Newby with Zephyr 1000 WS, software questions

Just got a Zephyr W/S, with Weather Display software as well as Easy Weather software, but both are the “crippled freebee” versions, very limited, no print capabilities, no data downloading to the internet, etc., etc. Is there better software (free) out there, or am I supposed to upgrade to the full versions of the above mentioned S/W?

have you tried google?

(I would have tried that before asking this question on the support forum for the software that you do not want to upgrade from the version supplied for free)

I’m not the OP, but I am in the same boat and when searching google for “weather station software zephyr” I found this thread and the zephyr website, and not a lot more. I also checked Wunderground for compatible software:

Virtual Weather Station
Weather Display
Weather View 32
WSWin32
WeatherLink
wview

And went to each one’s website and the only one that says it supports the Zephyr is Weather Display.

I kind of feel duped by Zephyr. I specifically bought their product because it said it was PC connected, Internet ready and includes the software. They did not disclose it was crippleware (if they did, I sure didn’t see it) and would not actually work w/the internet until you paid the $75 “upgrade” fee. If I add that price in, I think I could have bought another product ready to go. And one not limited to only one software pkg. Personally I do not like Weather Display. It’s ugly and well for lack of a better term… psychotic. The screens are all over the place and setup is like trying to read the fine print in a mortgage countract. It’s tiny and nothing makes any sense.

Also, and this is critical for me, the wind data on the head unit only updates like once every 10 minutes or so. The software does show updates every minute (after you set it up) but my Walmart $79 special shows wind speed updates every 15 seconds. (It does not have data logging, which is why I bought something else, but I still use the Walmart one so I can see gusts almost instantly.)

I have to vote thumbs down for the zephyr.

you are using the wrong name in your google search

They did not disclose it was crippleware (if they did, I sure didn't see it) and would not actually work w/the internet until you paid the $75 "upgrade" fee.

I would instead be thankfull that you have been provided with free software…software that I have provided for free and that you get for free

(I certainly dont though expect to get support forum postings like when give away something for free)

note that you can customise the weather display software to your liking (and even create a complete custom screen from scratch)

Free? It’s not free. In order for it to work as needed, you have to pay $75US for it, so it’s not free at all. I would not mind so much if that was disclosed by Zephyr that the software provided was a trial version and additional fees needed to be paid in order to get a fully working product. I know that is not your fault. But I would have preferred to be fully informed. Again, that’s not your fault per se, but you could mitigate the unhappy user problem by making sure Zephyr fully disclosed that your software is just a trial version and in fact in order to do what they show it will do you have to pay additional money to you for the software. They purposely show the screen captures showing some of the features that will only work if the software is paid for. I think most people would consider that deceptive. Again, not on your part, but if someone were using my product to sell their product and didn’t give full disclosure, I might want to have a talk with them.

On the other hand, they are distributing your software with their product and you probably do get a lot of sales from it when the people realize they’ve been mislead and the only way to get the feature promised will be to pay for the software… so maybe you don’t mind their tactics.

as they say “your mileage may vary.”

caveat emptour

P.S. I know writing software is work and I’m sure you are a dedicated person who takes pride in their efforts. So don’t take my comments personally. Take them as areas that need improvement and make your product better. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings.

P.S.S. I don’t know why my google search would be considered “wrong.” I was looking for weather station software that would work with the zephyr weather station. Seems logical to me.

I can’t imagine how the author could do anything but take your comments personally. Calling FREE WD “crippleware” because it doesn’t happen to include all the features that you want is pretty insulting IMHO. If it only worked for a few days, or didn’t store the data then you could call it that, but that’s not the case. It actually has most of the features of the non-free “basic” versions of other software that are sold by other vendors who then sell you “ugrades” if you want functions like internet.

P.S. I know writing software is work and I'm sure you are a dedicated person who takes pride in their efforts. So don't take my comments personally. Take them as areas that need improvement and make your product better. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings.

now thats just getting insulting

the station has many different brand names

once you search for the commenly called brand name then you will get more hits on your google search

Wow. I guess New Zealanders have a different take on the English language. I apologize if my words hurt your feelings and you call that an insult?

Must be a cultural thing.

Best of luck to you. Thank you for replying.

It could be considered “bait and switch” which is a crime in the US. If you advertise a product and indicate it has certain features and then once you get that product find that you have to spend more money to get those features, that is against the law in most every civilized country.

In this case the author of the software would be protected… up to a certain point, because he is not the one advertising the product that way. But he may be benefiting from what might be the illegal actions of another… so I could be considered “unjust enrichment.”

Either way it’s not a big deal, I’ll just keep looking for the software that will do what I want and/or take it up with the seller of the product. I just wanted to see the reaction of the author because it would tell me if he is aware of how his product is being used.

Sorry if I missed it in your posts but could you please supply a link to the Zephyr page that contains these false claims?

I have the Zephyr Station. Zephyr does not advertise anywhere that the software provided with the station is WD. They only advertise
that Graphic Display Software is provided with the station. So, how can anyone have any perceived "expectations on what the software can or
can’t do when they make their purchase. There isn’t any misrepresentation that I can see. The basic WD software that came with my station works fine for my personal use, and it is “head and tails” better than the Easy weather that also came with the system. I noticed that many on this forum, are more advanced than i when it comes to this stuff. Bottom line, I’m very happy with my station and the basic WD software which I’ve been using for 7 months now. If and when I learn more, I can buy the full WD package if i want.
My only complaint so far with the system is that it only reads down to 10% RH. I live in Arizona and we often hit 3-4%. The display reads – below 10%.

thanks for that nice and positive posting, good stuff :slight_smile:

was wondering if anyone ever found a solution to using the Zephyr with free or cheaper software. Does the program that it comes with, create a comma delimited file? I am looking for a cheaper solution for a weather station and if this will work uploading to a weather website, it will be a good option for me. I have one that works with WUHU software using the serial port on the computer. WUHU also supports files that are uploaded into a comma delimited file. I realize that may mean running 2 weather programs to do it all, but I could live with that.

Thanks for taking time to answer.

This is the support forum for Weather Display software which works well with the Zephyr, it’s not free but excellent value for its low cost.