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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

Now set up my new WMR968 (from net-weather! :blush: ) and is working well.

I now want some nice software to run it into the PC and then onto the web.

I've looked at 'WeatherDisplay' and it looks horrible as interfaces go. Same goes for 'Virtual Weather Station'. Also they seem to not get any data which makes it harder to test!

Anyone know of a good & nice looking package I could use?

Cheers!

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Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
Now set up my new WMR968 (from net-weather! :blush: ) and is working well.

I now want some nice software to run it into the PC and then onto the web.

I've looked at 'WeatherDisplay' and it looks horrible as interfaces go. Same goes for 'Virtual Weather Station'. Also they seem to not get any data which makes it harder to test!

Anyone know of a good & nice looking package I could use?

Cheers!

Hi, i personally think Weather Display is truely excellent software. Its true that at first it puts you off, but once you figure out the basics it becomes a very powerful tool. Plus theres new releases regulary. Theres also a complete forum where people are asking questions, and you will be able to find any queries that you have about running it. The features are endless, and you can output a tonne of information to websit ect.

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

Cheers chaps. I'm now up & running with Virtual Weather Station. Looks ok but still getting used to it all!

btw - anyone know if I can attach a UV sensor to the WMR968?

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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Not sure. I have a WMR928NX weather station running Virtual Weather Station software (a standard edition of which came with the weather station) and I haven't come across any way to fit a UV sensor. Is it sunshine you're interested in recording?

My problem has always been the tradeoff between having a computer switched on constantly to log in the data (means large electricity usage, and problems with computer crashing), vs "investing" in a data logger. The reason for the inverted commas is that the only data logger I can find is a £150 one from Skyview, which I don't think is worth anywhere near that amount of money.

Otherwise I haven't had a problem with the software, it is pretty much what you'll see on the site of any professional "Weather Underground" type weather station on the Internet and was fine once I got used to it.

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

I'm getting used to Virtual Weather Station now and have got it publishing stuff to the web now. Will tidy it up so page looks nice & then put it into my website.

Looked around - looks like can't get a UV sensor for the WMR928. I'd like to have a light detector so not just for getting sunshine hours but for creating me a light intensity graph. Being able to sense UV level would be good too.

Same prob here with leaving PC on. Like it off at night really but can't now. Have set software to reboot pc just before I'm due to get up in the morning to clear things out.

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Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
I'm getting used to Virtual Weather Station now and have got it publishing stuff to the web now. Will tidy it up so page looks nice & then put it into my website.

Looked around - looks like can't get a UV sensor for the WMR928. I'd like to have a light detector so not just for getting sunshine hours but for creating me a light intensity graph. Being able to sense UV level would be good too.

Same prob here with leaving PC on. Like it off at night really but can't now. Have set software to reboot pc just before I'm due to get up in the morning to clear things out.

No you carnt get a UV sensor for that W/S, you could buy one separtly but you wont be able to do anything with it. I currently dont leave my PC on over night as a 650 Watt PSU esats up quite a bit of power, and the PC could do with a break. I may get a laptop and use that as a Weather monitor to keep it on all the time, and to use less power.

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Posted
  • Location: Scrabster Caithness (the far north of Scotland)
  • Location: Scrabster Caithness (the far north of Scotland)

my pc is on 24/7 unless the dog kicks it or some such mishap when i am not around. I find it doesn't make too much difference to my electricity usage (had a bug a while ago and was using £10 a day but found it to be water in the main meter leaking the electricity to earth!) the usage tests i went through were endless it seemed, but i figured out the two pc's we have here if left on 24/7 even if we don't turn off the monitors too use less than £3 a week put together, so stuff it, i upload 24/7 :)

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Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
my pc is on 24/7 unless the dog kicks it or some such mishap when i am not around. I find it doesn't make too much difference to my electricity usage (had a bug a while ago and was using £10 a day but found it to be water in the main meter leaking the electricity to earth!) the usage tests i went through were endless it seemed, but i figured out the two pc's we have here if left on 24/7 even if we don't turn off the monitors too use less than £3 a week put together, so stuff it, i upload 24/7 :doh:

I ahve a 650 watt PSU on my Pc, how much do you think that would coast 24/7. Also dont you ever get concered about if something went wrong with it and say possed a threat?

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Posted
  • Location: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
  • Weather Preferences: Extremes
  • Location: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
I ahve a 650 watt PSU on my Pc, how much do you think that would coast 24/7. Also dont you ever get concered about if something went wrong with it and say possed a threat?

Firstly, take 24 hours and divide by .650 which equals 15.6 That is 15.6kw hrs. Next look at your leccy bill and see how much you are paying for one unit of electricity. That unit should be shown as KW (Or Kw Hrs). So for pure example, If you are paying 10p per unit (Kw Hr) then 15.6 x 10p = £1.56 per day.

One important thing to remember though is that if you have economy7 meters (White metres) at night you will pay far less per unit, possibly as much as half. So your total cost might only be £1 per day. - dont forget to put your monitor on energy saving mode at night! :doh:

Regards Woody

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Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
Firstly, take 24 hours and divide by .650 which equals 15.6 That is 15.6kw hrs. Next look at your leccy bill and see how much you are paying for one unit of electricity. That unit should be shown as KW (Or Kw Hrs). So for pure example, If you are paying 10p per unit (Kw Hr) then 15.6 x 10p = £1.56 per day.

One important thing to remember though is that if you have economy7 meters (White metres) at night you will pay far less per unit, possibly as much as half. So your total cost might only be £1 per day. - dont forget to put your monitor on energy saving mode at night! :doh:

Regards Woody

Cheers for that, i will probaly move my PC into the attic, so i can leave it on all night . :doh::D

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Posted
  • Location: Scrabster Caithness (the far north of Scotland)
  • Location: Scrabster Caithness (the far north of Scotland)
I ahve a 650 watt PSU on my Pc, how much do you think that would coast 24/7. Also dont you ever get concered about if something went wrong with it and say possed a threat?

woody explained better than i about cost etc, but regarding anything happening, no it doesn't worry me. the comps are on a power surge protection thingy, the worst that can happen is they go off altogether and i don't send data to my website :)

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Posted
  • Location: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
  • Weather Preferences: Extremes
  • Location: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
woody explained better than i about cost etc, but regarding anything happening, no it doesn't worry me. the comps are on a power surge protection thingy, the worst that can happen is they go off altogether and i don't send data to my website :)

Paula, if you dont send data to your website... how is WD updated???

Oh, and I suppose you dont need to worry about surges there do you, after all, providing you've kept the 6 live haggis you caught full of Whisky, they'll run in that wheel and generate leccy for hours! :)

woody :)

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Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
woody explained better than i about cost etc, but regarding anything happening, no it doesn't worry me. the comps are on a power surge protection thingy, the worst that can happen is they go off altogether and i don't send data to my website :)

Its just im slightly concerned with overheating ect, fire hazards for example, but i suppose i coupld set up a shut down temp in the BIOS :)

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Posted
  • Location: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
  • Weather Preferences: Extremes
  • Location: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
Its just im slightly concerned with overheating ect, fire hazards for example, but i suppose i coupld set up a shut down temp in the BIOS :)

Cloudburst. I leave my PC on for days at a time, and when you think about it many many pcs are left running for weeks and weeks unattended for one reason or another.

Certainly the temp cut off would not hurt to be safe, also a cheap fire/smoke alarm wouldn't go amiss if you are that worried.

If you are in the UK (sorry cant check now), make sure your PC power lead plug has the lowest possible fuse rating in it and NOT a 13 amp one. That way at least it MIGHT blow before too much damage was done, or plug it in using an RCD device. All will certainly help to prevent fire.

Woody

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Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
Cloudburst. I leave my PC on for days at a time, and when you think about it many many pcs are left running for weeks and weeks unattended for one reason or another.

Certainly the temp cut off would not hurt to be safe, also a cheap fire/smoke alarm wouldn't go amiss if you are that worried.

If you are in the UK (sorry cant check now), make sure your PC power lead plug has the lowest possible fuse rating in it and NOT a 13 amp one. That way at least it MIGHT blow before too much damage was done, or plug it in using an RCD device. All will certainly help to prevent fire.

Woody

:) (Midlands is in U.K )

Yes i have decided to leave it on 24/7 soon, its going in my converted actic. :)

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Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
Firstly, take 24 hours and divide by .650 which equals 15.6 That is 15.6kw hrs. Next look at your leccy bill and see how much you are paying for one unit of electricity. That unit should be shown as KW (Or Kw Hrs). So for pure example, If you are paying 10p per unit (Kw Hr) then 15.6 x 10p = £1.56 per day.

One important thing to remember though is that if you have economy7 meters (White metres) at night you will pay far less per unit, possibly as much as half. So your total cost might only be £1 per day. - dont forget to put your monitor on energy saving mode at night! :)

Regards Woody

And divide that answer by 10 if you have a laptop running - about 60W seems the right figure. You could get an 2nd hand laptop for around £200 that could just be dedicated to the WS and would pay for itself soon enough. But how much hardware do we all want cluttering the place up? My office looks like a right spaghetti junction these days!

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Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
And divide that answer by 10 if you have a laptop running - about 60W seems the right figure. You could get an 2nd hand laptop for around £200 that could just be dedicated to the WS and would pay for itself soon enough. But how much hardware do we all want cluttering the place up? My office looks like a right spaghetti junction these days!

Yes indeed. Laptops are very low power and much safer to have on all the time. :)

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Posted
  • Location: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
  • Weather Preferences: Extremes
  • Location: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
Yes indeed. Laptops are very low power and much safer to have on all the time. :)

Darn it, I actually meant to say about laptops myself. I guess though the difference is actually having the cash to get one in the first place as opposed to paying a bit extra every month on the electric.

CB, sorry, I couldnt see your posting at the time, should have known when you used the word "attic" :)

Woody

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Posted
  • Location: Aviemore
  • Location: Aviemore

Laptop power consumption may be lower, but the problem with them is that they generate a lot more heat in a smaller box than a desktop pc so if left on all the time won't last particularly long. I wouldn't recommend leaving a laptop on 24/7.

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Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks

that is a good point Paul.

Personally I am at a loss to understand why there is so much concern about leaving a computer on 24/7. My electricity bills seem not much higher over the past 12 months than the previous 12. I have surge protectors on. Over the past 12 months my computer has been 24/7 whether I am at home or away; at times up to 14 days or so. Maybe I have been lucky but my web site designer and various 'techy' people I know on electrics and computers say the chances of any problems are very slight. My auto Wx station has not been without its problems but, that apart, it has functioned throughout on a 24/7 basis uploading to the net throughout at first 5 and now 30 minute intervals. The only reason its at that rate is that, due to needing a computer upgrade, its too heavy on computer power to do it more often.

So I'm happy to leave mine on 24/7

John

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Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
that is a good point Paul.

Personally I am at a loss to understand why there is so much concern about leaving a computer on 24/7. My electricity bills seem not much higher over the past 12 months than the previous 12. I have surge protectors on. Over the past 12 months my computer has been 24/7 whether I am at home or away; at times up to 14 days or so. Maybe I have been lucky but my web site designer and various 'techy' people I know on electrics and computers say the chances of any problems are very slight. My auto Wx station has not been without its problems but, that apart, it has functioned throughout on a 24/7 basis uploading to the net throughout at first 5 and now 30 minute intervals. The only reason its at that rate is that, due to needing a computer upgrade, its too heavy on computer power to do it more often.

So I'm happy to leave mine on 24/7

John

Itrs not a concern about Bills, but safety

Edited by ¤CloudBurst¤
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Posted
  • Location: Kent
  • Location: Kent
Safety? Aren't lots of things in the hosue left on all night? They seem to cope ok.

I have to admit that in the computer room at home, we leave all three comps on (standby) the whole time (and the fax etc). I also leave most electrical appliances plugged in which my Dad told me never to do.

He was a fireman in London Fire Brigade and told us that even if the telly is switched off, if it is still plugged in the wall, it could cause a fire.

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Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks

okay but I do not see a problem regarding safety either. As OOn has pointed out and also the point about safety was made by the computer people who say there is no safety problem unless the fan does not function correctly. Much the same as with any other electrical piece of equipment that generates heat.

John

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