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NEW: Meteobridge can share a connected Vantage with another program

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docbee:
As this new feature might be of special interest for Davis Vantage users, I do post here instead of hiding it in the Meteobridge section. ;)

Just released Meteobridge version 2.5 allows to share a connected Davis Vantage with a PC program, which is something very often requested. Now you can have Meteobridge doing the standard tasks, while you still can run your PC weather program of choice to do additional computations with your weather data. Meteobridge acts to your PC like a Davis IP data logger and provides TCP/IP communication on port 22222 (like the original Davis IP data logger). Function is a bit similar to the "Virtual Vantage" program that has been offered as a PC solution. Difference is that Meteobridge also supports LOOP2 communication (which "Virtual Vantage" does not, afaik) but as a downside Meteobridge can handle only one additional client (instead of 8 like "Virtual Vantage"). As the Meteobridge is a WiFi device you also get your Davis data logger accessible via WiFi, which might also be a nice thing in certain setups.

This new development removes the need to decide between using an embedded low-power Meteobridge solution vs a full-power PC solution. You can now do both simultaneously, if you like. :lol:

Link to Meteobridge Forum: http://forum.meteohub.de/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=10115&p=16865#p16865

kobuki:
Your stuff keeps getting better by every release, that's very nice. It's probably filling the gap Davis left for 3rd-party developers and independent vendors interfacing to their great stations.

Albeit there's no docs for a large part of their products - the radio protocol had to be dissected by an individual instead of them publishing detailed documentation on it, for instance. That's my concern too. You had to use reverse engineering (and probably some info on the net) to be able to make a receiver and decode all the sensory information available in the radio packets. What can you say about the accuracy of your own solution? Are the calculated values 100% equivalent to the ones eg. the Davis console reports, based on the radio packets of their stations? For instance I know the wind speed reported by the ISS needs a correction table employed by the console or the Envoy, is it used in your solution, for example?

For some time I contemplated on buying a Meteobridge license/Meteostick combo but frankly, these small unknown bits kept me from making a positive decision. Essentially, I'd wanted it to be to be as accurate as the Envoy.

docbee:
@kobuki: you have a PM

Just to avoid confusion. The logger sharing feature is just working on Meteobridges using the classical (or rebuild) data logger. It is not simulating a Davis logger on a Meteobridge that has a Meteostick (RF receiver that reads out sensor data from their direct RF emission). I know that some users have started some work on emulating the Davis logger with software around the RFM69 chips. This is not the approach here. Logger-sharing with Meteobridge is working in a way that Meteobridge hands-over the connection to the logger to the requesting PC and keeps reading/sniffing the data the PC reads out from the logger to update its own sensor information. Polling the logger with LOOP/LOOP2 requests is left to the PC until the PC connection drops. By this we achieve a very high degree of compatibility with the PC programs out there and do NOT have to rebuild the Davis protocol.

As Davis might not be too enthusiastic about all this, we at least take care not to build direct plug-in replacements for Davis products, but functional enhancements to their product line. Peace!  :-P

belfryboy:
I have recently licensed a meteobridge using a WR703n nano router, will my license be valid with the new release or do I need to pay the full price to upgrade the license?

docbee:
I thought a moment if I should make this "killer feature" a premium to be even paid additionally by existing users, but decided not to do that. So the feature is available to all Meteobridge users. The slight license fee increase from 59 to 65 Euro effective since today just impacts new license purchases and helps me to cover ongoing development efforts and EURO Erosion.

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