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Weather Station Hardware => Weather Radios => Topic started by: wuhu_software on August 20, 2006, 01:01:05 PM

Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on August 20, 2006, 01:01:05 PM
The Weather Underground (http://www.wunderground.com) is launching a new service that will allow users to listen to National Weather Service radio broadcasts.

We are attempting to build a network of individuals who will volunteer to upload their local NWS feed to the Weather Underground audio servers.

If you are interest in learning more you can click here:

http://home.comcast.net/~wuhu_software/Oddcast/Oddcast.htm
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 20, 2006, 02:25:19 PM
I have interest but have one question though. Will wunderground act as a buffer for the listeners or will the listeners be pulling the audio directly from my PC? Also, can the software that you provide also be used as a local source instead of just uploading to WU? I'd like to have an all in one instead of having to use 2 different applications to provide the audio.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on August 20, 2006, 03:21:05 PM
WU will act as the buffer. They will automatically re-broadcast your stream to any number of listeners on demand. They will be able to handle many more listeners than you can provide on a typical broadband connection.

The outcast software will monitor the audio source. I am not sure if outcast can provide local streaming capability or not. I believe they have an open source server that you could use if you wish to stream directly from your PC.

If you wish to provide the stream via other web pages, you can simply use the direct link to your stream at WU.

For instance my stream is:

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/BrightonMi/Detroit.mp3.m3u

Thanks.

Quote from: "capeweather"
I have interest but have one question though. Will wunderground act as a buffer for the listeners or will the listeners be pulling the audio directly from my PC? Also, can the software that you provide also be used as a local source instead of just uploading to WU? I'd like to have an all in one instead of having to use 2 different applications to provide the audio.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 20, 2006, 03:24:17 PM
Great! I like the idea. Now...How do I get registered?  :D
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on August 20, 2006, 03:39:23 PM
Firstly you need a WU account. They will provide free no ads accounts for those who stream in the future. For now you can just use a free account if you do not already have one.

The next thing you need is a WU Photo ID. Once logged in to WU, click the 'My Photos' link to create one if you have not already done so.

Once you have the Photo ID, you only need to download, install, and configure the oddcast client. See http://www.oddsock.org/tools/oddcastv3/ for the software download. The stand alone version is recommended.

See the project page for configuration information details:

http://home.comcast.net/~wuhu_software/Oddcast/Oddcast.htm


Quote from: "capeweather"
Great! I like the idea. Now...How do I get registered?  :D
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 20, 2006, 04:05:14 PM
I'm already a member and can't seem to find the link for a photo ID. The link I went to was the one I'm posting below and could not locate it. Is there something that I'm missing?

http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/myphotos.html
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on August 20, 2006, 04:11:30 PM
Quote from: "capeweather"
I'm already a member and can't seem to find the link for a photo ID. The link I went to was the one I'm posting below and could not locate it. Is there something that I'm missing?

http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/myphotos.html


Try this:

Once you have created an account and are logged in to the Weather Underground, click the 'My Photos' link at the left side of the screen. You should see your handle listed where MyHandle is your Weather Underground Handle (MYHandles's WunderPhotos)
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 20, 2006, 04:26:30 PM
Still can't find it. I created a WU account a long time ago to upload my data that I'm still using today. Is there some other type of account that I need to create? Also, there was nothing posted as MYHandles Wunderphotos. Any other ideas or something that I should look for?
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 20, 2006, 04:27:05 PM
I even googled this...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=MYHandles%27s+WunderPhotos&btnG=Google+Search
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on August 20, 2006, 06:34:34 PM
Quote from: "capeweather"
Still can't find it. I created a WU account a long time ago to upload my data that I'm still using today. Is there some other type of account that I need to create? Also, there was nothing posted as MYHandles Wunderphotos. Any other ideas or something that I should look for?


When you go to the WU web page, and log in, you should see a link at the left side of the screen, 'My Photos'.

After you click that link, it should say somewhere on the screen SoAndSo's WunderPhotos where SoAndSo is your Photo ID.

If you do not have a Photo ID, try uploading a picture, it should prompt you to create one at that point.

New WU users create a handle when they register. If you have an older account, the handle must be created.

Let me know if can find/create your handle.

Thanks.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 20, 2006, 07:45:20 PM
Maybe I have been overlooking things. I just uploaded a screenshot to my server and also a photo to wunderground. Take a look. Does my screen match yours when you log on? I never got questioned about uploading a photo accept that is was pending approval.

www.capeweather.com/desktop.gif

http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/imagesearch.html?handle=capeweather&handlebox=1&submit=go
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on August 21, 2006, 10:35:24 AM
Quote from: "capeweather"
Maybe I have been overlooking things. I just uploaded a screenshot to my server and also a photo to wunderground. Take a look. Does my screen match yours when you log on? I never got questioned about uploading a photo accept that is was pending approval.

www.capeweather.com/desktop.gif

http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/imagesearch.html?handle=capeweather&handlebox=1&submit=go


I am not positive, but it appears that your handle is:

capeweather

It is listed right there in the URL you posted.

When you configure outcast, use the handle, capeweather, and the password will be the one used to log in to WU (with your email addr).

Let me know if it works.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on August 21, 2006, 05:50:42 PM
This is all really interesting because I have a little hand-held flashlight/NOAA radio with both a line out and the ability to hook up 12v power.

I'll have to buy a cord for the audio and see if I can get it streaming.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on August 21, 2006, 10:27:01 PM
I didn't have a male to male 3.5 mm adapter so I McGrevored one together.... worked... sounded horrible though.

So, my little $10 flashlight/radio should work!

Cool and I found a 120 to 12v adapter while I was looking for a cord.

Should have something up and running within a day or two.

Wow. And I thought I was going to have to song and dance my spouse to get another radio.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on August 22, 2006, 06:47:16 PM
Wow! that was stupid easy.

Here's the radio I have: Vector Weatherband Radio/Flashlight Combo (http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc%2fsearchResults.jsp&BV_SessionID=@@@@2070140119.1156286702@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccaddijfglmgmcgelceffdfgidgkg.0&MID=9876)

I got it on sale for $15-20.

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/CarterLake/CarterLake.mp3.m3u
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on August 22, 2006, 07:38:02 PM
Quote from: "carterlake"
Wow! that was stupid easy.

Here's the radio I have: Vector Weatherband Radio/Flashlight Combo (http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc%2fsearchResults.jsp&BV_SessionID=@@@@2070140119.1156286702@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccaddijfglmgmcgelceffdfgidgkg.0&MID=9876)

I got it on sale for $15-20.

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/CarterLake/CarterLake.mp3.m3u


Im getting a 404 error "file not found" in my player ?!? :(
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on August 22, 2006, 07:41:05 PM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Quote from: "carterlake"
Wow! that was stupid easy.

Here's the radio I have: Vector Weatherband Radio/Flashlight Combo (http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc%2fsearchResults.jsp&BV_SessionID=@@@@2070140119.1156286702@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccaddijfglmgmcgelceffdfgidgkg.0&MID=9876)

I got it on sale for $15-20.

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/CarterLake/CarterLake.mp3.m3u


Im getting a 404 error "file not found" in my player ?!? :(


It works if you connect from the wunderground site at:

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on August 22, 2006, 08:30:36 PM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Im getting a 404 error "file not found" in my player ?!? :(


You must have you media configured differently then mine... when I click, it opens a media player and begins playing.

You can also click here:

http://www.carterlake.org/noaaradio.php

(Note: I've been playing with reception so... it may have sounded horrible there for a while. I think I found a sweet spot... wish I could make the audio a bit louder though)
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on August 22, 2006, 10:08:46 PM
Quote from: "carterlake"
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Im getting a 404 error "file not found" in my player ?!? :(


You must have you media configured differently then mine... when I click, it opens a media player and begins playing.

You can also click here:

http://www.carterlake.org/noaaradio.php

(Note: I've been playing with reception so... it may have sounded horrible there for a while. I think I found a sweet spot... wish I could make the audio a bit louder though)


Seems to be fine now?!? Sound level seems correct also on my system :)
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on August 22, 2006, 11:12:24 PM
This all looks, or should I say "sounds" interesting...

I haven't downloaded and installed the program yet, and realize it has help built-in... but would like to ask the question here...

Is the audio constantly streaming from my radio->computer->wunderground? i.e., there's no discrete recording period of the broadcast that is saved? Just 100% live streaming?

What kind of cpu load and bandwidth use should I expect to see?

Here's a cheap radio at Walmart:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4891525

Has a headphone jack, don't know if A/C adaptor is included or not...

I'm going to explore this option a bit more...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 22, 2006, 11:45:04 PM
Ok, finally got around to finishing this up...I'm on the air now

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/capeweather/capecoral.mp3.m3u

or you can go here...

http://www.capeweather.com/noaa-weather-radio.html
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on August 23, 2006, 08:01:24 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
Is the audio constantly streaming from my radio->computer->wunderground? i.e., there's no discrete recording period of the broadcast that is saved? Just 100% live streaming?

What kind of cpu load and bandwidth use should I expect to see?


Yes, 100% streaming.... to WU's server and they rebroadcast.

CPU load is <1% on my computer. The quality is very very low 16K so low bandwidth.

Since WU re-broadcasts, that is all the bandwidth there is. There could be 200 people listening and your bandwidth stays the same.

Don't forget the male to male 3.5mm adapter. It's another $5 at Wal-Mart.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on August 23, 2006, 09:00:44 AM
Quote from: "capeweather"
Ok, finally got around to finishing this up...I'm on the air now

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/capeweather/capecoral.mp3.m3u

or you can go here...

http://www.capeweather.com/noaa-weather-radio.html


Your stream is coming in loud and clear.

Thanks for participating in the project!
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 23, 2006, 09:27:24 AM
Thanks for sharing this info and for the help mentioned earlier.  :D
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on August 23, 2006, 01:29:09 PM
That was easier than I thought! :D

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/OPwx/OverlandPark.mp3.m3u
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 23, 2006, 01:31:50 PM
Super simple...  :D
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on August 23, 2006, 08:11:31 PM
Dudes! I'm on...

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/ncpilot/wilmington.mp3.m3u

It was easy!
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on August 26, 2006, 12:08:47 AM
Just an update to say that I replaced the flashlight radio with that Emerson RP1103 from Wal-Mart.

Thought the reception might be a bit better and wanted a corded radio. Interestingly, I had to setup the feed for stereo to get it working right... which uses just a bit more bandwidth.

I also had to remove the antenna that came with the radio and replace it with one I made to increase reception.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on August 26, 2006, 09:47:08 AM
Carterlake, I see your bitrate is 32, if you're concerned about bandwidth, couldn't you drop that down to 16?

As an aside, I thought I'd try a bitrate of 8 to cut bandwidth, it sounded like crap...

I too ended up using the Emerson radio from Walmart...

Some times oddcast shows up to 10% or so cpu, then will drop down to 2-3%...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on August 26, 2006, 09:54:41 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
Carterlake, I see your bitrate is 32, if you're concerned about bandwidth, couldn't you drop that down to 16?

As an aside, I thought I'd try a bitrate of 8 to cut bandwidth, it sounded like crap...

I too ended up using the Emerson radio from Walmart...

Some times oddcast shows up to 10% or so cpu, then will drop down to 2-3%...


It sounded horrible at 16, but then, I'm not really concerned about the extra bandwidth so I'll just leave it at 32.

My oddcast only hits 5% at most... but I think that is dependent on the power of the system.

I think one thing they should add to the instructions is to put the oddcast player in your startup and click "auto connect", that way if your computer restarts, the stream auto restarts as well.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 30, 2006, 09:45:50 AM
Anybody having a problem having there oddcastv3standalone.log file filling up quickly with data? I'm finding this file under C:\Program Files\OddcastV3 and was curious if anybody is seeing this? If so, how do you disable this log file from writing data. I really didnt see any settings in the configuration on how to do it? This file filled up with almost 2 Gigs of data over the past week.  :shock:
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on August 30, 2006, 10:51:33 AM
Quote from: "capeweather"
Anybody having a problem having there oddcastv3standalone.log file filling up quickly with data? I'm finding this file under C:\Program Files\OddcastV3 and was curious if anybody is seeing this? If so, how do you disable this log file from writing data. I really didnt see any settings in the configuration on how to do it? This file filled up with almost 2 Gigs of data over the past week.  :shock:


After months of running, mine is only 25KB in size.

Did you look in the file to see what it is dumping in to the file?
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on August 30, 2006, 05:18:09 PM
Mine's 9MB in size, and contains an entry every 5 seconds!!

08/23/06 20:03:22 Info(MainWindow.cpp:700): 16 Kbps (/ncpilot/wilmington.mp3)
08/23/06 20:03:27 Info(MainWindow.cpp:700): 15 Kbps (/ncpilot/wilmington.mp3)
08/23/06 20:03:32 Info(MainWindow.cpp:700): 16 Kbps (/ncpilot/wilmington.mp3)
08/23/06 20:03:37 Info(MainWindow.cpp:700): 15 Kbps (/ncpilot/wilmington.mp3)
08/23/06 20:03:42 Info(MainWindow.cpp:700): 16 Kbps (/ncpilot/wilmington.mp3)
08/23/06 20:03:47 Info(MainWindow.cpp:700): 15 Kbps (/ncpilot/wilmington.mp3)
08/23/06 20:03:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:700): 16 Kbps (/ncpilot/wilmington.mp3)
08/23/06 20:03:57 Info(MainWindow.cpp:700): 15 Kbps (/ncpilot/wilmington.mp3)
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on August 30, 2006, 05:20:37 PM
Right click on your stream configuration in the encoder box, then select "configure", "advanced settings" tab...

There's an option for logging--log level, and file name...

I'll bet that's the key...

From help:

Log Level
This is for debugging oddcast, 1 = debug, 4 = error.  * for advanced uses only


Log File
If no log file is specified, then no log file will be produced.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on August 30, 2006, 11:06:38 PM
Heres what my file says....

Quote
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from Line-In
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from Microphone
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from PC Speaker
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from Wave
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from Line-In
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from Microphone
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from PC Speaker
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from Wave
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from Line-In
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from Microphone
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from PC Speaker
08/30/06 15:38:52 Info(MainWindow.cpp:684): Recording from Wave


In just over 2 hours its already 32MB.. :shock:  :shock:
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on August 30, 2006, 11:27:24 PM
What's your "log level" in the options page?
Title: 4
Post by: capeweather on August 30, 2006, 11:50:45 PM
Set for 4
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on August 31, 2006, 08:31:49 AM
I think mine was set to 1...

Just delete the file name/location in the options page, and it won't log anymore...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on September 04, 2006, 11:09:05 PM
Earlier this evening, oddcast was running an average of 12-15% of my cpu (AMD Athlon 64 3000+). I closed it down for a few hours, started it back up, and now it's running at about 3% or less...

Is it possible that this program somehow uses more cpu the longer it runs uninterrupted?

(Edit at 11:39pm EDT)

Now oddcast is using 13-18% cpu... something just isn't right...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on September 05, 2006, 07:52:47 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
Earlier this evening, oddcast was running an average of 12-15% of my cpu (AMD Athlon 64 3000+). I closed it down for a few hours, started it back up, and now it's running at about 3% or less...

Is it possible that this program somehow uses more cpu the longer it runs uninterrupted?

(Edit at 11:39pm EDT)

Now oddcast is using 13-18% cpu... something just isn't right...


Which version are you using?
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on September 05, 2006, 08:53:16 AM
I'll have to check when I get home, but it should be the latest one--I got it directly off the website linked in the WU installation instructions.

The one thing I need to double check though is my version of Lame--I already had it installed on my PC, can't remember if I downloaded the latest version or not...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: mhweather on September 05, 2006, 12:04:15 PM
How real-time are these audio streams, are they buffered for a few seconds or minutes ?
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on September 05, 2006, 12:16:59 PM
I'm still having a problem with the oddcastv3standalone.log file filling up when I have everything disabled. When I right click on the encoder settings and hit configure and go to advanced settings the log level is set to 0. I also removed the file name in the log file and it still continues to rapidly fill up on the oddcastv3standalone.log file. Not sure what to do. Any other ideas out there?  :?:
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on September 05, 2006, 12:17:51 PM
Quote from: "mhweather"
How real-time are these audio streams, are they buffered for a few seconds or minutes ?


They seem to real-time. I don't think there is much of a delay. Maybe a few seconds.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on September 05, 2006, 12:35:05 PM
My oddcast is V3, build Aug 7, 2006...

Lame appears to be the most current version...

capeweather--after making the changes, did you exit the program, then delete all the log files, then start it back up? Try that...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on September 05, 2006, 12:48:47 PM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
My oddcast is V3, build Aug 7, 2006...

Lame appears to be the most current version...

capeweather--after making the changes, did you exit the program, then delete all the log files, then start it back up? Try that...


I have the same version as well. Also, I restarted again and still have the same symptoms. It keeps writing to the same oddcastv3standalone.log file.  :(
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on September 05, 2006, 02:00:44 PM
Any chance you've got more than one instance of oddcast running, or multiple oddcast processes? Have you rebooted recently?
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on September 05, 2006, 02:05:36 PM
Yes, I actually had to reboot yesterday because I had to resite my towers to a different location. As far as having more than one instance running, that appears fine. Only one.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on September 05, 2006, 07:21:53 PM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
My oddcast is V3, build Aug 7, 2006...

Lame appears to be the most current version...

capeweather--after making the changes, did you exit the program, then delete all the log files, then start it back up? Try that...


There's a bug in that version....

You want: http://www.oddsock.org/tools/oddcastv3/oddcastv3_standalone_3.1.12.exe

Aug 25 version.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on September 05, 2006, 07:26:31 PM
Quote from: "mhweather"
How real-time are these audio streams, are they buffered for a few seconds or minutes ?


They are buffered... the buffering varies, I've noticed informally that it can be as low as a few seconds and as high as 20-30 seconds.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on September 05, 2006, 07:40:02 PM
Quote from: "carterlake"

There's a bug in that version....

You want: http://www.oddsock.org/tools/oddcastv3/oddcastv3_standalone_3.1.12.exe

Aug 25 version.


Oh................. I'll try it later tonight...

Thanks...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on September 05, 2006, 07:44:04 PM
I just installed it and the log file is still filling up. Restarted several times. I put a post up in there forum so maybe somebody can help in there as well. At this point, with everything disabled, it should not be filling up with useless information that isn't even on in the first place.

http://www.oddsock.org/openbb/read.php?TID=2183
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on September 05, 2006, 08:23:32 PM
Quote from: "capeweather"
I just installed it and the log file is still filling up. Restarted several times. I put a post up in there forum so maybe somebody can help in there as well. At this point, with everything disabled, it should not be filling up with useless information that isn't even on in the first place.

http://www.oddsock.org/openbb/read.php?TID=2183


Very odd.... did as advised here and my log is now gone.

Have you tried opening your .cfg file with a text editor and manually deleting the info?

# Log Level 1 = LOG_ERROR, 2 = LOG_ERROR+LOG_INFO, 3 = LOG_ERROR+LOG_INFO+LOG_DEBUG
LogLevel=0
# Log File
LogFile=
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on September 05, 2006, 09:02:03 PM
I think that did it Tom. I've rebooted and nothing is getting reported in the oddcast directory.  :D I'll keep an eye on it and let everyone know how things continue. So far so good but I think that was it. Thanks for that info.  :D
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 07, 2006, 02:10:59 PM
Just a note that I upgraded my radio from the analog one from Wal-Mart to a digital tuner.

Digital tuner is a MUST. The sound is just about perfect (got a slight hum for some reason).

Here's what I got...

http://www.cobyusa.com/product/item.php?item=CX788
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on October 07, 2006, 10:26:47 PM
I know Oddcast has its own forum, but since some of us are using it...

I have found, as expected, that Oddcast will indeed startup and "connect" when I reboot my computer when it is put in the startup folder.

However, it isn't really streaming anything, and the level meter shows nothing. The only way to get it working is to close it and reopen, then it works fine.

Ideas? (nothing I do to it while running will get the stream going, including  disconnecting, then reconnecting--it must be closed first).

V3, Aug 25 build...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 08, 2006, 08:29:07 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
I have found, as expected, that Oddcast will indeed startup and "connect" when I reboot my computer when it is put in the startup folder.

However, it isn't really streaming anything... [t]he only way to get it working is to close it and reopen, then it works fine.

Ideas? (nothing I do to it while running will get the stream going, including  disconnecting, then reconnecting--it must be closed first).

V3, Aug 25 build...


I have a similar problem, and I think the issue is that the program starts before all of the things it needs is loaded by the operating system.  In my case, I have to reselect the options in the "Live Recording" section, and the program will work fine without having to close and restart it.  But obviously this still requires that you be at the PC when it restarts.  Too bad the program won't wait a minute or two after startup before it runs, but there are watchdog programs out there that can do this.  But hopefully a new release of Oddcast will come out that will do this for us.

Quote from: "ncpilot"
the level meter shows nothing

V3, Aug 25 build...


My level meter has NEVER worked from day one.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on October 08, 2006, 10:21:50 AM
I found that the instructions were incorrect on how to toggle the level meter on and off--you must LEFT click inside the level box, not right click as the instructions indicate... (at least that's what I remember the first time I installed it...)

I kinda suspected what you said, that the progam opens too early/fast, and doesn't keep trying to connect to the internet once it makes the initial attempt...

I've tried gotomypc for remote access, and it works great--and there is a free version.. which will even let you reboot the remote computer... plus it is 100% encrypted data flow, browser based web access...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 08, 2006, 10:32:30 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
I found that the instructions were incorrect on how to toggle the level meter on and off--you must LEFT click inside the level box, not right click as the instructions indicate... (at least that's what I remember the first time I installed it...)


You remembered correctly.  That took care of it.  Thanks!
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 08, 2006, 11:18:08 AM
I've discovered that it is my AC power which is causing the hum... unplugging and going off batteries fixes the problem.

But, does anyone have any ideas on reducing the hum while AC is plugged in?

Otherwise, I guess I'll plan on buying some rechargable D batteries.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on October 08, 2006, 06:38:23 PM
Can you reverse the the way the adapter plugs into the outlet--I think most adapters do not have a polarized plug. Sometimes just reversing it in the outlet will do the trick...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: katlon on October 08, 2006, 06:59:48 PM
Ok, I'm on air now. Pretty Simple.

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/katlon/Greenville.mp3.m3u

Lonnie
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on October 10, 2006, 09:35:13 AM
Quote from: "carterlake"
I've discovered that it is my AC power which is causing the hum... unplugging and going off batteries fixes the problem.

But, does anyone have any ideas on reducing the hum while AC is plugged in?

Otherwise, I guess I'll plan on buying some rechargable D batteries.


Someone had made a previous comment about the quality of the power pack that makes a lot of sense.

You might try a different power pack with the same voltage to see if that helps.

Let us know if you find anything.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 10, 2006, 10:16:20 AM
I've compiled a list of working online feeds (some posted on NOAA's website: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm)) and published it to my website...

http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/noaawxradio/noaawxradio.php (http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/noaawxradio/noaawxradio.php)

Any changes or additions you become aware of, use the feedback link at the bottom of that page.

-------------------------
EDIT:  Feel free to link to my page.   A lot of people link to NOAA's page, but probably half of those feeds had stopped working months ago.  I'll do my best to maintain a current list.

EDIT #2:  Updated URL.

Kevin
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 11, 2006, 08:25:49 PM
Hey, I've noticed on the audioserver that folks are getting DAYS of connection off their Oddcast software.

Meanwhile, I was getting like... hours... at best.... just leaving the stream playing on my computer for a while, I was finding it was loosing it's connection all the time.

Anyway, I downgraded back to v3.1.9 and that seems to have fixed a lot of my connection problems.

So, if you're finding that your stream is disconnecting quite a lot, you might consider downgrading to that version.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 11, 2006, 09:11:48 PM
Haven't had any issues at all with the connection dropping out... going for over two weeks at a time... but my CPU usage averages 25%-30% pretty much all the time.  :shock:
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 11, 2006, 09:16:12 PM
Quote from: "kray1000"
Haven't had any issues at all with the connection dropping out... going for over two weeks at a time... but my CPU usage averages 25%-30% pretty much all the time.  :shock:


Actually, your stream reconnected at: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 11:01:12 -0400

That means at some point this morning, it lost connection.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on October 11, 2006, 11:04:58 PM
Tom, I'm having the same problem with connection problems. It will hold at most for a day or two at max. Do you have that link so I can downgrade to that version? Thanks in advance and the heads up on that tip. =D>
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 12, 2006, 01:04:33 AM
Quote from: "carterlake"
Quote from: "kray1000"
Haven't had any issues at all with the connection dropping out... going for over two weeks at a time... but my CPU usage averages 25%-30% pretty much all the time.  :shock:


Actually, your stream reconnected at: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 11:01:12 -0400

That means at some point this morning, it lost connection.


True... I did reboot my PC Wednesday morning.  I was talking about prior to that, a couple of weeks ago perhaps...

Does the software restart on its own after dropping out?
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 12, 2006, 07:46:50 AM
Quote from: "capeweather"
Tom, I'm having the same problem with connection problems. It will hold at most for a day or two at max. Do you have that link so I can downgrade to that version? Thanks in advance and the heads up on that tip. =D>


http://www.oddsock.org/tools/oddcastv3/

Just scroll down to the v3.1.9 stand alone version. I just installed right over my current install.

Quote
Does the software restart on its own after dropping out?


Yes, it usually does. However, it seems that newer versions (at least for me) really really drop alot.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on October 12, 2006, 10:50:15 AM
Quote from: "kray1000"
Does the software restart on its own after dropping out?


Earlier in this thread I posted a problem with that issue...

You can put Oddcast into your startup folder, and it will start at bootup, and then you can set "auto connect" in Oddcast itself.

However I've found, apparently, if it cannot connect immediately upon startup, it will never connect unless you manually close it, then restart.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 12, 2006, 12:21:03 PM
Quote from: "ncpilot"

Earlier in this thread I posted a problem with that issue...

You can put Oddcast into your startup folder, and it will start at bootup, and then you can set "auto connect" in Oddcast itself.

However I've found, apparently, if it cannot connect immediately upon startup, it will never connect unless you manually close it, then restart.


I see that you posted about problems making the initial connection after rebooting, and about problems with CPU usage, both issues I still have as well.  So you're saying that the "auto connect" doesn't just control the initial connection, but subsequent reconnection attempts as well?  That would explain why I've yet to find that my Oddcast had not restarted, since I do have this option checked.

For me, Oddcast has NEVER actually started on its own.  But I've found that all you need to do is reselect the "Live Recording" options, and it will run without restarting the application.  

I'm now wondering if my feed does in fact drop out periodically, as I'm showing a new mount time during the night.  (I'll be showing a new one momentarily, after my Winders updates finish.)

Also, I find that, regardless of whether Oddcast is in the Startup folder or not, that it will not actually connect the first time it is run after startup.  This is true even if I wait several minutes after the PC has fully booted.  So there's definitely a bug in the software, in my opinion, and not necessarily a problem with the drivers not being loaded, as I had surmised earlier.

Kevin
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on October 12, 2006, 12:56:10 PM
I also see fairly wide fluctuations in CPU usage, anywhere from 2-3%, up to 15% and more...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 13, 2006, 03:04:32 PM
I have just started playing around with this and have everything setup. However, there seems to be a problem connecting to the server. It say connecting, counts down the seconds, says connected and then says disconnecting. The process then repeats.

Is there anything in particular I should check to correct this?


Bob
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on October 13, 2006, 04:25:06 PM
When it can't connect to the server it's usually your Mountpoint entry being incorrect.

/"your WU photo page ID"/"your town".mp3

/nhweatherdata/Lisbon.mp3  as an example.

Make sure all the cases match. I had OPWX when it should have been OPwx and it wouldn't connect.
Title: disconnects
Post by: katlon on October 13, 2006, 04:44:08 PM
Also check your "encoder password." It is the same as your main password with Wunderground.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 13, 2006, 05:56:08 PM
Quote from: "NoQuitters"
When it can't connect to the server it's usually your Mountpoint entry being incorrect.

/"your WU photo page ID"/"your town".mp3

/nhweatherdata/Lisbon.mp3  as an example.

Make sure all the cases match. I had OPWX when it should have been OPwx and it wouldn't connect.


Thanks for the tip. It was a case problem.  :oops:

All working now!


Bob
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 13, 2006, 08:44:17 PM
Well, thought it was working. :(

It is connecting to the server, but for some reason, the software has dropped the connection with the sound card, so nothing is going out.
Back to the drawing board. :(
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 13, 2006, 09:46:38 PM
Is anyone able to hear my feed?

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/NHWeatherData/Lisbon.mp3.m3u

I know I can't hear it. :(
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 13, 2006, 09:52:00 PM
No, just dead air...

When you LEFT-click on the graph meter at the top of the Oddcast screen, are you seeing the decibel meter change?

Have you checked the volume for the "Line In" feed?
On edit:  Never mind... it looks like the line in feed just affects the speakers and not the outgoing feed...

Have you tried reselecting the "Live Recording" options in the middle?
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 14, 2006, 02:13:30 AM
I've tried everything. It shows the stream going out, but can't hear a thing from the stream site. I'm at a loss.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 14, 2006, 04:32:37 AM
Well, whatever you've done... it's working now...  :D

I've added you to my list...
http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/noaawxradio.htm

Time for you to get some zzzzzz's...  8)

Must be just a tiny bit of snow in your broadcast, as I'm hearing a little noise in the transmission.

I've noticed that the New Hampshire feeds talk a little slower than the rest of us...  :roll:
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on October 14, 2006, 09:17:48 AM
Work's for me as well. Glad you got it figured out!  :D
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 14, 2006, 01:54:04 PM
Yeah, don't know what the heck I did to get it working.  :?
It's going out now though, so I can live with that!  :wink:

 
Bob
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 14, 2006, 01:55:45 PM
Quote from: "kray1000"

I've noticed that the New Hampshire feeds talk a little slower than the rest of us...  :roll:


The reason is simple.....us mountain folk listen slower.  :wink:
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 17, 2006, 07:43:50 PM
Quote from: "kray1000"
Well, whatever you've done... it's working now...  :D

I've added you to my list...
http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/noaawxradio.htm

Time for you to get some zzzzzz's...  8)

Must be just a tiny bit of snow in your broadcast, as I'm hearing a little noise in the transmission.

I've noticed that the New Hampshire feeds talk a little slower than the rest of us...  :roll:


Great list. I emailed NOAA about updating their site but haven't heard back.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 17, 2006, 09:04:30 PM
Thanks.  

Lonnie just got his Greenville, SC feed added...
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm
... so there is hope.  I have had a couple hits from NOAA follow Lonnie's page to my links page, so at least one NOAA person knows we exist.

Lonnie told me that NOAA will be counting the click-throughs to his site for a month or so, and if the count is sufficient, they might add his feed to Greenville's local weather page.  

Kevin
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 17, 2006, 09:28:48 PM
Quote from: "kray1000"
Thanks.  

Lonnie just got his Greenville, SC feed added...
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm
... so there is hope.  I have had a couple hits from NOAA follow Lonnie's page to my links page, so at least one NOAA person knows we exist.

Lonnie told me that NOAA will be counting the click-throughs to his site for a month or so, and if the count is sufficient, they might add his feed to Greenville's local weather page.  

Kevin


Well crap. Who did he email? I emailed Arthur Kraus. I even emailed the OAX webmaster.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: katlon on October 17, 2006, 09:35:33 PM
I emailed Arthur Kraus. Below is his response to my original email to him explaining what I had done.

Lonnie,

Thanks for writing, and for streaming our Greenville/Paris Mtn station!

I will be happy to add it to our streaming audio website.  If it's all right with you, I will also share the information with our office in Greenville/Spartanburg, unless you already have done so.

Art Kraus
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: katlon on October 17, 2006, 09:49:10 PM
Also, I would think that your local NWS would be happy to give you a link unless they are already streaming. After Arthur Kraus e-mailed KGSP I sent an e-mail of my own to them and below was their response.

Lonnie

Thank you.  I got an e-mail from Art the other day and replied back to him.  I should have cc'd it to you as well.  Basically, I have wanted an internet stream of the Paris Mtn. transmitter (or any transmitter for that matter) for a long time, so I thank you for doing this.  I have also forwarded this information to the supervisors here and they are very pleased.

I have also forwarded this information to our webmaster so that he can put the link our main web page http://weather.gov/gsp.  I have certainly given my approval because it's a great idea, so I'll make sure that the next time I see him, he knows about the link.

Greg Schoor
Meteorologist
National Weather Service
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 17, 2006, 09:52:05 PM
Hey guys. Any tips on improving network performance when running the stream? Had to take the stream down, as it was playing hell with the print server on the router. Took the wife over 30 minutes to print out one page. Needless to say, she was not a happy camper in the least. Using a D-Link 704-P router on a 100 Mbps network. Without the stream, everything runs smooth as silk. :(


Bob
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 17, 2006, 10:33:57 PM
I haven't noticed any change in my network's performance when I do the streaming.  I'm currently using a Linksys router, and I have a network printer plugged directly into a print server.  

What kind of CPU usage do you have when Oddcast is running?
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 17, 2006, 10:49:55 PM
Quote from: "katlon"
I emailed Arthur Kraus.


Well, I wonder if it's because there's already a stream (non-functioning for months now) for Omaha, Neb.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 17, 2006, 10:55:32 PM
With oddcast running, I see spikes of about 58% CPU usage with 0.53% network useage. Without oddcast, the highest CPU usage I see is around 20% and a network useage of 0.09%.

This is on a slower P3 933Mhz machine running XP Pro. Tried it on the faster 3.2 Ghz P4 machine, without any difference in the network performance. So, it appears to be more network related then machine related.

On either machine, the network print functions still crap out to slower then slow.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 17, 2006, 11:02:01 PM
Quote from: "racenet"
With oddcast running, I see spikes of about 58% CPU usage with 0.53% network useage. Without oddcast, the highest CPU usage I see is around 20% and a network useage of 0.09%.

This is on a slower P3 933Mhz machine running XP Pro. Tried it on the faster 3.2 Ghz P4 machine, without any difference in the network performance. So, it appears to be more network related then machine related.

On either machine, the network print functions still crap out to slower then slow.


Which oddcast version? I'm using April 16, 2006... CPU is between 0-2%
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 18, 2006, 02:10:39 AM
August 26, 2006

I really don't think it is a CPU usage issue as much as it is a network issue, since printing on any machine in the network is ground to almost a halt.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on October 18, 2006, 07:43:14 AM
Quote from: "racenet"
August 26, 2006

I really don't think it is a CPU usage issue as much as it is a network issue, since printing on any machine in the network is ground to almost a halt.


Just seems like it's behaving oddly... I wonder if you have something which is continually scanning the stream... anti-virus maybe?
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: katlon on October 18, 2006, 10:34:26 AM
carter lake wrote
Quote
Well, I wonder if it's because there's already a stream (non-functioning for months now) for Omaha, Neb.


I would email him back and explain that the present stream from Omaha hasn't worked for months and that you have one that works and works well and ask him if he would be interested in changing the link. He seems like a very nice person to work with. Nicer than the locals here in Greenville.

Lonnie
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on October 18, 2006, 10:54:40 AM
Quote from: "carterlake"
Quote from: "racenet"
August 26, 2006

I really don't think it is a CPU usage issue as much as it is a network issue, since printing on any machine in the network is ground to almost a halt.


Just seems like it's behaving oddly... I wonder if you have something which is continually scanning the stream... anti-virus maybe?


If that is the case, wouldn't it simply slow down that machine?
Title: question
Post by: katlon on October 18, 2006, 02:58:00 PM
I got an e-mail from a meteorologist at KGSP today explaining that all the computers there use the Quictime player. If this is the only player they have installed on their computers how would they listen to my stream through WU. I tried to listen to the stream on one of my computers with Quictime and it said "no video detected".

Lonnie
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on October 18, 2006, 05:08:44 PM
But they should be able to listen to your stream by visiting your web site, right?

I can't get QuickTime to play my stream either, and I downloaded the latest version to test it.  They should probably install a "real" media player.  Even my dog can play streaming audio...

Kevin
Title: Radio
Post by: katlon on October 18, 2006, 05:43:00 PM
After finding where they put a link to my website I'm not too concerned whether they can stream it or not. 3/4 of the world can. That matters most. Anyway they can listen to the real thing anytime they want as long as they are at work.

Lonnie
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on October 18, 2006, 11:58:32 PM
I rebooted my computer today, and Oddcast came up and started running with no problems, connected and started streaming...

Haven't changed anything... maybe just luck of the draw this time...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Anthony on October 20, 2006, 08:26:01 AM
You just finally held your mouth the right way. :wink:

My cats can stream audio too. Usually all of them at the same time.
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on October 20, 2006, 09:56:24 AM
Anthony, are you a pilot? Not many people put aviation links on their sites unless they are...

Rebooted yesterday, and Oddcast was not streaming...
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on November 02, 2006, 06:32:48 PM
Quote from: "racenet"
Hey guys. Any tips on improving network performance when running the stream? Had to take the stream down, as it was playing hell with the print server on the router. Took the wife over 30 minutes to print out one page. Needless to say, she was not a happy camper in the least. Using a D-Link 704-P router on a 100 Mbps network. Without the stream, everything runs smooth as silk. :(


Bob


Bob,
  Just wondering if you've played around with this any more and figured out what's happening with your network performance?

Kevin
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on November 13, 2006, 06:44:53 PM
Quote from: "carterlake"
Well crap. Who did he email? I emailed Arthur Kraus. I even emailed the OAX webmaster.


Just a note to say that I heard from Arthur today.

He said they're planning to revamp the list of NOAA streams page sometime this week to include the 100+ NOAA sites which are providing audio mp3s (as opposed to us streamers).

Kevin, I hope you don't mind. I pointed out your page as one he might want to reference.

Oh, and Creighton is back streaming Omaha radio:
http://flare.creighton.edu/valley.wpl

(I link to them as an alternative source even though the audio is horrible)
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on November 13, 2006, 09:37:49 PM
Quote from: "carterlake"
Quote from: "carterlake"
Well crap. Who did he email? I emailed Arthur Kraus. I even emailed the OAX webmaster.

Kevin, I hope you don't mind. I pointed out your page as one he might want to reference.


Don't mind at all... it's appreciated, in fact.

I'm going to rework my station list page to feature us "true streamers" (relocating the Jacksonville feeds, which are merely mp3 sites).  Might be a day or so, though... just had a 14½-hour day at work.  :cry:
Title: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on December 06, 2006, 08:32:30 PM
Quote from: "carterlake"
Hey, I've noticed on the audioserver that folks are getting DAYS of connection off their Oddcast software.

Meanwhile, I was getting like... hours... at best.... just leaving the stream playing on my computer for a while, I was finding it was loosing it's connection all the time.

Anyway, I downgraded back to v3.1.9 and that seems to have fixed a lot of my connection problems.

So, if you're finding that your stream is disconnecting quite a lot, you might consider downgrading to that version.


Downgraded myself and have been running for 4 days now without a problem.  Before I was getting 6-8 hours at most. :D
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on December 11, 2006, 08:17:48 PM
Just got this email today from Wunderground and am posting it on here incase any of you didn't receive it who are currently participating in the project...

From: Aaron Cowdin
To: aaron@wunderground-dot-com
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 6:57 PM
Subject: Re: NOAA Weather Radio


Hello again NOAA radio uploaders. You're receiving this email because you are either uploading a NOAA radio stream to Weather Underground or you have expressed interest in doing so.

We've taken a very big step in moving forward to a release. Right now, the beta version of the main index page is online. You can find this page here: http://www.wunderground.com/wxradio/index.html

This page shows all of the streams that are
1. Currently uploading
2. Signed up through our sign up page: http://www.wunderground.com/wxradio/signup.html

If you do not see your stream on this page please
1. Go to http://audiostream.wunderground.com and check to see that your stream is in the list.
2. Make sure that you have signed up: http://www.wunderground.com/wxradio/signup.html

If both of those answers are yes and you're still not seeing your stream on the index page, I'd like you to send me an email at aaron@wunderground-dot-com. I will say that we've had a lot of trouble with the flash player in some browsers so we've done quite a bit of browser testing with both IE and Firefox. If you have another browser please let me know if the player doesn't work, and please report any other bugs you happen to find.

Thanks again for contributing your resources to this feature!

Thanks,
Aaron Cowdin
Developer
Weather Underground
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on December 11, 2006, 09:09:17 PM
Wonder why they have 26 ( http://audiostream.wunderground.com/ )stations that are streaming  and only 13 ( http://www.wunderground.com/wxradio/index.html ) on their official page? :?:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on December 11, 2006, 09:12:33 PM
Not all of them have officially "signed up"... (http://www.wunderground.com:80/wxradio/signup.html (http://www.wunderground.com:80/wxradio/signup.html))

But just a little while ago, that number was just 9.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on December 12, 2006, 09:04:50 AM
ncpilot,

Could you look at reducing or eliminating the hum from your stream?

Maybe you could try a different audio source to determine whether it is the radio, cabling, or audio card.

Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on December 12, 2006, 09:15:36 AM
I'll check it, but last I listened (last night), I didn't hear the hum.

Although, I have found that it can vary quite a bit--not sure of the problem, but I suspect it's related to cabling... since I've got a different radio attached now than initially.

I did raise the gain last night--could be too high...

I do hear an "electronic" type sound in the background, but just now at work, unless I turn the volume way up, I don't hear a hum...

I'll diddle with it at lunch time...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on December 12, 2006, 09:35:12 AM
ncpilot,

Are you listening to the stream locally or through the stream?

Try playing it off the new WU page to see if there is a difference.

I am guessing that it might be a problem with ground isolation.

If you find a solution, let us know.

I am going to pick one up myself at Walmart for about $14.

Here is a good article on the subject:

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/groundloop/problem_solving.html

Here are a list of inexpensive ground isolators you might try:

This one has 1/8 inch stereo jacks.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-MaDMkc9KkWH/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?i=127SNI135

This is probably is least expensive from Walmart, you would need RCA to 3.5mm converters.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=896355

A few others:

http://www.millionbuy.com/hithnf20.html
http://www.scosche.com/scosche_caraudio.aspx?CategoryID=33&ItemID=ES034
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062214&cp

Many listings:

http://shopping.yahoo.com/search;?p=ground+isolator&did=&x=63&y=9
http://shopping.msn.com/results/shp/?text=ground+isolator,scId=3,SortBy=PRICE,Order=A
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on December 12, 2006, 12:56:09 PM
I'm at home now, and listened through the WU page. If you listen to about 1/2 the other stations there, they seem to sound the same to me...

The sound was being routed through my home theater receiver (no speaker on this PC)--so it was much higher fidelity than on any PC...

I switched outlets for the AC power on the radio, and changed its position... still sounds the same to me...

I'll investigate further... may be I'll have to spend more $ on a better radio too... (was using a cheap Emerson, no I'm using a Radio Shack 12-152 radio in which I had to install an earphone jack--very old radio, no longer sold).

Could be the audio card in my PC sucks...

Maybe tonight I'll jack in a portable CD player to see how that sounds...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on December 12, 2006, 09:07:34 PM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
I'm at home now, and listened through the WU page. If you listen to about 1/2 the other stations there, they seem to sound the same to me...


Sounded good to me. Heck, what do they expect for free? HD quality?
 :roll:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on December 12, 2006, 09:47:44 PM
Hate to say it but that is a pretty bad hum... mine did it when I had the power plugged in... so I'm off batteries...

Since they've now announced it, here's the link to the beta page on WU:

http://www.wunderground.com/wxradio/index.html

I have my eye on their player as well...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on December 12, 2006, 11:33:04 PM
Don't know what to say, I've listened via the WU link on both my laptop and with audio card output from my other computer hooked up to my home theater surround sound receiver--and I don't hear any hum I'd call bad.

I don't hear any hum at all on the laptop, but not surprising due to the cheap speakers.

I'll continue to investigate though...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on December 13, 2006, 03:49:23 AM
wuhu_software:

Do you plan to add stations that the NWS is currently streaming themselves like:

http://204.2.106.62:8002/listen.pls

I have been considering helping out with an audio stream; however, I'm not sure its needed if my local NWS office is streaming the info already?!?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on December 13, 2006, 04:46:28 AM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
wuhu_software:

Do you plan to add stations that the NWS is currently streaming themselves like:

http://204.2.106.62:8002/listen.pls

I have been considering helping out with an audio stream; however, I'm not sure its needed if my local NWS office is streaming the info already?!?


According to their web site, the Louisville streams will be discontinued on December 16th...
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=noaaweatherradio (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=noaaweatherradio)

Interesting because they've been streaming just fine for over a month.  I recently sent an e-mail to Art Kraus but haven't heard back.  So your services may yet be needed...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on December 14, 2006, 07:12:36 AM
anchorageweather,

The streams that we are uploading are sent the Weather Underground audio servers. They are not part of the NWS local office streams that are sometimes available on the net (although it would be nice if they did).

I am not sure if WU is planning on providing links to local NWS offices that provide radio streams or not. I will have to look in to that. My guess is that if they do, it will probably be late sometime next year.

If you are currently running your PC 24x7 anyway, uploading your weather data to the WU, and you have the extra Internet bandwidth, we would like to have you participate.

Thanks.


Quote from: "anchorageweather"
wuhu_software:

Do you plan to add stations that the NWS is currently streaming themselves like:

http://204.2.106.62:8002/listen.pls

I have been considering helping out with an audio stream; however, I'm not sure its needed if my local NWS office is streaming the info already?!?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on December 14, 2006, 07:49:09 AM
ncpilot,

This is really odd. If I reduce the bass on my system, the hum is much less. Maybe your home stereo audio system is somehow filtering out the hum.

Just as a test, here are a couple wav files to play. The first is your stream, the second is another NC stream. Let me know if you hear a difference.

http://home.comcast.net/~Brighton-Mi/NWSNC.wav

http://home.comcast.net/~Brighton-Mi/NWSNC2.wav

Thanks.


Quote from: "ncpilot"
Don't know what to say, I've listened via the WU link on both my laptop and with audio card output from my other computer hooked up to my home theater surround sound receiver--and I don't hear any hum I'd call bad.

I don't hear any hum at all on the laptop, but not surprising due to the cheap speakers.

I'll continue to investigate though...
http://
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on December 14, 2006, 07:57:47 AM
We are still trying to determine the sources of the hum and why some people hear a *loud* hum while others do not.

The people streaming radio are attempting to produce the highest quality streams possible. We are not making a dime from it.

Without getting in to a debate, there are problems and we are working on them.

Quote from: "racenet"

Sounded good to me. Heck, what do they expect for free? HD quality?
 :roll:


Here is a what I typed up on the wiki page and this still holds true.

Audio Quality:Keep in mind we are attempting to produce the highest quality streams possible. Audio quality will be especially important during the program's infancy.

If your streams is producing a lot of noise, hum, or if it is over-amplified, more than likely users will not want to hear the stream and will close it immediately (even if the NWS is trying to deliver important alert information). Poor quality streams will reduce our listening audience so let's try to do our best to clean the audio streams and keep them as clear as possible.

Once you are streaming, please compare your audio quality to other streams to match sure you do not have a problem. You will be able to listen to your own stream via the web browser while you are uploading to the audio server.

Please contact us if you are having a problem with your audio quality so that we can help you correct the problem as soon as possible.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: katlon on December 14, 2006, 08:33:28 AM
With some people hearing hums on some streams and some people not hearing the hum I am asking that a few of you listen to my stream to see if there is a noticeable hum on my stream. I don't hear one but I guess that doesn't mean there might not be one. Thanks.

Lonnie

http://pulliamjr.com/NOAA_RADIO.htm
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on December 14, 2006, 08:52:20 AM
Sounds good to me.

Thanks for pointing me to that site.

Nice job mainting the listings roanokevalleyweather.com!

http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/noaawxradio.htm

Quote from: "katlon"
With some people hearing hums on some streams and some people not hearing the hum I am asking that a few of you listen to my stream to see if there is a noticeable hum on my stream. I don't hear one but I guess that doesn't mean there might not be one. Thanks.

Lonnie

http://pulliamjr.com/NOAA_RADIO.htm
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on December 14, 2006, 09:14:47 AM
Quote from: "katlon"
With some people hearing hums on some streams and some people not hearing the hum I am asking that a few of you listen to my stream to see if there is a noticeable hum on my stream. I don't hear one but I guess that doesn't mean there might not be one. Thanks.

Lonnie

http://pulliamjr.com/NOAA_RADIO.htm


No hum..  just the regular background noise you would expect from a "weather radio".  It doesn't sound any different to me than listening to the radio itself.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on December 14, 2006, 09:49:57 AM
Quote from: "katlon"
With some people hearing hums on some streams and some people not hearing the hum I am asking that a few of you listen to my stream to see if there is a noticeable hum on my stream. I don't hear one but I guess that doesn't mean there might not be one. Thanks.

Lonnie

http://pulliamjr.com/NOAA_RADIO.htm


Lonnie,

Just took a listen and hear no hum what so ever.


Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: katlon on December 14, 2006, 01:33:52 PM
Thanks guys.

Lonnie
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on December 14, 2006, 04:45:07 PM
The second file does seem to be hum free, but mine doesn't seem objectionable...

Listening at work running sound through Monsoon MH-500 speaker system...

I've got no problem trying to improve the sound quality, just a little crunched for time this time of year...

If we could agree on a specific time, I can plug in a portable CD player, and play some music to see if it has the hum, at least that would help narrow down the problem... then people "out there" could listen...

I can also use a battery in the radio for a period of time, although I think it will suck it dry very fast... I am using a cheap "multi" AC adaptor to power the radio, but I've had it plugged into 2 different outlets, and reversed the orientation, apparently to no effect... (uh, is that a bad sign that the AC adaptor doesn't have a polarized plug??  :D )

I can try listening on my HT system again, this time with both my 10" transmission line subwoofers running, powered by their own 250W amp........  :shock:  :lol: , AND, sit on my couch which has 4 transducers attached, powered by a plate amp.... I'll report back on the hum...

LOL........ just messing around...

Quote from: "wuhu_software"
ncpilot,

This is really odd. If I reduce the bass on my system, the hum is much less. Maybe your home stereo audio system is somehow filtering out the hum.

Just as a test, here are a couple wav files to play. The first is your stream, the second is another NC stream. Let me know if you hear a difference.

http://home.comcast.net/~Brighton-Mi/NWSNC.wav

http://home.comcast.net/~Brighton-Mi/NWSNC2.wav

Thanks.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on December 14, 2006, 04:50:51 PM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
If we could agree on a specific time, I can plug in a portable CD player, and play some music to see if it has the hum, at least that would help narrow down the problem... then people "out there" could listen...


Do we get to pick the tunes?  :wink:  :D
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: W3DRM on December 14, 2006, 06:52:40 PM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
...I am using a cheap "multi" AC adaptor to power the radio, but I've had it plugged into 2 different outlets, and reversed the orientation, apparently to no effect... (uh, is that a bad sign that the AC adaptor doesn't have a polarized plug??  :D )


Yes, you definitely have a noticeable hum in your audio feed.

No, not having a polarized plug is not an indication of anything other than that's the way it was designed. But, I'll bet that your problem is your AC adaptor. If you were to look at its output with an oscilloscope you'd probably see lots of AC riding the DC voltage. Cheap adaptors are cheap because they don't have sufficient filtering in them to elminate the AC portion of the DC. That AC then gets induced into the circuitry of the radio due to poor filtering in the radio also. My recommendation is to get another AC adaptor to see what happens. If that doesn't work, get another radio and use only the AC adaptor that comes with it. I'm assumming the adaptor you are currently using did not come with the radio - correct?

EDIT - If your radio is drawing more current than the AC adaptor is rated for, that could also cause a hum.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on December 14, 2006, 07:07:49 PM
quick, quick, listen now!!!!!

Ok, stuck a battery in, and the hum went away. Sorry, no music will be broadcast tonight. Looks to be the AC adaptor...

Considering the cost of a decent adaptor, I should probably just put it towards a better weather radio...

I might be able to dig up a few other adaptors around the house...

I'm sure the battery will die a quick death, so I'll go back to the adaptor for now, and try to fix something by the end of the week...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on December 14, 2006, 07:26:33 PM
Pssst.... hey guys...

We're on the air!  (http://www.wunderground.com (http://www.wunderground.com))

(http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/posted/wuwxradio.png)



 :D
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on December 14, 2006, 07:26:44 PM
Went back to the cheap Emerson radio, plugged into an outlet with the built-in cord. Sounds like a bit of hum still.

Two different radios, both on AC adaptor, induce hum--sounds like a common thread... something leaking into my audio input cable?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on December 14, 2006, 09:47:48 PM
nc, do you have your radio near a ups or any electronic device that is emitting emi. try taking your radio to a different part of the house and see if that works out better. i have a situation where emi leaks into my radio and will cause a slight hum. i finally have it in a position where it is minimal but still there.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on December 15, 2006, 08:00:39 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
quick, quick, listen now!!!!!

Ok, stuck a battery in, and the hum went away. Sorry, no music will be broadcast tonight. Looks to be the AC adaptor...

Considering the cost of a decent adaptor, I should probably just put it towards a better weather radio...

I might be able to dig up a few other adaptors around the house...

I'm sure the battery will die a quick death, so I'll go back to the adaptor for now, and try to fix something by the end of the week...


Like I said... I just went off the batteries... I get about 3 weeks out of 3 Rayvok "D"s... and the radio has a low battery indicator. I thought about rechargable "D"s but they cost outragous sums of money.

Don't know if this thing (http://www.ccrane.com/radios/radio-accessories/radio-noise-filter-surge-protector.aspx) would do any good towards reducing hum.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on December 15, 2006, 09:01:49 AM
That link gave me a few ideas, the major one is to switch outlets where I don't have an X-10 lamp module plugged in... but my audio cord isn't very long...

Easiest step is to use an extension cord to an outlet in another room to see if that stops hum... then go from there...

I think a better radio would help, and can't see spending $15+ on devices to filter noise when I could put that toward a decent radio... (assuming a better radio will filter the gargabe).

Marc
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on December 15, 2006, 09:05:49 AM
Quote from: "capeweather"
nc, do you have your radio near a ups or any electronic device that is emitting emi. try taking your radio to a different part of the house and see if that works out better. i have a situation where emi leaks into my radio and will cause a slight hum. i finally have it in a position where it is minimal but still there.


Dang! I need to move my portable EMI emitter!  :lol:  :lol:  Just kidding... spy thoughts crept into my head...

But if you ever were worried about excess EMI: http://zapatopi.net/afdb/

But seriously, the weather radio is close to the computer, which is close to the UPS...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on December 15, 2006, 11:37:41 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"

But if you ever were worried about excess EMI: http://zapatopi.net/afdb/


LOL....now that's funny! Drug induced, but funny! :)
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on December 15, 2006, 02:11:29 PM
Off topic, but I went in for a CT sinus scan a few months back, and knew ahead of time I was going to mess with the technician. So I brought a large piece of aluminum foil in my pocket, and when in the CT room, told the tech that the aliens who implanted my sinus probe told me that an aluminum foil "hat" would protect me from stuff like a CT scan--at which point I pulled the foil out of my pocket and pressed it down over my head..........

She looked at me and said "you didn't just do that!" LOL  :lol:  :lol:

Oh yeah, the docs love me....

Went to my optometrist on Halloween day... cut a ping pong ball in half and painted it up like blood shot eyes. Stuck them in, put sunglasses on, and walked into the office.....
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on December 18, 2006, 10:58:27 AM
Quote from: "kray1000"
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
wuhu_software:

Do you plan to add stations that the NWS is currently streaming themselves like:

http://204.2.106.62:8002/listen.pls

I have been considering helping out with an audio stream; however, I'm not sure its needed if my local NWS office is streaming the info already?!?


According to their web site, the Louisville streams will be discontinued on December 16th...
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=noaaweatherradio (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=noaaweatherradio)

Interesting because they've been streaming just fine for over a month.  I recently sent an e-mail to Art Kraus but haven't heard back.  So your services may yet be needed...


Kevin:

Well it looks like you were correct; the NWS in my area stopped broadcasting online over the weekend. Hmmm... guess I should step up now to help out....
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on December 18, 2006, 05:55:53 PM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"

Well it looks like you were correct; the NWS in my area stopped broadcasting online over the weekend. Hmmm... guess I should step up now to help out....


Sure, go ahead and give it a try.  :D

I haven't heard back officially, but the fact that the Louisville WFO streams were removed from their web pages isn't a good sign that they'll be coming back...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on January 03, 2007, 07:54:12 PM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"

Kevin:

Well it looks like you were correct; the NWS in my area stopped broadcasting online over the weekend. Hmmm... guess I should step up now to help out....


Unfortunately, the Louisville WFO streams aren't coming back.  The NWS contracted with a private firm to do the streaming and decided not to renew the contract.

anchorageweather... still interested in giving this a try?  :wink:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 04, 2007, 12:58:02 AM
Quote from: "kray1000"
 
Unfortunately, the Louisville WFO streams aren't coming back.  The NWS contracted with a private firm to do the streaming and decided not to renew the contract.

anchorageweather... still interested in giving this a try?  :wink:


Yes, I think I am going to give it a shot - probably after i get all of my Christmas decorations down - UGGG
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on January 05, 2007, 07:05:44 PM
I constructed the isolation transformer patch, and upped my bitrate to 24...

wuhu and others, let my know how it sounds now...

Winnabow, NC

I found a major sound difference by upping the bitrate... can't really say if the hum is gone or not...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: katlon on January 05, 2007, 07:34:41 PM
Before I started streaming the NOAA Weather Radio about a month or so ago I pretty much only had family and friends visiting my web site which was ok with me 'cause it's just a hobby anyway. Now that I have started streaming the weather radio I am seeing an increase in traffic every day. Today was an exciting weather day around Greenville, SC and I saw somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 hits on my radio page alone. I think it was Carter Lake who casually mentioned different ways of getting your message out to the public and I took it to heart. I sent emails to all the Emergency Prepardness  agencies in the area as welll as all the school districts, newspapers, radio stations and law enforcement departments. I explained that I had started streaming the NOAA Weather Radio broadcast for my area, which by the way, was the first time it had happened in this area, and that I wanted them to be aware that it would be available 24/7 for anyone with an internet connection whether it was at home, work or in the field. It sure paid off today.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on January 05, 2007, 08:31:27 PM
Quote from: "katlon"
I saw somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 hits


I've seen something like a 15% increase in local traffic from having my own NOAA stream... lots from WU but a respectable and growing number both from NOAA and Kevin's page (more from Kevin!).

I've considered emailing local emergency management but just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

I imagine this flow will only increase... which means if you are in a populated area with other weather ethuasists, NOW is the time to start streaming.

In fact, I've been thinking of getting the external antenna just to make sure I have the best quality stream possible.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 06, 2007, 01:59:09 AM
I've decided to jump in and give this a shot.  First problem:  The instuctions from wuhu_software require that I download the lame encoder dll; however, the link that wuhu_software gives for the file has been suspended:

http://esc91.midphase.com/suspended.page/

A google search does not turn up the file.

Does anyone know how I can get lame3.98a6.zip

Seems I'm stuck.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on January 06, 2007, 02:07:58 AM
(post edited)
Until a new version of the instructions is published on WU, I'll post a copy here...
http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/posted/lame3.98a6.zip
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 06, 2007, 02:12:41 AM
Quote from: "kray1000"
Until a new version of the instructions is published, I'll put an updated version here...
http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/noaawxradio/lame3.98a11.zip


I'm assuming lame3.98a6.zip and lame3.98a11.zip are the same thing?!?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on January 06, 2007, 02:27:05 AM
Some of the file sizes are different, so I dug the lame3.98a6.zip file out of my recycle bin.  We'll start off using what we know works so everyone's on the same page.
http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/downloads/lame3a6.zip

EDIT:  Updated URL.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: up10ad N9RJH on January 06, 2007, 07:30:10 AM
I've been following this project and thought I'd get involved after the first of the year.  However, for Christmas I received a OS radio and it includes a line-out jack!  :D   So, I began looking into the setup and quickly found that my location, Rio Blanco County in Colorado, is one of only 5 counties that has no weather radio broadcasts.  The nearest is Grand Junction which is about 60 miles as the crow flies, 90 by highway.  Even with a good external antenna I couldn't get any reception.  I guess the radio isn't very useful after all  :( .
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 06, 2007, 08:06:39 AM
Quote from: "k6dyc"
I've been following this project and thought I'd get involved after the first of the year.  However, for Christmas I received a OS radio and it includes a line-out jack!  :D   So, I began looking into the setup and quickly found that my location, Rio Blanco County in Colorado, is one of only 5 counties that has no weather radio broadcasts.  The nearest is Grand Junction which is about 60 miles as the crow flies, 90 by highway.  Even with a good external antenna I couldn't get any reception.  I guess the radio isn't very useful after all  :( .


Here is the NWS radio signal strength map.

Guess you fall in the red.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/states/colorado.html

Closeup (uses a different color coding scheme?)

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/co/glenwoodsprings.gif
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 06, 2007, 08:16:06 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
I constructed the isolation transformer patch, and upped my bitrate to 24...

wuhu and others, let my know how it sounds now...

Winnabow, NC

I found a major sound difference by upping the bitrate... can't really say if the hum is gone or not...


ncpilot,

In my opinion the hum has been greatly reduced.

It is now barely perceptible. Hard to say if it can be eliminated beyond where you are now.

Were you experimenting with different power packs as well? You might try putting the original transformer back on the radio and see how that works.

Thanks for making the extra effort!
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 06, 2007, 09:00:21 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
I constructed the isolation transformer patch, and upped my bitrate to 24...

wuhu and others, let my know how it sounds now...

Winnabow, NC

I found a major sound difference by upping the bitrate... can't really say if the hum is gone or not...


I have updated the 'Eliminate Hum' page to include samples from your station showing the improvement that the transformer can make.

Thanks.

http://home.comcast.net/~wuhu_software/EliminateHum/
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on January 06, 2007, 09:46:09 AM
Here's my "I don't need no stinkin battery box" fix...

(http://home.earthlink.net/~marcpilot4/images/transformer.jpg)

I only have the one general purpose adapter, but I did plug it into a different outlet.

I found that increasing the bitrate seemed to increase the higher frequencies, resulting in more hiss. But listening to the 2 clips it is obvious that the hum has been decreased.

And somewhat off topic, but a pic I found on the server for those that think they're serious about weather:

(http://home.earthlink.net/~marcpilot4/suburban.jpg)

If I recall correctly, I believe the owner of this car lives in NC, up in the Raleigh area I think...

http://www.stormstudy.com/project.html
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: DundeeWeather on January 06, 2007, 10:05:37 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"

I found that increasing the bitrate seemed to increase the higher frequencies, resulting in more hiss. But listening to the 2 clips it is obvious that the hum has been decreased.


I did some reading and decided to increase my bitrate from 16 to 24.  I think it's just a little cleaner for me, but frankly I couldn't tell a huge difference.

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/DundeeWeather/Dundee.mp3.m3u

When I first started this stream the volume from the feed was a little low.  So I increased the volume on the radio while listening to the feed.  There's a point where if you give it too much volume it will become a bit over modulated or distorted.  Luckily I've never had the hiss and I'm surprised.  I'm coming right off the ext. speaker from the back of the radio directly into the line in on the sound card.  


Quote from: "ncpilot"

And somewhat off topic, but a pic I found on the server for those that think they're serious about weather:

If I recall correctly, I believe the owner of this car lives in NC, up in the Raleigh area I think...


WOW - Thanks for that picture.  I am so not worthy to call myself "serious" in weather.  That guy is way above me.  That picture made me go, "hmm I need something like that"  Wonder how he got the VP to reach his car when he was out of range.  Do you think he put up relay transmitters all around his local area?  I don't think you can drive too far away from the station before losing signal can you?

Greg
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 06, 2007, 10:15:45 AM
Quote from: DundeeWeather
Quote from: "ncpilot"


WOW - Thanks for that picture.  I am so not worthy to call myself "serious" in weather.  That guy is way above me.  That picture made me go, "hmm I need something like that"  Wonder how he got the VP to reach his car when he was out of range.  Do you think he put up relay transmitters all around his local area?  I don't think you can drive too far away from the station before losing signal can you?

Greg


That is quite the setup.

I would guess that he has his sensor array on some type of magnetic mount that he props up when he stops.

Some storm chasers have their sensors permanently mounted to the roof although they end up with broken sensors from flying rocks.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ocala on January 06, 2007, 10:19:19 AM
Notice the satellite weather feed in the lower left corner of the VP.
Sweet!
I stand corrected. After looking at the web site its some sort of radio. However they did say they have a XM/WX satellite feed somewhere in there.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: DundeeWeather on January 06, 2007, 10:24:35 AM
Quote from: "ocala"
Notice the satellite weather feed in the lower left corner of the VP.
Sweet!


Yeah this guy is serious about the weather.  Makes me look like a rookie.  Oh wait, I am a rookie.  He's probably part of the Emergency Management for his county along with Skywarn and other emergency services.  Oh and I assume "he" sorry ladies, could be a "her" as well.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 06, 2007, 10:55:03 AM
Quote from: "DundeeWeather"
Quote from: "ocala"
Notice the satellite weather feed in the lower left corner of the VP.
Sweet!


Yeah this guy is serious about the weather.  Makes me look like a rookie.  Oh wait, I am a rookie.  He's probably part of the Emergency Management for his county along with Skywarn and other emergency services.  Oh and I assume "he" sorry ladies, could be a "her" as well.


Speaking of Skywarn, it might be interesting to upload multiple feeds to WU, one for the NWS radio, one for the spotter network.

If you have a stereo line input, I believe this is possible to do. If I am not mistaken, the user can user their balance control to listen to one station or the other. Maybe it would be easier to use two sepeate inputs, and two streams, not sure.

If you have never heard spotters in the field during a storm, it is pretty interesting. The usually only activate the spotters when there is a potential for widespread damage.

I am a bit outside of range for picking all of the transmissions, especially when it is a lightning storm, but it is interesting.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 06, 2007, 11:31:26 AM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"



Yes, I think I am going to give it a shot - probably after i get all of my Christmas decorations down - UGGG


Well, I got everything set up and I can broadcast, but I forgot about one important point.  I forgot I can't use my computer audio for anything else than the weather broadcast.  

For some reason I thought that I would be able to use my computer speakers for music, etc. while the weather broadcast played "in the background".  

Is there a way to set up mayby a second sound card that will run only the weather broadcast, and leave the rest of my system to me?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 06, 2007, 11:41:29 AM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Quote from: "anchorageweather"



Yes, I think I am going to give it a shot - probably after i get all of my Christmas decorations down - UGGG


Well, I got everything set up and I can broadcast, but I forgot about one important point.  I forgot I can't use my computer audio for anything else than the weather broadcast.  

For some reason I thought that I would be able to use my computer speakers for music, etc. while the weather broadcast played "in the background".  

Is there a way to set up mayby a second sound card that will run only the weather broadcast, and leave the rest of my system to me?



You can continue to use your audio for other purposes, just mute the line-input source under your play control (double click speaker, lower right by clock, if line-in does not appear in list, goto options, properties, add checkboxs to any audio source that is not listed).

The line-in can then be used as a recording device only.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 06, 2007, 12:31:59 PM
Quote from: "wuhu_software"
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Quote from: "anchorageweather"



Yes, I think I am going to give it a shot - probably after i get all of my Christmas decorations down - UGGG


Well, I got everything set up and I can broadcast, but I forgot about one important point.  I forgot I can't use my computer audio for anything else than the weather broadcast.  

For some reason I thought that I would be able to use my computer speakers for music, etc. while the weather broadcast played "in the background".  

Is there a way to set up mayby a second sound card that will run only the weather broadcast, and leave the rest of my system to me?



You can continue to use your audio for other purposes, just mute the line-input source under your play control (double click speaker, lower right by clock, if line-in does not appear in list, goto options, properties, add checkboxs to any audio source that is not listed).

The line-in can then be used as a recording device only.


 :oops: Duh... Now why didn't I think of that.  I'm up at:

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/ericisback/Louisville.mp3.m3u

Feedback please.  

Also, refresh my memory - how do I actually get the feed on WU at:

http://www.wunderground.com:80/wxradio/index.html
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 06, 2007, 12:46:50 PM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Quote from: "wuhu_software"
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Quote from: "anchorageweather"



Yes, I think I am going to give it a shot - probably after i get all of my Christmas decorations down - UGGG


Well, I got everything set up and I can broadcast, but I forgot about one important point.  I forgot I can't use my computer audio for anything else than the weather broadcast.  

For some reason I thought that I would be able to use my computer speakers for music, etc. while the weather broadcast played "in the background".  

Is there a way to set up mayby a second sound card that will run only the weather broadcast, and leave the rest of my system to me?



You can continue to use your audio for other purposes, just mute the line-input source under your play control (double click speaker, lower right by clock, if line-in does not appear in list, goto options, properties, add checkboxs to any audio source that is not listed).

The line-in can then be used as a recording device only.


 :oops: Duh... Now why didn't I think of that.  I'm up at:

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/ericisback/Louisville.mp3.m3u

Feedback please.  

Also, refresh my memory - how do I actually get the feed on WU at:

http://www.wunderground.com:80/wxradio/index.html



Just fill out the form here:

http://www.wunderground.com/wxradio/signup.html

Once that is filled out, the station will appear on the main web page listing.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 06, 2007, 12:48:55 PM
Oh, by the way, the audio quality is good.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 06, 2007, 03:36:42 PM
Quote from: "wuhu_software"


Just fill out the form here:

http://www.wunderground.com/wxradio/signup.html

Once that is filled out, the station will appear on the main web page listing.


Done!  The WU page shows the broacast location as New Albany, IN (technically correct); however, I don't know how many people from Louisville actually know the station for Louisville is located in New Albany, IN.  Hope that is not a problem.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 06, 2007, 04:29:38 PM
Ok, I'm up and running, I was wondering if someone might be able to help me get the info to my website.  Is there some html or php script I can use to get the stream to broadcast on one of my site's pages like:

http://topsailweather.com/noaa_live.php

or

http://www.carterlake.org/noaaradio.php

I have no idea how to get the windows player to load on a page like that :?

EDIT:

I took a look at some sites and I think I figured out the embedding process enough to get something up on my site.  I think that about covers everything.  Thanks everyone for all the help and examples.  I hope now someone can use the stream. :)
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: SLOweather on January 06, 2007, 04:52:10 PM
Quote from: "ocala"
Notice the satellite weather feed in the lower left corner of the VP.
Sweet!
I stand corrected. After looking at the web site its some sort of radio. However they did say they have a XM/WX satellite feed somewhere in there.


That thing with the blue screen is the remote head for a dual band 144/440 amateur radio transceiver.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: SLOweather on January 06, 2007, 04:56:48 PM
Quote from: "wuhu_software"

If you have a stereo line input, I believe this is possible to do. If I am not mistaken, the user can user their balance control to listen to one station or the other. Maybe it would be easier to use two separate inputs, and two streams, not sure.


I'm doing this with WinAmp, the Shoutcast DSP plugin, and a ShoutCast server. I have 2 scanners streaming in stereo, County fire and USFS on one channel, and City Fire on the other. It works pretty well. I did switch from the MP3 encoder to AAC+ to lower the bit rate.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 07, 2007, 10:45:35 AM
What happens if someone wants to add their stream to the WU weather page - but someone else is already servicing that area with their stream?  Will WU add two streams for the same station?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 07, 2007, 10:52:35 AM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
What happens if someone wants to add their stream to the WU weather page - but someone else is already servicing that area with their stream?  Will WU add two streams for the same station?


I do not believe this is a problem.

My guess is that the duplicate streams will just appear in the list giving the end user the choice of streams.

Redundancy is what we are hoping for.

Eventually, if there is an automatic alert system in place, it will be able to pull the operational streams from nearby locations.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 07, 2007, 10:15:24 PM
Ok, one last question regarding this topic.

When measuring the upload stream to WU, I notice that the stream averages about 15.5kb/sec.  That averages out to about 4.85 GB/month.  Anyone think an ISP would get sideways over this extra usage?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: W3DRM on January 08, 2007, 01:16:29 AM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Ok, one last question regarding this topic.

When measuring the upload stream to WU, I notice that the stream averages about 15.5kb/sec.  That averages out to about 4.85 GB/month.  Anyone think an ISP would get sideways over this extra usage?


That depends on what kind of contract you have with your ISP. Check to see what your limits are. If your under them and the rest of your site access isn't bringing you over the limit then you should be okay. If you are over then they will probably send you a notice and charge you for the overage. My ISP (ICDSOFT) sends me a warning notice long before I go over your limit. Yours may or may not send out that warning notice.

Each ISP is different so it can't be answered with a Yes or No answer.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on January 08, 2007, 05:05:54 AM
My ISP is Cox Communications.  So far, no issues.  I haven't heard any ISPs getting bent over this or I'm sure someone would have reported it.  A steady, low-bandwidth stream would be less of a problem than sucking that same bandwidth over a short period of time, which could conceivably stress their servers.  A 16K stream is a drop in the bucket for them, and besides, it's for a good cause.  But I certainly wouldn't be asking them too many questions... 8)

The only ISP I might expect to have issues would be a DSL company like HughesNet, because of the smaller pipelines.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Anole on January 08, 2007, 07:15:52 AM
Quote from: "kray1000"
My ISP is Cox Communications.  So far, no issues.  I haven't heard any ISPs getting bent over this or I'm sure someone would have reported it.  A steady, low-bandwidth stream would be less of a problem than sucking that same bandwidth over a short period of time, which could conceivably stress their servers.  A 16K stream is a drop in the bucket for them, and besides, it's for a good cause.  But I certainly wouldn't be asking them too many questions... 8)

The only ISP I might expect to have issues would be a DSL company like HughesNet, because of the smaller pipelines.


Hughes would definitely be a problem. Their FAP (Fair Access Policy) probably wouldn't kick in as a result of the stream alone, but you wouldn't be able to do much else vefore it did.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on January 08, 2007, 11:11:45 AM
I'm using Earthlink (through TW cable), and haven't heard a peep from them... and I've been streaming for a few months...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on January 08, 2007, 11:42:45 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
I'm using Earthlink (through TW cable), and haven't heard a peep from them... and I've been streaming for a few months...


You use earthlink through your cable ISP? If I may ask, why?


Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on January 08, 2007, 12:12:23 PM
It's cheaper by about $3-4....... I used Earthlink for dialup, then they advertised cable hi-speed and it was less than RoadRunner...

Not much, but over a year it's a free month...

Also, I believe I get more with Earthlink...

I get 10M per web account "home" page, and I get a web account for each of the possible 8 email addresses... (RR gives only 5 email addresses, and only 5M per account)
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on January 08, 2007, 07:37:26 PM
Okay, but isn't earthlink still dialup or do they now offer broadband? And why would you have to use it through TW?

I'm sooooo confused!  :shock:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on January 08, 2007, 07:52:16 PM
You can get broadband with Earthlink, which is what I have. I'm not sure if they have their own hardware/servers or not, or if they are just reselling RoadRunner. I pay my bill to TW cable, who I guess collects for Earthlink.

I found this tidbit: (AOL/TimeWarner merger)

As part of the FTC approval, AOL and Time Warner agree to a number of measures to protect competitiveness. On of these measures is the request to open Time Warner's cable TV lines to competitive ISPs. Time Warner complied by forging and agreement with Earthlink, AOL's #1 competitor, to allow Earthlink access to Time Warner's cable customers.

So I get Earthlink basically via TW cable, cheaper, and with more email accounts and web space... speed is the same...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Anole on January 08, 2007, 08:45:14 PM
Quote from: "racenet"
Okay, but isn't earthlink still dialup or do they now offer broadband? And why would you have to use it through TW?

I'm sooooo confused!  :shock:


Earthlink has been offering DSL for quite a long time. Sprint/Embarq's DSL service is provided by Earthlink and has been for at least 5 years.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on January 08, 2007, 10:19:42 PM
Ah well, you learn something new every day. Don't have the slightest chance of getting DSL around here any time soon, so really don't follow the "what's up" with it.


Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on January 10, 2007, 07:53:38 AM
Hadn't seen this site yet. I imagine these streams will start appearing on dozens of sites.

http://www.wrbn.net/nwr.html
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on January 10, 2007, 10:18:59 AM
Looks like they are taking them from here.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm#livestream
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: carterlake on January 10, 2007, 05:48:55 PM
Quote from: "capeweather"
Looks like they are taking them from here.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm#livestream


The more, the merrier!

(Once again, shows the importance of starting this project early... you folks thinking about it will have to email all these sites to get your link added... sign up now!)
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on January 10, 2007, 07:04:37 PM
WU is sharing these links with the NWS, so once the NWS updates its listing, the other sites will likely follow suit.  

WU is working to make these streams more prominent on their pages...

(http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/posted/wuwxradio2.png)
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 10, 2007, 07:21:55 PM
Yes, Im glad I got on board.

Three quick comments.  

1.  I rebooted my computer today.  I have Oddcast setup to startup when windows launches and to auto connect.  Everything started except the broadcast would not stream.  When I closed and opened Oddcast again manually - it auto-connected fine.  Unless I can figure out what is hanging, I will have to manually start Oddcast in the event of a power failure.

2.  Now that I'm streaming, I am considering the purchase of a battery backup for my compluter.  Does anyone have any reccomendations?

3. I noticed the radio section on the city pages of WU; however, sometimes when I open this page I get this:

 (http://i11.tinypic.com/2a6o0if.jpg)

This page is at:

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Anchorage%2C+KY

It mostly hhapped when the page is "refreshed"
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on January 10, 2007, 07:28:52 PM
Regarding #1, I have the same problem.  Doesn't happen every single time, but probably 80% of the time.  All I really have to do is go in and select the audio device and normally it will take off.  Some kind of bug in Oddcast.

I'll leave the recommendations for #2 to someone else.

Regarding #3, I'm getting the same thing most of the time (or a blank player).  Still some bugs to work out.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on January 10, 2007, 07:53:15 PM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"


2.  Now that I'm streaming, I am considering the purchase of a battery backup for my compluter.  Does anyone have any reccomendations?



I've had one of these for a while and it has served me well.

http://www.provantage.com/mge-89345~7MGES02H.htm
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Anole on January 10, 2007, 08:45:46 PM
APC is popular and work well for the most part but they don't seem to handle complete discharge very well. When power is returned after they fully discharge they tend not to come back up if they have a load on them when power is restored (your BIOS is set to boot on power for instance). They repeatedly cycle on and off in this circumstance and will continue to do so until you remove the load and let it charge for about 10 minutes. This has been my experience with basically every APC I've ever owned. Most folks never see this behavior because a) they never fully discharge the UPS, and b) they don't have immediate loads on the UPS after power restore.

My personal favorites are from Opti-UPS.

Regardless of which brand you buy keep the following in mind:

Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 10, 2007, 09:12:49 PM
Quote from: "Anole"

If the UPS has two sides, surge protect only and battery backup, keep in mind that the only things that really need to be on the battery side in most cases are the PC and the monitor and possibly any critical external equipment like HDs. Don't plug printers, speakers etc into the battery side. Doing so can reduce the time the UPS can keep your system up and running.


I guess the only thing I would hook up is the computer and the radio.  I don't see why I would need to even hook up the monitor, right?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on January 10, 2007, 09:21:32 PM
I have my APC monitoring software shut down my PC after 10 minutes on battery, that way it never discharges completely... I figure if the power hasn't come back on in 10 minutes, letting the computer run for another 10 or so really isn't necessary, since the UPS will drain completely...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on January 11, 2007, 07:15:27 AM
Quote from: "kray1000"
Regarding #1, I have the same problem.  Doesn't happen every single time, but probably 80% of the time.  All I really have to do is go in and select the audio device and normally it will take off.  Some kind of bug in Oddcast.


It is definitetly a bug. I posted a message about the problem on the Oddcast forum some time ago. There has been no resolution to the problem.

Several streamers have experimented with delaying the startup of Oddcast for a couple of minutes after Windows starts using a batch file. This seemed to improve the situation. If you find the same result let us know.

Thanks.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Anole on January 11, 2007, 07:33:05 AM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Quote from: "Anole"

If the UPS has two sides, surge protect only and battery backup, keep in mind that the only things that really need to be on the battery side in most cases are the PC and the monitor and possibly any critical external equipment like HDs. Don't plug printers, speakers etc into the battery side. Doing so can reduce the time the UPS can keep your system up and running.


I guess the only thing I would hook up is the computer and the radio.  I don't see why I would need to even hook up the monitor, right?


If the monitor isn't on the battery you aren't going to be able to do anything on the PC because you won't be able to see what you are doing.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Anole on January 11, 2007, 07:37:30 AM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
I have my APC monitoring software shut down my PC after 10 minutes on battery, that way it never discharges completely... I figure if the power hasn't come back on in 10 minutes, letting the computer run for another 10 or so really isn't necessary, since the UPS will drain completely...


My goal with the WS PC is to keep it running as long as possible. Same goes for my main server. In the event that they do shut down, I want it back up as soon as power is restored.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Mark / Ohio on January 14, 2007, 01:06:43 AM
Well I'm streaming but not sure yet if I will to keep doing it.  My idle cpu usage is 60-70% with oddcast taking about 30-40% on my old 466Mhz. Since this is currently my only computer makes it a bit slow for the other daily tasks.   :?

Sounds good though at least on my end.  8)

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/FCW/Lancaster.mp3.m3u
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 14, 2007, 12:49:32 PM
Here is an interesting WU streaming NOAA radio development.  I have noticed several weather websites have begun using the WU NOAA radio flash player on their site.  Here is an example:

http://www.mesotrack.com/index.html

Here is the code the site is using:

Code: [Select]

<param name=quality value=high>
<embed src="http://www.wunderground.com/radio/radio-player.swf" quality=high pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="210" height="100" align="right">
</embed>


I have several comments:

-Why does the flash player only show 19 stations, when there are over 60 broadcasting?

-Could this development be some of the cause of the recent TOS additions on the WU site?

-It would seem that this site's WU flash player does not have any of the lag and "failure to initialize" problems that are apparent on the WU site.  Why would the WU flash player work better on someone else's site, than on their own site?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on January 14, 2007, 10:08:28 PM
Quote from: "kray1000"
WU is sharing these links with the NWS, so once the NWS updates its listing, the other sites will likely follow suit.  

WU is working to make these streams more prominent on their pages...

(http://www.roanokevalleyweather.com/images/wuwxradio2.png)


They have a link on there "Show NOAA Radio" now and doesn't seem to be drawing the traffic it once did. I saw some radios earlier in the week that had up to 30 guests on at one time.  :shock: Maybe some folks were having problems with the loading since it's a flash application. Any of you notice this too?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 15, 2007, 02:27:35 AM
Hmmm...It would seem the duplication of the streaming broadcasts have begun.  There are now two streams for Orlando.  I wonder if they will cap the number of duplicate streams.  I could easily see New York or LA having dozens of people streaming the broadcast.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Mark / Ohio on January 15, 2007, 07:59:19 PM
Quote from: "anchorageweather"
Hmmm...It would seem the duplication of the streaming broadcasts have begun.  ....


The plus side for them would be a backup for loss of transmissions due to power and equipment failures of the volunteers sending the radio streams.  I'd guess it would depend how much the added bandwidth strains their servers and the cost to add more horsepower on their end if that were to happen.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on January 19, 2007, 01:24:40 PM
FYI, I received an email today from the NWS letting me know they had updated their streaming radio page again at:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm

They have added several additional streams from the WU project.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on January 19, 2007, 02:45:11 PM
Can someone go to that NWS link and try to listen to the primary Winnabow, NC station?

mms://weather.nhcfirerescue.org/         (what's an "mms" url?)

I can't get it to work at either work or home, but Art Kraus at NWS says it works for him... (edit... just got a reply from him that it isn't working right now...)

I've tried that station several times in the past, and it has never worked...

Thanks,
Marc
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Anole on January 19, 2007, 03:54:04 PM
MMS: Microsoft Media Server

It's a Microsoft proprietary protocol used for streaming unicast data.


EDIT: BTW. the URL doesn't work for me either. I can connect but I don't hear anything.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: DundeeWeather on January 19, 2007, 10:04:54 PM
Quote from: "Anole"
MMS: Microsoft Media Server

It's a Microsoft proprietary protocol used for streaming unicast data.


EDIT: BTW. the URL doesn't work for me either. I can connect but I don't hear anything.


Same here - I can connect, but there's just dead air.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: saratogaWX on January 20, 2007, 09:42:18 PM
Ok, I'm a bit late to the party, but Saratoga-Weather.org is now streaming NOAA weather radio (CH 7) for the South SF Bay/Monterey Bay.

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/KCASARATOGA/Saratoga.mp3.m3u

What a hoot!

Now to add the nifty stuff to the website.  :lol:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: saratogaWX on February 03, 2007, 07:15:21 PM
Just a small update.  The NWS page (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm) now has me as an alternate for Monterey (Thanks to Art Krause at the NWS).

Special thanks to jmcmurry for showing how the freeware Flash MP3 player (playa) (http://candyscript.com/projects/playa/) can be used to make a nice, automated page for listening to a set list of NWS streams.  I'd been looking for something like that (free, and not MediaPlayer :-) )

His page: http://www.jcweather.us/playa/radio.htm

My page: http://saratoga-weather.org/radio.php

(I'd converted it to XHTML 1.0-Strict and used the Macromedia/Adobe swfobject.js script to load the player).
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on February 05, 2007, 07:48:38 PM
My stream won't load at 7:47pm and I get this at WU:

(http://i9.tinypic.com/2vajeid.jpg)

and:

(http://i9.tinypic.com/2cf3wgx.jpg)


Am I the only one?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on February 05, 2007, 07:49:55 PM
Nope... same here...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on February 05, 2007, 07:54:04 PM
My stream is fine direct from the WU page...

Winnabow, NC
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on February 05, 2007, 07:55:25 PM
Yeah, just came back up.  Outage just lasted a couple minutes or so I think.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on February 05, 2007, 08:05:08 PM
Yes, they are back up.... Hmmm interesting guess the gremlins are out and about  :twisted:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on February 19, 2007, 08:07:02 PM
Couldn't get rid of the hum in my stream no matter what I tried. Ground loop isolator, different outlet, different location, etc. Decided it was my radio so I ordered a new one. This is what I got, http://www.ambientweather.com/miwrwealra.html Much better reception and digital as well. Could you check the stream and let me know if the hum is gone on your end?

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/OPwx/OverlandPark.mp3.m3u
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: saratogaWX on February 19, 2007, 08:15:08 PM
It sounds nicely crisp with no hum.  Nice job!
Ken

p.s.  I use the Midland WR-300 too.. great radio.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: wuhu_software on February 19, 2007, 08:16:07 PM
Quote from: "NoQuitters"
Couldn't get rid of the hum in my stream no matter what I tried. Ground loop isolator, different outlet, different location, etc. Decided it was my radio so I ordered a new one. This is what I got, http://www.ambientweather.com/miwrwealra.html Much better reception and digital as well. Could you check the stream and let me know if the hum is gone on your end?

http://audiostream.wunderground.com/OPwx/OverlandPark.mp3.m3u


Sounds good to me.

I do not hear any hum or other issues.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on February 20, 2007, 01:29:13 AM
Stream sound good.

Nice choice on the radio. I use the same one here and it works fantastic!


Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on February 20, 2007, 10:09:44 AM
I'm looking at that radio also...

I assume, that with the earphone jack used, there is no sound from the speaker? And if that's true, then the alert feature won't be audible around the house?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on February 20, 2007, 03:26:06 PM
That is correct. However, it does have an external alert jack also. Thought I haven't tried it, I would assume that if a small speaker was attached to this jack, you would hear the alert tone.

I guess it's something I'm going to need to try out.



Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on February 20, 2007, 04:18:09 PM
Quote from: "kenmtrue"
It sounds nicely crisp with no hum.  Nice job!
Ken

p.s.  I use the Midland WR-300 too.. great radio.


This is a great radio.  The only thing I don't like - every time you set the clock alarm the buttons make a sound.  Forget trying to QUIETLY set your alarm if your significant other is already asleep.

-E
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on February 20, 2007, 04:47:54 PM
Quote from: "racenet"
That is correct. However, it does have an external alert jack also. Thought I haven't tried it, I would assume that if a small speaker was attached to this jack, you would hear the alert tone.

I guess it's something I'm going to need to try out.
Bob


I wouldn't be surprised if that external jack is simply a switch, since the accessories are a light/strobe or siren I believe. So it would only serve as a trigger for the external device...

If the circuitry could handle it, I'm sure the radio could be modified so that the earphone jack doesn't disconnect the main speaker. You'd probably need some kind of impedance/resistance matching circuit.

I guess hearing the alert tone would be useful, but then you'd have to unplug the jack used for uploading so you could hear the alert, unless you went to WU or your webpage and listened to the streaming alert... which then begs the question, how close is the radio/computer to your bed?

Or look at the display to see what the alert was for...

Just idle musings...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on February 20, 2007, 07:22:54 PM
LOL

I'm not really worried about it. I have plenty of other things that go "whoop whoop" in the night when severe weather is around. So, not to concerned with the weather radio aspect of it.  :)



Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on February 20, 2007, 10:15:13 PM
I use the new radio just for streaming. I have another one, WR-100 (http://ambientweather.com/miwrdewealra.html), that is used as it was intended. A local grocery store in conjunction with one of the TV stations and the EOC sells them every year at a discounted rate. Works just as well and the same as the new one, just no am/fm and no earphone jack or I would have bought two.

Here's the ad for them, it's at the bottom of the page. Weather Radio Promotion (http://www.mypricechopper.com/SpecialPromotions/Promos_Index_S.las?-token.S=428T9RE34CD0558P7f736074jqMN6L5394CDE5)
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on February 21, 2007, 11:23:16 AM
I finally ordered a WR300 (from Amazon for $52, free shipping) for use "as it was intended"...  :D

The feature I like about the 300 is that you can select which alerts you want it to activate... I don't think the 100 lets you do that... I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night for an inconsequential alert...

For now, I'll keep using this for streaming (ain't it purdy?): ancient Radio Shack receiver to which I added my own earphone jack, and then the isolation xformer...

(http://home.earthlink.net/~marcpilot4/images/transformer.jpg)
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on February 21, 2007, 11:33:12 AM
So how do you get away with things like that just sitting on the carpet? My wife would have a fit and just about kill me if I did anything that awful to her hardwood floors. :lol:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on February 21, 2007, 01:00:28 PM
Quote from: "NoQuitters"
So how do you get away with things like that just sitting on the carpet? My wife would have a fit and just about kill me if I did anything that awful to her hardwood floors. :lol:


DITTO    :shock:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: Clammer on February 21, 2007, 02:43:03 PM
He could be like we were when first married!  Put all our money in buying the house then didn't have any furniture a couple of years!  Our first living room stuff was a couch and chair set for $60 bucks (naugahyde) too!

Clammer
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on February 21, 2007, 03:00:43 PM
Ah, the key is to each have your own office. Your office, my office. What goes on in your office, stays in your office.  :D


Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: SLOweather on February 21, 2007, 03:22:13 PM
Quote from: "racenet"
Ah, the key is to each have your own office. Your office, my office. What goes on in your office, stays in your office.  :D

Bob


10-4 I get my office, the Brain Room, and the garage. She can have the rest.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on February 21, 2007, 03:27:29 PM
The same way I get away with this:

Well, darn, now I can't find the photo. I'll have to post it when I get home...

 :lol:

Well, the basic answer is that I'm single...

Wait'll you see the "Home Theater" room, and the back of my equipment rack, and computer.....
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on February 21, 2007, 03:28:31 PM
Quote from: "Clammer"
He could be like we were when first married!  Put all our money in buying the house then didn't have any furniture a couple of years!  Our first living room stuff was a couch and chair set for $60 bucks (naugahyde) too!

Clammer


Was that Genuine Naugahyde??
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on February 21, 2007, 06:21:23 PM
Quote from: "NoQuitters"
So how do you get away with things like that just sitting on the carpet? My wife would have a fit and just about kill me if I did anything that awful to her hardwood floors. :lol:


Because:  :lol:  :lol:  (It's not quite that bad now...)

(http://home.earthlink.net/~marcpilot2/images/wiremess1.jpg)

(http://home.earthlink.net/~marcpilot2/images/wiremess2.jpg)
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on February 21, 2007, 09:40:57 PM
LOL

How long do you have to think about it before you try to replace a cable in that rat's nest?  :shock:  :wink:

Honestly, the back of my rack doesn't look much better then that.  :roll:


Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on February 21, 2007, 11:08:28 PM
How long do I have to think about it because of the hassle? Or how long to remember what all that crap does?  :lol:  :lol:

I actually cleaned up the back a bit by using some cable wrap...

One of these days...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on February 21, 2007, 11:41:22 PM
Quote from: "ncpilot"
How long do I have to think about it because of the hassle? Or how long to remember what all that crap does?  :lol:  :lol:


Yes  :P
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ncpilot on February 22, 2007, 12:09:10 AM
But it all made sense when I plugged everything in........

You didn't get to see the large hole in the wall behind the rack... well, I do have a faceplate at least, but I've got all kinds of speaker wire and coax and cat5 coming out of the wall!

Yeah, I suppose it's a good thing I'm single... :lol:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on February 22, 2007, 02:05:22 PM
LOL

Yeah, been there, done that. It all makes sense at the start. Then, 6 months down the road when a cable needs to be pulled and all you pull out is a ball, you start saying to yourself "What the hell was I thinking". But, it doesn't matter what you do. Just like the christmas lights. Put them away nice and neat and next year they are the ball from hell. Never could figure that one out!  8)


Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on March 01, 2007, 07:03:05 AM
Just a small warning. If you have SAME activated on the radio you're streaming with, when an alert goes off it will stop your stream and you will have to reactivate the radio every time. I found that out the hard way about 12 times last night.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 01, 2007, 08:41:43 AM
I (and a bunch of other people) tried to listen to your feed last night about the time the storms were rolling through.  I wondered if that's what happened.

In this thread...
http://www.wxforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=71 (http://www.wxforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=71)
... wuhu_software mentioned that someone else had this problem.  Is this a problem with all SAME radios?  What kind of radio are you using?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on March 01, 2007, 10:57:41 AM
It's a WR-300, http://ambientweather.com/miwrwealra.html
You can't really turn SAME off that I could see so I just entered the wrong county code and it won't get the alerts.

Had you been able to hear it last night you would have got to hear 5 t-storm warnings, a t-storm watch, tornado watch, tornado warning, and a flash flood warning all by 10:00 pm. The last warning hit around 11:30 and scared the crap out of me when the other radio went off.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: racenet on March 01, 2007, 12:24:18 PM
With that radio, try setting the alert to voice, not siren. That may do the trick. I use the same radio and have mine set to voice. The reason I did that was, if it was set to siren, the warning tone would go off non-stop until it was reset. In voice mode, the alert goes off and then switches back to voice.

Anything is worth a try.


Bob
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: NoQuitters on March 01, 2007, 04:02:57 PM
It is set to voice. :wink:
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: anchorageweather on May 09, 2007, 05:27:21 AM
Has anyone else noticed the gradual reduction in online radio streamers.  I remember a time when the project was up to 130+ streamers, this evening its at 112.  I wonder if the project has maxed out?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on May 09, 2007, 06:27:21 AM
The number does tend to vascillate quite a bit, but that's probably the biggest dropoff I've seen too.  I'm wondering if an internet DNS problem could be a possibility.  For example, if Comcast or BellSouth customers were having problems reaching certain sites such as Weather Underground...
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on February 28, 2012, 09:54:42 PM
Well, I couldn't stand letting a thread go dormant for almost 5 years.  #-o

Just thought I'd mention to anyone who is streaming the weather radio feed (or tried it but couldn't get Oddcast or Edcast to work) that ScannerCast (http://k1pgv.com/ScannerCast.html) can also be used to do the uploads to the WU audiostream rather than Oddcast/Edcast.

Last time I checked, the download instructions for Edcast on the WU site were out of date, and I think it uses a buggy version of the lame encoder anyway (resulting in the configured bitrate being ignored by the software).

I just tried ScannerCast with my Win7 x64 system and it works.  Edcast wouldn't work because it couldn't find my sound card on this system.  :?

In looking at the weather radio feed listing (http://audiostream.wunderground.com/), there is at least one other feed already being uploaded this way, so I can't take credit for being the first to try it.  Seems to work fine there too.

You'll want to have the hardware set up first, including plugging in the input to the Line In jack.  When configuring the scanner model, select "Audio Only".  If you're familiar with Edcast, or can extrapolate from the WU Edcast instructions, you'll probably figure out the rest.

BTW... for our purposes, ignore any references in the software to "Radio Reference".  Different ball of "whacks".   ](*,)
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: capeweather on February 29, 2012, 12:28:47 AM
Kevin,
Can scannercast be used to stream other feeds? I have a marine radio (vhf) that monitors channel 16 and would like to host it. I currently use oddcast to stream my weather radio. Thanks.....
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on February 29, 2012, 06:26:06 AM
Kevin,
Can scannercast be used to stream other feeds? I have a marine radio (vhf) that monitors channel 16 and would like to host it. I currently use oddcast to stream my weather radio. Thanks.....

I think so.  Scannercast can probably be used to send to any icecast server.  It appears that you can host the stream yourself based on some of the fields in the config tab.  Haven't tried that.  Not familiar with the marine radios or what kind of output jacks they have though... microphones or similar quality I think... just would need some kind of serial or line-in input into your computer and maybe icecast.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: linuxfreak on March 10, 2012, 09:30:13 PM
Thanks Kevin  =D&gt;,

Got it working locally last night, sounded like @#$% at 8khz  #-o, a bit better at 16khz :roll:, best at 24khz \:D/, super at 32khz, but why waste bandwidth. ;)

Was using Winamp to test the reception locally.

Couldn't get a remote connection from my site to my local server using my Dyndns address for some reason, maybe because the url was just  domain:port and not domain.mp3, not 100% sure. :???:

So I went ahead and added my feed to the wunderground feeds, might still try Edcast (Riocast) since certain data is not able to be set in Scannercast that Edcast supports.

So now we have another EC Weather Radio rebroadcast now for Ontario : http://audiostream.wunderground.com/linuxfreak/Toronto.mp3.m3u

Toronto, Ontario XMJ225  162.400 MHz from the CN Tower in English and French (alternating).

Added a player in my menubar below my WeatherTalker player, works good now.

George
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 19, 2012, 10:25:25 PM
Can someone explain how u do it on a laptop. I've read the instructions on weather underground but can't figure it out. I got the cable.

Thanks
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 19, 2012, 11:01:10 PM
Can someone explain how u do it on a laptop. I've read the instructions on weather underground but can't figure it out. I got the cable.

It's very likely you will need to use your laptop's "microphone" input since it probably won't have a "line in" input.  The audio quality won't be as good, either, but it can be done.

Do you have a Weather Underground "handle", as described here (http://wiki.wunderground.com/index.php/NOAA_Weather_Radio#Weather_Underground_Handle_Requirement)?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 20, 2012, 12:11:44 AM
Im just going to do it on a desktop pc instead. when i plug the cable in i can barely hear it. Im using a midland 300 radio and got the audio cable plugged in the outlet that says pc and then into the computer. I have a wu id so i guess i have a handle
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 20, 2012, 01:08:24 AM
Going to do it on a desktop pc instead. Got the cable and a midland 300 radio but can barely hear radio . Cant figure it out
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 20, 2012, 02:02:06 AM
cant download edcast anymore its not available?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 20, 2012, 08:19:53 PM
cant download edcast anymore its not available?

I posted a link to it in another thread.

Found it.  Try this link:
Alternate link to download Edcast (http://www.fastserv.com/kb/article/edcast_standalone_-_stream_live_audio_to_icecast_or_shoutcast/).
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 20, 2012, 08:27:29 PM
Got the cable and a midland 300 radio but can barely hear radio

You'll probably need to increase the volume of the radio.  The volume control will increase the audio through the cable just as it would for the speakers.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 20, 2012, 10:39:13 PM
Do I have to have the radio on loud all the time?  Explain please
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 20, 2012, 10:41:09 PM
Turned up volume on radio but can barely hear it. The line in audio is NOT muted
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 21, 2012, 12:15:23 AM
Turned up volume on radio but can barely hear it. The line in audio is NOT muted

And you definitely have the audio cable plugged into the "Line In" jack and not one of the others?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 21, 2012, 02:12:18 PM
yes i do. what end do you plug the mono to stero adapter?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 21, 2012, 02:17:28 PM
Do I have to have the radio on loud all the time?  Explain please

When i go to download this i get a little ways and it says this next Malicious Web Site Blocked
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 21, 2012, 05:43:30 PM
Do I have to have the radio on loud all the time?  Explain please

When i go to download this i get a little ways and it says this next Malicious Web Site Blocked


Wrong quote.  I assume you're talking about downloading Edcast.  I didn't have any issues when I downloaded it.

You can try ScannerCast (http://www.k1pgv.com/ScannerCast.html) instead of Edcast.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 21, 2012, 05:45:40 PM
yes i do. what end do you plug the mono to stero adapter?

You don't need any mono/stereo adapters.  If what you have is a mono cable, just use that.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 21, 2012, 09:19:55 PM
Ok. I've been using a stereo cable. I'll try the mono. Do u have to have the radio playing all the time or can u just leave it on the radio and turn down volume on radio?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 22, 2012, 05:07:08 AM
Ok. I've been using a stereo cable. I'll try the mono.

Not what I was saying.  I was under the impression you didn't have a stereo cable.  Either cable will work fine, but the stereo will sound better if that's what you have.  So if you were using a stereo cable, why did you need a mono to stereo adapter?  In general you should avoid using adapters when you can because you'll lose voltage and pick up interference. 


Do u have to have the radio playing all the time or can u just leave it on the radio and turn down volume on radio?

Once you have the hardware set up, the radio will be on all the time, but you won't hear it at all. 

The radio volume (before you plug the dubbing cable into the radio) will be louder than a normal listening volume but not all the way up.  After you plug in the other end of the cable to the "Line In" jack on your computer, you should hear the radio output in your computer speakers (unless you have them muted) until you mute the "Line In" feed in your computer's audio settings.

Once you get it working to this point, you're ready to move on to the software portion, but we'll deal with that in another session.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 22, 2012, 11:17:53 AM
I have a 1/8 gold platter stereo cable with 2 male ends I got from radio shack. I have a midland wr300 radio. Which input do I plug it in. They have pc, headphone, and external antenna. I emailed midland and they told me the pc jack was just for them at the factory to program the radio. It's of no use to customers.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 22, 2012, 11:21:31 AM
On wu instructions it said to use a mono to stereo adapter.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 22, 2012, 12:08:37 PM
Got it working out the computer speakers. Clear as a whistle. Next step is software
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 22, 2012, 12:12:46 PM
Dont know what  program to use to set it up?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 22, 2012, 01:26:25 PM
Got it connected to computer. Works perfectly. Downloaded edcast. Configured edcast and put information to match handle name on wu. But cannot connect edcast to wu?  Any suggestions?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 22, 2012, 01:43:51 PM
Im connected to edcast and see the green lines but I cant get a transfer rate?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 22, 2012, 02:42:12 PM
Im using windows 7. Maybe there is something I dont know? Is that the problem?
Any suggestions Please?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 22, 2012, 06:37:05 PM
On wu instructions it said to use a mono to stereo adapter.

Indeed it does.  Don't worry about the adapter, you don't need it... the software encoder will produce dual-channel output regardless of the input.

Will try to address your other questions later.  Review the instructions again on setting up the encoder (configuring edcast) and see if you missed anything.  Keep in mind that you won't yet see your stream listed on wunderground.com, there is an additional sign-up that is needed for that... but you should be shown on http://audiostream.wunderground.com/ (http://audiostream.wunderground.com/).
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 22, 2012, 07:05:32 PM
I'm not showing up on the link u sent. The problem is that I cannot connect to socket in edcast.  It counts down from 10 saying connecting and when it get to 1 it says connected for 1 second then disconnects. Checked firewall and everything. Can't figure it out.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 22, 2012, 09:27:26 PM
I'm not showing up on the link u sent. The problem is that I cannot connect to socket in edcast.  It counts down from 10 saying connecting and when it get to 1 it says connected for 1 second then disconnects. Checked firewall and everything. Can't figure it out.

Sounds like a password problem.  You do need your WU password (the password associated with your WU handle), even though it's not shown in the wunderwiki screenshots.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 22, 2012, 09:32:30 PM
I'll check on that tommorrow. On break at work now.

Thanks
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 23, 2012, 12:12:46 PM
all my passwords are correct and all my info match wu. Dont know why i cant connect to socket on oddcast.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 23, 2012, 02:11:04 PM
Got it working with scannercast and Im on the link that you sent but my wu account says not active. Also when i mute the line it and try to play it it wont play. How do you continue the broadcast but keep it silent?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 24, 2012, 01:26:49 PM
Need to use this on laptop instead of desktop. Only reason is laptop is on 24/7 and desktop cannot be. I go through the microphone on laptop? Is this correct?  Thank you
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 24, 2012, 04:50:39 PM
Anyone?
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 24, 2012, 04:52:15 PM
Anyone that is streaming NOAA radio with a laptop please explain how it's done. Thanks
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: kray1000 on March 24, 2012, 05:51:41 PM
Need to use this on laptop instead of desktop. Only reason is laptop is on 24/7 and desktop cannot be. I go through the microphone on laptop? Is this correct?  Thank you

That is correct.  Use the microphone jack unless you happen to have a "line in" jack. 
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: cospringswx on March 24, 2012, 07:19:15 PM
By going through the microphone jack do u have to have the radio blaring?  Don't know how to set it up using the mic jack. Tried for 3 hours and couldn't get sound out of laptop speakers. The last straw is near.
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: linuxfreak on March 28, 2012, 09:03:53 PM
My radio mutes the internal speaker when the cable is plugged in, I then use the "line in" unmuted in the Windows mixer to set the level so it isn't distorted on the pc speakers, then I just mute the "line in" on the "output" side of the mixer. I'm using a mono plug on the radio end of the cable to stereo on the pc end. As for the software, ScannerCast, works like a champ, I set my bitrate to 24k, sounds the best for me.

Radio is an old Radio Shack Realistic PRO-59 scanner, previous owner added a bnc jack instead of the standard Motorola jack (car radio type) for the antenna, made a groundplane antenna from 4 stainless steel TIG welding rods, an SO-239 chassis connector and a small corner bracket for mounting. Grabbed a pack of kids plastic beads to add to the ends of the rods in case someone would walk into them, don't need anyone getting skewered!  #-o

Can't wait to get the antenna up in the air on the anemometer mast by summer, but already beats the stupid back of set antenna the other scanner had for reception.  ;)

George
   
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: fadiaz on April 27, 2012, 02:00:00 PM
Hi all,

Thanks to this thread (and a cold that is keeping me at home) I finally motivated and decided to stream the weather radio of my area to Weather Underground.

I must say that I have successfully done this project.  I am of now streaming the audio of the local NOAA Weather Radio thru weather underground servers.  This will probably be a part time stream for the moment, since I am using my Ham Radio Transceiver extended receive capacity to hear the NOAA Weather Station.  Now comes the part of finding either a donated scanner or a very affordable weather radio with audio out jack to do a more permanent stream.

I must say that this thread was very helpful, besides the  motivation part.  I had trouble making the stream work with Edcast.  All configuration was fine.  Radio was receiving the signal.  Cable connection between the PC and the radio was fine (I could hear the radio in the PC speakers if I set the computer to sound in speakers any sound that came in the Line-In).  Edcast appeared to be transmitting and Weather Underground would mark the station as Active.  But the player will play no sound for my station (other stations sounded fine).

But thanks to this thread, I found the reference to ScannerCast.  I tried scannercast and it worked very well.  I do have an error every time I start the stream, but it seems not to affect the stream.  It is an "object reference not set to an instance of an object" warning error, but hitting OK, the program continues and stream fine.

Maybe later I will work again with edcast to see if I can find why the stream was not sounding.  Also maybe later I will try to add a second USB sound card just for the streaming, since I already have a usb soundcard for the NOAA APT images (hmmm  could I put 2 equal usb sound cards and both work in windows?, I know different chip sound cards do work)

Thanks again for this thread...    :grin:


Francisco
Title: Re: Weather Underground NWS Streaming Project
Post by: ed2kayak on March 11, 2014, 04:56:13 PM
Sorry to post on old thread,

Got the stream working here: http://audiostream.wunderground.com/ed2kayak/Mechanicsburg.mp3

But now looking for a station id to use. I read it somewhere yesterday, searched a hour today but can't find.

Thanks