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Virtual Weather Station Version 11 User's Manual

1. 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 Only valid for graphs and strip charts Displays second graph title 04 03 02 Display Title Display Title 2 28 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 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 29 04 03 02 Virtual Wea
2. 4 Hardware and Software Requirements and Display Preferences 41 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 9 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide e 8MB RAM e Serial Communication Port e Serial Cable 42 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 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 c
3. 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 52 04 03 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 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 Execu
4. 11 TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS 4 eee eeentstns 11 1 ADVANCED COMMUNICATION TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS 11 2 SUPPORT 5t tepido EEUU FU IRR MERE BERI EPERERU dert 12 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ereeeeeeee esten antena ttn sn tnnt tosta toan ansa es to tanen sso tos estas nones es tanen ssni ino nise anon esto sensns soon 12 1 BEAUFORT SCALE ect Hr ee HARE IEEE ERRARE EET NEL ERREUR Ee ERU eS 131 12 2 HEAT STRESS INDEX eripere ee rea con e PR a VU PH n lee Yee MeL e AAEN 132 12 3 COMEORT INDEX OE rr UP ORE RAI E EFC A dde re EUR AREA A rU EITHER ERE 132 13 ADD ON SENSORS T 133 7 04 03 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 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 X
5. 6 17 3 Locating a Station Near You 6 17 4 METAR Station Setup sere e tete He ERE ee Ea EEEa REL RETE ER ETHER EROS ER ne End 103 6 17 5 Displaying METAR Icons on the Desktop essent terne nnne nnns 105 8 17 6 METAR Settings ore Re n e E REIR DO ERU Hi td alae 6 17 7 METAR Report Generator 8 17 8 METAR Text Reports z eet unn ERE e nie de a RR HU 8 17 8 1 METAR Summary Text Report 8 17 8 2 METAR Historical Text Report 8 17 8 3 METAR Ra aw Data e ete ON NGA HEY DEI We ah yet Db e en e ER 6 17 9 Learning More About METAR ete etie irent EENE eo eek eine PETERE Regent 8 18 WEATHER SERVERS 6 18 1 Weather Underground Weather Server cscscscscscssssscssecesecsssseseseseseceseseseseseseseceseseseceenseceseeneeseeeeneeeeeees 110 6 16 2 Weatherforyou Weather Server scsssscscscssscssesssssesssessesessesscecsseseseceseseceesecececsecsceeeeeseceenseseeeeeseseeeeneeeeees 6 18 3 aN B9 E ONAE 8 19 INTERNET STATUS AND LOG uniin AT Od tr te E rte si eR R 8 19 1 Turning Off the Internet Functions 6 19 2 Error Messages and LOR s aee ERE ERR I ERO ORI DU ETE RR 9 PURCHASE INFORMATION eeeeeeee tenen entes ton en en tato nes tantu enne to tenens sees ta tons n nne tenen esae nes ton sn enne to senta nan 114 10 NOAA WEATHER SERVER FILE INDEX eese esten enn tnto tonta tan an enn ta tonta ennt totes taa n enean to tonnes noon 114
6. 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 wn1 2 ds 10109 J e MO uBiH JOJOWOWIOYL m N xX 51 N N N N e 9 co oa NI N A Qa o O E 85 OWOWNN eudiy aseud Uoo uonnquisiq yeu duis 04 03 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 8 J lt 2 UJ D g s 3 v Q 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 g I 3 oO a Qa n ie 3 E F 3 O g E o c fe D 3 E zt 86 oueuinw eudiy seyd uoo uonnq s q yeu duis ol c c A c N Ke N 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide T o e baad N co st LO c N o D eo T N m t LO Ko N eo D e q N mM Alpha Numeric amp S les B B bel BR B B e lo J D IS Bb Io el o
7. 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 P METAR Icons 105 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide METAR Icon Display Settings METAR Icon Settings Day Text Color Night Text Color Units ir Pedir NENNEN Mm METAR Stations Create Create Display Site Title ipgfile Display Site Title ipg file 1 m kex Los Angeles CA m eee r Jl orre r m m ww zM I Jw REL ree T r s rl r 9p 8 un L1hL SEMI 3 5 Ae E E m Tc wm o m rur a wn w E P 2 F mu wl 0 ur WELL ran L r 5 rl m 3m E a ee UT es F d Open jpeg file jpeg filenames are icon01 jpg to icon30 jpg Figure 52 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 106 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Description Distance Units METAR cloud height and visibility is expressed in km or kft and miles Se
8. 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 cal Vw CPU Resources High E Medium Low Figure 10 General Program Settings i 6 7 Station Settings e Menu Shortcut Settings P 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 Troubleshooting 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 20 04 03 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 sa
9. 04 03 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 M Send Files to this Location on Server E ieseeses FTP Automated Schedule Figure 46 Jpeg FTP Settings 97 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 8 15 2 2 Sending Upload User Selectable Files to the Internet FTP Server Virtual Weather Sta
10. Coastal Flood Statement stal ftp weather noaa gov data watches_warnings flood stat Flood Statement ement ftp weather noaa gov data watches_warnings flood war Flood Warning ning ftp weather noaa gov data watches warnings non prec Urgent Weather Message ip 115 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide File Location Description ftp weather noaa gov data watches_warnings severe_w Severe Weather Statement eather_stmt ftp weather noaa gov data watches_warnings special Special Marine Warning marine ftp weather noaa gov data watches_warnings special Special Weather Statement weather_stmt ftp weather noaa gov data watches_warnings thunderst Severe Thunderstorm Warning orm ftp weather noaa gov data watches_warnings tornado Tornado Warning Table 12 Weather Server Index 11 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 seria
11. 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 Manufacturer or the cable manufacturer 127 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 11 2 Support For tips and troubleshooting select the following link http www weatherconnect com support 12 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 system 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
12. 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 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 e 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 04 03 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 File 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 gt H
13. Virtual Weather Station User s Guide l Vantage Alarms a Vantage Alarms High Low High Out Temp F 100 Solar wW sqm 0 0 In Temp F 0 0 Heat Index F 0 0 Out Hum 0 UV Index 00 In Hum jo UV Med 0 0 Dew Point F 00 10M Wind mph 40 0 Wind Chill F THSW 0 0 Wind mph D Bar Rise hr 0 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 Tn 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 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 60 04 03 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
14. port Virtual Weather Station displays graphics on your PC The graphics are converted to jpeg files for insertion into your web page Virtual Weather Station uploads these jpeg files and html text files to your remote web server 3 automatically based on a schedule you define 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 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 75 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut Internet P Weather Website Builder Select Template i r O O as Figure 36 Weather Website Builder 8 2 Internet Features and Operation The following section describes methods for displaying your weather dat
15. 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 DEUM Provides rapid real time data data is not stored Intended for viewing 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 25 04 03 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 E 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 Chart
16. 41 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 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 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 Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 1 Wind Direction EET i po imm
17. 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 during 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 74 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
18. I9 I I9 O O 00 0 O Oo Ov ABSA 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 109 04 03 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 57 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 oso12 overview htm 8 18 Weather Servers You do not even need your own website to share your METAR data around the world Weather Underground and Hamweather provide this service to you at no charge 8 18 1 Weather Underground Weather Server 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 110 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut Servers Weather Underground F Weather Underground Settings fel x The Weather Underground bservation Station Settings Sign up Your Station UTC 2001 05 20 04 58 11 z Wind Direction deg 273 View Your Observations Wind Speed mph 0 0 Settings Wind Gust mph 0 0 Your Station ID Wunderground Password Humid
19. Index or change thermostat set points based on rate of change of temperature e Turn on 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 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 7 6 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 7 6 8 HomeSeer Automation Software Description HomeSeer is home automation software that uses inexpensive X10 technology to control your 72 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 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
20. Rain Rate 8 Channel 1 Temperature Rate C2 9 Channel 1 Humidity Rate A 0 Channel 2 Temperature Rate AR 1 Channel 2 Humidity Rate 2 Channel 3 Temperature Rate 3 Channel 3 Humidity Rate 4 Evapotranspiration Rate 5 UV Index Rate olar Radiation Rate A 6 7 ind Chill Rate 48 Indoor Heat Index Rate lt 44 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide z Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 49 Outdoor Heat Index Rate O Dew Point Rate 1 Sea level Barometer Rate 2 Wind Direction Avg ol 3 ind Speed Avg 4 ind Gust Avg 5 Indoor Humidity Avg 6 Outdoor Humidity Avg 7 Indoor Temperature Avg 8 Outdoor Temperature Avg 9 UJ arometric Pressure Avg otal Rain Avg 1 Channel 1 Temperature Avg 2 Channel 1 Humidity Avg 3 Channel 2 Temperature Avg 4 Channel 2 Humidity Avg o 5 Channel 3 Temperature Avg Channel 3 Humidity Avg o 7 Evapotranspiration Avg t V Index Avg olar Radiation Avg 70 Wind Chill Avg 71 Indoor Heat Index Avg E E E E m E E E E a 45 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide z e Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS N 2 Outdoor Heat Index Avg 3 Dew Point Avg 4 Sea level Barometer Avg 5 Wind Direction Daily High 6 ind Speed Daily High 7 in
21. a oe HEN ae ae a ee a NEUEN NER E HN ME Ep qum pos NEN a p 9 es ERN CN NL OD E UU e MEE MEN ea HE ee ee S x Ere NENNEN EF ONE KE IE NE ee ee MEN EN ee BENE X MCN C po seg 47 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide No Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 118 Outdoor Heat Index Daily Low 119 Dew Point Daily Low 0 Sea level Barometer Low A DS A N aily Rain 2 Hourly Rain Aa N 123 Yesterday Rain 124 Rain Rate 125 Daily Wind Run 126 Daily Degree Days Heating 127 Daily Degree Days Cooling 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 134 Yearly Degree Days Cooling 135 Yearly Wind Run 136 Stress Index 7 Comfort Index E Co 138 Forecast Eardue a A T cuoi c NR NS REN ro e essc E s Ln M RR E Lo NH PR ME NI Lo mRNA NN lo d MERE NN ccc NENNEN NENNEN CON pou qe E pom ue Jr du E 8 ses Loc NN RN CN pu er I pue ee E LLL NN NEUE E p ce eese 3 mem Jue iL LN EN o NR ERN EN pue Ee E nee P 48 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide No Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station MATES 139 Pressure Condition Rising Falling 140 Barometric Pressure Condition Rising Falling Table 7 Complete Parameter List 6 18 Daily Monthly and Yearly Summary Virtu
22. 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 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 70 04 03 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
23. 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 34 04 03 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 35 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Column Number Parameter Date with the following format YyyyMonthDayHourMinute C emer C CL NNNM p seem Table 6 Database Format 36 04 03 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 E P LN E D x E E P EJ if 7 E 1 4 z E E D x E a z 1 E z E a E a LJ Figure 16 Database Settings 6 14 Jpeg Files Menu Shortcut Settings P Jpeg File Settings Jpeg is a standard image format for web pages Virtual Weather Station pe
24. for the complete list of weather parameters 27 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide ES Parameter List E Parameter Value Rate Avg High Low Parameter Value Rate Avg High Low Wind Direction ff rF F Indoor Heat Index m EM EM ME Wind Speed fF ff Fr Fr ButdoorHeatIndex EM MI MM Wind Gust uw m A NI MU m E EM MH Indoor Humidity OT T T 9T Sb Batometer EM EM MU M e DA LBS UN Parameter Value Parameter Value E M m m m m Pressure Altitude Deg Mon Cooling Outdoor Temp m EM M MU Cloud Base Ht Wind Run Month Barometer uu E MU MU E j Air Density DeaYear Heating a Total Rain um EM MM M j Virtual Temp DeaYear Cooling Channel 1 Temp 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 iChannel2 Humidity F p FF 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 E Solar Radiation EM EM MJ MI 3 Moon Phase Day Time a Wind Chill um MM MM M s Rain Month Sunrise Average Preferences Deg Mon Heating Sunset m Average Preferences Moonrise E Moonset
25. govideta forecastsicityicailos_ Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Download Now Figure 48 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 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 99 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide To get started identify your E Mail server name for example mail earthlink net and send an alarm to yourself 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 administrat
26. ie rr iet 6 27 1 Minimizing the Program and Display 6 27 2 Hiding Virtual Weather Station eese i e eerte enne 6 28 WEATHERLINK AUTOMATION DAVIS INSTRUMENTS ONLY 7 VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION PRO EDITION cccsssssssssssossssossssosssscssessossssesssssssessesssesnssessesessessesessssosssses 64 7 1 FLE SETTINGS DATA LOGGING erret eee ctr ree ec ER ERE ERN RE RE CE EC Ae Pee Ee EE ie ERES 64 7 11 Daily File ie e ETC OR RUE e et tq IS ER eee c Onde 71 2 Date Stamped File 7 1 3 CSV File cus deest ae e tee ae EE op ce E ei deter RENT ERSTE E ee UE FAA t Arehiv Elles sce te E DO SPERO ESSO AER UAE GERE ARR Een 7 1 4 1 Daily Archive Files 7 1 4 1 1 Previous Daily Files 52 a yen de eee cate merece ee ee Gre eei baee epe 7 1 4 2 Monthly Archive Files tete to e RO o ere ERR SERE UE Ee Eee ER PE Eee ederet 7 1 4 3 Yearly Archive Files 71 5 Date Stamped Archive File PESA Date Stamped Archive Daily Files 7 1 5 1 1 Previous Daily Files eere ttt E ens 7 1 5 2 Date Stamped Archive Monthly Files 7 1 5 3 Date Stamped Archive Yearly Files essere a ae ea a tnennnnenes 4l 6 Summary Files e TR ARE HRS SER NER kas Geese RENS ESSERE TS AUR HABERSE IN EUCH Uae 7 1 7 File Update Timer 7 1 8 Create Modify File List 7 2 CLIMATE REPORTS 5 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 7 3 7 3 1 7 4 7 4
27. 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 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 t
28. 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 Stamped Archive Yearly Files The data is stored in the following location 67 04 03 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 32 Example Daily Summary File Date 10 11 2001 10 12 2001 10 13 2001 10 14 2001 O1 NO 0 STN N O io LP 10 15 2001 10 16 2001 10 17 2001 10 18 2001 10 19 2001 10 20 2001 Ol Figure 32 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 68 04 03 02 Virtual Weat
29. package 56 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Rainwise Settings 2903 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 57 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Figure 24 Vantage WeatherLink Settings 6 25 2 Vantage WeatherLink Highs and Lows Menu Shortcut Settin gs P Vanta ge Highs an d Lows The highs and lows are stored in the Davis weather station console You can automatically reset these highs and lows Weather Monitor II and Weather Wizard III only at a given time of day based on the schedule 58 04 03 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 59 04 03 02
30. to understand while power users will welcome the ability to create sophisticated scripts to control just about anything 7 6 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 wrd Duectior Inside Husveckby Outside Humidity Inade Temperature Oulside Tenperelure Beroneter Total Ran Dah Aai Hourly Rain Cordions Channel Tenpsiaae Channel 1 Humidity hannel 2 Temperssae Channel 2 Hunicily Channel 3 Tempere Channel 3 Hunidiy Evaponrenspranon UV Index Solar Fiad tion wind Chil lndoci He Index Figure 34 Virtual Weather Parameter Listing in HomeSeer 7 6 5 Configuring HomeSeer After purchasing and installing HomeSeer and the HomeSeer Virtual Weather Station Plug in configure HomeSeer as follows From Virtual Weather Station 1 Select Settings Csv Export from the Virtual Weather Station main menu 2 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 73 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 4 Under the RF I O Custom Interface Field Select device to add VWS Inter
31. 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 while 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 The moon com
32. 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 e Low quality modems do not always respond properly to the Hang 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 Table 13 Troubleshooting Tips 11 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 Be cw dm Select Connect Using and Direct to Com x where x is the comport designation 5 Select 9600 baud 8 data bits Parity None 1 stop bit Flow Control Hardware Control 6 You should see binary data on the display every time your station sends data example amp P 3 Py 7
33. 1 7 5 7 6 7 6 1 7 6 2 7 6 3 7 6 4 7 6 5 7 6 6 MONTHLY CLIMATE REPORT rete te e A ER er eee case n ae Ee eee SERERE ERU Rer Modifying the Monthly Climate Report eese esee eerte tenete ettet ettet teet nene ne eterne YEARLY GLIMA TE REPORT RU ahi se rH TO pen div EE tis denis er ERE n Modifying the Yearly Climate Report esee tette tette entente tenente ne eene nenen CLIMATE REPORT TEXT FILE AND PRINTING CLIMATE REPORTS X10 HOME AUTOMATION WITH VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION HOMESBEER eere 72 6 2 1 TIED TOIT M M MLO CONLTOUS M De Rete HomeSeer Automation Software Description eee esee ettet nente netten tne nenene How the Home Automation System Works Configuring HomeSezer ss oan ERU e EE RC E PRU dE Purchasing the Virtual Weather Station HomeSeer Plug in eese 74 8 VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION INTERNET EDITION eeeeeeeee tenent nente ttn tatnen enata tensa enne toten tassa ane 74 8 1 8 2 8 3 8 4 8 5 8 6 8 6 1 8 6 2 8 6 3 8 6 4 8 6 5 8 7 8 7 1 8 7 2 8 7 3 8 7 4 8 7 5 8 7 6 8 8 8 9 8 10 8 11 8 12 8 13 8 13 1 Description of HTML Tags WEATHER WEBSITE BUIEDER 5 e RO EAE ia EE E ten DER RT EX ERE ERE ENSE a N INTERNET FEATURES AND OPERATION REMOTE SERVER APPLICATIONS eere eene nnn nennen nnns CONNECTING TO THE INTE
34. 16 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 bs snow showers lightning thundershowers 61 04 03 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 LU Channel 3 Humidity WMR 968 WMR 918 Floating Point only Evapotranspiration Vantage Pro Plus only ES UV Index Vantage Pro Plus only EE Solar Radiation Vantage Pro Plus only Outdoor Heat Index F Floating Point Dew Point F oom Rain Rate in hour BEES Outdoor Temp Rate F hr 8 Indoor temp Rate F hr WE Em Lo Barometer Rate in hr Channel 1 Temp Rate F hr Channel 2 Temp Rate F hr 99 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 62 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 27 Other Display Features 6 27 1 Minimi
35. 68 WMR 918 Channel 3 Humidity Rate WMR 043 190 484 631 778 925 1219 1366 1513 1660 968 WMR 918 Evapotranspiration Rate Davis aca ag 1367 1514 1661 485 only UV Index Rate Davis only fe ae peed usns Moss 1667 Solar Radiation Rate Davis only E c o EA 1222 136911316 1663 83 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display wn1 2 ds 10109 mo7 ybIH uono PULM JOJBWOWIOUL OWOWNN eudiy eseud uoo uonnquisig yeu duis Wind Chill Rate 0 054 201 055 202 i Ce pe eI ERE Rn S 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 oe3 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 UV Index Average Davis only Davis only ENS E Bio a eli dl ross dl on dd mi ad Eres ipm Emp tme only 84 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display Channel 1 Temperature High WMR 968 WMR 918 Channel 1 Humidity High WMR 968 WMR 918 WMR 968 WMR 918
36. 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 DAY temperature departs above the baseline of 75 degrees a given temperature It is used to estimate the energy requirements and is an 128 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide DEW POINT GUST HEAT INDEX HEATING DEGREE DAY HUMIDITY LATITUDE LONGITUDE MOON PHASE Definition 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 sometimes 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
37. 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 degrees Set the temperature offset to 3 00 Set the wind direction offset to 180 00 13 04 03 02 I installed my anemometer incorrectly and when it points north it should measure south Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Table 2 Examples of Calibration i Calibration Calibration Gain Offset Wind Direction 5 00 oo Wind Speed 1 00 3 0 00 Wind Gust lt 10 000 Humidity Indoor E 100 3 0 00 Humidity Outdoor 1 00 2 0 00 Temperature Indoor El 1 00 2 0 00 Temperature Outdoor 1 00 2 0 00 Barometer E 1 00 2 0 00 Total Rain 1 00 2 0 00 Temp Channel 1 E 1 00 2 0 00 Humidity Channel 1 1 00 0 00 Temp Channel 2 4 1 00 2 0 00 Humidity Channel 2 3 1 00 2 0 00 Temp Channel 3 4 100 3 0 00 Humidity Channel 3 3 1o 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 o
38. Days Cooling 0 0 Number of Samples 0 oiae oo 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 amount Virtual Weather Station does calculate the total rain 51 04 03 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
39. De EBEBN RI EE ES 6 15 2 Wind Run 6 15 3 Pressure Trend 6 15 4 Setting Daily and Monthly Rain 6 15 5 Wind Gust Calculation nasse aie eie eti a t a bete aesti deeds 6 15 6 Filtered Average Time Constant ze aiias titi ston chests RORIS asses AERE eee ER Renee 6 15 7 New Wind Chill Calculation 6 15 8 Resetting Daily Minimum and Maximum Values eese tenete 41 6 16 COMPLETE PARAMETER EIST iiss ne IER RE ERE REUS RUE EC ERE ARE RU SES 41 6 16 1 Daily HIGHS GN LOWS s ere eese AAEE A EROS ADR EE EE R RAE 42 6 16 2 AverageXValuesi i Ses ae tere UR FEIER RENE SEAS 42 6 17 RATE OF CHANGE VALUES eere 6 18 DAILY MONTHLY AND YEARLY SUMMARY 6 18 1 Recalling the Daily Monthly and Yearly Summary 6 18 2 HAE TTA 4 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 18 3 Month by SUMM TY eR DER eae 50 6 18 4 Yearly SUMMAI eee elevate ee bea BERE Se Re Au Meena 50 6 18 5 Changing Daily Monthly or Yearly Rain eese eese tenente tette tette tenete nettes 51 6 19 ALARMS AND MEMORY WM 918 AND W X 200 ONLY ccccccsssscssesssscssescsecsssscseescsecsesecaeceesecaeseesecsesecseceesesaeens 52 6 20 ALARMS 6 20 1 Al rm Setting S eet e RUE EU er ERE EU D Ir ir unt if doro 52 6 20 2 Launching Executable or Batch Files eese teret teretes 53 6 21 SYNCHRONIZE DATE AND TIME itti e sce e eee RD OE OE
40. Gust Indoor Humidity Outdoor Humidity Indoor Temperature Outdoor Temperature Barometer 1331 gs p Total Rain Rain d Temperature WMR 010 da is B E E un E t 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 012 133 453 334 1335 14 1529 968 WMR 918 968 WMR 918 P 968 WMR 918 SLM Bieb Re e a i Ne 968 WMR 918 SC eps re s Ee ten ec SEES puce DEN SL e ipu qp sr sea d Heatindex Out 168 462 908 1344 1491 1638 pail EC E EP dU n Do Nei 82 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display mo7 ybIH uonoeuiq PUI OWOWNN eudiy uonnqguisiq neu duis JOJOWOWIOYL c e Cloud Base Air Density Virtual Temperature Vapor Pressure EE E s Wind Direction Rate d i 177 911 Gust Rate WB i Indoor Humidity Rate 19 Outdoor Humidity Rate 180 eee p sD i TD 182 4 2 Outdoor Temperature Rate EE eee ER Barometer Rate 036 183 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 968 WMR 918 Channel 3 Temperature Rate 042 189 483 630 777 924 1218 1365 1512 1659 WMR 9
41. HEAR HG e de Ce E RERO UE ERE 54 6 22 DESKTOP OPTIONS 6 22 1 The Taskbar 6 22 2 The Toolb r ui ee one od RU eT ETE CT 25 6 23 RAINWISE SETTINGS cec etie E ERE eH EC Ree eC ETC ERU Y ERI eee E etr reiecit 55 6 23 1 Sea level Barometer Adjustment 418 MHZ systems only esset tntntetntntntntntnts 55 6 23 2 Reset Barom to Absolute Pressure eese esiste tete r i E a te tette teret eterne teens 6 23 3 Reset Daily Min Max Data 6 23 4 Reset Daily and Monthly Rainfall 6 23 5 Reset Total Rainfall to Zero 6 23 6 ReserHigh Windspeed ise ee nete teet e AOT e Ite sc exte NR 6 23 7 Clear All Logged Dala usce TREE RENDIR REN NN RURRNANNI CERTO Uu 6 23 6 No Items Logged sss 6 23 9 Update Computer Interfaces Clock 6 23 10 Increment Logging Interval 6 23 11 Battery Voltage 6 23 12 VOT SION 6 24 RAINWISE DATA D OOC o a a a ETA E N Eeen Sta 6 25 VANTAGE WEATHER LINK SETTINGS 4 r RTR C A E A EEO O A RRA 6 25 1 Vantage Pro Settings esee 6 25 2 Vantage WeatherLink Highs and LOWS eee eee estet tette tenete te tette tenente tenentes 6 25 3 Vantage WeatherLink Alarm Settings eese tenete tette tenente netten nennen 6 26 CSV FLE EXPORT e erc ROTER UR RERO RR CR I e nt 6 27 OTHER DISP A Y BEATU RES 55 hue i ro irepl debiti
42. I change my NOAA This is done in the Archive Settings window and not the report data database Reference Section7 2 for more details When I update one of the fields You must edit each of these data fields For example if the in the daily summary data this minimum temperature on January 9 2000 is changed and it is change is not updated in the the minimum for the month and year you must change this monthly or yearly summary field in the monthly summary panel and the yearly summary data panel The Alarm Sound will not play 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 Some of the check boxes on Not all parameters can be displayed with all of the weather the Parameters Display Panel elements For example graphs require historical data and it are dimmed does not make sense to plot sunrise The displays do not retain their e Make sure you have enough memory in your computer to position when exiting the save the displays The display positions are saved in the program 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 After hiding Virtual Weather This is a Windows problem Minimize and maximize the Station with the taskbar icon applicat
43. LL es es em ILL el Em ILL e ILL eed em ILL eel d eee 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 04 03 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 Server 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 f
44. P 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 8 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Davis Instruments Vantage Pro Plus Vantage Pro Plus Davis Instruments Weather Monitor WeatherLink II Davis Instruments Weather Wizard WeatherLink Il Texas Weather 1 Wire Weather Texas Weather Instruments Instruments Stations AAG 1 Wire Weather 1 Wire Station mCi Columbia Weather Capricorn II Columbia Weather Systems Systems Capricorn 2000 Table 1 Station Part Numbers and Corresponding Reference in Virtual Weather Station
45. R e e 6 6 1 Start Program Hidden 6 6 2 Reboot Schedule m 6 6 3 CPU Resources 6 7 STATION SEEDPINGS 5 5 5 2 er ires ter o er save cass Lnd ve C UO rere ere Le o n C HR EE Eee Po vea t 6 7 1 Lonsgit de and Latitude s pet tereti rte e ee it epe e eren 6 7 2 Time Zone ae a ee eee 6 7 3 Altitude esee te e CARE E ER te E E d REO OE E t e edd 6 74 Air Data Calculator correcting Pressure to Sea level Conditions 3 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 0 7 2 Celestial Calend r e We RH ETAT AREA ER c ene Pete a cae 6 8 REAL TIME DATA ete eere a ee PR RO r i e e E UR e te e e be Tee RE 6 9 WEATHER DISPEA YS attente E E ERR UH btw nid de dona bp Maa 6 9 1 Icon WM 918 WMR 918 and WMR 968 only entente tenente nennen eene 0 09 27 Broddc stz s RE cs Ranke E 6 9 3 Color Spectrum 6 04 High Eow Display ie eee e E NASEER EE E E cases 6 9 5 Distrib tion Chart eoe RR RN ERREUR E RE NEE Re NN RNSHRRRS EUER 23 6 9 6 Wind Direction 6 9 7 Thermometer ODS Gauges cisci UFU RISE ETE ISU HERREN HEURE ed DU M IURE ERR 69 97 MOLT aA eset eR Ee tM UN eee Re eni ene son leere eee ARE E te Rte A eeeis 6 9 10 err mE a 6 9 11 A IP Char M 6 9 12 Tank sites 6 9 13 Alpha Numeric 6 9 14 Moon Phase iie eet RR DNE 6 9 15 Difference Between Graphs and Strip Charts eese terere nennen ens 6 10 CUSTOMIZING DISPLA
46. RNET 5 ERR FERRE CHEER A ERU ee dee ERE SERERE EP YET Ie toa PE REM SA Fee NETWORK CONNECTION gcsesto cc eR RV GEO ROA Y ERE RENE ET NR TUE TT RO AERA ANS DI AL P CONNECTION e EHE ED e ER EC e ced de AE ORE E Rea E Oe eee tenet Number of Dial up Attempts RR I E BEGIN RN RE s Number of Seconds to Wait Between Attempts Use the Following Dial up Networking Connection Username Password and Domain eee Di l up Automat On s eit ssec amc itd ETUR ICON RETO eee eine a GENERAL FPTP SEETINGS d eec re ce e ERR ER E ER TREE bie Lea dee e Ee FTP Timeout SUCCESSIVE Login Attempts co D RETO RIPE ORE FORI URGERE TU HERI i n id mde ovt nOn Tduati TE aan Time Delay Between Transfers enie ie pe I NEN TE ERE er RR EAE E USERS RESRUR Display Connect Timer Jj de ER REQUE RR GR HRUR IRURE EE Sh EE Max CPU During FTP sss VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION JPEG IMAGES JPEG FLE INDEX 1e aeree EREA RIETER TE S ENE S OTHER JPEG EIEENAMES 5t NRI eR RTT De EDT DR NEED ANDR VHS EAE XE EN Rien INTRANET AND LOCAL AREA NETWORK APPLICATIONS ceret enne nnn stes tentent teniente n nnn WEB PAGE TEMPLATES 4 decore ERSTE Eee EE e Petersen ein ren PE EO ER ER ER eere e E Te CEA CREATING WEB PAGES WITH VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION TAGS nennen enne nnns 89 6 13 2 Creating an HTML Template File htx file eese sete tetete tette ene 89 8 13 3 Inserting HTML Tags Into the Te
47. TML 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 NN NN NM HTML File Update Timer 5 10 minutes Upload Files to Internet 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 04 03 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 Menu Shortcut Internet gt HTML File Tags File HTML Taas File HTML Tags Filename Location 1 10 Filename Location 11 20 es es em LLL cel e EL Eee Le I
48. The language does not change Virtual Weather Station provides limited foreign language when changed from English support To change the titles to the language of choice edit each individual display What are channels 1 2 and 3 Channels 1 2 and 3 are designated channels for the optional sensors described in the section Add on Sensors I receive Invalid Page Faults Invalid Page Faults and General Protection Faults in and General Protection Faults Kernel32 DLL are generally caused by a lack of system in Kernel32 DLL 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 124 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution 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 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 Kern
49. Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Virtual Weather Station Version 11 User s Manual For Davis Instruments Vantage Vantage Pro Weather Monitor II Weather Wizard III Oregon Scientific WMR 916 cable free Oregon Scientific WMR 966 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 Station RxXComm and Columbia Weather Systems Weather Stations 2 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 04 03 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 reserves the right to terminate this license if there is a default of
50. Y Siero cette cote EENGYCYED GE ERE CARE GG E E sabe ie UO HET BO EAE EVEN AR 6 11 ADDING AND DELETING DISPLAYS eene 6 11 1 Modifying the Display and Display Attributes 6 11 2 Broadcast Display Settings 6 11 2 1 Displaying the Icon 6 11 22 Changing the Background Image eee 6 11 2 3 Changing the Logo Image eere 6 12 GENERALI DISPLAY SETTINGS cn i rr rr Re ir ER Er br ERR RN E En 6 12 1 Full Screen Display iie e e RR RATS eR oR aaa ESN aR aT CARON AaB ER Orte Fere Ca 6 13 DATABASE 6 13 1 Database Tim t ee eese ea Rican et ee be tegere Ree eI eene un swe eoe n daar eae 6 13 2 Datab se Format seieren e SR ERREUR NOREN REN NR ENG ERNER STORE 6 13 3 Editing and Deleting Database Records sese eene enne 6 13 4 Resizing the Database 6 14 JPEG FEIEES ce e ter eie 6 14 1 Inage Oualilty eden trie ERU REIR ENDE REGN DEED ER PUES 6 14 2 Jpeg File EOCGtlonas isi e e AUR e ARR EUR Hee es eel vets eden dealin aise ede 6 14 3 Jpeg File Naming CODehllOH e t RSEN RR NER RERO Ro eee x Ue 6 15 ADVANCED PARAMETER SETTINGS cccsscssssscssessessesscescesessesscssccescescssessaecaecsecsscsecsecseesaeaeeaseeeseesecseeceeceeceaeeaeeaecns 6 15 1 Degree Days Heating and Cooling 6 15 1 1 Heating Threshold 53er rtr tette a sabe UE oi eee i dein dites EH eva steve donates 6 15 1 2 Cooling Threshold tenie en
51. 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 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 71 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 7 6 X10Home Automation with Virtual Weather Station HomeSeer 7 6 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 Station s 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
52. a on the Internet or Intranet There are two primary ways to operate and display your data using Internet standards and protocols 2 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 3 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 76 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 83 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 CON Remote Server Service CT Provider yyy Ew Weather Station PC running Windows 95 98 or NT Figure 37 Remote Web Server Configuration 8 4 Connecting to the Internet Most Internet service providers provide the following features 4 A direct connection to the Internet 5 A remote World Wide Web Server 6 A remote Ftp Server 7 A remote E Mail SMTP Server NOTE You must have direct access to the Internet for Virtual Weather Station s aut
53. able provided with your Rainwise Computer Interface 5 2 3 Davis Instruments Connection to the weather station requires the WeatherLink module 53 Running Virtual Weather Station Connect a serial cable to your computer s comport and verify your Weather Station is turned on 10 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide aa 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 Upgrade 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 6 Virtual Weather Station Base Edition Features 6 1 The Assistant e Menu Shortcut Help P 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 1 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide When lau
54. al Coastal Marine Forecast ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts marine great_lakes Great Lakes Marine Forecast i 114 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide File Location Description ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts marine high seas High Seas Marine Forecast ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts marine near_shore Near Shore Marine Forecast ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts marine offshore Coastal and Offshore Marine Forecast ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts marine weather_st Marine Weather Statement mt ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts nowcast ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts recreation ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts state ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts zone ftp weather noaa gov data observations state_roundup ftp weather noaa gov data records ftp weather noaa gov data summaries area ftp weather noaa gov data summaries max_min_temp Temperature and Precipitation Report and_precip ftp weather noaa gov data summaries weather State Weather Summary ftp weather noaa gov data watches warnings fire weat Fire Weather Information her ftp weather noaa gov data watches_warnings flash flo Flash Flood Statement od statement ftp weather noaa gov data watches_warnings flash_flo Flash Flood Warning od warning ftp weather noaa gov data watches warnings flash flo Flash Flood Watch od watch ftp weather noaa gov data watches warnings flood coa
55. al 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 gt Recall Daily Monthly and Yearly Archive 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 Reported by WM 918 and WX 200 weather stations only 49 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 18 2 Daily Summary Figure 20 Daily Summary provides a daily summary of the high low average and integrated degree day and wind 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 integ
56. 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 vxv007 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 mtr004KLAX 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 information for adding a file path to the tag list reference Section 8 14 HTML File Tags 89 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 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 click on the selected parameter in the list Next paste the Tag into your HTML template Menu Shortcut Internet gt HTML Tags HTML Tags 5 x HTML Tags vxv 22 Barom Trend E vxv023 Time vxv 24 Date vxv 25 Sunrise vxv026 Sunset
57. at 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 Moreover 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 102 04 03 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 50 METAR Stati
58. ate 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 Each
59. d Gust Daily High 8 Indoor Humidity Daily High 9 Outdoor Humidity Daily High ndoor Temperature Daily High 1 Outdoor Temperature Daily High 2 UJ arometric Pressure Daily High 3 Total Rain Daily High 4 Channel 1 Temperature High 5 Channel 1 Humidity High Channel 2 Temperature High 7 Channel 2 Humidity High co 8 Channel 3 Temperature High Channel 3 Humidity High Evapotranspiration High 1 UV Index High 92 Solar Radiation High Ko 3 Wind Chill Daily High 94 Indoor Heat Index Daily High E 46 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide z e Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 95 Outdoor Heat Index Daily High 7 Sea level Barometer High Wind Direction Daily Low oj O U 9 O D lt I Q gt ind Speed Daily Low 100 ind Gust Daily Low 101 Indoor Humidity Daily Low 2 Outdoor Humidity Daily Low Aa o 103 Indoor Temperature Daily Low 104 Outdoor Temperature Daily Low 105 Barometric Pressure Daily Low 106 Total Rain Daily Low eo 7 Channel 1 Temperature Low o 8 Channel 1 Humidity Low 9 Channel 2 Temperature Low O Channel 2 Humidity Low e 111 Channel 3 Temperature Low 12 Channel 3 Humidity Low E 113 Evapotranspiration Low 114 UV Index Low 115 Solar Radiation Low 116 Wind Chill Daily Low 117 Indoor Heat Index Daily Low ERN
60. due Table 15 Beaufort Scale 12 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 lt Heat Index lt 90 F 90 F lt Heat Index lt 105 F 105 F lt Heat Index gt 130 F Extreme Danger Heat Index gt 130 F Table 16 Heat Stress Index 12 3 Comfort Index The comfort index calculates the body s reaction to heat cold humidity and wind chill High 132 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 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 Scale Condition Extreme Cold Wind chill 0 F Uncomfortably Cold 0 F lt Wind chill lt 30 F Cool 30 F Wind Chill 60 F Comfortable 60 F 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 Comfort Index 13 Add on Sensors Menu Shortcut Help Add on Sensors Oregon Scientific will be releasi
61. e 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 select the checkbox as shown in Figure 33 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 31 Archived Data Text File 65 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter T Average Wind Direction 250 Wind Speed 1 4 Wind Gust 253 In Humidity 34 Humidity 34 In Temp 59 6 Out Temp T9355 Barometer 29 01 Total Rain 0 82 Ch 1 Temp 0 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 e 0 0 63 69 69 40 IBS O09 C0 C0 C I2 IO I2 ID D P2 PD C0 C C C CO CO PO uS HEMAN OOOO GO Figure 31 Archived Data Text File 7 1 4 1 Daily Archive Files The daily archive files are stored in the following location VWS data archive daily dailyarc txt 7 1 4 1 1 Previo
62. echniques 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 changing 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 wx mst 119 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution Po 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 memory in insufficient memory The graphs update slow or the Reduce the length of time in your graphs Select Plot Last x program locks up when hours Enter a number less than 240 hours for example displays are updated Plotting 20 000 points on multiple graphs can cause long delays The font size is incorrec
63. el 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 the 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 125 04 03 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 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 1 Click the Start button and select Settings then Control Panel In the Control Panel window double click the Syst
64. em 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 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 ww w 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 126 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution e If
65. esed al Generate NOAA Yearly Report E s il Close Figure 30 WeatherLink Settings 7 Virtual Weather Station Pro Edition formally Weather Lab 7 1 File Settings Data Logging Menu Shortcut Settings P File Settings Virtual Weather Station includes a data logger which provides a permanent record of your weather data The data is stored in several file formats e Report Format Provides formatted data for viewing daily file e Comma Separated Data csv format This format is for export to Microsoft Excel or other analysis programs e Archive Format This format provides the highs lows and average for the day month and year 64 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 7 1 1 Daily File The Daily File is a text file stored in the following location WWSwWataMailyMaily 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 33 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 Th
66. etermined 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 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 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 The pressure exerted by water vapor molecules in a given volume of air VIRTUAL Virtual temperature is a fictitious temperature that takes into 130 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Term Definition 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 were 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
67. f 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 l4 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Precision Precisions Value Rates Vind 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 gt Communication 6 5 1 Weather Station Select your weather station from the list If you do not own a weather station select the 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 15 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Co
68. face 5 Select VWS Interface in the window and select the Setup button 6 Browse to the csv file location specified in Step 2 7 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 7 6 6 Purchasing the Virtual Weather Station HomeSeer Plug in To purchase the HomeSeer plug in visit http www weatherconnect com x 10 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 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 Telephone Cable Modem ISDN T1 or T3 Anonymous FTP Server example NOAA FTP Download OWnioat Telephore Cable Modem ISDN T1 or T3 FTP Upload EMAIL Remote Server Intranet Intranet Service Provider Web Server Weather Station Your PC runni Windows 95 98 or NT EE Local Area Network lient 74 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Figure 35 General Description Referencing the figure above the weather station 1 communicates to your PC 2 through the serial
69. h 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 able to download the latest graphics driver from the manufacturer 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 118 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User
70. he 31 04 03 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 Menu Shortcut Mo lify D splay General D spl AV Settings General display settings change all of the display settings at the same time Reference Table 5 General Display Settings 32 04 03 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 u
71. her Station User s Guide File Parameter Settings File Parameter Settings Daily File 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 List Close Figure 33 File Settings 7 2 Climate Reports There are two types of climate reports monthly and yearly 7 3 Monthly Climate Report Menu Shortcut Reports P 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 69 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Cool
72. ion 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 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 117 04 03 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 Solution 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 wit
73. ion again to refresh and recalling the display by double clicking on the taskbar the window does not refresh One of the sensors is not Virtual Weather Station requires all of your sensors to operate 122 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem updating and VWS will not begin executing WMR 918 or WMER 968 only My system clock is losing time when I run Virtual Weather Station Solution to properly obtain data If one sensor is not functioning due to batteries or interference deselect this sensor See Section 6 5 5 Sensor and Battery Status WMR 918 and WMR 968 only for more details 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 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
74. ity 7 6 KCAAGOURT M Temperature degF 63 9 Hourly Rain in 0 00 Eg KCASANFAT Geci SEND E Barometer in 29 94 i Dew Point degF z 51 0 Sky CLA Weather Sky and Weather Settings Close Figure 58 Weather Underground Settings 8 18 2 Weatherforyou Weather Server 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 111 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut Servers Weatherforyou Weatherforou H amweather Settings xi Station Setup bservation Station Settings Sign up Your Station View Your Observations UTC 2001 05 30 04 58 53 Wind Direction deg 8 2 Settings Wind Speed mph F 0 0 Your Station ID Weatherforyou Password Wind Gust mph D KCAAGOUR2 saves Humidity 7 E 64 Fg EEASANFRI Upload Schedule s Temperature degF E 633 a i Hourly Rain in r 1 81 Barometer in 29 94 Sponsors Dew Point degF 51 5 Sky CLR Weather Bringing weather r web Sky and Weather Settings Weatherforyou com Hamweather_ net Close Figure 59 Weatherforyou and Hamweather Server Settings 8 18 3 APRS APRS is a which uses amateur radio to transmi
75. jio S IS PB PB Wind Direction ER High Low Color Spectrum Parameter Display mnm 1 Bene f Means Bem f E 7 Bw aw pem mue tl mm 3 Bremse Bemem Meme Tf hem Tf Busen Been muwwa Pew romcom meww Tf Bue Tt Emm Be 3 eme Pee 04 03 02 87 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display U01 9941G PULM JO OWOWIIYL OWOWNN eudiy seyd uoo uonnq s q yeu duis e ie A SEE EE e o Q o Ke lt oO Lad 7 c 3 E o o N N o 91 um e eee ree xe unset LL NN Pe LL NENNEN ete eR cs 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 both 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
76. l 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 CtrFAlt Del once and see if any external device software is running Verify your station is not running on batteries and is connected to AC power 116 04 03 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 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 Your serial port uses a non standard 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 Communicat
77. ments 5 3 RUNNING VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION 5 4 LICENSE INFORMATION cccccccsssccsscccssscsssssccsssccsseescsssscssecessescessccssecessesesssscsssecesssecsssccsssecessscesssccsssecesssecsssecssseces 5 5 UPGRADE TO PRO OR INTERNET EDITIONS ccccccssccsscccssscscsssccsssecessesesssscsssecessssesssccsssecessssesssscsssecessseesesecessees VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION BASE EDITION FEA TURES u cscsssssscsscsccecceccsscsscsccescescescsscsscsecsecseees 6 1 THEA SSISTAN T REN teas 6 2 CONVERSIONS eene 6 2 1 Unit Conversions D 6 2 2 Total Rain Offset ssss 6 3 CALIBRATION ri tete NoPE bee ee teur ee ee eee ee eee E EAE eee eec Ebrei ed 13 6 4 Iu Ue IL Ec AA TITRA 6 5 COMMUNICATION 6 5 1 We GIher SIA dT 6 5 2 Communication Por ee ES oS e ARA 15 6 5 3 Baud Rate 6 5 4 Communication Rate 6 5 5 Sensor and Battery Status WMR 918 and WMR 966 only 6 5 5 1 Communication OK eese 6 5 5 2 Battery OR zie ea M 0 3 6 Stattonless ODeTatlOn S s eene ESO EE ER HERE TRUE RENE eR Ee SE 6 5 6 1 Connecting to a Computer Across the Network 6 5 6 2 Displaying METAR Data in the Stationless Mode ves 25 T 6 5 6 3 Eilelime rAGCeSS eee d ee ette CU 6 6 GENERAL PROGRAM SETTINGS 5 ipte gerere tre E ve Ye eee eb el eee ge Reeve E eek Ee dee RUE ee ERE e e
78. mmunication Communication Weather Station Select Station ad Stationless Settings Communication Port Baudrate 4 9600 x Communication Rate sec 4 Error Messages No error Close Figure 6 Communication Settings 6 5 5 Sensor and Battery Status WMR 918 and WMR 968 only e Menu Shortcut Communication Sensor Communication 6 5 5 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 reporting it can be deactivated to continue running Virtual Weather Station 6 5 5 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 interference is present To allow Virtual Weather Station to execute without the sensor inactivate the problem sensor by deselecting the Active checkbox 16 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Sensor Communication m Sensor Communication Status Active Device Battery OK Comm OK M Display zl ll Ww wind gy M Rain ij i I Outdoor Thermo Hydro M Indoor Therm
79. mpanying documentation by applicable FAR or DFARS clause By installing this software you indicate acceptance of the aforementioned License Agreement 2 04 03 02 5 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Table of Contents GENERATE DESCRIPTION sg tvccectssacecasesacatastoceseosonsossesens cesosssevansssnusseasonbaabs sees SooS SOSSE oos EASES SEIE rono Sro TSS ESA aS 8 VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION EDITIONS u 0 0 sssssssssscssesssssesesssssesesesssesnseessessesssssesssesesessssssesssesesersseseseres 8 WEATHER STATION PART NUMBERS rne trttotn tios rice vore ovo sad ee o i6 Uere iS o Ueitu PR ree P V e Pe UDU FE eser HUS Ope Eee 8 HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS AND DISPLAY PREFERENCES 9 4 1 HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS 4 2 DISPLAY PREFERENCES o tre erre n e ere a e e ORT AS e e E P ED E P it E eee at GETTING STARTED iiiscisc cetssccesesssecasasestecdesnsudeostoscncossnnecestessesevossnnvoess suedensosacagasesusasvessnseoesssnesosenevesbasnsecsvoscadncssosmeasess 10 5 1 INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE cscsscssscsscsecsscsscssessessessssssssessesssssscoscnscnsessessecsescsecssesscsaesuesuesaseasesssnssnssescescesceaesaeeneces 10 5 2 CONNECTING YOUR COMMUNICATION PORT TO THE WEATHER STATION esee enne 10 5 2 1 Oregon Scientific Radio Shack and Huger Weather Stations essent 10 3 2 2 Rainwise Weather Stations esee tette 5 2 3 Davis Instru
80. mplates eese tette EE EEEE 89 8 13 4 Creating the HTML File from the HTML Template htx File esee 92 8 14 8 15 6 15 1 Connecting to Your Remote Ftp Server SM PA 8 O 1 E S C DS FTP OPERATION eio ae epe aee ei 6 15 2 Automatic Ftp Featukes ies edet eax aaa ea let ne Po RENE eO RM EUER YET ERREUR ER 8 15 2 1 Sending Jpeg Files Displayed in Virtual Weather Station Desktop to the Internet Jpeg FTP Settings 97 8 15 2 2 Sending Upload User Selectable Files to the Internet FTP Server 8 15 2 1 1 Creating Temporary Jpg Files First On the Server essere 97 8 15 2 1 2 Send Files to this Location on Servet ccccecssssscsseesceseeseeseeseeeeseeecseceeceseeseesecseesecsecsecseeeeceeeeeeeaeeaeeaes 97 8 15 2 3 Retrieve Download Files from the Internet essent nennen nnne nennen 8 16 6 16 1 Email Settings edad diete ees EMAIL WEATHER REPORTS AND ALARMINQG eren nennen enn en ete tn enne ntn ete en sente ense tn tnnt en enne 6 16 2 Weather dams 6 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 16 3 Email Alarms EET 101 6 16 4 Reporting Alarm Codes Only oe tee Re e EN RE Ne ER 102 8 17 METAR rrt HR DE RN T GM UR Ir TO ERU UO ri rp Ade dates e ved 6 17 1 General Description sues dee KO RR SENS NER AA RAN ANKE REFUSER RR REN RET RR Re ARR ER E 6 17 2 Finding METAR Reports
81. mum allowable This feature is particularly useful if FTP transfers timeout 80 04 03 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 E 3 Max Connect Time minutes 10 0 2 0 Time Delay Between Transfers sec Display Connect Timer Max CPU During FTP Close Figure 39 General FTP Settings 88 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 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 89 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 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Display wn1 2 ds 1009 mo7 ybIH u01 9941G PULM OWOWNN eudiy eseud uoo uonnquisig yeu duis JO OWOWIOYL Wind Direction Wind Speed
82. n Virtual Weather Station The display image colors are poor quality 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 Solution e Virtual Weather Station launches Notepad to view 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 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
83. nching 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 P 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 that your weather station may not accurately display the year to date rain total 12 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Conversions Conversions M Temperature Altitude p Rain fe F fe feet fe in eu meter C mm Total Rain Offset a Barometer Wind Speed 0 00 fe inHg mph r Distance C mm C knot fe miles C mb km hr C km hPa 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
84. ng add on sensors which will be integrated into VWS as they become available The following is a list of available sensor upgrades 133 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Product Picture THC 238 for use with the WMR 918 and WMR 968 Water proof Temperature reulti chonnal THC 238 for the WMR 918 and WMR 968 134 Description Visit www weatherconnect com thc238 THC 238 Optional Water Proof Probe Sensor for the WMR 918 or WMR 968 Communicates directly to your WMR 918 and WMR 968 Weather Stations Add three additional sensors for the ultimate in realtime weather monitoring e The transmitter with water proof probe can be placed anywhere that temperature monitoring is necessary measure soil temperature pond temperature lake temperature A C or Heater Duct temperature water pipe temperature up to 120 feet less through walls etc away Oregon Scientific Wireless indoor outdoor monitors allow an additional three sensors Digital display shows temperature Sensors can be placed up to 120 feet from main display unit Operates on 2 AA batteries included Can also use Lithium AA for very cold conditions Deg F or C Display 3 channel displays allows you to add three additional sensors to the WMR 918 or WMR 968 weather station Outdoor range 4F to 140F 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Product Picture THGR 238 for use with the WMR 918 and WMR 968 Tem
85. o Hydro Baro p Channel 1 Thermo Hydro EH Channel 2 Thermo Hydro pl Channel 3 Thermo Hydro ER 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 6 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 7 Stationless Operation You do not even have to own a weather station 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 The format of the comma separated file data is described in Section 6 26 17 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Communication Communicati
86. omated features to work Connecting through a Service Provider such as America On Line AOL will limit Virtual Weather Station s automated features 8 amp 5 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 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 77 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 86 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 af
87. on 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 55 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 6 23 8 No Items Logged The number of items logged proceeded by the cursor prompt gt 6 23 9 Update Computer Interfaces Clock 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 1s 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
88. on Weather Station Stationless v Stationless Settings Communication Port Baudrate 9600 v Error Messages No error Figure 8 Stationless Mode Configuration 6 5 7 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 optionto generate a comma separated file reference Section 6 26 2 Reference 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 18 04 03 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 loca
89. on 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 103 04 03 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 KLAX Los Angeles CA Figure 50 METAR Station Setup 104 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 8 17 5 Displaying METAR Icons on the Desktop Van Nuys CA 7 I 66 2 F WIND BAROM HUM 13 29 88 83 06 02 2001 04 51pm Figure 51 METAR Icon After you have selected a specific METAR station for download you can display this data on your desktop Reference Figure 52 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 iconl jpg to icon30 jpg based on the display number
90. or 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 100 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut Internet P Email Settings Figure 49 Automatic E Mail Settings 8 16 2 Weather Reports Periodic weather reports can be sent based complex user defined schedule 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 101 04 03 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 sen
91. p p 1 emm 00 0 E 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 42 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide z 9 Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station VWS 5 O JE A a m J g m A 2 utdoor Humidity Indoor Temperature 7 Outdoor Temperature Barometric Pressure 0 Channel 1 Temperature 1 Channel 1 Humidity 12 Channel 2 Temperature 3 Channel 2 Humidity 4 Channel 3 Temperature 5 Channel 3 Humidity k 6 Evapotranspiration 18 Solar Radiation 9 Wind Chill 20 Indoor Heat Index N are Outdoor Heat Index 2 Dew Point 3 Sea level Barometric Pressure N 4 Pressure Altitude J E E s iK Le iz E p Du KC Ly E E E ps i Optional Sensor Davis Instruments only 43 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Parameter Name Measured Calculated by Calculated by by Station Station 6 Air Density N 7 Virtual Temperature 8 Vapor Pressure 9 Wind Direction Rate 0 ind Speed Rate 1 z ind Gust Rate 2 Indoor Humidity Rate C2 3 Outdoor Humidity Rate Co 4 Indoor Temperature Rate 5 Outdoor Temperature Rate Co 6 Barometric Pressure Rate 7 Total
92. perature and Humidity THGR 238 for the WMR 918 and WMR 968 Description Visit www weatherconnect com thgr238 Add Up to Three Additional Temperature and Humidity Sensors to the WMR 918 or WMR 968 For use with the Oregon Scientific WMR 918 968 weather stations Digital display shows humidity and temperature Sensors can be placed up to 120 feet from main display unit Operates on 2 AA batteries included Can also use Lithium AA for very cold conditions Deg F or C Display 3 channel displays Outdoor range 58F to 158F Table 18 Add on Sensors 135 04 03 02
93. pletes one revolution around the earth in 27 322 days with wi respect to the background stars This is called the SIDERIAL to the background stars This is called the SIDERIAL 129 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide PRESSURE ALTITUDE RATE OF CHANGE RELATIVE HUMIDITY SEA LEVEL PRESSURE SUNRISE SUNSET VAPOR PRESSURE Definition 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 air 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 d
94. rated 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 50 04 03 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 oo Wind Speed 0 00 3 0 00 0 00 Wind Gust s 000 000 IndoorHumidiy 0 00 E 0 00 a Outdoor Humidity gt 0 00 a 0 00 3 Indoor Temp gt 0 00 oo a Outdoor Temp 0 00 0 00 3 Barometer 0 00 F 0 00 a Total Rain 0 00 0 00 a Wind Chill 0 00 0 00 a IndoorHeatIndex lt 0 00 4 0 00 E QutdoorHeatindex 0 00 2 oo a Dew Point oo 3 0 00 H S L Barometer 0 00 0 00 E Pressure Altitude gt 0 00 E 0 00 a Cloud Base Height 0 00 3 000 a Air Density E 0 00 F 0 00 3 Recall Archive Record ed Degree Days Heating E 0 0 5 Dele veer 1595 Mari mie E Degree
95. riodically creates jpeg images for inclusion in your web page providing real time weather conditions which can be viewed from a web browser 37 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 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 ape pe F 80 50 100 Jpeg File Location Jpeg Files d Jpeg Update Jpeg Update Timer No Update Scheduled Update Jpegs Now Figure 17 Jpeg File Settings 6 15 Advanced Parameter Settings Menu Shortcut Settings gt Advanced Parameter Settings 38 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Virtual Weather Station provides the following advanced parameter settings 6 15 1 Degree Days Heating and Cooling Because temperature plays an important part in the r
96. 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 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 123 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution 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 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
97. rver 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 d M General Display Settings Distance Units SI km English kft and miles m Server NOAA I Hamweather Update Now Figure 53 METAR Icon Settings 8 17 7 METAR Report Generator Since METAR is the reporting standard for weather observations 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 107 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Menu Shortcut METAR gt METAR Generator METAR Report Generator 2001 05 30 04 50 ERA 3004502 CLR Figure 54 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 report
98. s 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 26 04 03 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 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
99. s Guide Problem Solution You can account for this inaccuracy by entering a number in the offset 60 minutes to 60 minutes Sunrise and sunset are off by e This problem may be related to the operating system s one hour or did not change daylight savings time clock The clock may not be with the Daylight Savings available on your system Time Change To account for this problem enter an offset of 60 minutes or 60 minutes 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 t
100. s are located in the following file location data metar txt 108 04 03 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 71 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 55 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 oF in i Dir Spd Gust miles KiGesS 57 23 99 57 29 97 oY 29 97 55 29 95 29 29 94 55 29 94 52 29 94 52 29 93 5 29 593 51 29 93 50 29 94 50 29 94 48 29 94 48 29 94 52 29 95 52 29 595 50 29 96 54 29 95 Figure 56 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 Os Gm eee als uS WwW oS ID ID IN ID WwW Ww Ov 00 c 2 5 0 000 lo l0 l9 l0 M n OY 00 co l2 2 100 O O Po NS NENNE Q0 o Q0 OU Q0 C O O Q iS BAB WWW OoocooooooonmnnnnbwvvxgvN Qo 0 00 0 0O 0 O io lO O Ii i O0 O O O NON OS D I
101. s or 2 an Internet related error occurs e NOTE The Internet log file can get very large It is recommended that the log file record fault data only unless advanced troubleshooting is required and the size of this file is monitored 113 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Internet Status _ Turn On Off All Internet Features eon Off Internet Log File v Activate Intemet Log p Record FaultsOnly A Record All Transfers EMail Error No error FTP Error No error Close Figure 61 Internet Status Messages and Error Log 9 Purchase Information To register Virtual Weather Station contact Ambient Software at http www ambientsw com Purchase htm for details You will receive a registration number To enter the registration number select Help Registration from the Menubar 10 NOAA Weather Server File Index The following is a list of files available from the NOAA server that can be downloaded automatically and inserted into your web page using the File Tag feature Note The NOAA server can be extremely slow at times File Location Description ftp weather noaa gov data climate daily Daily Climatological Report ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts air quality Air Quality Forecast ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts city ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts extended Extended Forecast ftp weather noaa gov data forecasts marine coast
102. se 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 54 04 03 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 Virtual 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 additi
103. se 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 33 04 03 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 m Font Settings Set all displays to same background Set all titles to same color Setall numbers to same color Set all frames to same color Set all needles to same color Set all fills to same color 3 5 Snap to Grid Pixels EH E Language Preference English v Scroll 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 r 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
104. 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 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 40 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Default Station Calculation Figure 18 Advanced Parameter Settings 6 15 8 Resetting Daily Minimum and Maximum Values Menu Shortcut Settings gt Reset Min and Max You can reset the daily minimums and maximums at any time by selecting the OK button Figure 19 Resetting Minimums and Maximums 6 16 Complete Parameter List Menu Shortcut Window gt Com plete Parameter List
105. t This is important for Email pagers where message length and bandwidth are important Referencing the Email alarm panel if condition 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 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 th
106. t mouse click on display SSW 208 moor Gust OD DA Out Temp 6 9 3 Color Spectrum T 12 50am 12 09am 12 47am Color bars change color based on adjustable C guum color spectrum Displays daily high low and 38 5 399 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 M 12 09am 12 52am V 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 OU EE PETRUS Pie chart displays historical distribution Range values are adjustable Note 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 off 23 04 03 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 24 04 03
107. t after Changing font type can also change the font size due to font changing the font type size limitations To restore default fonts select the Default button from the font settings window and restart the program The Moonrise or Moonset is Approximately once a month the moon does not rise or set showing instead of the time on a given day There is no data in my graph or The chart will be empty if 1 the database is empty example distribution chart when the when the program is first started or 2 Data has not been program is started collected in the plot time frame specified in the attributes window the program was turned off The data in my graph is wrong e This problem is generally a result of bad sensor data from How can I fix it 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 The data in my NOAA reports This problem is generally a result of bad sensor data from is wrong How can I fix it 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 120 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem The data looks overwritten when opened from the file folder i
108. t position reports weather reports and messages between users Reference the links provided in Figure 60 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 of the network 112 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide P APRS f Fa APRS File Settings JV Create APRS File every minute Feb 20 2001 21 14 336 000g000t049r000P000p024h98b1 0207 APRS Internet Links Packet Radio Website UI View APRS Net USA APRS Database Close Figure 60 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 occur
109. table 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 53 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Alarms Alarm Sound Settings No Parameter Condition Value Sound wav or Executable exe com bat Alarm EMail 1 ie oo Brose A r 2 si edo Browse a r xem I ee a r i dcaa w ses i3 T 5 vi w oo P n 6 AmA oo LIU 7 AA ow F a 8 vxi w oo La Alarm Update Timer 4 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 becau
110. ted MWS executable File Access ann Timer sec S Figure 9 Stationless Operation 6 5 7 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 7 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 Program 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 19 04 03 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
111. 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 12 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 eu Si Features escription kph mph 0 calm smoke rises vertically water smooth 1 light air smoke shows wind direction water ruffled 131 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide branches break from trees 75 87 47 54 trees uprooted weak buildings collapse 88 101 55 63 widespread damage 102 117 64 73 widespread structural damage
112. ter Dial up Stays connected to the remote server after dial up 2 Disconnect after Internet 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 dial up session is opened Virtual Weather Station will not disconnect from the remote server 78 04 03 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 04 03 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 maxi
113. ther Station User s Guide Attribute Description BEEN 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 Tile2Coo General Settings r 8 scuyifio Lower Lirnit Upper Limit Precision Add Second Plot ll Background a Frame Color i Number Color Needle Color E Frame Width Scale Fill Color B SE z 100 RY Auioscgk Graph Settings v Autoscale Plot goo IV Plot Previous ma hours Plot Style Tae pme Plot Color Gnd Color m 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 30 04 03 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
114. 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 have only those rights provided for such Software and any acco
115. tion 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 File Send Upload FTP Send Upload Files FTP Send Upload Files From Location Local Drive To Location Server Schedule Figure 47 Sending Files to the Internet FTP server 8 15 2 3 Retrieve Download Files from the Internet Files can be automatically downloaded from the Internet based on a schedule The files include any public file addressable from the Internet 98 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 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 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 wwsidataforecast txt Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse Browse fitp ftp noaa
116. tion 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 21 04 03 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 Settings 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 22 04 03 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 righ
117. 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 humidity 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 121 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Problem Solution agree with the sum of the daily Reference 6 18 2 for more details to correct this rainfall Yesterday s rain as reported by This is due to the unusual way the Oregon Scientific weather the weather station is not the stations report rain The station does not store today s rainfall same as yesterday s rain but only stores yesterday s rainfall If the software is not recorded in the summary panel 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 the software How do
118. 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 Website Builder from the Help Menu and select one of the Web Page Templates 88 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 8 13 Creating Web Pages with Virtual Weather Station Tags s 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 available 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
119. tp www earthlink net 2 User Name 3 Password Select OK The initial directory is optional 95 04 03 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 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
120. us 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 archive 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 66 04 03 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 33 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
121. vings 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 Conditions 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 loca
122. vxv 27 Moonrise vxv028 Moonset EVU Hoon 1 ase vxv 01 Wind Dir vhi 001 Wind Dir Hi vht 01 Wind Dir Hi Time vlo001 Wind Dir Lo vlt001 Wind Dir Lo Time vval01 Wind Dir Average vvr 1 Wind Dir Rate vrh D01 Wind Dir Rate Hi gt Tag vavO29 J 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 vx v vxv Virtual Weather value designates weather parameter number Example vxv006 whit vhi Virtual Weather Daily High yhtH vht Virtual Weather Daily High Time lo vio Virtual Weather Daily Low 90 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Tag Name Description vrEtHHE vrl Virtual Weather Rate Low mtriHEEABCD 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 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide Detailed Weather Conditions Virtual Weather Station Version vervws 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
123. weather station uses a different method for calculating wind gust You can override your station s default method and select the maximum within a specified number of samples 39 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide 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 new formula Standardization of the WCT Index among the meteorological community is important
124. zing the Program and Display When the display is minimized the title bar displays the outdoor temperature humidity wind direction and windspeed on the taskbar BE 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 Batt Age oRO 8M 11 09am 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 scheduled time to automate the process 63 04 03 02 Virtual Weather Station User s Guide WeatherLink Settings Your Station Drectog Schedule Example homeroof this name MUST match the station Browse PCLink w eatherLink Schedule name as described in Chapter 4 of the W eatherLink zd Software User s Guide WeatherLink Executable Davis WeatherLink Executable Location E eel NOAA Report Generate NOAA Monthly Report E

Virtual Weather Station Version 11 User's Manual

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