9 2 4 8 Pitclizi ee eben 9 2 4 9 Sample Rate 9 3 WEATHERFLASH INTERNET VERSION OF VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION REQUIRED eene 122 10 TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS sisssssscssssesccccesctscsobans cescsnssetevessaceossssussasbesdeisesedascesssenskecessastsobaskcebcseetedesessudeosessasessoesneeses 123 10 1 ADVANCED COMMUNICATION TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS sessi entente tnter tenent 134 10 2 C0IR O gu 135 11 GLOSSARY OE TERMS hcic ete eH Fiet tese ERERANNEM QUU HF DU iS EH NINE TUN ETeU UE ETE ER PU NICE EBEN TQ ve NET rH ERIS 135 11 1 IBEAUFORT SCALE 3 eter tete ala 138 11 2 HEAT STRESS BID CCP PR 139 11 3 COMFORT INDEX tete ti ee ERO te ae obe E CO hens OR ENERO ita 140 8 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 1 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 brings your PC to life with a rich array of dynamic and
55. Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Virtual Weather Station Version 12 User s Manual For Davis Instruments Vantage Vantage Pro Weather Monitor II Weather Wizard III Oregon Scientific WMR 918 cable free Oregon Scientific WMR 968 cable free Huger WMR 968H cable free Oregon Scientific WM 918 Huger WM 918H Radio Shack WX 200 Radio Shack 63 1016 Wireless Peet Bros Ultimeter100 800 2000 Rainwise WS 2000 and WT 2000 Weather Stations Texas Weather Instruments Weather Stations 1 Wire Weather Stations RxComm Columbia Weather Systems Weather Stations Campbell Scientific Weather Stations and Kestrel 4000 PC Interface 3 ambient copyright 2000 2002 Ambient LLC All Rights Reserved Virtual Weather Station is a registered trademark of Ambient LLC Microsoft and Windows are U S registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation Names of products mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks and or registered trademarks of their respective company 1 09 20 02 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 You may not rent lease or loan the software Ambient LLC reser
56. al Weather Station displays the following parameters on your toolbar Outdoor Temperature Outdoor Humidity Wind Direction 9 Wind Speed 6 23 Rainwise Settings The Rainwise Weather Station includes a programmable data logger Reference Figure 23 Rainwise Settings The following settings can be adjusted 6 23 1 Sea level Barometer Adjustment 418 MHz systems only 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 2 for more details 6 23 2 Reset Barom to Absolute Pressure Removes the sea level offset adjustment 6 23 3 Reset Daily Min Max Data All minimum and maximum sensor values are set to the current sensor values and the current time Note that the minimum and maximum values are automatically logged to memory and reset daily and midnight 6 23 4 Reset Daily and Monthly Rainfall Resets the daily and monthly rainfall in the logger s memory 6 23 5 Reset Total Rainfall to Zero Resets the total rainfall to zero in the logger s memory 6 23 6 Reset High Windspeed Resets the high windspeed to zero in the logger s memory 6 23 7 Clear All Logged Data Clears all of the data in the data logger s memory 56 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 23 8 No ltems Logged The number of items logged proceeded by the cursor prompt gt 6 23 9 Update Computer Interfaces Clock
57. amount Virtual Weather Station does calculate the total rain 52 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide for yesterday so this information can be entered on the next day 6 19 Alarms and Memory WM 918 and WX 200 only Menu Shortcut Settings gt Alarms and Memory The WX 200 and WM 918 stations provide alarm and historical high and low data The battery status is also shown in this window Figure 21 Alarms and Memory WM 918 and WX 200 only 6 20 Alarms Menu Shortcut Settings P Alarms NOTE You must have a properly functioning sound card for this feature to work You can program Virtual Weather Station to play a wav sound launch an executable or send an EMail when a specific alarm condition occurs For example play a wind chime when the wind speed limit is exceeded a lightning sound when the rain rate is exceeded or a bird chirp when the temperature is high enough to open windows in the house In addition you can run an executable or batch file when a condition is exceeded 6 20 1 Alarm Settings e Parameter Specify the alarm parameter e Condition Specify the condition required for the alarm to sound 53 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Example Send an alarm when the Outside Temperature is less than 70 00 Outside Temperature lt 70 00 Send an alarm when the Wind Speed is greater than 20 00 Wind Speed gt 20 00 e Sound Wav or Exectutable exe com bat Filename Specify
58. annel 2 Temperature Low 110 Channel 2 Humidity Low NK NN CC HEN EE oda NER NEUEN NER E HN ME Ep qum E EE Ed a E 1 o O ERN CN ECOS E UU e AA o A S x Ere NENNEN EF ONE KE IE NE O E AU MEN EN E BENE X MCN C po seg A8 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide No Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 111 Channel 3 Temperature Low 2 Channel 3 Humidity Low 113 Evapotranspiration Low 4 UV Index Low 15 Solar Radiation Low 116 Wind Chill Daily Low 7 Indoor Heat Index Daily Low 18 Outdoor Heat Index Daily Low EB 119 Dew Point Daily Low 120 Sea level Barometer Low 121 Daily Rain 122 Hourly Rain 123 Yesterday Rain 124 Rain Rate 125 Daily Wind Run 126 Daily Degree Days Heating 7 Daily Degree Days Cooling A N 128 Moon Phase 129 Monthly Rain 130 Monthly Degree Days Heating 131 Monthly Degree Days Cooling 132 Monthly Wind Run 133 Yearly Degree Days Heating A LA SA ccce pete Lo E Ln ad UTA O EA a EA Sa CS EA SR OLE xc ee Jude E E E pru qc E ce Iud s lcu p t Eo m E En ET EAT ucc FD NE o NEN RA p LAA ppm Ic a E A O gt OO EA Loc a A O AS Pre AA O AS PS I O E 49 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 134 lt D 2 x z 2 a D c 2 early Degree Days Cooling 4 36 Stress Inde
59. attachments of the message The file attachments can include any text or binary files The SMTP standard does not require a user name and password To get started identify your E Mail server name for example mail earthlink net and send an alarm to yourself 100 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 8 16 1 Email Settings 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 4 E Mail SMTP Server This is the name of the server established by your network administrator An example SMTP server is mail earthlink net To Recipient of your E Mail message An example is support weatherconnect com Separate Email addresses by semicolons For example if you are addressing the Email message to two addresses example support weatherconnect com support ambientsw com From Sender of E Mail message Title Title of the E Mail message Text Message If you want to include an optional text message enter the message in the text box Attachments Send attached weather data files 101 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut Internet P Email Settings Figure 50 Automatic E Mail Settings 8 16 2 Weather Reports Periodic weather reports can be sent based complex user defined schedu
60. btain data If one sensor is not functioning due to batteries or interference deselect this sensor See Section 6 5 6 Sensor and Battery Status WMR 918 and WMR 968 only for more details e Use the Synchronization feature in Virtual Weather Station Select Settings Synchronize Date and Time from the menubar Note you must be the administrator on an 129 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution NT machine for this to work You may have a bad ROM BIOS chip You may need a new battery on the motherboard Power management software in Windows can cause clock time loss It may be a Windows 95 and 98 problem Windows NT handles this better because of the operating system design When you connect your weather station to the communication port Windows must process interrupts to read this data With weather stations this occurs every 3 seconds This causes the clock to slow down 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 I ve had excellent luck with two parts of Norton Utilities a Norton Optimization Wizard gets your swap file to the right size b WinDoctor Run both monthly and let them tune your computer 3 If you have a number
61. connected to the weather 6 29 1 What you Need to Get Started You need the following to create a sophisticated Weather Reporting Call Center A personal weather station or Internet connection to over 7 000 METAR weather stations around the world Ambient s Virtual Weather Station Base Pro or Internet Edition Ambient s WeatherVoice Plug in A Voice Modem Most modems provide Voice Data Fax A third party Call Center Software We recommend Advanced Call Center http www voicecallcentral com ad vancedcallcenter htm 6 29 2 Configuring WeatherVoice WeatherFlash converts text files with tags into actual weather data and then converts these files into wav files which can be played back on your computer or voice modem File Tags can also be inserted into the text file An example text file is as follows 66 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Text to Speech Conversion Text to Speech Settings Text File Directory Location Browse Voices Open wav File e Download New voices Text to Wav Conversion Timer aj No Update Scheduled Voice Speed words minute Pitch Hz _ _ y Jj X A D 1 I l 1 i D 1 30 200 450 50 100 150 200 Volume 1 100 Sample Rate Hz l 1 50 100 BU Close Figure 31 WeatherVoice Set up 7 Virtual Weather Station Pro Edition 7 1 File Settings Data Logging Menu Shortcut Settings gt File Settings Virtual Wea
62. ct the checkbox as shown in Figure 34 File Settings The data is stored in the following location V WS data csWyyyymmdd csv 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 V WS data csw20000509 csv 7 1 4 Archive File The archive text files consist of highs lows and averages for archived data on a daily monthly and yearly basis An example of this file is shown in Figure 32 Archived Data Text File 68 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Wind Direction Wind Speed Wind Gust In Humidity Humidity In Temp Out Temp Barometer Total Rain Ch 1 Temp Ch 1 Humidity Ch 2 Temp Ch2 Humidity Ch 3 Temp Ch 3 Humidity Wind Chill In Heat Ix Out Heat Ix Dew Point SL Barometer 3 p Average 250 1 4 BOW H 00 OO OO OO OO OO O F2 ON OF Ss 0 00 0wWwWNNNN NNN WW C C Wu DN 4S OONN OO OOOO EVEEN eO O OOGO Figure 32 Archived Data Text File 7 1 4 1 Daily Archive Files The daily archive files are stored in the following location V WS data archive daily dailyarc txt 7 1 4 1 1 Previous Daily Files 1 5 day old daily files are stored as follows e VWS data archive daily daily_2 txt Yesterdays daily archive file e VWS data archive daily daily_3 txt Two days ago e VWS data archive daily daily_4 txt Three days ago 7 1 4 2 Monthly Archive Files The daily a
63. d time to automate the process 64 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Figure 30 WeatherLink Settings 6 29 WeatherVoice Turn any PC into a Weather Report Telephone Call Center with Ambient s WeatherVoice Plug in Anyone can keep up to date on your local weather anywhere Advertise your services keep a watchful eye on your home cabin or business indoors and out with a simple phone line and voice modem Ambient makes this possible with Virtual Weather Station s Voice Generation System Virtual Weather Stations WeatherVoice is a text to speech converter WeatherVoice is compatible with most text to speech voices 65 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide These text files can be automatically updated inserting real time weather conditions from your weather station or even forecasts and warnings from the National Weather Service With WeatherVoice you can Use Virtual Weather Station s File Tags to insert live weather conditions from your weather station or your local METAR station into your outgoing answering message Download from the Internet and insert any text file into the outgoing answering message to provide weather forecasts and warnings Use spoken audio files as background sounds on your website 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
64. data over minutes to view rapid trends example wind speed and wind direction The strip chart does not store historical data and will start over each time the program is 26 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Description Display L 6 9 12 Tank ut Temp 100 00 Colorful display fills based on color spectrum 80 00 Includes high and low pointers and rate of 60 00 change arrow 40 00 20 00 0 00 6 9 13 Alpha Numeric In Humidity 25 0 Simple alphanumeric display 16 8 mph 6 9 14 Moon Phase Moon Phase Current Moon phase or moon day 6 Day 17 17 Table 3 Weather Displays 6 9 15 Difference Between Graphs and Strip Charts The graphs and strip charts serve two very different purposes Table 4 Graphs vs Strip Charts outlines the differences Feature Plot long term trends such as temperature pressure and humidity over several days and weeks Plot short term plots such as wind speed and direction over minutes or hours Uses stored data database for plotting 27 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Feature Loses data after program is restarted Table 4 Graphs vs Strip Charts 6 10 Customizing Displays 6 11 Adding and Deleting Displays e Menu Shortcut Modify Display f Icon Broadcast Color Spectrum High Low Display Wind Direction Distribution Thermometer Gauge Meter Graph Strip Chart Ribbon Alpha Numeric
65. e pe Eea Be qp ee ILES ES m uw AAA sti o AAA eS ASAS E ico lb SER Ee E E E E O E A gt Eee ASES s ES eE EE MEE E E ES led E E E E E LL EN E PE ee pa Pe E E 1 3 0 0 2 2 Alpha Numeric 1007 1 i 1 i Graph Gauge Thermometer Wind Direction High Low Color Spectrum Parameter Display Monty Ran A ale AE pe Wa es esc ce a A a pr ARAS E PESE mS ES pa Ae pere Ss Sp pe TA Aa CA ES E E E ee Es 88 IE ES a RNE E dol EE dl PER El EEES o o BE o s 3 amp x Pl O x x 0 0 ne o w eo o gs I pese AAA Ln NENNEN EIE ERE ELE pue ASAS posu eU EE Lo ERES En M PASS Beaufort Scale 09 20 02 87 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display U0 1199410 PUIM J9J9UIOUISY 9119UNN eudiy seyd UOOMN uOnnqu4sig yeu duis e o Q I v Ke lt oO r 7 c 3 Etech levee ne PA AAA Pee Pe Ei Windspeed Verbose Tags Only Table 8 Jpg Display Settings File Index Numbers 8 10 Other Jpeg Filenames In addition to the jpg filenames in the previous section the following filenames describe other jpg files created from the desktop weather images Description Filename Broadcast Panel Display broadcast jpg METAR Icons iconl jpg thru icon30 jpg Table 9 Other Jpg Filenames 8 11 Intranet and Local Area Network Applications If your computer is on a Local Area Network or an Intranet b
66. e Update Timer e To upload the finished file to the Internet select the Upload Files to Internet button and Browse to the HTML file location created Menu Shortcut Internet P HTML Settings HTML Settings HTML Settings On Template HTML Filename c wsitemplatetdaily hte c lwsitemplatetdaily htm Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse EUN VN ee ee U US HTML File Update Timer 3 10 minutes Upload Files to Intemet Figure 42 Creating Web Pages with Virtual Weather Station Tags 8 14 HTML File Tags File tags can be inserted into the HTML template hx to display data from a text file directly in your web page Reference Figure 43 File Tags To specify a file HTML tag browse to a file located on your local network Once entered the file will be listed in the HTML Tags window reference Figure 40 HTML Tags For example the tag for the daily text file generated by Virtual Weather Station is as follows 93 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide c vws data daily txt This tag can be directly cut and paste into your web page and the entire file is displayed in the same font size color and format Files can be downloaded from the Internet and then displayed in your web pages This is particularly useful for displaying forecasts and climate data generated by the NOAA and available on the NOAA weather server
67. e equal to those of a given sample of moist air Virtual temperature allows meteorologists to use the equation of state for dry air even though moisture is present WIND CHILL INDEX The calculation of temperature that takes into consideration the effects of wind and temperature on the human body Describes the average loss of body heat and how the temperature feels This is not the actual air temperature WIND DIRECTION The direction from which the wind is blowing For example an easterly wind is blowing from the east not toward the east It is reported with reference to true north or 360 degrees on the compass and expressed to the nearest 10 degrees or to one of the 16 points of the compass N NE etc WIND RUN The distance or length of flow of the air past a point during a given interval of time WIND SPEED The rate of the motion of the air on a unit of time It can be measured in a number of ways In observing it is measured in knots or nautical miles per hour The unit most often used in the United States is miles per hour Table 14 Glossary of Terms 11 1 Beaufort Scale The Beaufort scale is a system of recording wind velocity speed devised in 1806 by Francis Beaufort 1774 1857 It is a numerical scale ranging from 0 for calm to 12 for a hurricane Air speed beet Sine Features escription kph mph smoke rises vertically water smooth 4 7 1 light air smoke shows wind direction water ruffled 2 light bre
68. e it moves around the earth The sun illuminates half of the moon at any time while the moon orbits around the earth The variation in the angle made by the earth moon line with respect to the earth sun line causes changing phase of the moon 136 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide PRESSURE ALTITUDE RATE OF CHANGE RELATIVE HUMIDITY SEA LEVEL PRESSURE SUNRISE SUNSET Definition The moon completes one revolution around the earth in 27 322 days with respect to the background stars This is called the SIDERIAL period of the moon During this same time the earth moves about 27 degrees along its orbit around the sun As a result the moon takes about two extra days to complete the cycle with respect to the sun earth line This longer cycle of the moon that takes about 29 57 days is called SYNDONIC period of the moon The longer cycle is considered as Lunar month Atmospheric or barometric pressure expressed in terms of altitude which corresponds to that pressure in the standard atmosphere The derivative or change in a parameters value with respect to time Virtual Weather Station calculates the rate of change by calculating the derivative of a parameter and then filtering it over one hour Thus the rate of change equation factors all of the measurements taken in the last hour and may not exactly match the change in one hour A type of humidity that considers the ratio of the actual vapor pressure of the ai
69. e record fault data only unless advanced troubleshooting is required and the size of this file is monitored 113 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Intemet Status Turn On Off All Internet Features po Off Internet Log File v Activate Intemet Log d Record FaultsOnly E Record All Transfers EMail Error No error FTF Error No error Close Figure 60 Internet Status Messages and Error Log 9 Virtual Weather Station Add on and Plug ins 9 1 X10 Home Automation with Virtual Weather Station HomeSeer Base or Pro Version of Virtual Weather Station Required 9 1 1 General Description You can connect your home automation system to your personal weather station and create a powerful environmental monitoring system Ambient makes this possible with Virtual Weather Stations Home Automation System http www weatherconnect com x10 The combination of your weather station and automated controls improves the comfort and efficiency of your home at a fraction of the cost of other automated environmental systems With Virtual Weather Station s home automation plug in tools you can e Control the thermostat based on feedback signals from handheld temperature sensors placed throughout your home or a low cost zone control system e Monitor and control the thermostat based on Comfort Index or change thermostat set points based on rate of change of temperature e Turn o
70. e to Pro or Internet Editions 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 12 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 Virtual Weather Station Base Edition Features 6 1 The Assistant e Menu Shortcut Help gt Assistant If you are a new user it is advisable that you completely run through the assistant to understand all of the features of Virtual Weather Station When launching Virtual Weather Station for the first time the Assistant will automatically be displayed Assistant Figure 2 The Assistant 6 2 Conversions e Menu Shortcut Settings Conversions 6 2 1 Unit Conversions You may select the units of measure in which the data is displayed throughout the software All program windows and files will display these units 6 2 2 Total Rain Offset You can account for year to date rain by entering a total rain offset in the numerical field Note 13 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide that your weather station may not accurately display the year to date rain total Conversions Conversions r Temperature Altitude r Rain fe F fe feet fe in ES meter mm Total Rain Offset Barometer Wind Speed 0 00 fe inHg mph m Distance mm C knot d fe mil
71. eese esee tenete tette a tenente eene 6 23 3 Reset Daily Min Max Dia ss 6 23 4 Reset Daily and Monthly Rainfall 6 23 5 Reset Total Rainfallto Ler Osea di 6 23 6 Reset High Winds perdi 6 23 7 Clear All Logged Dat A EEA E ER 6 23 8 No Items Logged diia 6 23 9 Update Computer Interfaces Clock 6 23 10 cremosa 6 23 11 Battery Voliage staia eoo oie castes sav bikes saa a a rias 6 23 12 IA A RR NN 6 24 RAINWISE DATA LOGGER avcs tete tc teer aa ees ertet utat 6 25 VANTAGE WEATHER LINK SETTINGS 6 25 1 Vantage Pro Settings 6 25 2 Vantage WeatherLink Highs and LOWS 6 25 3 Vantage WeatherLink Alarm Settings eese tenete tenete tenete netten 6 26 CS V BILE EXPORT ich tee rero ee ee EISE PE e Eg E EN Hee EP EET ER e RESTE DLE apt de este evt 6 27 OTHER DISPLAY PEATURES 5 trt c e e sos i ete e Oe e E UE e EG peer ere nott 6 27 1 Minimizing the Program and Display eee eeeeeete tenete tenete tenete tenete tenerte netten 6 27 2 Hiding Virtual Weather Station esses 6 28 WEATHERLINK AUTOMATION DAVIS INSTRUMENTS ONLY 6 29 WEATHER VOICE PR 6 29 1 What you Need to Get Started 6 29 2 Configuring Weather Voice iea D eR rhe e MANERA Meere tet 66 7 VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION PRO EDITION eoocncncnconononoononononencoononeocinonononcononononcocononcrconononorconononencocosononernono 67 7 1 FILE SETTINGS DATA LOGGING
72. eg 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 Weather information can also be downloaded from an anonymous ftp server 4 and incorporated into your web page METAR data throughout the world can be downloaded and instantly displayed on your local computer In addition VWS will upload data to free weather servers such as the Weather Underground and Hamweather 8 1 Weather Website Builder A weather website can be created in three simple steps Virtual Weather Station includes pre defined templates that can be automatically sent to your remote server To build your website in three simple steps 1 Browse to your remote server location You will need to enter the account information 75 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide provided by your Internet service provider ISP 2 Define a schedule you would like the software to connect to the remote server by selecting the Update Schedule button 3 View the finished web pages by selecting the Web Page Template Menu Shortcut Internet P Weather Website Builder Select Template v Browse EN Figure 36 Weather Website Builder 8 2 Internet Features and Operation The following section describes methods for displaying your weather data on the Internet or Intranet There are two primary ways to operate and display your data
73. emperature Indoor E 1 00 E 0 00 Temperature Outdoor 1 00 y 0 00 Barometer c 1 00 z 0 00 Total Rain y 1 0015 0 00 Temp Channel 1 z 1 00 0 00 Humidity Channel 1 E 1 0015 0 00 Temp Channel 2 E 1 00 0 00 Humidity Channel 2 00 000 Temp Channel 3 E 1 00 E 0 00 Humidity Channel 3 100 0 00 Close Figure 4 Calibration 6 4 Precision Menu Shortcut Settings f Precision Precision is the number of decimal places For example a precision of two would be represented as 3 14 and a precision of three would be represented as 3 141 Virtual Weather Station allows you to customize the precision for each variable unless otherwise noted on specific display panels These precision values are represented in files HTML tags and other various displays The precision can be changed for the values which include averages and rates of change Changing the precision for the temperature will change all of the temperatures example indoor and outdoor 15 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Precision Precisions Value Rates ind Direction Wind Speed Humidity Temperature Pressure Rainfall Pressure Altitude Miles Wind Run Degree Days Solar Radiation MI 8 II Figure 5 Precision 6 5 Communication e Menu Shortcut Communication P Communication 6 5 1 Weather Station Select your weather station from the list If you do not own a weather station select the
74. ernal device software is running Verify your station is not running on batteries and is connected to AC power Your communication port is locked up Cycle power to the computer Your weather station console s communication port is locked up Cycle power to the console You have a hardware device conflict It is recommended that you contact your PC vendor or PC technical support 123 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Communication only occurs while on the batteries and not the AC A script error or fatal error occurs during installation The program crashes or you receive the following Windows Message This Program Has Received an Illegal Operation and Will Shut Down Solution Your serial port uses a nonstandard IRQ line 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 If RTS request to send control line is low communications will only occur when on batteries This condition will occur if you are using a 3 wire pins 2 3 7 serial cable or if for some other reason the computer serial port is not asserting RTS Use a standard 9 pin serial cable Close all programs before installation
75. erver Select Internet Login from the menubar Menu Shortcut Internet gt FTP Login Figure 44 Ftp Sever Panel Enter the following information 1 Server Name for example ftp www earthlink net 2 User Name 3 Password Select OK The initial directory is optional 95 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut Internet P FTP Login Login Login r FTP Server Login Server Name m Example ftp myserver com User Name m Password aa Note Server User and Password names are Case dependent Initial Directory not required m Example webdocs v Passive Mode set this if directory listing or file transfers do not work Figure 45 Ftp Login Panel This information will be permanently saved for automatically transferring files from your PC to your Web Server You should now see your default working directory for example webdocs and associated files You can now ftp the html template files provided with this software to your remote server You must also transfer the associated jpg files to the remote server Now is a good time to use the automated FTP features to transfer the jpg files If you are not able to see the directory listing select the passive mode Some servers operate in the passive mode and do not require commands for listing directories Close the Ftp Server Panel 8 15 2 Automatic Ftp Features Virtual Weather Station
76. es C mb C km hr C km hPa C m sec Clase Figure 3 Unit Conversion Settings 6 3 Calibration Menu Shortcut Settings P Calibration Virtual Weather Station allows you to calibrate for improved accuracy In addition if your wind speed sensor is below the expected reading due to bearing life or the anemometer is obstructed by trees these errors can be adjusted to provide realistic values The calibration takes the form of the following equation Calibrated Value Gain x Measured Value Offset Reference Table 2 Examples of Calibration The table provides solutions for typical measurement problems NOTE changing the calibration settings in Virtual Weather Station will not adjust the parameters displayed from the console Problem Solution The wind speed is reading 50 low because Set the wind speed gain to 2 00 the sensor is obstructed by trees In other words when the wind speed reads 3 mph it is actually 6 mph One of my temperature sensors is off by 3 Set the temperature offset to 3 00 degrees I installed my anemometer incorrectly and Set the wind direction offset to 180 00 14 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution Table 2 Examples of Calibration Calibration Calibration Gain Offset Wind Direction lt 10 3 000 Wind Speed s 1 00 2 0 00 Wind Gust lt 10 3 000 Humidity Indoor E 1 00 E 0 00 Humidity Outdoor 1 0015 0 00 T
77. esetting Daily Minimum and Maximum Values Vienu Shortcut Settings gt Reset Min and May You can reset the daily minimums and maximums at any time by selecting the OK button 42 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Reset Displays Reset Min Max OK Reset Rate of Change OK Close Figure 19 Resetting Minimums and Maximums 6 16 Complete Parameter List Menu Shortcut Window gt Complete Parameter List Table 7 provides a complete list of the parameters 1 measured by your weather station 2 calculated by your weather station and retrieved by Virtual Weather Station or 3 calculated by Virtual Weather Station 6 16 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 16 2 Average Values Average values for all of the weather parameters are calculated by Virtual Weather Station based on a one hour time period Like the daily highs and lows Virtual Weather Station must be running for the daily highs and lows to be recorded average values are not stored in the weather station When Virtual Weather Station is restarted the average values are reset to the current value 6 17 Rate of Change Values Rate of change values for all of the weather parameters are calculated by Virtual Weather Station based on a one hour time period Like the daily highs and lows
78. etes ts 6 11 2 4 3 Image Time Stamp oo ee eese 6 11 2 4 4 Daytime Update Only sssrinin se reiia Ene 6 1124 Time Lapse erret retener eSI 6 11 24 67 Reset Display at Midnight 25 rete cies Memory leaks may occur with some operating systems when updating images To reset memory at midnight select the checkbox and the panel will be discarded and reloaded ee ececseseeseesecseesecceeeeceecceaeeaeesesaeeaecaeeeceeeeeeeaeeseeaeens 6 12 GENERAL DISPEAY SETTINGS nessa 6 12 1 Full Screen DA ada 6 13 DATABASE AAA N OO 5 CP O 6 13 1 Database dis 6 13 2 Database Format esee 6 13 3 Editing and Deleting Database Records 6 13 4 Resizing the Database essere 6 14 JPEG I E E EREMO EE 6 14 1 Image Quality id ER RUE A EUREN REPRE ERR HE eds 6 14 2 Jpeg File Location 6 14 3 Jpeg File Naming Convention 6 15 ADVANCED PARAMETER SETTINGS 6 15 1 Degree Days Heating and Cooling eese a tette te tette tette NE KEE iens 40 6 15 1 1 Heating Threshold 6 15 1 2 Cooling Threshold 6 15 2 AAA er cn de tete e i ead avete etes 6 15 3 Pressure Trend auae dad 6 15 4 Setting Daily and Monthly Rain 6 15 5 Wind Gust Calculation 4 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 15 6 Filtered Average Time Constant eese estet teneret tentent teet teret e teret ettet etienne 41 6 15 7 N
79. ettings Location and Altitude 6 8 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 6 9 Weather Displays Table 3 provides a list of the weather displays and a description of each display 23 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Description Display 6 9 1 Icon WM 918 WMR 918 and WMR 968 only Weather conditions based on weather station prediction Switches from day to night based on sunrise and sunset times 6 9 2 Broadcast TV broadcast display Logo and location name can be modified by selecting right mouse click on display SSW 208 ww Gust var Dev Out Temp 6 9 3 Color Spectrum T 12 50am 12 09am 12 47am IN Color bars change color based on adjustable E MN fa color spectrum Displays daily high low and 385 399 38 3 current value Rate of change arrow represents 3 rising falling or steady 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Out Temp 12 53am MM 12 09am 12 52am y 38 1 39 9 38 1 6 9 4 High Low Display Simple daily high and low display Displays daily high low and current value Rate of change arrow represents rising falling or steady 6 9 5 Distribution Chart ES Pie chart displays historical distribution Range values are adjustable Note the chart will be empty if 1 the database i
80. ew Wind Chill Calculation Eee UR E Re ROSE 41 6 15 6 Use Channel 1 As Outdoor Temperature essent tnt tntntntntntntn entente teretes tette 42 6 15 9 Resetting Daily Minimum and Maximum Values esee tette tette tette tentent 42 6 16 COMPLETE PARAMETER LIST 6 16 1 Daiby Highs and LOWS s Sets eee ER RU REDE ERR FURTO FREUEN 6 16 2 Apyetage VS 43 6 17 RATEOF CHANGE VALUES 5 coto cte VERE RED er ERROR C eU e Ro ie de NE e ERU YEN Cet DS Fe EAE VENSER USE 6 18 DAILY MONTHLY AND YEARLY SUMMARY ccccscsssssssssssssssseccescescesseseesecaecsecsscssesseseesaesesesseesseeseeseecessesceseeaeenecns 6 18 1 Recalling the Daily Monthly and Yearly Summary 6 18 2 Daily Summary A A iia 6 18 3 Monthly Slmnmlary as 6 18 4 Yearly Summary ete io A Es 6 18 5 Changing Daily Monthly or Yearly Rain eese tette tenente teen tenente tenentes 6 19 ALARMS AND MEMORY WM 918 AND WX 200 ONLY 6 20 ALARMS eere 6 20 1 Alarm Settings 6 20 2 Launching Executable or Batch Files eese entente tette ettet eterne 6 21 SYNCHRONIZE DATE AND TIME 6 22 DESKTOP OPTIONS cscsscsesscseesescsesseseeeesees 6 22 1 The Taskbar 6 22 2 The Toolbar 6 23 RAINWISE SETTINGS a iii 6 23 1 Sea level Barometer Adjustment 418 MHZ systems only esent tntntntntntntntntntes 56 6 23 2 Reset Barom to Absolute Pressure
81. ext Report 8 17 8 2 METAR Historical Text Report 8 17 8 3 METAR Raw Data cuidadas 8 17 9 Learning More About METAR 8 18 WEATHER SERVERS Udo 8 18 1 WAWaAteh COM 255i iei iia 6 18 2 WxHost com 6 18 3 Other Servers 8 18 3 1 Weather Underground 8 18 3 2 Weatherforyou Weather Server 6 18 4 APRS asset iii 8 19 INTERNET STATUS AND LOG 6 19 1 Turning Off the Internet FUNCTIONS eecesecssesesscesesesesecssesssesesesesecesecececesesesesesesecesesesececeseseeeeeseseeeeneeeeeees 6 19 2 Error Messages and is 9 VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION ADD ON AND PLUG INS 9 1 X10 HOME AUTOMATION WITH VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION HOMESEER BASE OR PRO VERSION OF VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION REQUIRED ccccscsssssssssescesssssescescescesesseesecsecsecsscsseseeseesessesessesssssassescascescesesaesaescaecaecaseaeeaees 9 1 1 General Description iii A Rain 9 L2 XIOICOHIFOlS eire e termed e Ho dict 9 1 3 HomeSeer Automation Software Description eese eese entnenenenen then en tnenenenenen 9 1 4 How the Home Automation System Works 9 1 5 Configuring Homeseer aiene ee a a e R AE EE E EER a 9 1 6 Purchasing the Virtual Weather Station HomeSeer Plug in 9 2 WEATHERVOICE INTERNET VERSION OF VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION 9 2 1 What you Need t0 Get St tte is 9 2 2 WeatherVoice General Description 92 3 TTS Voices and Microsoft s
82. eze leaves rustle wind felt on face 138 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Air speed AAA 4 moderate breeze 29 13 18 5 fresh breeze 30 39 194 12 hurricane widespread structural damage no Table 15 Beaufort Scale 11 2 Heat Stress Index The Heat Stress Index calculates the body s reaction to heat and humidity or the Heat Index High temperatures and humidity stress the body s ability to cool itself and heat illness becomes a special concern during hot weather Do not base important decisions on this heat stress index Everybody s reaction to heat is different Scale Condition Caution 80 F Heat Index 90 F 90 F lt Heat Index lt 105 F 105 F lt Heat Index gt 130 F Table 16 Heat Stress Index 139 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 11 3 Comfort Index The comfort index calculates the body s reaction to heat cold humidity and wind chill High temperatures and humidity stress the body s ability to cool itself and low temperature can stress the body s ability to heat itself Do not base important decisions on this comfort index Everybody s reaction to heat and cold is different Condition Wind chill lt 0 F 0 F lt Wind chill lt 30 F 30 F lt Wind Chill lt 60 F 60 F lt Temperature lt 80 F 80 F lt Temperature lt 90 F Hot Temperature gt 90 F and Heat Index lt 100 F Heat Index gt 100 F Table 17
83. f the network You can download the APRS utility program to post your data live on the Internet at http www weatherconnect com AmbientForum dl_info asp id 29 112 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide APRS APRS File Settings Create APRS File every minute wereport TXT d r APRS Internet Links APRS Download Utility post data on the Internet Packet Radio Website LII View APRS Net USA APRS Database Close Figure 59 APRS Settings 8 19 Internet Status and Log 8 19 1 Turning Off the Internet Functions To turn off all internet functions select the Turn Off All Internet Features switch 8 19 2 Error Messages and Log Error messages for Internet and communication events can be viewed from the Error Messages panel To view the error messages panel select Help Internet Error Messages and Log from the menubar An Internet log captures events and errors during operation To view this error log select the open folder button It is recommended you view this error log prior to contacting Ambient Software Attaching this error log to an Email to Ambient Software is highly recommended to identifying problems The error log is stored in data log txt You can configure the software to write to the file 1 when an Internet related event occurs or 2 an Internet related error occurs e NOTE The Internet log file can get very large It is recommended that the log fil
84. facturer by performing a search on the adapter part number and chip type You have an IRQ conflict between the serial port and the mouse The solution is to replace your serial mouse with a bus mouse that resides on IRQ 12 This is not a problem with the software but is a hardware conflict associated with your computer For more on IRQs see Microsoft s troubleshooting hints You can contact your local town hall or city administration but the best source of information is on the Internet MapBlast at www mapblast com provides this information Enter your address and the longitude and latitude will be displayed in decimal form Select this link and the information will be converted to the degree format Verify that the time zone is entered correctly Verify that the longitude and latitude are entered properly Make sure you do not have the latitude and longitude switched Verify that the hemisphere settings are correct 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 This problem may be related to the operating system s daylight savings time clock The clock may not be available on your system To account for this problem enter an offset of 60 minutes
85. ging the precision to three will add three numbers to the right of the decimal point 1 1000ths The jpeg images are distorted Power save mode must be turned off to prevent distorted images Weather display image colors Virtual Weather Station prefers to run at High Color or 16 bit are poor quality Select Start Settings Control Panel from the windows menubar and select Display Settings and High Color The software is consuming too Reduce the number of displays much CPU resources The graphical images are You may be low on memory Reduce the number of graphical missing images displayed The computer is low on Reduce the number of displays Too many displays may result 126 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution memory in insufficient memory The graphs update slow or the program locks up when displays are updated The font size is incorrect after changing the font type The Moonrise or Moonset is showing instead of the time There is no data in my graph or distribution chart when the program is started The data in my graph is wrong How can I fix it The data in my NOAA reports is wrong How can I fix it The data looks overwritten when opened from the file folder in Virtual Weather Station The display image colors are poor quality Reduce the length of time in your graphs Select Plot Last x hours Enter a number less than 240 hours for example Plotting 20
86. gs 97 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 8 15 2 2 Sending Upload User Selectable Files to the Internet FTP Server Virtual Weather Station allows you to send up to 20 files to your remote Ftp server automatically You can send any file such as weather cam images or HTML files generated from the HTML templates Reference Figure 47 Sending Files to the Internet FTP server Menu Shortcut Internet P FTP Upload File Send FTP Send Upload Files FTP Send Upload Files From Location Local Drive To Location Server Schedule ane Eee Figure 47 Sending Files to the Internet FTP server 8 15 2 3 Sending Upload the Entire Contents of a Folder to the Internet FTP Server Virtual Weather Station allows you to send all the files in a specific folder to a specific location on your FTP server 98 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Reference Figure 48 Send the Entire Contents of a Folder to the Internet Menu Shortcut Internet P FTP Upload Folder Send FTP Send Upload Folder FTP Send Upload Folder From Location Local Folder Browse Schedule To Location Server El Upload Now Figure 48 Send the Entire Contents of a Folder to the Internet 8 15 2 4 Retrieve Download Files from the Internet Files can be automatically downloaded from the Internet based on a schedule The files include any publ
87. he following page for information on downloading and installing Service Pack 1 Windows 95 Service Pack 1 If you have Service Pack 1 installed you will have Windows 95 version 4 00 950a In that case you should install only the Kernel 32 Update The kernel update can be found here Windows 95 Kernel 32 Update Important The location of Microsoft s updates may change If the links in this article do not bring you to the Microsoft update pages use the search page on Microsoft s site in order to download the Service Pack and Kernel updates If you have any questions regarding the Service Pack or Updates please contact Microsoft for assistance Finally make sure that Windows is configured to handle virtual memory unless you are an advanced users who has configured a static swap file 132 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem am experiencing a memory leak System Socket Web Server Error My modem connection will not hang up Solution Click the Start button and select Settings then Control Panel In the Control Panel window double click the System icon Click the Performance tab and then click the Virtual Memory button Click Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings recommended Click OK as prompted until you return to the Control Panel window Memory leaks are common with the Microsoft Operating System if functions are repeated over and over again for example When
88. he Internet and insert any text file into the outgoing answering message to provide weather forecasts and warnings e Use spoken audio files as background sounds on your website e 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 9 2 1 What you Need to Get Started You need the following to create a sophisticated Weather Reporting Call Center e A personal weather station or Internet connection to over 7 000 METAR weather stations around the world e Ambient s Virtual Weather Station Base Pro or Internet Edition e Ambient s WeatherVoice Add on e A Voice Modem Most modems provide Voice Data Fax e A third party Call Center Software We recommend Advanced Call Center 117 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide http www voicecallcentral com advancedcallcenter htm 9 2 2 WeatherVoice General Description WeatherVoice converts text files with tags into actual weather data and then converts these files into wav files which can be played back on your computer or voice modem File Tags can also be inserted into the text file An example text file is as follows Text File Converted File Thank you for calling Ambient Thank you for calling Ambient your Weather your Weather Superstore Th Superstore The current temperature is 74 current temperature is vxv0
89. he rate of development of plants and many pests a measurement which takes into account the accumulation of heat with passing time is important to predict maturation Degree days provide a measure for calculating the effects of temperature on the development of plants or pests One degree day is the amount of heat which accumulates when the temperature remains one degree above the 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 15 1 1 Heating Threshold The threshold for calculating degree days heating 6 15 1 2 Cooling Threshold The threshold for calculating degree days cooling 6 15 2 Wind Run Wind run is the distance wind has traveled For example the wind run for a constant wind speed of 20 mph for 2 hours is 40 miles or Wind Run Wind Speed Time 6 15 3 Pressure Trend Your station may not calculate the pressure trend Virtual Weather Station will calculate the pressure trend based on your own specified threshold If the rate of change of pressure is above this threshold Virtual Weather Station will report rising pressure If the rate of change of pressure is below this threshold Virtual Weather Station will report falling pressure 6 15 4 Setting Daily and Monthly Rain You can reset the daily and monthly rain Note the Davis daily and monthly rain must be set directly from the console 6 15 5 Wind Gust Calculation
90. ic file addressable from the Internet and must be in text format only 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 For more information on obtaining National Weather Service text data please visit http weather noaa gov pub data 99 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut Internet P FTP File Receive Download FTP Receive Download Files FTP Receive Download Files Local Filename Remote File Location ftp ftp noaa gov file Schedule C wwsdatalforecast txt Browse fte iiftp noaa govidataforecasts city callos_ Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse DOTT Browse Download Now Figure 49 Downloading Files from the Internet 8 16 E Mail Weather Reports and Alarming Virtual Weather Station allows you to automatically or manually send Internet e mail messages Your Web server must send the message through a server that supports the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol SMTP protocol SMTP is the standard Internet mail transfer protocol Ask your network administrator for the name of a computer that your server can use as an SMTP server The parameters specify the SMTP server sender recipient subject message body and file
91. idity and temperature Other weather parameters affect the cloud base and should only be used as an estimate Make sure that you have not entered a calibration reference Chapter 6 3 Changing the calibration of a sensor will not change the value on the display The program must be running at midnight for today s daily rainfall to be correct The Weather Station does not store daily rainfall The station only stores yesterday s 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 18 2 for more details to correct this This is due to the unusual way the Oregon Scientific weather stations report rain The station does not store today s rainfall but only stores yesterday s rainfall If the software is not running 24 hours per day it may record an incorrect total for today s rain When the day changes the value reported by the station may be in disagreement from the value calculated by 128 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution How do I change my NOAA report data When I update one of the fields in the daily summary data this change is not updated in the monthly or yearly summary data The Alarm Sound will not play Some of the check boxes on the Parameters Display Panel are dimmed The displays do not retain their position when exiting the program After hiding Virtual Weather Station with
92. ilable web authoring packages and there are several shareware software packages available To create a template file save the template with an htx file extension with any text editor or web authoring tool 8 13 3 Inserting HTML Tags Into the Templates There are three types of File Tags 1 Each weather parameter has a unique file tag For example the file tag for the outdoor temperature can be inserted into your web page template as follows Outside Temperature vxv0074 F where the vxv006 is the HTML tag for outdoor temperature and is the parsing character 2 METAR data that you download has a unique file tag For example Los Angeles International Airport KLAX Temperature 4mtr004KLAXA F where the mtr004 is the METAR tag for outdoor temperature KLAX is the METAR designator for Los Angeles International Airport and is the parsing character 3 File Tags You can specify the path of any file specified on the File Tags list For example c vws data daily txt where c vws data daily txt is the complete file path and is the parsing character For more 89 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide information for adding a file path to the tag list reference Section 8 14 HTML File Tags To view a complete list of the HTML tags reference Figure 40 HTML Tags The HTML Tags window allows you to easily cut and paste HTML tags into the template file To select and copy a Tag to the clipboard double clic
93. ind run values for the day The values can be changed by entering the new number in the text field with the exception of the predominant wind direction The display includes the number of samples for the day This panel is updated every minute To review data from a previous date enter the month day and year in the Recall Archive Record text field 6 18 3 Monthly Summary Provides a monthly summary of the high low average and integrated degree day and wind run values for the month The values can be changed by entering the new number in the text field with the exception of the predominant wind direction The display includes the number of samples for the month This panel is updated hourly 6 18 4 Yearly Summary Provides a yearly summary of the high low average and integrated degree day and wind run values for the year The values can be changed by entering the new number in the text field with the exception of the predominant wind direction The display includes the number of samples for the year This panel is updated hourly 51 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Daily Summary Minimum Maximum and Averages Parameter Minimum Min Time Min Date Maximum Max Time MaxDate Average Wind Direction 0 00 2 oo Wind Speed gt 0 00 5 0 00 0 00 Wind Gust s 0 00 000 IndoorHumidiy 0 00 5 0 00 a Outdoor Humidity gt 0 00 E 0 00 E Indoor Temp gt
94. k on the selected parameter in the list Next paste the Tag into your HTML template Menu Shortcut Internet gt HTML Tags P HTML Tags i 1c x HTML Tags vevO22 Barom Trend E vxv023 Time vxv 24 Date vxv 25 Sunrise vxv 26 Sunset vxv 27 Moonrise vxv028 Moonset zZVUc Moon 133 vxv 01 Wind Dir vhi 001 Wind Dir Hi vht 01 Wind Dir Hi Time vlo001 Wind Dir Lo vlt001 Vind Dir Lo Tine vval01 Wind Dir Average vvr 1 Wind Dir Rate vrh001 Wind Dir Rate Hi x Tag Pwew009 l To select and copy a Tag to the clipboard double click on the selected parameter Next paste the Tag into your HTML template Close Figure 40 HTML Tags The following table provides an index of tag names Tag Name Description x VIHHE vxv Virtual Weather value designates weather parameter number Example vxv006 whitt vhi Virtual Weather Daily High vhtiHE vht Virtual Weather Daily High Time 90 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Tag Name Description AmtriHHABCDA ABCD METAR identifier specifies the parameter number Example mtrKLAX006 Table 10 Index of HTML Tag Names Reference Figure 41 Example HTML Template with is an example of an HTML template with HTML Tags inserted 91 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Detailed Weather Conditions Virtual Weather Station Version verv
95. le To view the schedule select the calender from the panel The weather report sends the parameters specified in the File Settings Panel To view this panel select the parameter icon from the panel The names and units are 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 Email Alarms Email alarms can be sent based on alarm conditions See Alarms for more information To view the alarms panel select the Alarm icon from the display panel 102 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 8 16 4 Reporting Alarm Codes Only Instead of sending a message a simple fault code can be sent This is important for Email pagers where message length and bandwidth are important Referencing the Email alarm panel if condition 1 is met the fault code 1 will be sent If conditions 1 and 2 are met the fault code 12 will be sent 8 17 METAR 8 17 1 General Description Beginning 1 July 1996 the United States undertook the most significant change for observing reporting and coding surface weather observations and terminal forecasts in the past forty years Not since the early 1950s when the present airways code commonly known as Surface Aviation Observation or SA code and Terminal Forecast FT codes were adopted has there been such a major code change for weather observations and forecasts On 1 July 1996 the international
96. left of the decimal point For example a precision of zero is 76 a precision of 2 is 76 03 Frame Width The width of the frame Adjusts weather display size If the scale is 100 changing the display size from the desktop will not resize the contents If the scale is not 100 changing the size from the desktop will resize contents Autoscale Plot Auto scale y axis on graphs and charts Plot Previous x hours or Plots previous number of hours for graphs and minutes for minutes strip charts If unchecked graphs all of the data in your database thin line fat line vertical fill step Jpeg Filename Each graphical element has a specific jpeg filename when this option is activated Provides a reference for each specific jpeg 30 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Attribute Description BENI filename For more information on jpeg files reference Jpeg Files X and Y Gridlines Change the number of gridlines displayed on graphs and strip charts Display Attributes Display Title Title Color l Display Title 2 Title 2Color General Settings Bard Pint Lower Limit Upper Limit Precision Add Second Plot ll Background a Frame Color i Number Color Needle Color E Frame Width Scale Fill Color B ES z 100 RY Auioscgk Graph Settings v Autoscale Plot boot IV Plot Previous ma hours Plot Style Fat Line pme Plot Color
97. les are then converted to wav format 9 2 4 3 Open Wav File Browses to the directory location vws voices wav where the wav files are located 119 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 9 2 4 4 Voices Provides the list of voices loaded on your computer To load more voices please visit www WeatherConnect com WeatherVoice from the Download New Voices Link 9 2 4 5 Text to Wav Conversion Timer The timer schedule for automatically updating the text to wav files The files can be converted now by selecting the Convert It Button 9 2 4 6 Voice Speed The voice speed in words per minute 9 2 4 7 Volume The voice volume in percent 9 2 4 8 Pitch The voice pitch or frequency in Hertz 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 120 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Figure 62 WeatherVoice Set up Panel 121 09 20 02 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
98. n the ceiling fan when the bedroom comfort index is exceeded e Control whole house fans to draw in cool air from the outside when the outdoor temperature is lower than the inside temperature 114 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide e Control sprinkler systems after a rain e Control your irrigation system e Monitor and control your pool spa or air conditioning systems e 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 X10 is a communications protocol based on Powerline Carrier PLC technology which uses your home s existing electrical wiring to communicate with controls lights and appliances X10 is easily installed into existing homes and X10 control devices can be upgraded or changed easily 9 1 3 HomeSeer Automation Software Description HomeSeer is home automation software that uses inexpensive X10 technology to control your lights appliances and audio video equipment With a built in web browser access to your home is only a click away HomeSeer was designed to be easy to use affordable and extendable Novice users will find the clean Outlook like interface easy to understand while power users will welcome the ability to create sophisticated scrip
99. net Operation Complete Disconnects from the remote server after all internet operations are complete Note that if you are already connected to the Internet when the dialup session is opened Virtual Weather Station will not disconnect from the remote server 78 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut Internet gt Network Connection Figure 38 Networking Connection Setup Panel 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 79 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 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 4 Time Delay Between Transfers Some servers can not accept immediate FTP commands If you commonly receive system socket errors increase this timer 8 7 5 Display Connect Timer Displays the time in seconds that Virtual Weather Station will remain connected to the Internet before timeout 8 7 6 Max CPU During FTP To speed up the ftp transfers which may be important for dial up applications VWS resources will automatically increase to the maximum allowable This feature is particularly useful if FTP transfers timeout 8 7 7 FTP P
100. ng Tips There are several sources for determining the longitude and latitude for your location The best source is the Internet Another source may be your local town hall Map Blast provides this information at the following link www mapblast com 21 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide To convert the decimal notation to degree notation select the longitude and latitude link after the decimal notation is displayed 6 7 2 Time Zone The time zone is required for calculating the sunrise sunset moonrise and moonset If you live in a time zone that does not adhere to the GMT standard and is offset by 30 minutes enter the offset in the Time Zone Offset min numerical field If the daylight savings time is not calculated properly by your Windows operating system you can compensate by adding or subtracting 60 minutes 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 7 3 Altitude An air data calculator is included in Virtual Weather Station Virtual Weather Station uses the same formulas used in airplane data computers flying throughout the world The altitude and air data information provides air density pressure altitude corrected temperature and pressure to sea level conditions 6 7 4 Air Data Calculator correcting Pressure to Sea level Condition
101. ng the month is displayed Average Wind Speed The average wind speed for the day At the bottom of the column the average wind speed for the month is displayed High Wind Speed and Time The high wind speed for the day and the time at which it occurred At the bottom of the column the highest wind speed recorded during the month and the day in which it occurred is displayed Dom Dir The dominant wind direction for the day At the bottom of the column the dominant wind direction recorded during the month is displayed Modifying the Monthly Climate Report Menu Shortcut Settings Monthly Archive To modify the monthly climate report enter the month and year and modify the stored values 7 4 Yearly Climate Report Menu Shortcut Reports P Yearly Report The yearly report consists of the following data for each month of the year Mon Each row in the report shows information for a month day The month for each row appears at the left of the row Mean Temp The mean temperature for the month At the bottom the mean temperature for the year is shown High and Date The high temperature for the month and the date at which it occurred At the bottom of the column the highest temperature recorded during the year and the day on which it occurred is displayed Low and Date The low temperature for the month and the date at which it occurred At the bottom of the column the lowest temperature recorded during the year and the day
102. of the art smoke and heat 111 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide detection and a gas based fire protection system 24x7 automatic fire department notification parallel conditioned redundant ups system and a Cisco powered network Please visit www WxHost com for more details 8 18 3 Other Servers Weather Underground and Hamweather provide this service to you at no charge 8 18 3 1 Weather Underground Menu Shortcut Servers Weather Underground To register your weather station as a private weather station select the Sign up Your Station button and proceed by registering your weather station or select the following link http www wunderground com weatherstation index asp 8 18 3 2 Weatherforyou Weather Server Menu Shortcut Servers Weatherforyou Weatherforyou com and Hamweather com have teamed to provide a powerful networking weather service for personal weather station owners To register your weather station as a private weather station select the Sign up Your Station button and proceed by registering your weather station at Hamweather 8 18 4 APRS Menu Shortcut Servers P APRS APRS is a which uses amateur radio to transmit position reports weather reports and messages between users Reference the links provided in Figure 59 APRS Settings for more detailed information Ambient does not actively participate in the APRS service but provides the text files for generating APRS data in support o
103. on to collect and display weather data or you can view information from another computer collected on the network Reference Figure 8 Stationless Mode Configuration To operate in the Stationless mode select the Stationless Weather Station option and then the Stationless Settings button In the Stationless mode the input is based on a comma separated file csv data generated by Virtual Weather Station running on a different computer across the network from data downloaded from a METAR weather site or data input from a third party program 18 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide The format of the comma separated file data is described in Section 6 26 Communication Communication Weather Station Stationless buf Stationless Settings Communication Port Baudrate al 9600 v Error Messages No error Figure 8 Stationless Mode Configuration 6 5 8 1 Connecting to a Computer Across the Network With Virtual Weather Station connected to your weather station on your local area network you can launch Virtual Weather Station from any computer on the network and view this data real time The host computer connected to the weather station generates a comma separated file that is read by the remote computer The following steps are required 1 From the host computer select the option to generate a comma separated file reference Section 6 26 2 Reference
104. ons VWS generates METAR reports so you can share weather data VWS also includes an interpreter so you can interpret other METAR reports The main reason users put their information on the internet is to share data VWS provides a conduit for sharing weather information 108 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut METAR gt METAR Generator METAR Report Generator 2001 05 30 04 50 ES 3004502 CLR Figure 55 METAR Report Generator 8 17 8 METAR Text Reports Three text reports are available from METAR generated data The following section describes the METAR reports and locations 8 17 8 1 METAR Summary Text Report The METAR summary text reports are located in the following file location data metar txt 109 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Location Last Update HtIx Chill Rh Wind Visib Cloud Sky Weather Date and Time F oF Gust miles kft Van Nuys 05 29 2001 09 51pm 4 1 66 83 4 10 Clear Burbank 05 29 2001 08 53pm 70 63 64 9 10 Clear Los Angeles 05 29 2001 09 50pm 68 60 88 6 9 Clear Figure 56 METAR Summary Reports 8 17 8 2 METAR Historical Text Report The METAR historical text reports are located in the following file location data KABC txt where KABC is the METAR identifier HtIx Chill Press Rain Wind Wind Wind Visib Cloud Sky Weather F F in i Dir Spd Gust miles KEG Sess 57 29 99 ov 29 97 DW 29 97 55 LIGAS 29 29 94 99 29 94 52 29 94
105. ortant so that an accurate and consistent measure is provided and public safety is ensured Our goal was to implement the new wind chill formula in Canada and the United States during the same time frame in order to have a consistent WCT Index for North America Specifically the new WCT index will e use calculated wind speed at an average height of five feet typical height of an adult human face based on readings from the national standard height of 33 feet typical height of an anemometer e be based on a human face model e incorporate modern heat transfer theory heat loss from the body to its surroundings during cold and breezy windy days lower the calm wind threshold to 3 mph e use a consistent standard for skin tissue resistance and e assume no impact from the sun i e clear night sky Virtual Weather Station allows you to use the old or new wind chill models For more information please reference the National Weather Service http 205 156 54 206 om windchill index shtml 41 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 15 8 Use Channel 1 As Outdoor Temperature Some weather stations example Texas Weather Instruments Columbia Weather Systems and Oregon Scientific exchange Channel 1 Temperature for Outdoor Temperature In these special cases Virtual Weather Station allows you to swap or interchange these parameters Max Windspeed in Database Upd Figure 18 Advanced Parameter Settings 6 15 9 R
106. oth the ftp and web server options will work Virtual Weather Station provides another method which is direct jpg file transfer This does not require use of ftp or web server technology Select the Jpeg Direct File Transfer option The files will be transferred to the Jpeg file location specified in the panel 8 12 Web Page Templates Your software was shipped with several HTML templates To view these templates select Weather 88 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Website Builder from the Help Menu and select one of the Web Page Templates 8 13 Creating Web Pages with Virtual Weather Station Tags NOTE It is highly recommended you start with the html templates provided with Virtual Weather Station and edit these files to familiarize yourself with this feature Run the Weather Website Builder provided under the help menu and then explore the file templates and HTML files generated from the templates 8 13 1 Description of HTML Tags HTML Tags allow you to insert weather station data text into your web page Virtual Weather Station accomplishes this by searching for a known Tag in a Template file replacing the tag with weather data and copying the template to an HTML file The steps are provided in the following sections 8 13 2 Creating an HTML Template File htx file HTX files or HTML template files can be created with most Web Page authoring tools Microsoft Frontpage is one of several commercially ava
107. r standardization becomes vital for the general aviation community for flights from the U S to Canada the Caribbean Area and Mexico 8 17 2 Finding METAR Reports METAR reports worldwide can be found at the NOAA anonymous ftp server in the following text file formats Individual Decoded Reports ftp weather noaa gov data observations metar decoded Individual Coded Reports 103 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 8 17 3 Locating a Station Near You The NOAA provides a convenient map for locating a METAR station near your Click on the following link to go to the map http www faa gov asos map map htm 8 17 4 METAR Station Setup Reference Figure 51 METAR Station Setup To display METAR data on your desktop and generate a history based on METAR reporting stations select Add New Station to List Each METAR station requires an identifier To find a list of identifiers select one of the following buttons View Worldwide Station List Provides a list of stations around the world View USA Station Map Find a station near you in the USA View Independent Station List Provides a list of independent station owners like yourself You can join the network of independent station owners by following the instructions at www weatherforyou com 104 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut METAR P Station Setup METAR Station Settings KVNY Van Nuys CA USA EBUR Burbank CA USA
108. r to the saturation vapor pressure It is usually expressed in percentage The atmospheric pressure at mean sea level either directly measured by stations at sea level or empirically determined from the station pressure and temperature by stations not at sea level Used as a common reference for analyses of surface pressure patterns The daily appearance of the sun on the eastern 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 appears on the sea level horizon In Great Britain the center of the sun s disk is used instead Time of sunrise is calculated for mean sea level See sunset for comparison The daily disappearance of the sun below the western horizonas 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 VAPOR PRESSURE The pressure exerted by water vapor molecules in a given volume 137 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Term Definition DO CC VIRTUAL Virtual temperature is a fictitious temperature that takes into TEMPERATURE account moisture in the air The formal definition of virtual temperature is the temperature that dry air would have if its pressure and specific volume wer
109. r weather data in real time 122 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide WeatherFlashis keyed to your site so multiple instances of WeatherFlash may be hosted on the same Web server Each installation only requires about 50Kb of storage and the data files are less than 2Kb in size Data may be sent to WeatherFlash via HTTP post using Active Server Pages or using your current FTP access To learn more about WeatherFlash please visit http www weatherconnect com WxFlash 10 Troubleshooting Tips Problem Solution The program is not Verify you have selected a Weather Station communicating to the weather station the instrument panel is Verify that you have the correct communication port not updating selected If you are unsure which comport is correct select Start Settings Control Panel from the windows menubar and select System Device Manager and Ports If COMI is designated your comport is Communication Port 1 Verify you are using the proper cable A standard 9 pin serial cable is required Do not use a NULL modem cable If another program is using the serial communication port quit the program Two programs can not share the same serial port If you own a Palm Pilot or similar device such as a digital camera the software is often configured to open at startup of your computer and steals the serial comport even if the device is not connected Select Ctrl Alt Del once and see if any ext
110. ram Settings Menu Shortcut Settings P Program Settings 6 6 1 Start Program Hidden The program can be set to start hidden when the computer starts To view the hidden program double click on the icon in the taskbar 20 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 6 2 Reboot Schedule For remote monitoring applications it is sometimes advantageous to automatically reboot periodically to keep the program resources fresh 6 6 3 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 The low setting will decrease the performance of VWS but increase the performance of other programs If VWS locks up this may be due to a lack of resources Try increasing the CPU resources Program Settings Program Settings Start Program Hidden Reboot Schedule E Vw CPU Resources High E Medium Low Figure 10 General Program Settings i 6 7 Station Settings e Menu Shortcut Settings gt Station Settings Sun Moon and Altitude Station settings are required to calculate your sunrise sunset moonrise and moonset and the barometric pressure corrected to sea level 6 7 1 Longitude and Latitude To calculate the sunrise sunset moonrise and moonset for your location the longitude latitude and time zone is required If the sunrise and sunset appear incorrect see Troubleshooti
111. rchive files are stored in the following location V WS data archive monthly monthlyarc txt 7 1 4 3 Yearly Archive Files The daily archive files are stored in the following location V WS data archive yearly yearlyarc txt 69 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 7 1 5 Date Stamped Archive File Date stamped archive files are ideal for storing historical data To create a new date stamped archive file every day select this checkbox as shown in Figure 34 File Settings 7 1 5 1 Date Stamped Archive Daily Files The data is stored in the following location V WS data archive daily yyyymmdd txt 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 V WS data archive 20000509 txt The date stamped format is the same as the daily txt format 7 1 5 1 1 Previous Daily Files 1 5 day old daily files are stored as follows e VWS data archive daily daily_2 txt Yesterdays daily text file e VWS data archive daily daily_3 txt Two days ago e VWS data archive daily daily_4 txt Three days ago 7 1 5 2 Date Stamped Archive Monthly Files The data is stored in the following location V WS data archive monthly yyyymm txt where yyyy is the year mm is the month For example data stored on May 2000 is designated by the filename V WS data archive 20000 txt The monthly stamped format is the same as the monthly txt format 7 1 5 3 Date S
112. rence Table 5 General Display Settings 33 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Display Setting Description Language Preference Virtual Weather Station provides limited foreign language support To change the titles to the language of choice edit each individual display Scroll Display Ideal for monitoring the display on a television or closed circuit You can display weather images on the entire desktop and automatically scroll Snap to Grid Pixels Specify the grid resolution for aligning the weather display 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 12 1 Full Screen Display 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 34 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide General Display Settings Time and Date Display 12 Hour 24 Hour mm dd yy dd mm yy Display Properties Background Color E Font Settings Set all displays to same background Set all titles to same color Set all numbers to same color Set all frames to same color Set all needles to same color Set all fills to same color al Snap to Grid Pixels y EH E Language Preference English y Scroll
113. riority Sets the priority of the FTP program Set this value to High Priority if you are having persistent problems with FTP timeouts 80 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut Internet P Network Connection FTP General Settings General Ftp Settings FTP Timeout sec 120 0 Successive Login Attempts F 3 Max Connect Time minutes E 10 0 5 3 0 Time Delay Between Transfers sec Connection Timeout Display Connect Timer v Max CPU During FTP FTP Priority Normal Figure 39 General FTP Settings 8 8 Virtual Weather Station jpeg Images When you start Virtual Weather Station for the first time and Virtual Weather Station negotiates communication with your Weather Station jpeg files are automatically created The files can be found in c ws root or the installation directory you specified The filenames are structured as follows vws H jpg where is a unique number designated for a specific gauge graph or display panel The files can be created or updated when you define a display panel 8 9 Jpeg File Index The following table provides a complete list of jpg files generated by Virtual Weather Station Numbers shown are proceeded by vws and followed by jpg For example the Wind Direction Color Spectrum file is vws001 jpg 81 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display un 9ads J0J09 mMo YBIH uonoaug PUIM J9
114. s To compare pressure conditions from one location to another meteorologists correct pressure to sea level conditions Because the air pressure decreases as you rise in altitude the sea level corrected pressure the pressure your location would be at if located at sea level is generally higher than your measured pressure Thus your pressure may read 28 62 inHg 969 mb at an altitude of 1000 feet 305 m but the corrected pressure is 30 00 inHg 1016 mb The standard sea level pressure is 29 92 in Hg 1013 mb Pressure conditions greater than 29 92 inHg 1013 mb are considered high pressure and less than are considered low pressure Most weather stations instruct you to find a reporting station near your location to identify the corrected pressure but Virtual Weather Station calculates this offset for you To calculate this offset e Enter your altitude e Virtual Weather Station displays your bias with respect to sea level e Enter this bias in your weather station see the weather station instruction manual for details Sea level temperature is important to racing enthusiasts and engineers for calculating 22 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide performance characteristics 6 7 5 Celestial Calendar Virtual Weather Station includes a celestial calendar for calculating sunrise sunset moonrise and moonset times You can calculate these times for any calendar date Noem EWestem Figure 11 Station S
115. s called the frost point 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 The combination of air temperature and humidity that gives a description of how the temperature feels This is not the actual air temperature One heating degree day is given for each degree that the daily mean temperature is below 65 degrees a given temperature It is used as an indication of fuel consumption Refer to degree day or cooling degree day The amount of water vapor in the air It is often confused with relative humidity or dew point Types of humidity include absolute humidity relative humidity and specific humidity The location north or south in reference to the equator which is designated at zero 0 degrees Parallel lines that circle the globe both north and south of the equator The poles are at 90 degrees North and South latitude The location east or west in reference to the Prime Meridian which is designated as zero 0 degrees longitude The distance between lines of longitude are greater at the equator and smaller at the higher latitudes intersecting at the earth s North and South Poles Time zones are correlated to longitude See Greenwich Mean Time The moon phase is caused by sun rays reflecting off the moon s surface whil
116. s empty example when the program 1s first started or 2 Data has not been collected in the plot time frame specified in the attributes window the program was off 24 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Description Display Wind Direction 6 9 6 Wind Direction SSW 208 Displays current wind direction Display fills clockwise from the North Out Temp 100 00 80 00 60 00 40 00 20 00 0 00 6 9 7 Thermometer Thermometer gauge with rate of change arrow and high low pointers 61 20 6 9 8 Gauge Out Temp Rotary gauge with rate of change arrow If the maximum limit of the gauge is exceeded the gauge displays a red alarm box 25 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Description Display 6 9 9 Meter Out Heat Ix Meter gauge with rate of change arrow If the maximum limit of the gauge is exceeded the gauge displays a red alarm box 6 9 10 Graph 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 9 11 Strip Chart A Provides rapid real time data data is not stored Intended for viewing
117. seecesceeceaeeaeeaeces 8 3 REMOTE SERVER APPLICATIONS eerte nennen nnne rns 8 4 CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET eere nnns nnn 8 5 NETWORK CONNECTION eere eene non non nnne tente stn stern n 8 6 DIAL UP CONNECT ON CREDE e EE E e e de e e OU Reo eR e EI ede ertet 95 0 1 Numiberof Dial up Attempts ey cete e a 8 6 2 Number of Seconds to Wait Between Attempts 6 6 3 Use the Following Dial up Networking Connection 8 6 4 Username Password and Domain ees 6 65 Dial up Automation eee eie b E re deii be dre de Pe UR Fita e Ue rE aa a S ieee 8 7 GENERAL FIP SETIN OS ier REESE REGE PARARE RU t Nd ERO MERERI ARA SIREN 6 7 1 PA A ERR ER RES UNE EN ARA NRI URUSHEOR 8 7 2 SUCCESSIVE LONAS a a 6 7 5 Maximum Connect Time 8 7 4 Time Delay Between Transfers sii 6 73 Display Connect LIMA e e OR IRR pA Ainas 8 760 Max CPU During FTP iii e hohe RI URS ERVEN EEEE co OL XEDPIPHOTUxu A SRI A A AEA T A ES 8 8 VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION JPEG IMAGES 8 9 JPEG FILE INDEX a nia 8 10 OTHER JPEG FILENAMES ccccccesssssesscsscsscsscsscsaecsecsecseeseeseeceseeseeseeseesenseass 8 11 INTRANET AND LOCAL AREA NETWORK APPLICATIONS eere enne nennen serene tnis entente nnn 8 12 WEB PAGE TEMPLATES ud iia 8 13 8 13 1 8 13 2 8 13 3 8 13 4 Creating the HTML File from the HTML Template htx File essere 92 8 14 HTMI gt FILE TAO cional 8 15 FIP QPERA TIO
118. site to post your data live at no charge Anyone with a personal weather station supported by Virtual Weather Station available from Ambient will be able to post their data on the Web anytime and without incurring any fee All of the Personal Weather Stations are indexed searchable and completely accessible to any site visitor Virtual Weather Station users that sign up will automatically submit data to the system a minimum of once each hour Users may also manually select to send updates as frequently as 15 minutes if they so desire Your weather conditions are displayed in the same format as NWS information and also includes the latest forecast information from the NWS below your stations display 8 18 2 WxHost com Menu Shortcut Servers Ambient s WxHost com Ambient is a pioneer in providing professional grade weather processing services to a wide audience of professionals associations and hobbyists Ambient s servers are housed in a new world class data center located in Anderson California The center has 24x7 restricted access physical security breach alarms infrared and motion detection sensors video camera surveillance 24x7 automatic police department notification seismically braced rack systems to zone 4 compliance full open racks and shared open racks 24x7 remote systems monitoring and notification dedicated and fully redundant HVAC System temp maintained at 72 F 2 humidity at 45 5 state
119. stem of estimating and reporting wind speeds It is based on SCALE the Beaufort Force or Number which is composed of the wind speed a descriptive term and the visible effects upon land objects and or sea surfaces The scale was devised by Sir Francis Beaufort 1777 1857 hydrographer to the British Royal Navy CALIBRATION ERROR The inaccuracy that the manufacturer permits when the unit is calibrated in the factory CLOUD BASE For a given cloud or cloud layer The lowest level in the atmosphere at which the air contains a perceptible quantity of cloud particles Virtual Weather Station estimates the cloud base on temperature and humidity readings using the following equation Cloud Base ft 250 Temperature Dew Point COOLING DEGREE A cooling degree day is given for each degree that the daily mean 135 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Term DEW POINT GUST HEAT INDEX HEATING DEGREE DAY HUMIDITY LATITUDE LONGITUDE MOON PHASE Definition temperature departs above the baseline of 75 degrees a given temperature It is used to estimate the energy requirements and is an indication of fuel consumption for air conditioning or refrigeration Refer to degree day or heating degree day The temperature to which a sample of air must be cooled while the mixing ratio and barometric pressure remain constant in order to attain saturation by water vapor When this temperature is below O C it is sometime
120. tamped Archive Yearly Files The data is stored in the following location 70 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide V WS data archive daily yyyy txt where yyyy is the year For example data stored for the year 2000 is designated by the filename V WS data archive yearly 2000 txt The year stamped format is the same as the yearly txt format 7 1 6 Summary Files 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 The file is stored in the following location vws data summary daysum txt An example is shown in Figure 33 Example Daily Summary File Date 10 11 2001 10 12 2001 10 13 2001 10 14 2001 O1 N O0 1 J hh2O o0 E 10 15 2001 10 16 2001 10 17 2001 10 18 2001 10 19 2001 10 20 2001 Ol Figure 33 Example Daily Summary File 7 1 7 File Update Timer Specify the update or record rate of the data to file 7 1 8 Create Modify File List Virtual Weather Station allows you to record over 90 different parameters Select the parameters for recording from this list 71 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide File Parameter Settings File Parameter Settings Daily File Sl Create Date Stamped Data File Create csv file Archive File I Create Date Stamped Archive File File Update Timer No Update Scheduled Create Modify File
121. the taskbar icon and recalling the display by double clicking on the taskbar the window does not refresh One of the sensors is not updating and VWS will not begin executing WMR 918 or WMR 968 only My system clock is losing time when I run Virtual Weather Station This is done in the Archive Settings window and not the database Reference Section 7 2 for more details You must edit each of these data fields For example if the minimum temperature on January 9 2000 is changed and it is the minimum for the month and year you must change this field in the monthly summary panel and the yearly summary panel e This feature requires a sound card e This is not a problem with VWS but with your sound card Contact your sound card manufacturer Not all parameters can be displayed with all of the weather elements For example graphs require historical data and it does not make sense to plot sunrise e Make sure you have enough memory in your computer to save the displays The display positions are saved in the file VWS setup position bin If this file is corrupted close VWS delete this file and restart Virtual Weather Station You will need to reset the displays again Try a different drive The drive you installed Virtual Weather Station on may be read only This is a Windows problem Minimize and maximize the application again to refresh Virtual Weather Station requires all of your sensors to operate to properly o
122. ther Station includes a data logger which provides a permanent record of your weather data The data is stored in several file formats Report Format Provides formatted data for viewing daily file Comma Separated Data csv format This format is for export to Microsoft Excel or other analysis programs Archive Format This format provides the highs lows and average for the day month and 67 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 7 1 1 Daily File The Daily File is a text file stored in the following location V WS data daily daily txt This file is recreated every day The file is formatted with data organized into fixed column widths This format is ideal for display purposes Since the file name never changes daily txt it can be statically linked from web pages or other files 7 1 2 Date Stamped File To create a new date stamped file every day select this checkbox as shown in Figure 34 File Settings The data is stored in the following location V WS data daily yyyymmdd txt 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 VWS data 20000509 txt The date stamped format is the same as the daily txt format 7 1 3 Csv File A csv file comma separated file is a standard format for reading data into Excel for example Excel recognizes csv format and parses the data into separate columns To create a csv file sele
123. to speech engines can be found at the following link e http www microsoft com products msagent downloads htm tts Sample free TTS voices have been compiled below for your convenience Microsoft Text to Speech Engines Mary Mike Sam and More 7 3MB 118 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide L amp H TruVoice TTS Engines American English 0 99MB ebrtatian 1 97MB british English 2 54MB disjapanese 3 00MB Dutch 2 58MB Korean 3 03MB French 2 24MB Portuguese 2 39MB German 2 18MB S Russian 2 85MB Spanish 2 36MB The best TTS voices on the market are sold by AT amp T Labs Natural Voices www naturalvoices att com and are available for purchase at www WeatherConnect com Weather Voice 9 2 4 WeatherVoice Set up Tag Files or templates placed in the directory vws voices text are converted to the actual text that will be spoken and then converted again to wav files You can place as many files as you want into the file directory The file structure is as follows Templates vws voices text txt b Temporary Files vws voices temp txt b Temporary Files vws voices wav wav For more information on Tags please reference Section 8 13 1 9 2 4 1 Open Text File Browses to the template text files created by the user located in the directory vws voices text 9 2 4 2 Converted File Browses to the directory location vws voices temp where the converted files are located These fi
124. to your hard drive copy all of the files to a common directory and run setup exe 5 2 Connecting Your Communication Port to the Weather Station 5 2 1 Oregon Scientific Radio Shack and Huger Weather Stations Connect your weather station directly to your PC using a standard DB9M DB9F serial or RS 232 cable supplied by Ambient LLC The serial port on your computer is generally a 9 pin male connector similar to the 9 pin female RS 232 connector on your weather station 5 2 2 Rainwise Weather Stations Connect your weather station directly to your PC using the cable provided with your Rainwise Computer Interface 11 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 5 2 3 Davis Instruments Connection to the weather station requires the WeatherLink module 5 3 Running Virtual Weather Station Connect a serial cable to your computer s comport and verify your Weather Station is turned on FE Run Virtual Weather Station from the Virtual Weather Station icon 5 4 License Information e Menu Shortcut Help gt Registration Information Enter the license information provided from online registration or the inside cover of the CD The software includes a 30 day fully functional trial period License Information License Information Name Company optional Registration ID on CD Label or Registration EMail Expiration D ate Upgrade to Pro or Internet Editions Figure 1 License Information 5 5 Upgrad
125. ts to control just about anything 9 1 4 How the Home Automation System Works Virtual Weather Station communicates to HomeSeer using a Plug in module provided with Virtual Weather Station s Home Automation Toolkit HomeSeer can be programmed to automatically control your home or business by communicating via RS232 or USB to a X10 Computer Interface Module 115 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Wed Direction Inside Hurvedby Outside Humidity inde Temperature Dutside Temperature Beroneter Tote Ran Dah Bas Heu Rain Cordimns Channel 1 Tampere Channel 1 Humidity hannel 2 Temperssae Chennal 2 Hunidily Channel 3 Temperae Channel 3 Humidity Evawan UV Index Soles Fiad tion Wed Chil indore Heat Index Figure 61 Virtual Weather Parameter Listing in HomeSeer 9 1 5 Configuring HomeSeer After purchasing and installing HomeSeer and the HomeSeer Virtual Weather Station Plug in configure HomeSeer as follows From Virtual Weather Station Ze Select Settings Csv Export from the Virtual Weather Station main menu Select the Create csv output file checkbox and browse to a location on your hard drive to store the csv file From HomeSeer 3 Select View Options from the HomeSeer Main Menu and select the Interfaces Tab Under the RF VO Custom Interface Field Select device to add VWS Interface Select VWS Interface in the window and select the Setup button Browse to the csv
126. ual Weather Station User s Guide Manufacturer Part Number Corresponding Reference in Virtual Weather Station Davis Instruments Vantage Pro Plus Vantage Pro Plus Davis Instruments Weather Monitor WeatherLink II Davis Instruments Weather Wizard WeatherLink III Texas Weather 1 Wire Weather Texas Weather Instruments Instruments Stations AAG 1 Wire Weather Wire Station ics Columbia Weather Capricorn II Columbia Weather Systems Systems Capricorn 2000 Table 1 Station Part Numbers and Corresponding Reference in Virtual Weather Station 10 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 4 Hardware and Software Requirements and Display Preferences 4 1 Hardware and Software Requirements The following hardware is required for communicating to the Weather Station e PC running Windows 95 98 NT 4 0 or greater 2000 ME and XP with at least 10 MB of free disk space e gMBRAM e Serial Communication Port e Serial Cable 4 2 Display Preferences e Virtual Weather Station prefers high resolution or 16 bit color Some images may result in poor quality at lower resolution settings e Virtual Weather Station is best viewed at 800 x 600 pixels or greater e Power or Energy saving features may result in distorted jpeg images 5 Getting Started HINT Menu Shortcuts are displayed in blue font 5 1 Installing the Software To install the software run the following e setup exe If transferring the files
127. using Internet standards and protocols 1 Remote Server Your Web Site is located on a remote server and you periodically transfer or ftp files This is the most common application for Virtual Weather Station 76 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 2 Non Internet Protocols on Local Area Network Your computer is located on the Intranet and you simply transfer jpeg files to another location on the network without using ftp or web server options The following sections outline settings for your specific application 8 3 Remote Server Applications For remote server applications you will use the automated ftp features Virtual Weather Station periodically updates jpeg files which are snapshots of the gauges and graphs displayed on Virtual Weather Station s panels These files are linked to an html page resident on your remote server and periodically transferred automatically H Remote Server Service Provider ae PC running Windows 95 98 or NT Weather Station Figure 37 Remote Web Server Configuration amp 4 Connecting to the Internet Most Internet service providers provide the following features 3 A direct connection to the Internet 4 Aremote World Wide Web Server 5 Aremote Ftp Server 6 Aremote E Mail SMTP Server NOTE You must have direct access to the Internet for Virtual Weather Station s automated features to work Connecting through a Service Provider such as America On Line A
128. ves the right to terminate this license if there is a default of this agreement At this time all copies of the software must be returned to Ambient LLC Software Uses This software is for entertainment use only Liability To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law in no event shall Ambient LLC be liable for any damages beyond the cost of the software including without limitation direct or indirect damages for personal injury loss of business profits business interruption loss of business information or other pecuniary loss arising out of the use or inability to use this product even if Ambient LLC has been advised of the possible of such damages In any case Ambient LLC s entire liability under any provision of this agreement shall be limited to the price of the software Export Requirements You may not export or re export the Software of any copy or adaptation in violation of any applicable laws or regulations US Government Restricted Rights The Software and any accompanying documentation have been developed entirely at private expense They are delivered and licensed as commercial computer software as defined in DFARS 252 227 7013 Oct 1988 DFARS 252 211 7015 May 1991 or DFARS 252 227 7014 Jun 1995 as a commercial item as defined in FAR 2 101 a or as Restricted Computer Software as defined in FAR 52 227 19 Jun 1987 or any equivalent agency restriction or contract clause whichever is applicable You may
129. ws Current Conditions Last Updated vst143 on vst142 Outside Temperature vxv007 F Today s High vhi007 F at vht007 Lo vlo007 F at v1t007 Barometric Trend vvr008 Sunrise vst144 Sunset vst145 Moonrise vst146 Moonset vst147 Moon Phase vxv128 Figure 41 Example HTML Template with HTML Tags 8 13 4 Creating the HTML File from the HTML Template htx File Reference Figure 42 Creating Web Pages with Virtual Weather Station Tags 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 Update HTML Timer Specifies how often to update the HTML panels e On Activates the parsing and saving of the html file Template File HTML template file htx contains the HTML tags e HTML Filename File created by the template file Browse Browse to the location of the file s e Preview Previews the Web Page in your default browser To create the finished HTML file from the template e Select one of the check boxes ON e Browse to the template file you created left column of files e Browse to define the final location of the HTML file right column of files e Select the UPDATE button 92 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide e Select the Preview Button to view the finished HTML file e To automatically update this process select an HTML Fil
130. x 7 Comfort Index E 8 Forecast 39 Pressure Condition Rising Falling e m 140 Barometric Pressure Condition Rising Falling Beaufort Scale ate ime unrise 6 Moonrise Em D 147 7 n 4 U c 3 o g oonset pt AAA ER EN NNNM PUC CT Ce LA MEN NEN A Ct TS L1 14 ME RN MCN I I ETA Ot TA Table 7 Complete Parameter List 6 18 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 13 Database 6 18 1 Recalling the Daily Monthly and Yearly Summary Menu Shortcut Settings P Recall Daily Monthly and Yearly Archive Reported by WM 918 and WX 200 weather stations only 50 09 20 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide To recall the daily you will be prompted for a file with the following format e 2001 which corresponds to the yearly extremes averages and rates for the year 2001 e 2001_10 which corresponds to the monthly extremes averages and rates for October 2001 e 2001 10 OI which corresponds to the daily extremes averages and rates for October 1 2001 6 18 2 Daily Summary Figure 20 Daily Summary provides a daily summary of the high low average and integrated degree day and w

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