Topic: Hardware/Software Combo Recommendations

[Skyview]

I'm new to the whole PWS thing, but have decided on a Vantage Vue for my needs.

Goals:

1. Publish to the net without the need for a PC
2. Personal weather website with dedicated domain
3. Ability to update popular weather sites like WU, etc.
4. Ability to store all data on my own VPS in a MySQL database

This graphic illustrates the basics of what I want to accomplish:




Questions:

1. It looks like a Meteobridge would get me basically what I am looking for but I am trying to reconcile the difference between a Meteobridge and a Weatherbridge. I'm hoping it something significant. Otherwise it's all pure profit for Ambient. Can anyone explain the basic differences?

2. I would like to use something like Weather Display or Cumulus but I think they may require 24/7 use of a PC. If that is the case, I guess I'm really looking for something that would have similar features/functionality but on the server side via HTML, PHP, etc. Since I want to store all of the data on a web server, is there something available that will do this server side and use data from a MySQL database (either its own or pull from one I setup)?

I would appreciate recommendations from those of you who have either done this or know how to best accomplish it. Thanks.

[Bushman]

1.  Yup - Ambient saves 15 minutes of your time by preconfiguring the box.  And charges you for it.
2.  Raspberry Pi running SQL.  Weewx on it, too.

[Skyview]

1.  Yup - Ambient saves 15 minutes of your time by preconfiguring the box.  And charges you for it.

So you mean I was correct in the pure profit comment? No real different there except me installing vs. pre-installed?

2.  Raspberry Pi running SQL.  Weewx on it, too.

I'll have to take a look at Weewx. Does it offer comparable features to Weather display and cumulus? Still not what I was thinking though. I was mainly thinking of just a true pass-through from the Vue to the internet, and then on my server having something like this on that end as the basis for my personal website, not something local. That way, my weather data is backed up regularly and I can always just download a copy of the MySQL db for number crunching and feeding into a program.

[Skyview]

Took a quick look at Weewx. Fairly impressed with the level of flexibility that it provides. Pluses to me:

1. Price - can't be beat
2. Support - seems to have a support community and seems to be updated and maintained over several years
3. Flexibility - After looking at the showcase of sites, it became very evident that it would do what I am looking for
4. Documentation - Both user guide and a customization guide are quite extensive to get it the way you want it

Minuses:

1. Not plug and play. May require extensive time/customization to get what I am looking for
2. I don't know Python - I was a commercial software developer (many lives ago), so I have the background, but if I go with this, it may provide me the push I need to learn something current lol!

These are kind of along the lines of what I am wanting to do for a PWS website:

http://www.therodericks.id.au/saratoga/wxindex.php
http://www.embezon.nl/embezon/WEATHER_data/

[Bushman]

Meteobridge supports the Saratoga templates.  So whatever you see on them you can do OOTB.  Or customize to your heart's context.

[Skyview]

Good to know. Thanks. Looks like that and Weewx are my best bets thus far.