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Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 3:12 pm
by THX
In less than three hours I assembled my Vantage Vue ISS with the Vantage Pro2 console, mounted it on my deck, installed and configured Cumulus and uploaded the data to my website.
The appearance of Cumulus simply blows away all of the other weather programs out there that use circa 1990 graphics. Cumulus appears to be the real deal.
I have a few questions I was hoping to get your help on and please forgive the numerous cross-topic questions:
1) Is there any way to get the Vantage Pro2 console to display 10ths of a degree instead of the rounded-up number?
2) Does anyone have any suggestions or a website to refer me to in order to help me get the Cumulus Realtime function to work (my broken realtime URL is listed below).
3) Where is the cloud base variable taken from? The reason I ask is because it's bright and sunny here but a cloud base was listed for my location.
4) Do you have any suggestions or a website to refer me to in order to modify the existing HTM files that are uploaded as part of the standard Cumulus website package?
5) Is there any way to get my Cumulus website to auto-refresh every 5 minutes? Even though my website says that it updates the weather every 5 minutes the web page actually does not auto-refresh. I assume this will be some sort of refresh META tag but I wanted to confirm.
My real-time broken URL:
http://whisperinghillsweather.info/real ... ltime.html
Again, I can't believe how awesome Cumulus is functioning so far. I look forward to what version 2 brings to the table.
http://whisperinghillsweather.info/
http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstat ... =KMOCREVE3
http://www.wunderground.com/swf/Rapid_F ... =KMOCREVE3
Regards,
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 3:30 pm
by daj
Let's see how many we can get answered....
THX wrote:5) Is there any way to get my Cumulus website to auto-refresh every 5 minutes? Even though my website says that it updates the weather every 5 minutes the web page actually does not auto-refresh. I assume this will be some sort of refresh META tag but I wanted to confirm.
Correct. Web pages are traditionally static but more sites engage new technologies to refresh parts of the page. The easiest was is, as you say, to use a refresh Meta tag. It's a quick and dirty method. In your <HEAD> section insert ...
Code: Select all
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="300">
300 seconds = 5 minutes.
This will refresh the whole page after 5 minutes. Of course, you have to wonder if someone will sit on the same page for that length of time, but perhaps you keep the page open yourself to look at.
Note, if editing the html of a 'standard' page for Cumulus you need to edit the xxxT.htm file in the 'web' folder of the Cumulus installation -- these are the files Cumulus uses to build your site each time. Also, if you upgrade Cumulus it will replace your customised web files with the standard again, so keep a copy!
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 3:38 pm
by steve
THX wrote:1) Is there any way to get the Vantage Pro2 console to display 10ths of a degree instead of the rounded-up number?
Degrees as in temperature, rather than bearing? Mine displays 10th of a degree, and I don't think I had to do anything special to get it to do that. Does Cumulus display the 10ths?
2) Does anyone have any suggestions or a website to refer me to in order to help me get the Cumulus Realtime function to work (my broken realtime URL is listed below).
The Firefox error console shows:
Error: Unhandled Error in Silverlight 2 Application
Code: 2104
Category: InitializeError
Message: Could not download the Silverlight application. Check web server settings
Source File:
http://whisperinghillsweather.info/real ... ltime.html
Line: 53
So it looks like you have a server problem - not configured for Silverlight apps, maybe?
3) Where is the cloud base variable taken from? The reason I ask is because it's bright and sunny here but a cloud base was listed for my location.
It's a very basic calculation based on dew point difference. It calculates the height at which the air is theoretically saturated; it has no idea whether the sky is clear or cloudy.
4) Do you have any suggestions or a website to refer me to in order to modify the existing HTM files that are uploaded as part of the standard Cumulus website package?
You mean you want to learn HTML?
http://www.w3schools.com/ is one place to start.
5) Is there any way to get my Cumulus website to auto-refresh every 5 minutes? Even though my website says that it updates the weather every 5 minutes the web page actually does not auto-refresh. I assume this will be some sort of refresh META tag but I wanted to confirm.
The page says that the pages are updated every 5 minutes, which they are; it doesn't say the page will auto-refresh, which is generally regarded as a bad thing to do. But yes, if you really want to do it, a meta refresh is one way. There are much better ways of getting the data to auto-refresh - Ajax, etc, but that's beyond the scope of my knowledge! There are lots of people here who are using it, though, and can help.
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 3:39 pm
by daj
THX wrote:3) Where is the cloud base variable taken from? The reason I ask is because it's bright and sunny here but a cloud base was listed for my location.
Cloudbase is a simple calculation and mostly a 'novelty feature' as it can not represent actual cloud height.
The calculation is a simple one; 1000 feet for every 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit difference between the temperature and the dew point.
some reading...
https://cumulus.hosiene.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... 326#p14326
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_base
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 4:09 pm
by THX
Steve,
Sure enough I simply had to add the Silverlight MIME types to my website and it works.
Cumulus is actually displaying the tenths of a degree for the temperature, which is a good thing.
I'm just surprised that the Vantage Pro2 console does not display this.
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 4:17 pm
by steve
THX wrote:Cumulus is actually displaying the tenths of a degree for the temperature, which is a good thing.
I'm just surprised that the Vantage Pro2 console does not display this.
It does seem a bit strange. Is it because you have the Vue ISS, I wonder? But then how is Cumulus able to get the 10ths?
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 4:46 pm
by THX
I just submitted a question to Davis tech support.
I'll post what their reply is (if anything).
Regards,
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 5:05 pm
by THX
steve wrote:The page says that the pages are updated every 5 minutes, which they are; it doesn't say the page will auto-refresh, which is generally regarded as a bad thing to do. But yes, if you really want to do it, a meta refresh is one way. There are much better ways of getting the data to auto-refresh - Ajax, etc, but that's beyond the scope of my knowledge! There are lots of people here who are using it, though, and can help.
Just out of curiosity, why is it generally regarded as a bad thing to do to insert a META refresh tab to your website?
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 5:13 pm
by steve
THX wrote:Just out of curiosity, why is it generally regarded as a bad thing to do to insert a META refresh tab to your website?
Because it can be disorienting for some users if a page suddenly refreshes itself. The W3C discourage its use:
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-CORE-TECHS/ ... ge-refresh
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Sat 09 Jan 2010 5:52 pm
by TNETWeather
THX wrote:
Just out of curiosity, why is it generally regarded as a bad thing to do to insert a META refresh tab to your website?
You can also end up with issues where a lot of different users camp on your page and use up your bandwidth without actually watch the website.
Say they go to your website in a tab, move away from that tab and go to work. 3 days later, they find the tab and they have been uploading your web content the entire time. When you start to add that up with 100 visitors, 1000 visitors.... you might be surprised at how much data you are using.
Having the visitor simply press refresh or give them a button to do that is not that big of a deal.
It is easy to add though if you want it. It's your website.
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Wed 13 Jan 2010 5:10 am
by gemini06720
steve wrote:THX wrote:Cumulus is actually displaying the tenths of a degree for the temperature, which is a good thing.
I'm just surprised that the Vantage Pro2 console does not display this.
It does seem a bit strange. Is it because you have the Vue ISS, I wonder? But then how is Cumulus able to get the 10ths?
It is so typical ... you guys do not read the documentation that comes with the weather station...
And then you complaint when you cannot accomplish a certain action ...
I am going to write it once, so you better remember...
With the Vantage Pro console:
- first press on the 'TEMP' button;
- then, press on the '2nd' button and then press on the 'GRAPH' button - in fact, you are really pressing on the 'UNITS' button;
- repeat the press on the '2nd' button and press on the 'GRAPH' button until you get to the display you want.
With the Vantage Vue console:
- first press on the 'TEMP' button;
- then, press on the '2ND' button and then press on the 'TIME' button - in fact, you are really pressing on the 'UNITS' button;
- repeat the press on the '2ND' button and press on the 'TIME' button until you get to the display you want.
Please memorize ... and the next time please RTFM...
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Thu 14 Jan 2010 12:13 am
by THX
gemini06720, please indicate as to where this information is in the Vantage Pro2 console.
I have read through the manual that came with the console and could not locate said information.
Regards,
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Thu 14 Jan 2010 1:26 am
by gemini06720
THX wrote:gemini06720, please indicate as to where this information is in the Vantage Pro2 console.
I have read through the manual that came with the console and could not locate said information.
Please, call me Ray...
Vantage Pro2 == middle of page 19: Selecting Units of Measure (inserted quote from PDF manual)
- Most weather variables may be displayed in at least two different measurement units, including US and metric systems, although some variables feature more possibilities. Barometric pressure, for example, may be displayed in millibars, millimeters, inches, or hectoPascals. Note that you can set each variable’s units independently, and at any time, as you like.
To change units:
1. Select the weather variable. See “Selecting Weather Variables” on page 18.
2. Press and release 2ND then press UNITS. The selected variable’s units change. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the desired units appear.
For example, to change the barometric pressure units, first select barometric pressure by pressing BAR. Next, press and release 2ND, then press UNITS. Repeating these steps cycles through the units available for barometric pressure: millibars, millimeters, inches, and hectoPascals..
Vantage Vue == middle of page 26: Selecting Units of Measure (inserted quote from PDF manual)
- Most weather variables may be displayed in at least two different measurement units, including US and metric systems, although some variables feature more possibilities. Barometric pressure, for example, may be displayed in millibars, millimeters, inches, or hectoPascals. You can change each variable’s units independently and at any time.
To change units:
1. Select the weather variable.
2. Press and release 2ND then press UNITS. The selected variable’s units change. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the desired units appear.
For example, to change the barometric pressure units, first select barometric pressure by pressing BAR. Next, press and release 2ND, then press UNITS. Repeating these steps cycles through the units available for barometric pressure: inches, millimeters, hectoPascals, and millibars.
So, I guess you will have to read the manual again...
That "2ND" button (top right of the Vantage Pro2 console) is not there just to switch the background lighting on or off - it is there to activate a bunch of options (the options with the words printed directly on the console and not on the buttons) ... as the old saying goes "...let you fingers do the testing...'
Re: Kudos to Cumulus
Posted: Thu 14 Jan 2010 8:35 am
by steve
I can't see the bit in those instructions where it says there is the option of having tenths of a degree displayed (but I agree the console does actually offer it if you go through those steps, even though the instructions don't say it does).