Well, I settled on a Desktop PC with Windows 10 Home as my O.S., and have purchased a Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus Weather Station along with WeatherlinkIP.
My intentions are to display “realtime” readings from the station to the Weatherlink App. and display on my Android Phone and Tablet. I also want to use “Weather Display” software to send that data to Weather Underground and to have the “realtime” data used on WU’s Rapid Fire format.
Also, Weather Display will supply my Station’s readings to the WXSIM forecasting software program on my computer, so hence I am not concerned about my desktop running 24/7.
My Dillema is, that I heard that if I use Weatherlink to send the data to Weather Underground , it would only download every 15 minutes ?
I was hoping for realtime with Underground’s Rapid fire .
If this is true, how can I hook up the Vantage Pro Weather Station data to my computer so Weather Display software can feed Weather Underground in realtime? and have the WeatherlinkIP feed the Weatherlink APP in realtime.
If someone has done this, please let me know what I would need to do this.
Hi
you can set WD to get the data from the weatherlink api web site
but that will be once a minute data, so not real time
you can set WD to get the data direct from the IP data logger
but then that mean there is often a bit of conflict with the IP data logger then trying to update weatherlink.com
I think I may have found a work- a- around for that situation.
I believe my Vantage Pro 2 console is capable of retransmitting data to another “add-on” console .
If so, perhaps I could use that console with hopefully either a USB or 232 serial capability to link to my Desktop, then run it through the Weather Display software which in turn would feed to WeatherUnderground and supply data for the WXSIM software.
I haven’t varified this yet , but am hoping that this will satisfy my intentions of having the realtime data routed to Weatherlink for my media devices and provide a separate routed link to WeatherDisplay, into WeatherUnderground and supply data for WXSIM.
If anyone has any other ideas, it would be most appreciated.
Update.
Just purchased my Weather Display software for the dedicated Computer and I am running the Vantage Pro 2 plus IP logger into the Weather Display Software.
Weather Display is getting updates from the Logger in 1 minute internals, as expected, so would imagine when I set up the Weather Underground feed through Weather Display, that too will update in 1 minute intervals also. ( better than 15 minute data uploads directly from Weatherlink )
Spoke to Davis support and they said that maybe I wouldn’t have to set up a “second console with the USB logger option” line to my Computer for real time feed but really wasn’t sure and didn’t seem interested in taking the time to “scheme” it out.
So in short, will join Weather Underground thru Weather Display with hopefully the 1 minute updates for now, until I am able to purchase the extra console and USB logger. Which will hopefully update both Weather Display and Underground with “real time” updates.
Wondering if I add WXSIM to the mix at this point, whether the 1 minute data Intervals will affect WXSIM pinging Weather Display for Station data ?
Citizen Weather Observer Program (at 1 minute interval)
Note: The intervals specified above represent the minimum time between uploads as provided by the ‘WiFiLogger’)
The ‘WiFiLogger’, as its name implies, is a data logger (such as the Davis Instruments WeatherLink Serial Data Logger, WeatherLink USB Data Logger or WeatherLinkIP Data Logger) that fit directly inside a Vantage Pro2 or a Vantage Vue console. But rather than using a cable (serial/USB/network) to send its data, it communicates directly with the internal WiFi network. Weather Display can be easily setup to capture the data from the WiFi network.
Can the WifiLogger send data to Weatherlink at one minute intervals and make the data available for Weather Display on a dedicated computer simultaneously? I want to be able to run WXSIM and feed my own website from Weather Display and also feed Weatherlink. I can add a wireless card to my always on computer to get the data from the WIFILogger and replace the USB datalogger in my console.
It sure does. As I indicated in the previous message, the ‘WiFiLogger’ can send its data (without relying on any other external source other than the Vantage Pro2/Vantage Vue console) to the WeatherLink site at 1 minute interval.
Since the ‘WiFiLogger’ sends its data via WiFi, it does not matter how many other devices listen in on its communication with the local router. Weather Display can be set up to listen to a specific IP address and specific port number - so, Weather Display can easily listen and process the data from the ‘WiFiLogger’ (see below).
You do not need to add a WiFi card to your computer as the ‘WiFiLogger’ does not communicate directly (at all) with your computer - the ‘WiFiLogger’ communicates directly with the router to which your computer should be connected (in order to upload any weather data to the Internet).
The only requirement that I will suggest is that, inside your router, you assign a fixed IP address to/for the ‘WiFiLogger’ - this way, whenever the router is re-started/re-booted, the ‘WiFiLogger’ will always be re-assigned the same IP address.
Having a fixed IP address to/for the ‘WiFiLogger’ makes it easier to setup Weather Display as you will not need to change the setting in Weather Display whenever the router is re-started/re-booted.
Finally, you will need to remove your USB Data Logger and replace it with the ‘WiFiLogger’ as the USB Data Logger will not be required.
By the way, I have one ‘alway-on’ computer uploading to my site the weather data captured by the ‘WiFiLogger’ and processed by Weather Display. This ‘alway-on’ computer is also uploading the data processed by WXSIM, the data processed by IPTimelapse (IP camera) and the data produced by my PurpleAir sensor.
I could have used Weather Display to upload the data to Weather Underground but since the ‘WiFiLogger’ can do that operation (all by itself), I decided to use the ‘WiFiLogger’ and check/test its reliability.
Thanks for the information. Sounds like I need to get a WiFiLogger to expand what I can do with my data. The only other question I have is what happens if the main power goes out and the console goes on batteries? Does the WiFiLogger store data and transmit it when power is restored like a regular datalogger? Thanks again.
This looks like it is a solution for my issue.
Right now I am using the WeatherLink IP Logger and feeding via my Wi-Fi, Weather Display, which in turn is feeding Weather Underground.
At this time, Weather Display is being updated at 1 minute intervals, which I assume Weather Display is also updating Weather Underground at the same rate even though I have checked “Rapid Fire” on Weather Display’s Underground’s setup.
I also want to add WXSIM into the mix with Weather Display for personalized weather forecasts which I may add to a Website at a later date.
It is my understanding that the ‘WiFiLogger’ behaves exactly the same way as all three Davis Instruments data loggers.
May I suggest that you log on the ‘WXForum.net’ where you could/would meet ‘Wojciech’, the designer and producer of the ‘WiFiLogger’ - Wojciech is very present on the forum, answering all questions quite promptly and even being very open and accepting (and at time implementing quite rapidly) new improvements/suggestions.
Dave, please allow me to correct you here - neither the Davis Instruments WeatherLinkIP Data Logger nor Weather Display are using WiFi - they are connecting to router via network cables…
As I wrote in a previous message, as a test/experiment, I have set up the ‘WiFiLogger’ to send its data directly to Weather Underground (I did not set the ‘WiFiLogger’ to send its data to Weather Underground RapidFire as I think it is adding additional Internet traffic with no real benefit) bypassing my ‘weather’ computer.
But, I am using my ‘weather’ computer to run Weather Display, WXSIM, GRLevel3, FWI, IPTimelapse and a few other software to produce weather-related data and to upload that data to my personalized semi-private ‘home/office’ web server. 8)
But, but, indeed, you are splitting hairs in six… :lol:
We know, you and I, that the Davis Instruments WeatherLinkIP Data Logger is not a WiFi device by itself…
Nor is Weather Display a WiFi software by itself…
Nor is WXSIM a WiFi software by itself…
I had read the other messages posted by Dave and I ‘presumed’ (not to write ‘assumed’) that Dave could/might possibly be using the ‘general’ term WiFi to indicate any/all things/devices that are connected to a network… :oops:
Indeed, as Brian indicated, there is a complete thread (message base) dedicated to the WiFiLogger.
But, since you asked…
I have been using the WiFiLogger since September 2018 - the WiFiLogger replaced the Davis Instruments WeatherLink IP logger that had been in my Vantage Pro2 Plus console for years.
The WifiLogger is not just (as you wrote) a ‘kool wee device’, it is a practical well designed and well supported logger that allows one to finally be able to move the console to an unlimited number of locations thanks to the use of WiFi to transmit the data received by the console. Not only can the WiFiLogger emulate the WeatherLink IP logger (and the weather station data be easily processed by Weather Display software), it can, without any external assistance, send/upload the data to a good number of weather sites, such as WeatherLink, Weather Underground, Personal Weather Station, Weather Cloud, AWEKAS, Met Office WOW, Citizen Weather Observer Program.
For me (and my needs), the WiFiLogger has been operating very reliably without any issue.
As for Davis Instruments buying the WiFiLogger … Davis Instruments does not, to my knowledge, buy devices made by other designers (ie: competition). Also, Davis Instruments have just released their over-priced and over-limited WeatherLink Live…
Thank Rob - had read some of your posts on this subject and appreciate the feedback.
I run a almost business grade network at home, and would like to have my VP2 on the network with the feeds going up not only Brians great Weather Display (using over 10 years), but to growing number of other sites - most mentioned in your posts.
So appreciate this - means I can put the VP2 in the kitchen and not connected to my server in the back room
Cheers,
Paul
