Two questions... new user here... both software and hardware

[Malakie]

I bought and set up an Ambient Weather WS-2080 station. I am trying to use Cumulus and get it set up.. So far most things I have figured out but I have a couple things I am unable to resolve.

First, the 'forecast' text always says the same thing "Exceptional Weather, Stormy, Much Precipitation"... How do I fix this. The barometer and other numbers, with exception to wind speed being off a couple points, match the weather station display...

Second, the wind speed in Cumulus is 2 mph faster than the actual weather station display. As I had to do with the barometer, I went to calibration to try and add a -2 to the wind speed to get to match the display. Cumulus will not accept the -2.... So how do I get the Cumulus display to match the weather station out put? It is always 2 mph faster in cumulus.

Is there a way to have Cumulus do an update from the Weather Station with a mouse click?

Is there a way to set Cumulus to read in real time or say in .5 second intervals?

Finally, what is the text field labeled Current: at the bottom of the screen for?

[steve]

First, the 'forecast' text always says the same thing "Exceptional Weather, Stormy, Much Precipitation"... How do I fix this.

It's probably your 'pressure extreme' settings, see the FAQ: http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/FAQ#My_for ... itation.22

Second, the wind speed in Cumulus is 2 mph faster than the actual weather station display.

You're probably not comparing the same values; see the FAQ: http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/FAQ#Cumulu ... my_console

As I had to do with the barometer, I went to calibration to try and add a -2 to the wind speed to get to match the display. Cumulus will not accept the -2.

The wind speed calibration setting is a multiplier, so a negative number is not valid. Note that the calibration settings are not to make Cumulus display the same as the console; it does that anyway. The calibration settings are to compensate for the station sensor inaccuracies. If you have had to apply a pressure calibration setting to make Cumulus display the same as the console, then you are probably looking at the "absolute" figure on the console. Cumulus displays "relative" pressure, which is pressure adjusted to compensate for your altitude, so that it is comparable with other stations. You need to set your console to display "relative" pressure, and also make sure that you have set the relative pressure correctly. See the FAQ: http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/FAQ#Cumulu ... et_console

Is there a way to have Cumulus do an update from the Weather Station with a mouse click?

No, sorry. Cumulus already reads the data from the station pretty much as soon as new data is available; you are never more than a few seconds way from Cumulus doing a read of the data automatically.

Is there a way to set Cumulus to read in real time or say in .5 second intervals?

Cumulus already updates in 'close to' real time. Fine Offset stations only update every 48 seconds. Cumulus should update with new data within a few seconds of the station receiving new data, every 48 seconds or so. It has no easy way of knowing when the data has changed, so it just reads the data every 10 seconds. Yes, I suppose it could read more often than that, and reduce the time between the station updating and Cumulus updating, but as the update interval is 48 seconds, a potential lag of a few seconds isn't significant.

Finally, what is the text field labeled Current: at the bottom of the screen for?

See the help for the main screen:

"At the bottom right hand corner is a 'Current Conditions' text box, which is invisible until turned on with the option in the display settings. A description of the current conditions can be entered here, and the web tag <#currcond> will be replaced by this text if used in a web page processed by Cumulus. If a file called 'currentconditions.txt' exists in the same directory as the Cumulus executable, the contents of this file will be used for the web tag instead, and at the time the web tag is processed, the current conditions box will be updated with the contents of the file. The file will be deleted if the text in the current conditions box is modified, either by being edited, or as a result of the file being used in the processing of the <#currcond> web tag"

[Malakie]

First, the 'forecast' text always says the same thing "Exceptional Weather, Stormy, Much Precipitation"... How do I fix this.

It's probably your 'pressure extreme' settings, see the FAQ: http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/FAQ#My_for ... itation.22

Second, the wind speed in Cumulus is 2 mph faster than the actual weather station display.

You're probably not comparing the same values; see the FAQ: http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/FAQ#Cumulu ... my_console

As I had to do with the barometer, I went to calibration to try and add a -2 to the wind speed to get to match the display. Cumulus will not accept the -2.

The wind speed calibration setting is a multiplier, so a negative number is not valid. Note that the calibration settings are not to make Cumulus display the same as the console; it does that anyway. The calibration settings are to compensate for the station sensor inaccuracies. If you have had to apply a pressure calibration setting to make Cumulus display the same as the console, then you are probably looking at the "absolute" figure on the console. Cumulus displays "relative" pressure, which is pressure adjusted to compensate for your altitude, so that it is comparable with other stations. You need to set your console to display "relative" pressure, and also make sure that you have set the relative pressure correctly. See the FAQ: http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/FAQ#Cumulu ... et_console

Is there a way to have Cumulus do an update from the Weather Station with a mouse click?

No, sorry. Cumulus already reads the data from the station pretty much as soon as new data is available; you are never more than a few seconds way from Cumulus doing a read of the data automatically.

Is there a way to set Cumulus to read in real time or say in .5 second intervals?

Cumulus already updates in 'close to' real time. Fine Offset stations only update every 48 seconds. Cumulus should update with new data within a few seconds of the station receiving new data, every 48 seconds or so. It has no easy way of knowing when the data has changed, so it just reads the data every 10 seconds. Yes, I suppose it could read more often than that, and reduce the time between the station updating and Cumulus updating, but as the update interval is 48 seconds, a potential lag of a few seconds isn't significant.

Finally, what is the text field labeled Current: at the bottom of the screen for?

See the help for the main screen:

"At the bottom right hand corner is a 'Current Conditions' text box, which is invisible until turned on with the option in the display settings. A description of the current conditions can be entered here, and the web tag <#currcond> will be replaced by this text if used in a web page processed by Cumulus. If a file called 'currentconditions.txt' exists in the same directory as the Cumulus executable, the contents of this file will be used for the web tag instead, and at the time the web tag is processed, the current conditions box will be updated with the contents of the file. The file will be deleted if the text in the current conditions box is modified, either by being edited, or as a result of the file being used in the processing of the <#currcond> web tag"

Thanks for the detailed reply.. it helped a lot...