Author Topic: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)  (Read 5937 times)

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Offline Randall Kayfes

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WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« on: February 16, 2018, 06:00:47 PM »
I have USB Data Logger which currently works flawlessly with WL(PC). So here goes...
  1)   WL(PC), while running stores my data on my HDD and could upload to WL.com 2, so
    a.   To utilize WL.com 2 I still must run WL(PC) to up load it to WL.com 2 – correct?
  2)   To convert fully to utilizing WL.com 2 I would need IP Data Logger?
  3)   WL(PC) stores my data on my HDD as long as I have room on the HDD (basically forever)
    a.   WL.com 2 however does not give me back my data unless I manually download?
    b.   WL.com 2 currently max’s out at a year or some other limit – correct?
     i.   So manually download or lose it?
I am not trying to be snarky in any way I am just trying to get an idea of what my options are.

Regards, Randall



Offline Mattk

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2018, 06:59:24 PM »
1) Yes with a subscription re upload
1a) Yes
2) Not really, only if you didn't want a monthly (basic) subscription and didn't want to run your PC 24/7
3) Yes
3a) Correct
3b) Probably, there would have to be a finite limit but have not checked into this
3bi) Yes, The first amendment re data storage

Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2018, 09:47:40 PM »
First thank you for the quick response!

So the basic (free) subscription is only available for IP Data Logger owners - Correct?

Finally I just scoured the Davis website and could not find the data loggers listed.
Are they going to continue to sell non-IP Data Loggers?

Thanks again, Randall
« Last Edit: February 16, 2018, 09:51:35 PM by kaymann »



Offline PaulMy

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2018, 10:13:00 PM »
Hi Randall,
I don't regularly run WL (usb logger)  but I signed up a couple months ago for WL.com 2 and that works fine on the free plan whenever I shut down Cumulus and run WL.  Some features on the paid subscription are not available in the free version so they remind me about their paid plan whenever i sign in.  But it works on USB logger and would be a nice addition for you to be on the map.


Enjoy,
Paul

Offline johnd

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2018, 05:03:05 AM »
The new Davis products website IMHO is a mess. All done, I guess, in the name of having a site that's equally accessible (or inaccessible!) on PC browsers and mobile devices - have to say that I'm increasingly skeptical as to whether this can ever work well. But leaving that to one side, essentially all Davis products that used to be there are still there, including all the loggers; you just have a dig a little harder sometimes or catch the website unawares  ;).

But as a quick resume of wl.com 2.0:

There are 4 ways of uploading data:

* Standard USB (or serial) loggers attached to a PC or Mac and running the Weatherlink software;
* IP logger
* Vantage Connect units
* Enviromonitor gateways

Of these, I guess only the first two are of prime interest here.

There are then two feature levels: Basic (free); and Pro (ca $50pa).

Basic gives all previous features of the IP logger (but in a considerably updated format), ie current conditions web page with a daily summary and also accessible via a mobile app; storage for 10,000+ archive records available for download into WL for Windows (for long-term storage and analysis); automatic uploads to WU, CWOP etc; email alerts;

Pro gives unlimited data storage online and the Chart+Browse features online, plus an app called Mobilize that provides more sophisticated forecasts. More features to come.

That's it in a nutshell.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2018, 05:19:56 AM by johnd »
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Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2018, 12:11:13 PM »
Thank you all for the clarification!

Randall



Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2018, 12:47:32 PM »
So... Basically if I give them my data they give me some ability to graph and present the data in visually pleasing manner.
This is much in the same way WU does it and now even NWS does it with their phone app and forecast web page - a fair trade by all three.
The downside to WU is under reporting of wind gusts, and NWS is typically delayed by 20-40 minutes (though they are getting really better).

WL(PC) is completely MS XP retro, some people actually love the retro look :-) but all I use it for is the live data bulletin, and exporting to MS Excel).
I now have 21 years of data in .WLK files, exported to CSV .txt files, and imported into yearly Excel spreadsheets.
This is all done starting with a WL(PC) export.
WL PC or .com 2, WU and NWS cannot come close to what a good Excel pivot table and conditional formatting can do.
So for live data it looks like non retro WL.com 2 could spice it up a bit and I got no problems loaning my data to Davis.
Better there than a freebie for WU, and data gifting to NWS via CWOP is a no brainer "yes".

So I think I have got all the info I need and I thank you again for helping me get clarification.

Regard, Randall



Offline dalecoy

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2018, 01:56:45 PM »
That's it in a nutshell.

What method do I tell my neighbors and relatives to use, to see the weather at my location, on WeatherLink.com?

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxpage.cgi?call=W5VBQ
https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KMOLEESS9#history
???

Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #8 on: February 17, 2018, 02:26:12 PM »
Sounds like they have to register first to see your station...
National Geographic does the same thing with photos...

BTW
NWS is https://forecast-v3.weather.gov/point/##.####,-##.#### (replaced by # with latitude, longitude of PWS you want)
Mine is https://forecast-v3.weather.gov/point/32.4417,-111.0788

The "NWS Now" phone app can drill right down to your station and stick to it if you want..
« Last Edit: February 17, 2018, 03:21:25 PM by kaymann »



Offline johnd

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #9 on: February 17, 2018, 02:39:37 PM »
Sounds like they have to register first to see your station...

Yes, that's correct. It's pretty simple and painless, but an unnecessary complication IMHO. And provided you tick the 'remember me' then after the first time you get straight in.

For a non-owning visitor:

1. Register an account;
2. Ah, I'm not 100% sure without checking. The first time, you just search for the name of a station and then click on the Bulletin link in the marker. The URL then contains a GUID, but what I'm not sure about is whether that's sticky or not in a web browser. But pretty sure you can remember it in the mobile app. This may well be an element of the sharing feature, which is still in development right now.
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Offline dalecoy

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2018, 03:16:58 PM »
So, not nearly as convenient as WU or CWOP. 

Thanks for clearing that up.

Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2018, 03:18:54 PM »
First impressions:

Unlike WU it actually gets Wind Gusts correct however when flipping between the tiled bulletin and tabled bulletin the tabled bulletin was minutes older unless I did a browser refresh.

Second, I am going to use WL.com 2 to upload to WU as it does solve the Wind Gust under reporting issue.
I am not going to let WL.com 2 do the push to CWOP. I might later but for now I want see how reliable WL.com 2 is at pushing data to WU
The simplicity of the CWOP push is very temping compared to WL(PC).

My station is too new to be seen on the phone app yet.

Randall
« Last Edit: February 17, 2018, 03:20:50 PM by kaymann »



Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #12 on: February 17, 2018, 03:40:39 PM »
The issue with Tiled Tabled Bulletin seems to be explained by my station being a little new as both pages agree now.




Offline johnd

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #13 on: February 17, 2018, 03:51:11 PM »
So, not nearly as convenient as WU or CWOP. 

Certainly you don't currently have a single URL that you can quote to people. But do remember that this is very much a work in progress. The features that are there right now seem to work pretty robustly as far as I can judge. But I'm aware that there's a lot of development and support work going on currently. Part of that will be directed towards the mass migration from 1.0 to 2.0 that will happen in 2-3 months' time. And part will be extensions to the EM functionality.

But there are also significant extensions to the feature-set for wl.com 2.0 as a whole in development AIUI. So limitations that might exist right now won't necessarily apply in 6-12 months' time.
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Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #14 on: February 17, 2018, 04:04:20 PM »
WL.com 2 Seems to push data to WU ever 15ish to 20ish minutes verses WL(PC) pushing it out exactly every 5 minutes.
You can verify this by looking at your data in table format in WU.

Just an observation...



Offline Mattk

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2018, 04:31:56 PM »
This requirement that non station owners have to create an account and login in just to see the weather has a lot of bad connotations about it.

Offline Old Tele man

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2018, 04:33:08 PM »
Not gonna be popular with the "rapid-fire" weather folks.
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• WU - KAZTUCSO202, Countryside

Offline Old Tele man

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2018, 04:34:33 PM »
This requirement that non station owners have to create an account and login in just to see the weather has a lot of bad connotations about it.
Yup, it smacks of BIG BROTHER "tracking" and "profile" data mining.
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Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #18 on: February 17, 2018, 05:00:47 PM »
The phone app cannot find my station no matter how I search for it.
Also the app is far inferior to both the WU app and the NWS Now app.

My favorite app right now is the NWS Now app with the current, forecast, moon, sun, etc. info all in one place.
WU does the same but does have the wind gust issue and I just like the look of the NWS app.

I will continue to give Davis my data and check in occasionally.
This experiment leaves me a little disappointed with the knowledge that WL(PC) is stuck in XP mode forever.
WL.com 2 updates every minute or so but in a monsoon I really like watching the storm live in WL(PC) and it is free! (RapidFire comes closer)
Especially if the console is in a different room...

Still they did a pretty good job for a second run at it.

Randall
« Last Edit: February 17, 2018, 05:05:13 PM by kaymann »



Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #19 on: February 17, 2018, 05:04:00 PM »
By requiring an account Davis is missing out on a fantastic exposure opportunity.
A lot more people would go there and maybe even buy a station for themselves!

Randall



Offline Mac005

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #20 on: February 17, 2018, 07:35:54 PM »
I recently set up a new Vantage Pro 2 that I was going to share with the neighbors in our subdivision.  The WeatherLink Mobile app would have been the ideal way to share the data with them until I learned it was not available. 

The new WeatherLink 2.0 works OK for me as an individual but it’s not as an app for neighborhood users.  What a shame.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #21 on: February 17, 2018, 08:18:12 PM »
So... you could run a Saratoga or Leuven template weather website using our plugins for Weatherlink.com V2.0/V1.0

It's not quite what you can get using the PC/Mac WeatherLink program, but it does work..
My example: https://saratoga-weather.org/WLCOM/wxindex.php

(p.s. I've also been developing a plugin to use Ambientweather.net as a data source for any station you submit data there.)
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Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #22 on: February 17, 2018, 08:42:04 PM »
Greetings Mac005,

Get WL2 to send your data to CWOP and use the NWS Now app - fantastic display of data and ad free as well!
or get WL2 to send your data to WU and use the WU app - full of ads
« Last Edit: February 17, 2018, 08:54:04 PM by kaymann »



Offline Randall Kayfes

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #23 on: February 17, 2018, 08:53:17 PM »
Greetings Ken,

Are differences because of WL2 or are they just an updated interface?



Offline Mattk

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Re: WeatherLink.com 2 vs. WL(PC)
« Reply #24 on: February 17, 2018, 10:18:15 PM »
Are differences because of WL2 or are they just an updated interface?

The differences have obviously been introduced with WL2, wouldn't be as a result of WL2 but would appear a deliberate part of WL2. WL1 probably could have had everybody create a viewing account as well but that didn't occur however WL2 is a flow on from WL1 learnings?