New Metservice Your Weather Feature

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TLD

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# 160249 29-Dec-2014 23:16

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Saw this on the six o'clock news tonight (Monday). On the Metservice.com site, click on your home town, and then on the Your Weather tab to the left of the 5 Day and 10 day tabs. The idea is that if you have a weather station you can share your data with other people. You have to register and account with the UK Met Service WOW (Weather Observation Website), and if you have a weather station with a wireless connection to an app like Cumulus, you'll have real time updating info for your site.

These are the Auckland site locations
http://metservice.com/towns-cities/auckland/auckland-central#!/your-weather

I have an Aercus WS3083 and Cumulus, and have registered a WOW account, but not yet completely sussed getting online. It's a bit of a palaver, so I'm hoping other people might be interested. There are also the Cumulus forums where people are bound to know the ins and out of it all.

http://sandaysoft.com/forum/

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

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# 1205812 29-Dec-2014 23:31

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I have Accuweather on my phone and I am consistently amazed by the accuracy of the forecasts.

I did look at getting some kind of weather station a while ago, but all the ones I found that had computer functionality only worked with PC, not Mac so I stopped looking. Someone may have seen the light since...!

grant_k

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# 1205841 30-Dec-2014 00:55

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I use Weather Display software rather than Cumulus, and with a few minutes following the well-documented procedure here, got everything working. Although the UK Met Office's WOW service seems very reliable, the same cannot be said of the MetService's 'Your Weather' feature. A few minutes ago, all the personal weather stations across the country had disappeared, and this is not the first time it's been like this. When it is actually working though, the data from the personal weather stations provides a lot more localised readings, although the calibration of many personal sites leaves a lot to be desired.

I use a Davis Vantage Pro 2+ which is the gold standard for personal weather stations. All Davis models are very well supported by the Weather Display software, and what's more, it is written by a Kiwi and supported by a very active forum which makes all the difference when you want to do something a little unusual with the software. Most likely, someone else has already done what you are wanting to do, and usually, there are several people happy to help.

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# 1205842 30-Dec-2014 00:57

Geektastic: ...
I did look at getting some kind of weather station a while ago, but all the ones I found that had computer functionality only worked with PC, not Mac so I stopped looking. Someone may have seen the light since...!

Yes indeed, Weather Display runs on a Mac as well as Windows and Linux. There are apps for iOS and Android too.

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# 1205853 30-Dec-2014 04:20

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I've got the same setup as grant_k with uploading data to my website and weatherunderground.

Then use the weather underground app on my phone which shows the current temperature at all times in the notification area on HTC one. The app also shows the temp data for the other 5 people in my town uploading data. Only wish the app would show UV data too from my station..

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TLD

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Ultimate Geek

# 1205872 30-Dec-2014 08:41

This page describes your site Attributes

http://wow.metoffice.gov.uk/support/siteRatings#locationAttributes

It uses the letter 'h' as a unit of measurement. Anyone know what this refers to?

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

jamesrt

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# 1205895 30-Dec-2014 09:03

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TLD: This page describes your site Attributes

http://wow.metoffice.gov.uk/support/siteRatings#locationAttributes

It uses the letter 'h' as a unit of measurement. Anyone know what this refers to?

From the page:

Exposure guidelines are based on a multiple of the height h of the obstruction above the sensor height; the standard is a minimum distance of twice the height (2h). Thus for a raingauge at 30 cm above ground, a building 5 m high should be at least 9.4 m distant (5 m less 0.3 m, x 2), and a 10 m building should be at least 17 m from a thermometer screen (10 m less 1.5 m, x2)

To me, this reads that "h" is a dynamic unit-of-measurement, which is used to ensure that various components are placed correctly (presumably to avoid shadows, either light and/or rain). The worked example "Thus for a raingauge at 30 cm above ground..." seems clear enough to me.

TLD

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# 1205909 30-Dec-2014 09:25

Thanks James. I've got my WOW info, pin and site numbers sorted. Just need to get Cumulus communicating with WOW now.

[EDIT] OK, I'm online. Rapaura NW of Blenheim.

http://www.metservice.com/towns-cities/blenheim#!/your-weather

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

ubernoob

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# 1206176 30-Dec-2014 19:06

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I have a Davis vantage pro2+ like grant_k but just upload my data to the Davis world wide weather site

http://www.weatherlink.com/map.php

just zoom in to view info anywhere

click on the name of the station for more detailed info

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# 1206218 30-Dec-2014 20:07

Mine is up on WOW as of watching the news last night as well , I have had a station for a many number of years now but just use the data on my own machines. I use a fine offset station which suits me for what I use it for.
I also use Cumulus for my weather station software.

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TLD

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# 1206257 30-Dec-2014 22:14

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ubernoob: I have a Davis vantage pro2+ like grant_k but just upload my data to the Davis world wide weather site

http://www.weatherlink.com/map.php

just zoom in to view info anywhere

click on the name of the station for more detailed info

I'm thinking that's a thousand dollar weather station! And you are not the only person in this thread who takes his weather that seriously. I paid $350 for the WS3083 and chose it specifically because of its link to the computer and Cumulus, but I love the idea of linking to 'Your Weather'.

The WS3083 is my second station. The first one did not link to the computer, and sort of died of UV damage with the anemometer disintegrating first, and then it became impossible to replace the battery after the aging plastic welded itself together. I've also managed to get the station much higher this time by using a hinge at the bottom of the main support. This has made it way easier to take down and put back up. The old station needed cleaning periodically to remove spiders from the rain gauge. This one seems to be spider proof.

I'm a tiny bit concerned about my wind direction which has consistently shown as about -40° to -60° compared to the other four sites in my area. One of those is the official Met Service site at Blenheim airport at Woodburne, which has a similar rural location to my site. The other three are in urban Blenheim, but they have shown similar average wind direction to Woodburne throughout today. I set mine up using the compass on my iPhone. Any thoughts on that?

A picture would obviously help, but it's dark outside. I had a go anyway. This is looking a little north of east. I'd guess that the top of the pole is just a bit higher than the ridge line of the house.

[EDIT] I'm thinking I'm probably obsessing about this a wee bit considering I've only had the link up less than a day, but I have a feeling that Geekzoners tend towards obsessive natures when it comes to anything vaguely tech.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

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# 1206262 30-Dec-2014 22:31

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Someone is watching as this thread is now listed as a source for information on the metservice website..

This interest can get expensive.

My Vantage pro2 station was $1300+ when bought in 2007 and I bought solar and UV sensors 4 months ago ($500+) but then again, how much have I spent on pc's since then..

Got registered with WOW now too (Dunedin).

Pity WOW uk site doesn't display the uv or solar data then weather display is sending it though.

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# 1206264 30-Dec-2014 22:45

TLD

I'd suggest two possible reasons for the discrepancy in the wind directions. I think your wind vane might be too close to your roof to be able to measure an uninterrupted wind flow.

Secondly you need to be sure whether or not the directions are being quoted in True or Magnetic. The magnetic variation at Blenheim is 22 degrees East. In other words 060 degrees True is 038 degrees Magnetic.

The weather report will likely be in True, your phone will be in Magnetic.

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grant_k

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# 1206279 30-Dec-2014 23:45

TLD: I'm thinking that's a thousand dollar weather station! And you are not the only person in this thread who takes his weather that seriously. I paid $350 for the WS3083 and chose it specifically because of its link to the computer and Cumulus, but I love the idea of linking to 'Your Weather'.

The WS3083 is my second station. The first one did not link to the computer, and sort of died of UV damage with the anemometer disintegrating first, and then it became impossible to replace the battery after the aging plastic welded itself together.

I started out with an Oregon Scientific, then a LaCrosse and then a Honeywell before splashing out on a Davis. Each of those earlier stations had serious deficiencies, or didn't last very long:

The Oregon Scientific had very poor wireless range between the indoor display and outdoor sensors
The LaCrosse rain gauge wasn't properly sealed against ants who got in and ruined it
The Honeywell had much better wireless range between the indoor display and outdoor sensors, but:
- The UV sensors kept failing at about 18 months of age (just outside the warranty)
- The outdoor temperature sensor didn't have a proper radiation shield so it suffered from excessively high readings on sunny days
- The wireless range still wasn't good enough

It doesn't take too many replacement weather stations before you've paid for most of a Davis, and whereas you usually can't get parts for OS, LaCrosse etc, with Davis you can buy all the spares at very reasonable prices.

TLD: I'm a tiny bit concerned about my wind direction which has consistently shown as about -40° to -60° compared to the other four sites in my area. One of those is the official Met Service site at Blenheim airport at Woodburne, which has a similar rural location to my site.

This illustrates another big benefit of owning a Davis:

You can separate your wind sensors from the rest of the instruments by a distance of 100-200 metres if necessary
I have my wind sensor on a tall pole mounted near the top of a hill behind our house

TLD: The other three are in urban Blenheim, but they have shown similar average wind direction to Woodburne throughout today. I set mine up using the compass on my iPhone. Any thoughts on that?

Check for magnetic North vs. True North as Technofreak suggested above.

TLD: A picture would obviously help, but it's dark outside. I had a go anyway. This is looking a little north of east. I'd guess that the top of the pole is just a bit higher than the ridge line of the house.

Reflected heat from your dark roof makes this a less-than-ideal site for a temp/hum sensor. However, such is the lot of most urban dwellers, with any possible location involving a fair amount of compromise. A pole in the middle of a grassy backyard would probably be better, but may suffer from poor WAF

TLD: [EDIT] I'm thinking I'm probably obsessing about this a wee bit considering I've only had the link up less than a day, but I have a feeling that Geekzoners tend towards obsessive natures when it comes to anything vaguely tech.

Yep, you've got that right

I didn't start out 'obsessive' about weather, but ended up heading that way after encountering shortcomings in my various early hardware purchases. I imported my own Davis weather station and have replaced a fair number of parts over the years, but they've all been minor things apart from a transmitter circuit board used in two of the remote stations. Also, the fans used inside the radiation shield don't seem to last that long, and my second one has just died. They are cheap enough to replace, but it's a few hours work to do so, meaning I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Apart from those minor grizzles, I'm very happy with my Davis and from what I've seen, anybody who is serious about running their own weather station, ends up with one sooner or later.

TLD

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# 1206804 1-Jan-2015 11:40

I had a look at moving the mast, but the best alternative location did not get approval from my wife :-( But having had a good scout round, I'm inclined to leave it where it is. I did drop the mast and made a few changes though. I moved the rain gauge and solar panel/transmitter down away from the anemometer and wind direction sensors, and corrected the wind direct from iPhone north to map north. Since putting the mast back up my wind direction is showing the same as the Met Service site at Blenheim airport.

Any tips about barometric pressure? When I fist installed the current station I had a significant discrepancy with Blenheim airport, and have used a -10 offset in the Cumulus Calibration panel. The Aercus display shows about 1hpa higher than Cumulus, which — from the limited data set so far available — is about 1hpa higher than Blenheim airport. The offset of 10 feels like a suspiciously round number.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

Technofreak

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# 1206821 1-Jan-2015 12:39

TLD: I had a look at moving the mast, but the best alternative location did not get approval from my wife :-( But having had a good scout round, I'm inclined to leave it where it is. I did drop the mast and made a few changes though. I moved the rain gauge and solar panel/transmitter down away from the anemometer and wind direction sensors, and corrected the wind direct from iPhone north to map north. Since putting the mast back up my wind direction is showing the same as the Met Service site at Blenheim airport.

Any tips about barometric pressure? When I fist installed the current station I had a significant discrepancy with Blenheim airport, and have used a -10 offset in the Cumulus Calibration panel. The Aercus display shows about 1hpa higher than Cumulus, which — from the limited data set so far available — is about 1hpa higher than Blenheim airport. The offset of 10 feels like a suspiciously round number.

The barometric pressure as displayed from the Met Service is corrected to sea level pressure. As you most likely know air pressure reduces with altitude at a rate of 1 Hpa per 30 feet. For example the actual air pressure measured on a 300 foot high hill might be 1010 Hpa but that pressure corrected to sea level will be 1010 + (300/30) or 1020 Hpa, which is the figure you'll see from the Met Service.

You will need to correct for the elevation at which you are measuring the pressure. Unless you know the elevation of your barometer accurately, the easiest way to calibrate for your location is to set your barometer to read the same as a nearby location. Generally I would consider anything within 30 km as being nearby. The exceptions to this would be if there is a significant change in elevation or high terrain between the two points or there is a high pressure gradient.

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