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Weather Station Hardware => LaCrosse Technologies/Hyundai => Topic started by: skydvrz on January 09, 2015, 07:17:59 PM

Title: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on January 09, 2015, 07:17:59 PM
I am starting a new thread to deal specifically with SkySpy, the weather station bridge software for the LaCrosse C84612.  SkySpy sends your weather data to Weather Underground and can optionally store your data on a MySQL database server.

Please post SkySpy questions here.  Thanks!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on January 17, 2015, 03:57:39 AM
With a good deal of help I have my machine running the SkySpy app and server.  Things look good on the PC end, but no data is getting to Weather Underground.  I think I've got the "External Display" setup properly (checked the "Enable Weather Underground Upload" box and filled in the fields).  Any tips on chasing down the problem will be greatly appreciated as always.

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on January 17, 2015, 09:53:01 PM
Are you sure you have your WU station ID and password entered into SkySpy correctly?  It should be a slam dunk - the WU protocol is really simple, so there is not much that can go wrong.

Make sure your firewall allows outbound HTTP/Port 80 for SkySpyService.EXE

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on January 19, 2015, 02:55:16 AM
Are you sure you have your WU station ID and password entered into SkySpy correctly?

I'm pretty sure I do.  But anything is possible.

Quote
It should be a slam dunk - the WU protocol is really simple, so there is not much that can go wrong.

You can try and make it fool-proof - but I may prove to be a better fool.

Quote
Make sure your firewall allows outbound HTTP/Port 80 for SkySpyService.EXE

I need to check that.  Perhaps that's the problem.

For what it's worth the MiniWeb is updating on my computer - but I'm not able to update its location or title.  Right now it reads:

"My Web Site zzzzz"
and
"Location:  Over Yonder zzzzz"

I think these are the strings you entered by hand in my .ini file.  It's not that I need the mini-web to work.  Just thought this might offer a hint.

I'll see what I can do with the firewall and report back.  Thanks!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on January 20, 2015, 12:27:44 AM
I added an outbound rule to my Firewall to allow SkySpyService.  I'm not yet seeing updates on WeatherUnderground, but it's not clear to me whether I should be seeing them right away (within minutes) or should expect to wait a day or more.  There are notes on WeatherUnderground that suggest a station that hasn't been sending data will not update for a day or so when it starts sending data again.  The page I'm looking at is:

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KCAMOUNT56


Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on January 20, 2015, 02:43:41 AM
I've got it updating WeatherUnderground!!! 

But something is still weird almost beyond description with my SkySpy.ini file.   If I open it with Notepad I'm looking at one file - and if I open it with VI I'm looking at another file.  If I update it through SpySkyMonitor the VI file gets updated - but the Notepad version does not.

If I copy the .ini file to another folder the wave function collapses and that new file is the Notepad version whether I open it with Notepad or VI.  I am considering consulting an exorcist - but as always any tips from developers and users are most appreciated.

Bottom line - when I edit the file by hand using Notepad it uploads to WeatherUnderground and all is happy.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: keckec on January 20, 2015, 08:37:53 PM
But something is still weird almost beyond description with my SkySpy.ini file.   If I open it with Notepad I'm looking at one file - and if I open it with VI I'm looking at another file.  If I update it through SpySkyMonitor the VI file gets updated - but the Notepad version does not.

If I copy the .ini file to another folder the wave function collapses and that new file is the Notepad version whether I open it with Notepad or VI.  I am considering consulting an exorcist - but as always any tips from developers and users are most appreciated.

Bottom line - when I edit the file by hand using Notepad it uploads to WeatherUnderground and all is happy.
Could be a CRLF vs LF issue. Perhaps VI is terminating lines (converting them?) to Unix format (just LF), whereas Notepad is terminating (converting?) to DOS format (CRLF). There is likely a setting in VI to leave it alone, or leave it as DOS format.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on January 20, 2015, 10:40:30 PM
I don't think it's a CR/LF vs. LF issue because the file is formatted fine in both editors.  But it has different parameters in each.  It's very much like the two editors are simply looking at two different copies of the file. 
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on January 22, 2015, 10:03:08 PM
I found and fixed some problems with the SkySpy.ini file handler that caused corruption and inadvertent erasing of settings.

I am close to a new release that has loads of reliability fixes plus.... Alerts!

I have it chugging away here sending me Emails/SMS Texts when weather conditions go outside limits I set in ssMonitor. 

SMS Texting is only available through your phone carrier's email port by using an email address something like 3605551212@messaging.sprintpcs.com where 3605551212 is your mobile number.  Don't click the link - it is a fake number.

In the next version I have removed support for external MySQL databases. It was a support nightmare.  SkySpy now uses the embedded database only.  You can still retrieve your weather data from Wunderground.

I hope to have a beta ready sometime in the next week.

Here is the new layout for the Alert Settings page in ssMonitor.  You can set alarm limits and also how often you want to be Texted/Emailed when bad weather hits:

(http://idk.serveftp.net/images/skyspyalert.jpg)

And a typical SMS weather alert message:

(http://idk.serveftp.net/images/skyspysms.png)
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on January 23, 2015, 01:31:21 AM
You're our hero!  Thanks.

By the way - I have had the menus go wonky on me a few times.  The first time it happened I figured I must have done something screwy.  But I'm starting to think I haven't caused it every time.  Is it possible this is related to the .ini file too?

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on January 23, 2015, 12:45:08 PM
The Menu/ribbon bar/button layout is stored in the Windows Registry, not the INI file.  I will look into it, but I haven't seen any problems on my desktop.

If you are feeling brave, you can reset the menus/ribbon buttons to factory defaults by first closing the ssMonitor app.  Then open the Windows Registry using regedit.exe and delete the following keys/values:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ssMonitor\TssMainFrm\BarManager

Just delete the entire BarManager folder by right-clicking on it and select Delete.

Don't delete any other registry entries or you may break Windows or your other apps!

When you restart ssMonitor, it will recreate the registry entry with all default menu/bar locations.

You can also put things back by editing the menus inside ssMonitor, but it is tricky and not documented in the manual. 

I don't recommend messing with the menus using right-click on the ribbon, and selecting "Customize the Ribbon".  There is not much point to customizing this simple ribbon, and you will probably hide some important buttons.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on January 24, 2015, 12:46:57 AM
Looks like I may  pass on the next version, as I like the external database. We'll see.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on January 24, 2015, 10:58:37 PM
You can also put things back by editing the menus inside ssMonitor, but it is tricky and not documented in the manual. 

That's how I've always corrected it so far.  It was a little tricky - but I'm getting the hang of it.

Quote
I don't recommend messing with the menus using right-click on the ribbon, and selecting "Customize the Ribbon".  There is not much point to customizing this simple ribbon, and you will probably hide some important buttons.

The only time I've done that is to try and recover the lost items.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: costa2 on January 25, 2015, 09:05:17 AM
Hi .

In Europe, this system is sold by TFA and TechnoLine.
I tried to connect SkySpy with Technoline Mobile-Alerts, it is not running.

http://www.technoline-berlin.de/details.php?id=1898&kat=84

Is Skyspy bound to the firmware?

Yet another problem with the Cloudserver, you get no user data from Technoline.
http://www.data199.com/

Volker from Germany.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on February 15, 2015, 02:06:02 AM
I did not see our system listed on the Web site.  Software should only work with c84612 weather station.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: costa2 on February 15, 2015, 03:29:12 AM
Sorry,

I thought the thread is about the GW1000U ERF-100.
The GW1000U ERF-100 is the same Hardware like Technoline MA.

http://www.conrad.de/ce/de/product/1269520/?WT.ac=mobile_alerts_1269520

Volker
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 15, 2015, 12:17:28 PM
It might work, and it costs nothing to try  :grin:

I kind of doubt that La Crosse would use separate firmware or data protocol for the Gateway on every weather station that uses it.  Also, it would make their web page server software hellish to write/maintain.  Remember that SkySpy emulates their web server and fools the GW module into thinking it is talking to La Crosse.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on February 15, 2015, 04:29:02 PM
It seems to me that they report to two different Web sites. We report to lacrosse and those temp unit report to www.data199.com. The data199 Web sites is different from ours.  I tried sending our data to 199 without success.
 \:D/
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Flying_Carlos on February 15, 2015, 05:46:18 PM
Excelent work Skydvrz!!!. I was reading the thread from the beginning with the same idea of Rockhopper and 370Dancer, that is : try to use SkySpy with the Gateway GW-1000U and the sensor TX-60U, instead of the weather station.
It looks like the communication between SkySpy and the gateway is ok,  but SkySpy  doesn't get any data. I used SSmonitor.exe  and the debug window showed always the following two messages:
            Ping Received
            RTC Packet Request
If you open  the localhost:8000 page the debug window shows the GET as you already explained.
Then I started WireShark and I saw that the only HTPP talking was that the gateway sent a PUT and SkySpy answered with OK.
I checked embedded in ssmonitor and also in SkySpy.ini and both were checked.
Is it possible as Rockhopper suggest that the information send by TX-60U is not the kind of SkySpy is wating for?.
I attached the two image from SSmonitor and WireShark
Many thanks for your help.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 16, 2015, 02:16:15 PM
I attached the two image from SSmonitor and WireShark

SkySpy is not detecting the Sensor Data Packet (SDP).  Maybe there are format differences between the two GW module types. 

Can you send me a Wireshark dump of the GW->SkySpy conversation?  I'd need about 30-60 minutes worth.  Next, if you could do a capture of the GW talking to La Crosse over a similar time period, I could see if there is a communications protocol difference between my GW model and yours.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: costa2 on February 17, 2015, 11:39:54 AM
Hi.

In the Attachment is a Wireshark log of my Mobile-Alerts Gateway as a zip File.
I think it works not with SkySpy.

Volker
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Flying_Carlos on February 19, 2015, 08:17:03 PM
SkyDrvz

I'm attaching the traffic without SkySpy between GW(ip 192.168.137.127) and Lacrosse using wireshark and the filter "host 192.168.137.127 and tcp port http". I don't have an old hub, so I used ICS on my win 7 Notebook. For the capture of traffic between GW(now ip 192.168.1.100) - SkySpy(ip 192.1681.10) - Lacrosse, I installed the SkySpy service ,and without ICS ,I captured only everything on port 8000(filter tcp port 8000), because I didn't see any traffic between SpySpy and Lacrosse.
I you want I can download from the lacrosse alert system the temp & %HR registered during aprox. the same time.
Thank you for your help!!

 
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 19, 2015, 09:56:43 PM
Carlos,

I'm attaching the traffic without SkySpy between GW(ip 192.168.137.127) and Lacrosse using wireshark and the filter "host 192.168.137.127 and tcp port http". I don't have an old hub, so I used ICS on my win 7 Notebook. For the capture of traffic between GW(now ip 192.168.1.100) - SkySpy(ip 192.1681.10) -

That should work.  You might also be able use a PC that has two network ports.  You'd have to figure out a way to route packets from the Gateway port to the second one that is connected to your LAN/Internet.

Quote
I installed the SkySpy service ,and without ICS ,I captured only everything on port 8000(filter tcp port 8000), because I didn't see any traffic between SpySpy and Lacrosse.

SkySpy replaces the entire La Crosse server, so there will be no traffic from your gateway to there.  If there is, then you have it set up wrong  :grin:

Quote
I you want I can download from the lacrosse alert system the temp & %HR registered during aprox. the same time.

I am working on the Alert feature in SkySpy now...  Actually it is complete, but there are some other really tough bugs I need to fix before I can release the next version.

The SkySpy Alert system will work very much like the La Crosse alerts.  You set up the min/max values in ssMonitor and this tells the SkySpyService to email you if any of the sensor readings are dangerous.

I need weather alerts myself as I own a small ranch and I don't want my animals to die if the weather turns bad.

I already posted some screen shots of the new SkySpy alert page and what it the SMS texts look like on my phone.

I need to work on the SkySpy bugs for now, but I will look at your Wireshark captures as soon as I can.

Best regards,

Kevin
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Joelm on February 21, 2015, 05:34:20 AM
Having trouble at logon  Ver 1.1.0.177 after successful use for a couple months.
Since rebooting the computer the first initialization of Skyspy asks "Log into database" - ID and password are blank.  From login screen click Advanced and Database Server Hostname is blank.  Database port number is 3306.  DB Schema is blank
I've guessed around and really don't think I ever created an ID.
Recommendation?
Windows 7

Joel - reporting to Wunderground personal station KCABENIC2
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Joelm on February 21, 2015, 05:37:46 AM
Will the next version provide direct reporting to Weatherflow?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: costa2 on February 21, 2015, 07:35:49 AM
the first initialization of Skyspy asks "Log into database" - ID and password are blank.  From login screen click Advanced and Database Server Hostname is blank.  Database port number is 3306.  DB Schema is blank
I've guessed around and really don't think I ever created an ID.


I have the same Problem.....

Volker
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Joelm on February 21, 2015, 12:52:29 PM
the first initialization of Skyspy asks "Log into database" - ID and password are blank.  From login screen click Advanced and Database Server Hostname is blank.  Database port number is 3306.  DB Schema is blank
I've guessed around and really don't think I ever created an ID.


I have the same Problem.....

Volker

My Skyspy worked good since installation in early January.  But this problem surfaced after reboot a couple days ago. 
Volker - what was your timeframe?
I am running version 1.1.0.177.  Each failed startup sends an error-report or two.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on February 22, 2015, 04:05:43 AM
Joel - I'm wondering if somehow a setting was changed and you're no longer using embedded mode?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Joelm on February 22, 2015, 10:43:33 AM
Joel - I'm wondering if somehow a setting was changed and you're no longer using embedded mode?

I decided to uninstall/reinstall.  But where is the latest version?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on February 22, 2015, 01:17:33 PM
I have a copy of the installer .exe - but I don't know if it's the latest version.  It is the one that you and I have been using.  Would you like me to send it to you?

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: chazzn on February 22, 2015, 03:01:00 PM
Spork,

Please send the installer.exe to me also if you would...My skyspy.ini file turned up blank today
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on February 22, 2015, 03:26:08 PM
I suspect the blank .ini file may be the problem (although I'm not sure how it ended up blank).  I think you're being asked to log in to a database rather than using the default embedded option.

I'll send you the installer now - along with a copy of my .ini file.  But I think a new install will produce a new .ini file - so you should keep mine on the side as a backup of sorts (it will almost certainly contain some wrong info for your install).
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: chazzn on February 22, 2015, 03:33:41 PM
Thanks !.  I am in the process of moving from an xp machine to a win 7 machine.  Must have fat fingered something!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on February 22, 2015, 03:52:17 PM
I've got a BIG feature request...

Can we make SkySpy work on the Raspberry Pi?

This would make it a lot more palatable when we ask someone to let us mount our gear on their house and run software on their computer (or provide a computer).

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on February 22, 2015, 03:53:59 PM
D'OH!  I sent the installer link to Joel.

Here it is...
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6224367/SkySpy.piz

Rename it to "skyspy.zip" and unzip it.  It includes the installer and the doc.


Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 22, 2015, 09:07:18 PM
Having trouble at logon  Ver 1.1.0.177 after successful use for a couple months.
Since rebooting the computer the first initialization of Skyspy asks "Log into database" - ID and password are blank.  From login screen click Advanced and Database Server Hostname is blank.  Database port number is 3306.  DB Schema is blank

Make sure the "Use Embedded MySQL" checkbox is checked.  Main schema should be "weather2".  Also make sure your PWS Serial Number is correct, or bad things will happen, database or not.

The other fields don't do anything in Embedded MySQL mode.  I will blank them out/remove them in a future version.  Non-Embedded mode is for DB Gurus with lots of time on their hands :-)

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 22, 2015, 09:11:17 PM
Will the next version provide direct reporting to Weatherflow?

I will be working on adding code to report to iKiteSurf soon - is that what you mean?  I see that iKiteSurf is under the Weatherflow umbrella (pardon the pun). :roll:
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 22, 2015, 09:13:50 PM
I have the same Problem.....

There is a bug in the beta release that eats the INI file periodically.  You can edit the INI file manually with Notepad, but you have to shut the Service down first.  The SkySpyService writes to the INI file every 3-4 minutes and you don't want to have Notepad and the Service trying to edit the same file.

This bug is fixed in the pending next release.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on February 22, 2015, 09:16:09 PM
I will be working on adding code to report to iKiteSurf soon - is that what you mean?

Yes - iKitesurf and WeatherFlow are the same folks.  Thanks!

By the way - this is where JoelM's station is reporting (although he's having trouble with it at the moment as you can see above):

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KCABENIC2#history

And just yesterday I found a nice couple that lives on the cliffs where we fly.  They're going to let us put a station at their house (in fact the pole got mounted today).  This is where it will go (in Daly City, CA)...

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KCAMOUNT56

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 22, 2015, 09:26:21 PM
I've got a BIG feature request...

Can we make SkySpy work on the Raspberry Pi?

That is actually a horrendously large request.  All aspects of SkySpy are built around the Windows platform, so porting it to Linux would be a monumental task. 

There is another project similar to SkySpy that uses PHP and a web server - that would probably run on the Pi, but I am no expert. I don't know if the Apache web server has been ported to the Pi - you'd need that too, plus maybe a database server.  That is a lot to cram into a credit card sized computer.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on February 22, 2015, 09:41:12 PM
That is actually a horrendously large request.

How could that be so hard when I was able to write the request in so few words?  :)

Forget I asked.  What you've got now is great, and it'll be even cooler if you're able to post to iKitesurf/Weatherflow.

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Flying_Carlos on February 22, 2015, 10:27:21 PM
Kevin
I made a mistake with the captures I sent you. I was lookinng at the HTTP_IDENTIFY  headers  and  I realized that even I disconnected all of my Tx-60 but one , they stayed registered in the gateway ., so there  were 4 different request  01:01, 02:01, etc.
I'm going to prepare a new capture with only one TX-60 registered.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: chazzn on February 23, 2015, 05:08:27 PM
I've been struggling trying to move a working system from an XP box to one running Win 7.  It seems the biggest problem is something overwriting the skyspy.ini file. Then program asks for a user name and password.  I also noticed the miniweb page was not updating the new information typed into the mini web feilds and the wx station id had been changed to 7fff0102030405.   I found the skyspy.ini file hadn't been updated so to make a long story short, the ini file was updated manually and then made read only.  Still no data from the wx station to win7 box.  I've updated the IP address in the gateway using gateway advanced setup.  I see only Get Requests from the Sky Spy but no replies.  Help please!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 23, 2015, 06:25:30 PM
I've been struggling trying to move a working system from an XP box to one running Win 7.

Hang in there  :grin:  I worked on SkySpy most of the weekend and will be back at it again tonight.  I am close to a fix for another lingering problem and have already fixed the INI file issue.  I hope to have something out soon.

For now, try to turn on Embedded mode.  It should not be asking you for a user name and password.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on February 24, 2015, 03:00:08 AM
Did you get the gust values fixed?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 24, 2015, 11:20:28 AM
Did you get the gust values fixed?

Hey Tony!  How ya been?  I have been frying bigger fish the last week or two.  There was a big memory/windows-handle leak that I have been struggling with, and finally came up with a fix/workaround last night.  I am testing it now.

I will look at the Wind Gust calculation algorithm as well as the iKiteSurf interface soon. 

I think I may also need to look at how accumulated rainfall is reported to WU.  I am confident with the rainfall algorithm, but I am not sure SkySpy and WU use the same time period for accumulation/reset.  The WU spec is a bit vague.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on February 24, 2015, 04:55:33 PM
Kevin,

I hope those fish from were good. 😊

Are you totally giving up on the external database?  I guess it's for the best. You know if you need another beta tester I'm available. 

It just seems weird that the wind gusts are always those specific values.   

I like those pieces you made out of the copper clay.  Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 25, 2015, 08:55:57 PM
Tony,

I looked at the wind gust algorithm and it is correct.  I have been watching my Console for a while, and even the gust value LCD readout goes in steps of 1.3 MPH.  So, as they say:  Garbage in = Garbage out.

I think the gust value is not actually garbage, but it is averaged in such a way that the granularity is fairly large.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on February 25, 2015, 09:22:47 PM
Are you totally giving up on the external database?  I guess it's for the best. You know if you need another beta tester I'm available. 

Well, not completely, but it was highly problematic.  There are about 3 people on the planet interested in low cost weather stations AND database configuration and management.  I am pretty sure that you and I comprise 2/3 of that demographic.   :lol:

I am still getting hammered by error logs from users trying to connect to a non-existent MySQL database server.

There are a few more things I want to do with SkySpy and then maybe I can loop back around and look at external database engines again.

Quote
I like those pieces you made out of the copper clay.  Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

I got copper clay figured out pretty well - it is a mixture of atomized copper dust and Carboxymethyl cellulose (aka CMC).  CMC mixed with water makes sticky slime - ideal for making sculptable clay out of stuff that is more like metal talcum powder.  The metal powder is really weird - a container smaller than your average mayonnaise jar weighs 10 Lbs.

I decided to make my own clay, since I want to do larger sculptures and the commercial pre-mixed stuff is about 4X the price of the raw materials.  I am seeing how close I can get to commercial quality.

I have already started making my own bronze clay - similar formula.

Lurkers can check out my Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/kevin.g.mccoy.5

I am constantly designing/building/growing/cooking/brewing something or other and the Facebook page chronicles it.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 01, 2015, 03:50:09 PM
Hi!

I need some intrepid software testers to try the new gamma SkySpy release:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tyw2728dhsw9p0g/SkySpyInstall.exe?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/tyw2728dhsw9p0g/SkySpyInstall.exe?dl=0)

I think I have most of the bugs fixed and unsnarled the Installer issues. 

If you have problems with above release, then you should be able to revert to this one:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4qpv7destypx726/SkySpyInstall.exe?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/4qpv7destypx726/SkySpyInstall.exe?dl=0)  Note:  This is the old buggy beta one.

What is in the new v1.1 release?


DO NOT RESET YOUR GATEWAY to resync with La Crosse.  Your PWS serial number will change, and this will break SkySpy.  You will have to re-enter your new serial number into SkySpy pretty much every time you play with the button on the Gateway.  Resetting the gateway will do nothing to improve SkySpy functionality - it is purely a (really lame) La Crosse server fix.

Things that are NOT done in the new release:


Even though the manual is way out of date, you can still use it to configure your Gateway module to work with SkySpy.  If you are already using an older version of SkySpy, then you can simply install the new SkySpy and it should work OK.

If this is a new install then you MUST reconfigure your Gateway module and then go into the Settings page of SkySpy Monitor and fix any settings that are incorrect.

Please let me know how this new release works out for you.  In the mean time, I will be working on the "not done" list.

Enjoy!

Kevin
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Flying_Carlos on March 02, 2015, 10:03:01 AM
Hi,

I was playing around with the capture of TX-60 and it looks that temp & HR% are similar to the weather station.
I saw  three different commands in the header: 01:01 , 00:01 00:70, the first one send a 23 byte with the sensor info and the server answer with "HTTP_FLAGS: 00:00"

This is a request in hex
HTTP_IDENTIFY: ZZZZZZZZ:01:YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY:01

This is the content of the packet
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX3576082626262626262626262626605A

The structure of the packet is:
7 byte of something like the registration is always the same in each request
3 byte of sensor 1 info
13 bytes of  "26" + sensor 2 info ??? (I couldn't check because I don't have the probe)

I compared the recording (every 5') of the alert system with he capture, and based in the finding of the forum , it looks like :
   The temperature in the TX-60 is send in Farenheit instead of Celsius.
   %HR use one byte


Relative humidity (byte 8 )

Temperature (bytes 9-10)
byte
9    (A) Integer part of temp.
10   (D) decimal portion of temperature

Temp = (ToInt(A) + D / 10 ) -40

Samples
                 RH%                        Temp
357608       ToInt(0x35) = 53%         ToInt(0x76) + 08 /10 - 40 =76.8
2F7C08       ToInt(0x2F) = 47%         ToInt(0x7C) + 08 /10 - 40 =84.8
298003       ToInt(0x29) = 41%         ToInt(0x80) + 08 /10 - 40 =88.3
2A7E02       ToInt(0x2A) = 42%         ToInt(0x7E) + 02 /10 - 40 =86.2

Kevin, I know you are working with lot of things, but perhaps you can look at, and give me your opinion.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 04, 2015, 09:40:10 PM
Kevin, I know you are working with lot of things, but perhaps you can look at, and give me your opinion.

I am completely buried with getting the current SkySpy version out the door, but I will take a look at your findings when I get a few spare minutes.  Sorry for the delay!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 04, 2015, 09:46:57 PM
WeatherFlow updates have been added to SkySpyService!

I have it sending data to WeatherFlow (aka iKiteSurf).  It appears to work... The WeatherFlow server sends back a "success" code to me, but then on the other hand, I don't see my weather station on their maps.  Maybe it takes a while for them to add me to the map?

Anyway, the latest (unreleased) version can now update both Weather Underground AND WeatherFlow at the same time.   \:D/

I am going to test for a few days and then make another release with this and a couple other new features.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 05, 2015, 09:48:39 PM
A new SkySpy Gamma release is available at:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tyw2728dhsw9p0g/SkySpyInstall.exe?dl=0

This one has the following features:



Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on March 07, 2015, 11:48:42 AM
That is actually a horrendously large request.

How could that be so hard when I was able to write the request in so few words?  :)

Forget I asked.  What you've got now is great, and it'll be even cooler if you're able to post to iKitesurf/Weatherflow.


Raspberry Pi 2 will soon be running Windows 10.  Totally different processor though.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on March 07, 2015, 01:09:37 PM
Raspberry Pi 2 will soon be running Windows 10.  Then maybe??

I just saw that as well.  It will be really cool if it just works.  It's certainly cheap enough to try.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: kj5fa on March 07, 2015, 07:51:10 PM
I am again attempting to get SkySpy working. I have read though the old thread from my last post to here.

It seems that I am really close now. If I turn off Windows firewall, the SkySpy Monitor finally starts receiving packets with data!!!

So could someone explain to me what the firewall settings need to be? For Windows Firewall or router firewall?


Thanks,
Kevin
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on March 07, 2015, 08:08:37 PM
So could someone explain to me what the firewall settings need to be? For Windows Firewall or router firewall?

I'm not the expert - but I'll tell you what worked for me.  If all you had to do is turn off your Windows firewall (nothing with your router) we should be able to setup rules for your windows firewall and have it still work when the firewall is on.

- Bring up your windows control panel
- Search for "firewall"
- Click on "Allow a program through windows firewall"
- Click on "Change settings"
- Click on "Allow another program"
- Browse to find both the SkySpy Monitor and the SkySpy service.  Allow them both.

Hopefully this will do it.  Let us know.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: kj5fa on March 07, 2015, 08:47:57 PM
Thanks Spork!!!  \:D/ =D>

That was it. I had to do both of them.

I am getting data now without having to turn off windows firewall.

Also thanks for everyone posting their problems and answers so I could weed through all this.

Thanks for all the effort you have put into this skydrvz.  UU
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on March 07, 2015, 09:27:41 PM
Spectacular.  Actually - this might be an enhancement request.  I think the install puts the SkySpy Monitor in the exception list - but not the service.  I had to add the SkySpy service manually and then all was well.

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: kj5fa on March 08, 2015, 12:25:52 AM
WeatherUnderground update is working now. Initially I couldn't get info to WU with ssMonitor. When I sent a manual rawupdate like:
http://weatherstation.wunderground.com/weatherstation/updateweatherstation.php?ID=KARBENTO23&PASSWORD=$%@test&dateutc=now&winddir=215&windspeedmph=08&windgustmph=15&tempf=65&rainin=0&baromin=29.1&dewptf=68.2&humidity=90&weather=&clouds=&softwaretype=vws%20versionxx&action=updateraw
the data would show up on WU.

So I tried the newer version from a few days ago. Then I got 'SpecialSDPLength=210' and 'JabberCount=1' packets in ssMonitor but no valid data packets. Stopped the process and went back to older version, now it is working!

Been a good evening for me. Baby steps but got it going!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 08, 2015, 02:43:35 PM
So I tried the newer version from a few days ago. Then I got 'SpecialSDPLength=210' and 'JabberCount=1' packets in ssMonitor but no valid data packets. Stopped the process and went back to older version, now it is working!

I don't recommend using the old version.  I fixed a lot of bugs in the latest version, and I'd like to get everyone using it ASAP.

I think the problem most folks have with the new version is that your SkySpy.INI file gets corrupted by the old version or you try to run multiple copies of ssMonitor at the same time.

If you have problems with the latest version, then I recommend doing the following:

Copy your existing SkySpy.ini file to your desktop or other safe location.  You will find it in the C:\ProgramData\SkySpyData folder.

Uninstall SkySpy from the Windows control panel.
Delete the following folders, along with everything in them:


Note:  "Program Files" will be "Program Files (x86)" on 64-bit windows machines

Now, run the latest installer.  When it finishes, make sure you open the Settings dialog in ssMonitor and configure *everything*.  This includes your PWS serial number and your Weather Underground (WU) and or WeatherFlow (WF) station ID.  Nothing will work correctly until you configure SkySpy.  Don't worry about any crazy messages in the Service Debug Information grid until you have all your settings completely correct.

If you have forgotten any of your serial number or station code info, then open the SkySpy.INI file that you saved to your desktop with Notepad.  The information should be in there.  You can cut-and-paste from Notepad into the Setup dialog fields. Click the Ok button on the Settings dialog and it will update SkySpy.INI (the one used by the Service in C:\ProgramData\SkySpyData).

If you are going to use Weather Alerts, then make sure you fill in all of the SkySpy SMTP settings.  You can find this information in your Email reader settings or you can ask your ISP.  Your ISP may have a web page that shows the suggested settings:  Look for settings used by the Thunderbird Email reader.  It uses similar SMTP settings to SkySpy.

It is completely normal to see JabberCount/Special SDP events in ssMonitor for the first hour or two of SkySpyService operation.  This is your weather station sending "catch-up" weather data to SkySpy.  Since we can't use it to update WU or WF, SkySpy simply tosses the data.  When the C84612 thinks it has caught up with sending historical weather data to the server, then it stops jabbering.  Jabbering will reoccur if your PWS cannot communicate with SkySpyService for more than a few minutes.  You can safely ignore it.

If Jabber events persist, then make sure all of your sensors are working properly.  If one or more sensors cannot communicate with the Gateway, then you will have to fix that - but this is outside the scope of the SkySpy software.

You should not need to make any special firewall rules for ssMonitor.  ssMonitor does not use your network at all.  It chats with SkySpyService through other means: "Named Pipes" and via the INI file.

SkySpyService on the other hand does everything network-related:  It listens to your PWS Gateway Module and it talks back to it.  It also talks and listens to WU and WF.  Last, it sends emails to you, if you have Weather Alerts turned on.

So... You do not have to run ssMonitor at all, once you have configured all your settings.  ssMonitor is simply a debug tool at this point - you can see all your weather information on WU and/or WF.

I hope this clears up some misconceptions  :grin:

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on March 08, 2015, 03:08:44 PM
I hope this clears up some misconceptions  :grin:

It clears up some misconceptions (and knowledge gaps) for me.  Thanks!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: kj5fa on March 08, 2015, 06:22:00 PM
Cleaned everything before a new install as decsribed and now the latest version is running. Thanks again!

One thing I am seeing today since we are getting some rain, my rainfall amount doesn't seem to be updating. I had to clean out the collection bucket for the rain sensor, so when I was done I flushed it with a glassful of water. My weather station monitor showed the increase in rainfall but this info doesn't seem to be getting to Weather Underground. The amount on the mini website didn't change with the new amount either.

Any thoughts what I may have missed this time?

Kevin KJ5FA
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 08, 2015, 08:55:02 PM
Cleaned everything before a new install as decsribed and now the latest version is running. Thanks again!

Good news!

Quote
One thing I am seeing today since we are getting some rain, my rainfall amount doesn't seem to be updating.

Look on your console, between where it says "Date" and "Rain".  There is a little indicator that tells you if the rain gauge (RG) signal is reaching the Outdoor Temp/Humidity sensor.  The Outdoor T/H sensor is the "nexus" of all the sensors.  If the indicator is off, then you won't get any indication of rainfall.  It should flash on and off every 3-4 minutes, but it should not stay off for a long time.

Also, when you upgrade to the new version, you will miss the last 24 hours of rain info since the old database tables got erased.  It should start registering on Weather Underground soon after though.

You can clean out the RG better if you unscrew the top from the base - it has a bayonet fitting that takes about 1/8 of a turn or so to unlock.  Then you can get to all of the inner bits.  Bugs love to crawl into the inner workings of mine and set up light housekeeping  :???:

Tape the "teeter-totter" down and then wash out the catch-cup.  That way you won't skew your rainfall reading when you clean the RG.

I had an RG go bad on me after working for about 10 months.  It had a good signal into the OTH and lit up the indicator on the console.  It did not register any rainfall though.  I tried replacing the magnetic reed switch in the RG, but must have ESD'd the circuit board.  No more RF output.  I ended up buying a new one on Amazon. 

DigiKey sells the switches, if you want to go that route.  The switches are very cheap - a new RG is not.  I bought a fairly insensitive switch that might not have worked, even if the circuit board hadn't smoked.  Find a sensitive one that has the same form factor - the magnet on the tip bucket is very wimpy.

My setup was pretty flakey until I positioned the RG so that it was within line-of-sight of the Outdoor T/H sensor.  A fencepost at the corner of my pasture nearest the house worked great for the RG.  It's about 50-75 feet from the OTH sensor.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: kj5fa on March 08, 2015, 10:09:36 PM
Got distracted for a while. Guess I just needed to wait for a while. It has been getting some readings for a while now. Rain is back down to a drizzle, but the readings are increasing every once in a while. Maybe I just needed to walk away for a little while. A watched pot never boils, right? :)

Not sure why it never did display the 'artificial' rainfall that I introduced to WU, but good to see some movement in the numbers there now.

Thanks again for all your work and help.

Kevin
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: chazzn on March 13, 2015, 05:28:12 PM
After using GAS tool to point the gateway to my win7 box, I've still been establish communications with the ss proxy server on ip xxx.xxx.0.69. I've installed the latest package loaded by skydrv on 1 march to no avail.  Checking the Gateway webpage shows GAS has definitely set the gateway to point at the proxy server at 0.69 but there is no data transferred to the proxy server or the weather underground.  However, when I switch the gateway back to point at the proxy server in old xp box on 0.2 data flows without interruption.  Hopefully, someone will have the solution.  The .ini files are the same.   ](*,)

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 13, 2015, 09:48:48 PM
After using GAS tool to point the gateway to my win7 box,

Are you sure you are using the correct IP address for your PC?  Many modern PCs have more than one network port and they will have separate IP addresses associated with them.  Make sure the GW is on the same subnet as your SkySpy PC.

What do you see when you run ipconfig in a DOS box?

Quote
I've still been establish communications with the ss proxy server on ip xxx.xxx.0.69.

Technically, SkySpy is not a proxy server.  It is a full blown web server that completely simulates the La Crosse weather stats server.  We trick the GW into sending its data to your SkySpy PC instead of it's normal server by configuring the Proxy settings. 

A proxy normally relays data from a device to a named internet hostname embedded in the proxy packet.  SkySpy ignores the proxy address (the La Crosse server) and accepts the packets itself.

Quote
I've installed the latest package loaded by skydrv on 1 march to no avail.  Checking the Gateway webpage shows GAS has definitely set the gateway to point at the proxy server at 0.69 but there is no data transferred to the proxy server or the weather underground. 

Make sure you allow inbound connections on TCP/IP Port 8000 on your 0.69 PC.  Your software firewall is probably blocking this traffic.  Your anti-virus program may also prevent the SkySpyService from listening on port 8000.  This firewall is different than the one you possibly have in your router/WiFi access point.

Anti-virus applications like Norton 360 have a firewall component built in.  You need to configure it.

You do not need to open up port 8000 on your router - just your PC's software firewall. 

You only need to allow SkySpyService to use port 8000.  ssMonitor does not need network access, except to send crash reports on port 80.  Your firewall already allows access to port 80.

Quote
However, when I switch the gateway back to point at the proxy server in old xp box on 0.2 data flows without interruption. 

You probably don't have a firewall set up on the XP box or you have it shut off.

(http://idk.serveftp.net/images/nortonskyspy.jpg)
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on March 19, 2015, 02:54:42 AM
Skydvrz - I finally got the wind sensor mounted on a pole at our host's house this afternoon.  Unfortunately the sensor stopped reporting to Weather Underground this morning.  I took a look and found that no messages were appearing on SkySpy Monitor.  But the La Crosse console was still active and updating.  I tried stopping the program and restarting it - but no luck.  I looked at the gateway.  It showed the red "internet" LED, but the RF LED wasn't flashing.  I unplugged it from both the router and power supply.  When I plugged it back in I did get the RF LED flashing a bit, the internet LED turned on solid, but still no messages on SkySpy Monitor.

It now occurs to me that the SkySpy service could perhaps be stalled.  Can you think of anything else?

Thanks.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 19, 2015, 01:44:10 PM
Spork,

Make sure the Console can talk to the Gateway.  You might try moving the gateway closer to the console, if you can find a way to connect the gateway to the network in the new location.  I have mine mounted in my attic in an air-cooled home-network box that I built.  I get a good strong signal up there from the console mounted two floors below the attic.

None of the sensors talk directly to the Gateway:  The Wind Speed/Direction sensor and the Rain Gauge talk to the outside T/H sensor.  The T/H sensor then batches up all the readings and sends them to the Console.  The Console processes the readings, displays them and then sends everything to the Gateway.  The Gateway sends data to your SkySpy PC over the LAN or WiFi.

So...  If the console display reads correctly and you are not updating WF or WU, then there is a problem with either the Gateway, SkySpy or the LAN.  If restarting SkySpy didn't work then you might want to run GAS on the SkySpy PC and make sure that the settings are correct in the Gateway.  Did you see a restart message in the Monitor when you restarted SkySpyService?  It should show the version number of SkySpyService.

Maybe someone did a factory reset of the Gateway?

Step away from the Gateway button folks.   :lol:

It is not used by SkySpy, so just leave it alone after you get SkySpy up and running.  It will break, not fix anything if you push it.  ](*,)

If you push it, then make sure all your "proxy" settings didn't get trashed.  Use the La Crosse GAS utility to check/fix them.

In fact, I am just now looking at the La Crosse manual...  Don't do ANY of the recommended resets on the Console either.   :shock:
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on March 20, 2015, 02:06:13 AM
Thanks!  This gives me something to work with.  I'll let you know what I learn.

Quote
Did you see a restart message in the Monitor when you restarted SkySpyService?

Unfortunately I didn't restart SkySpyService.  I only restarted the SkySpy monitor.  Looking back - that was obviously not the right idea.  I've asked the host to try rebooting the laptop.  Hopefully that will do the trick.

Quote
Maybe someone did a factory reset of the Gateway?

I doubt it - but it's possible.  If the reboot doesn't do the trick I'll run GAS and check it out.


Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on March 20, 2015, 08:46:52 PM
Kevin, Ignore the bug I posted in bug tracker.  I think I figured out what was going on and it was something I did. I still cannot send out alerts though.  The last Sent time in the ini file never changes.  What can I do to trouble shoot?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 20, 2015, 09:07:22 PM
Quote
Unfortunately I didn't restart SkySpyService.  I only restarted the SkySpy monitor.  Looking back - that was obviously not the right idea.  I've asked the host to try rebooting the laptop.  Hopefully that will do the trick.

A friendly reminder to you and the lurkers.  ssMonitor serves only 2 purposes:


Once SkySpyService is up and running, you can delete ssMonitor if you like.  This is not recommended, since you may want to change settings at some point.  I am just pointing out how little ssMonitor does in the grand scheme of things.  I show your current sensor readings in ssMonitor, but all of that same stuff is sent to WeatherUnderground or WeatherFlow.  Both are much prettier than ssMonitor  :lol:

So... If something breaks, look to SkySpyService.

You can restart SkySpyService by opening Windows-Start-Button|Control Panel|Administrative Tools|Services

A dialog box will appear, showing all of the Service apps running on your PC.  Scroll down to SkySpy Server Service and select Stop to stop it, and Start to start it up again.  You don't need to reboot the computer.  Stop/Start should completely re-initialize SkySpyService.

Note that the current version of SkySpyService intentionally restarts itself once or twice a week, so there is no need to play with the Service dialog under normal circumstances.

If ssMonitor happens to be running when you twiddle the Service, then you should see shutdown and startup messages in the debug list.  ssMonitor should show SDP packets every 4 minutes or so.  SDP's contain your major weather sensor info.  The other packets are housekeeping info for the Console - things like resetting the clock and the Internet indicator.

I hope that explains things better.  :grin:
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 20, 2015, 09:30:36 PM
Kevin, Ignore the bug I posted in bug tracker.  I think I figured out what was going on and it was something I did.

The alert email address and min/max/range values are kept in

C:\ProgramData\SkySpyData\SkySpy.ini

The email settings in the INI file are all clear text, but the alert min/max/range values are not human-readable.  Don't mess with the Alertxxx settings - use ssMonitor to update the INI for these.

Quote
The last Sent time in the ini file never changes.  What can I do to trouble shoot?

That means that Alerts are not being sent.

Have you configured your SMTP settings in ssMonitor?

Do you see "WX ALERT DETECTED" in the Service Debug Information list?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on March 20, 2015, 11:41:46 PM
OK - our system is back up and running after rebooting the laptop.  I'm nearly certain it was a problem with SkySpy Service - but I'm not there to see what's happening first hand.

Quote
A friendly reminder to you and the lurkers.  ssMonitor serves only 2 purposes...

Yes - I was actually aware of that and yet I was somehow still dumb enough to reboot SkySpy monitor without thinking while ignoring SkySpy service.  I'll offer the following shameful excuse...  I had just mounted the sensor on top of the host's house and the wind was picking up so I wanted to go flying more than I wanted to start debugging. :(

Thanks also for the tips on starting and stopping SkySpy service without rebooting the computer.  I've actually done that several times when the computer was at my house - but I didn't want to talk our host through all of that.  So I just told him to exit all programs and reboot the machine.  Fortunately that did the trick.

Thanks again for your help and patience.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on March 21, 2015, 02:16:56 AM
Quote


That means that Alerts are not being sent.

Have you configured your SMTP settings in ssMonitor?

Do you see "WX ALERT DETECTED" in the Service Debug Information list?

Yes I have it configured as follows:

Server:       smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Port:  tried both 465 and 587
User Name: mine@gmail.com
Password:    mypassword
SSl:              SS/TLS required

Should clicking on the TEST button send out a message

I've tried both an email address and the email-text address of my cell.

Send Alert emails is checked.
Min time set to 90 min.

No "WX ALERT DETECTED" in the Service Debug Information list

NADA for alerts..


Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on March 21, 2015, 01:17:26 PM
Yes I have it configured as follows:

Server:       smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Port:  tried both 465 and 587
User Name: mine@gmail.com
Password:    mypassword
SSl:              SS/TLS required


Let me get back to you on that.  IIRC, Gmail uses some bizarre SMTP settings, so I will have to test it on this end.

Quote
Should clicking on the TEST button send out a message

Yes, but SkySpyService will wait until the next SDP packet from the Gateway to do the "test" send.  You will see something like "Test message sent" in the Debug panel of ssService when it finally goes out.  This could take up to 4 minutes, depending on where you are in the SDP cycle.

Quote
I've tried both an email address and the email-text address of my cell.

Send Alert emails is checked.
Min time set to 90 min.

I am beginning to think that there is a problem with the installer.  It may not be writing an "email template" file somewhere SkySpyService can find it.  Alerts work OK for me, but I  typically don't use the installer.

Quote
No "WX ALERT DETECTED" in the Service Debug Information list

NADA for alerts..

If you don't see WX ALERT DETECTED in ssMonitor, then you don't have weather conditions that trigger an alarm.  Set your minimum indoor temp to something like 90F and you should get consistent alarms - unless your AC is on the fritz  :lol:

For debugging purposes: ssMonitor should say "Sending Alert Email", followed shortly by "Send Thread Term".  If it never says "Send Thread Term", then there was a problem connecting with or sending the Email.  It could be that missing file I mentioned, bad SMTP settings, or an invalid Email address.  An invalid email address might still work, but you won't get an actual alert email.

If ssMonitor never displays either message, then you don't have an actual alarm condition or you have "Send Alerts via Email" unchecked in the settings dialog.

I will add some more error messages in the next release to explain the reason for any Email failures.

Best regards,

Kevin
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: kj5fa on April 13, 2015, 10:27:42 PM
Does anyone else's daily rain amount that is sent to WU seem to top out at 0.36 inches or so? I have only seen daily amounts over this amount a couple of times and I think that was an error I caused. The weather display of the system shows 0.85 currently but WU only has the 0.36. Is this just me?

Thanks,
Kevin M
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on April 13, 2015, 10:48:10 PM
Does anyone else's daily rain amount that is sent to WU seem to top out at 0.36 inches or so? I have only seen daily amounts over this amount a couple of times and I think that was an error I caused. The weather display of the system shows 0.85 currently but WU only has the 0.36. Is this just me?

Thanks,
Kevin M

Same here.  I have .88 on the display and .35 on WU.

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on April 14, 2015, 01:58:33 AM
There is probably a mismatch between what I consider the accumulated rainfall inches and what Wunderground thinks.

As for limiting to some maximum amount... I don't think so.  Mine reads horrendously high, but I do live in a rain forest.

The amount of accumulated rainfall around these parts is probably a bit different than yours :-)

Here in Olympia, WA, we measure annual rainfall in yards, not inches. :-)  I had 4 inches in a day or two, earlier this month - according to WU and my La Crosse console.

40.5" since September last year.  5" just this month.  Yoiks!  That is a bit damp for this California boy!

Anyway,  I will check into it and try to get WU and SkySpy in synch. Something screwy is going on, and it is not a maximum limit.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: spork on April 14, 2015, 02:05:04 AM
Here in Olympia, WA, we measure annual rainfall in yards, not inches.

Could you spare a cup or two for those of us in CA?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: askme on April 28, 2015, 11:27:27 AM
New here, but very interested.  I am interested in SkySpy to import data into my home automation system.  Is there somewhere I can download the latest version? [edit:scratch that, found the Gamma post from March 5th]

I just picked up TX60U and GW (which I registered already).  I also have another GW, sensor and weather station lying around I have not yet registered.   I saw some notes that more testing might be helpful and I am comfortable with Wireshark.  Anything I can do to help the cause?

/rant I accidentally first registered all my gear under weatherdirect and found it quaint, then re-registered to Lacrosse Alerts and found it was even less capable, and lastly re-registered everything to LaCrosse Alerts Mobile which strips out nearly all functionality./rant

askme
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on April 28, 2015, 01:14:02 PM
New here, but very interested.  I am interested in SkySpy to import data into my home automation system. 

Welcome!

I too have a home automation system - Insteon switches, dimmers and motion detectors all through the house with an ISY-994i running the show.  I can control all of my lights with my Android phone or a web browser.

I am not sure how you would import data into a home automation system though.

Quote
I just picked up TX60U and GW (which I registered already).  I also have another GW, sensor and weather station lying around I have not yet registered.   I saw some notes that more testing might be helpful and I am comfortable with Wireshark.  Anything I can do to help the cause?

It is my understanding that the TX60U uses a different data protocol than the C84612. 

The only way to decode the new format would be to do what I did with the C84612:  Record hundreds of hours of webcam video of the console while also recording the TCP/IP traffic from the Gateway using Wireshark.  Then you have to correlate the sensor readings changes in the video with the hexadecimal values in the TCP/IP stream to figure out which bytes and nybbles do what.  Next you have to write a parser for those bytes and nybbles and conversion routines to return the actual sensor reading.

The bottom line is that you need the actual hardware in hand to write a new version of SkySpy.

I am completely out of spare time right now, so I can't be of much help.  :-(

Quote
/rant I accidentally first registered all my gear under weatherdirect and found it quaint, then re-registered to Lacrosse Alerts and found it was even less capable, and lastly re-registered everything to LaCrosse Alerts Mobile which strips out nearly all functionality./rant

Yep... It was the horrid La Crosse web site that inspired me to write SkySpy :-)

Wunderground knows how to do things right with PWS.

Best regards,

Kevin
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: SLOweather on April 28, 2015, 01:38:09 PM
I am not sure how you would import data into a home automation system though.

Slightly OT, but VWS data can be imported into HomeSeer. I'm doing that at home.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: askme on April 28, 2015, 06:06:26 PM
Sorry about the OT:  That is what I am trying to do.  Well not really weather, but I have sensors about the house I need to bring into Homeseer e.g. Pool temp, outdoor temp, various humidity readings, etc.  and was hoping to use LaCrosse sensors to do that wirelessly.

How would I do that with VWS?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: askme on April 28, 2015, 06:26:17 PM

Quote
It is my understanding that the TX60U uses a different data protocol than the C84612. 

Ah, like a dagger to the heart.  While I expected different equipment might communicate  with differently wireless protocols, I foolishly assumed all traffic from the GW was normalized to some standard protocol back to their back-end servers. 
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on April 28, 2015, 06:47:47 PM
I foolishly assumed all traffic from the GW was normalized to some standard protocol back to their back-end servers.

I had high hopes too, but after seeing some Wireshark dumps, it looks like a whole new ballgame on La Crosse models other than the C84612.

I imagine the IIS handshake is pretty much the same, but the SDP (the Sensor Data Packet) is different.  That is the difficult packet to parse.

La Crosse made a difficult (but obviously not impossible) to hack data protocol to ship readings back to their server.  They are in the business to sell server time and want to protect that revenue stream. 

It makes sense that they would further obfuscate by pairing sensors with model-specific Gateways.  That way if one model gets hacked, all of the other ones are still protected. Either that or their GW firmware programmers are clueless :-)

They should have used encryption instead of not-so-secret bit-mapped data formats.

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: askme on April 28, 2015, 09:00:59 PM
Hanlon's Razor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor

My guess is that the GW just puts a IP wrapper around the data packets in the IT+.  that is too bad.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on April 28, 2015, 09:03:14 PM
Kevin,  Any status on rain fall recording to WU?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: SLOweather on April 29, 2015, 11:56:00 AM
There is a VWS plugin for Homeseer. Enable that in HS, and then on the config page, point it to wherever your VWS data.csv file is.

I'm running it with a Davis VP2 with 7 extra wireless sensor stations and I have learned a couple of little gotchas.

There is no known mapping of extra station values between what shows up in the csv file and what shows up in Homeseer. You have to figure it out yourself.

And, because of that, apparently, if you have mapped everything and then one station stops transmitting, another station's value shows up in its spot. Whenever the VP2 console can't receive the temp/hum station down in the canyon bottom for a while, HS puts the greenhouse temperature in the spa temp spot. Luckily, I'm not doing any control with that. The App Dig Leopard, SECU16 and a Bobcat temp sensor do spa control.


Quote
It is my understanding that the TX60U uses a different data protocol than the C84612. 

Ah, like a dagger to the heart.  While I expected different equipment might communicate  with differently wireless protocols, I foolishly assumed all traffic from the GW was normalized to some standard protocol back to their back-end servers.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: egoh on May 12, 2015, 12:24:37 PM
skydvrz, Amazing work on this program! I'm also seeing some strange rain readings. I'm not sure what's happening, but after .09" of rain this morning, this is a screen shot of the measurements. This isn't supposed to be decreasing, correct?

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on May 12, 2015, 12:48:23 PM
Quote
skydvrz, Amazing work on this program!

Thanks!

Rainfall is measured using a sliding 24-hour window, so the "total rain fall" is actually the total-rain-in-last-24-hours as of the sample time.  So...  Yes, it can decrease or increase depending on weather conditions.

It would always increase if I reset at midnight, but then you'd see it reset back to zero then and start increasing again in the early morning (if it were still raining).

I am looking at changing the rainfall algorithm for Weather Underground updates, since my algorithm appears to differ from theirs.

I get a lot of rain here in the Pacific Northwest, so rain in 24 hours is more important to me than rain today.   In this neck of the woods, huge trees start to tip over when there is sustained too much rain in 24 hours.  In my case, yesterday's rainfall totals are important too if the soil has not had a chance to drain.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: egoh on May 12, 2015, 12:59:49 PM
skydvrz, that sliding 24 hour period makes total sense, however, we didn't have 8" of rain in the past 24 hours. Yesterday was around .50" and today was .09" so far. Is it on a different scale, or perhaps something is amiss?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on May 12, 2015, 01:03:18 PM
we didn't have 8" of rain in the past 24 hours. Yesterday was around .50" and today was .09" so far. Is it on a different scale, or perhaps something is amiss?

What does your display console say?  The same thing you quoted?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: egoh on May 12, 2015, 01:05:08 PM
Correct, It was reporting 0.09" when I initially replied. We've gotten a little more rain so now it's reading 0.12" (on the 24H view).

FYI, this is my wunderground station (which is reporting a higher amount..perhaps because of the algorithm difference): http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KTXAUSTI551#history/graphs
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on May 12, 2015, 01:28:05 PM
Correct, It was reporting 0.09" when I initially replied. We've gotten a little more rain so now it's reading 0.12" (on the 24H view).

FYI, this is my wunderground station (which is reporting a higher amount..perhaps because of the algorithm difference): http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KTXAUSTI551#history/graphs

Ok - now I get it.  Your mini-web site is wrong, but your Wunderground readings look OK.  I will check it out.  The mini-website is mostly a debug tool that I left in. I always check my PWX readings on Wunderground with my Android phone so I haven't looked at the mini-web thing in months  :oops:

Here is my station:

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KWAOLYMP86 (http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KWAOLYMP86)

After looking at Wunderground, I think they expect to have a midnight reset on accumulated rainfall.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: egoh on May 13, 2015, 01:34:49 PM
Definitely something strange happening with the rain measurements. My display console is measuring 0.91" but Wundergound is only showing 0.32"

Even if the algorithms are different, some of the accumulation isn't reaching Wunderground for some reason. About 0.71" of that rain was from the last couple of hours, so it should be definitely higher at Wundergroud.

Thanks again for all your hard work!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on May 13, 2015, 01:47:24 PM
Definitely something strange happening with the rain measurements. My display console is measuring 0.91" but Wundergound is only showing 0.32"

Even if the algorithms are different, some of the accumulation isn't reaching Wunderground for some reason. About 0.71" of that rain was from the last couple of hours, so it should be definitely higher at Wundergroud.

Thanks again for all your hard work!


Egoh, see messages 78 -  79.  Skydvrz is aware of that issue.  We are all seeing total rainfall topping out before 0.4"
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: egoh on May 13, 2015, 02:03:29 PM
I saw those posts, but figured I'd add another data point. Thanks for the clarification, 10ACTony!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: StanTX on May 29, 2015, 04:57:07 PM
Hey guys,
 New to the forum but have been playing with data uploading to WU from my LaCrosse C84612 for sometime.  Wanted to check and see if there's been any new updates with SkySpy lately.  It's an awesome piece of software, hope to be able to contribute to it in some way!  Thanks again for all the hard work on this!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on May 29, 2015, 07:08:01 PM
Wanted to check and see if there's been any new updates with SkySpy lately.  It's an awesome piece of software, hope to be able to contribute to it in some way!  Thanks again for all the hard work on this!

Thanks, and welcome aboard  :grin:

Here is the most recent SkySpy release:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tyw2728dhsw9p0g/SkySpyInstall.exe?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/tyw2728dhsw9p0g/SkySpyInstall.exe?dl=0)

You can check the release date of a given SkySpy installer by right-clicking on the SkySpyInstall.exe file.  Look at the Details tab.  Right now the installer version is 1.1.0.0 and the modify date is 5 March 2015.  The SkySpy executables will be a little older than that.

Lurker note:  if this thread gets longer, go to the newest post (the last one in this forum list) and work backwards looking for download links to the latest SkySpy release.  If/When I make a new release, then the link I mention in this post will no longer work.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on May 30, 2015, 02:03:14 AM
If/when I make a new release. . . 
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: PDM1964 on June 01, 2015, 01:30:30 PM
SKYDVRZ

I just wanted say your software is awesome!  Every few months i would google around looking for a way to share my data on Weather Underground and then would resign myself to buying new equipment someday...  But thanks to you the Someday arrived without needing to buy new equipment  :grin:

It only took me a few hours to get everything up and running, and most of that was because of the Firewall...

The only issue I have so far is Email Alerts, I tried both GMAIL and HOTMAIL but neither seems to send.  I get Sending Email in the DEBUG, but never get a thread end?  I saw a few posts back there was a question of a missing file, could this be the case?

I did need to run monitor as ADMIN in order to get the changes to save properly in the .INI

Thanks again!!!  Looking forward to any enhancements.

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KUTPLAIN2 (http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KUTPLAIN2)
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on June 01, 2015, 07:37:20 PM
If/when I make a new release. . . 

My main contract job was not renewed (after 10 years), so I am looking for work right now.  There is another version of SkySpy in the works, but I don't know how long it will take to get back to it.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on June 01, 2015, 07:57:35 PM
I just wanted say your software is awesome!  Every few months i would google around looking for a way to share my data on Weather Underground and then would resign myself to buying new equipment someday...  But thanks to you the Someday arrived without needing to buy new equipment  :grin:

Thanks!  It was a lot of work, but everyone's appreciation makes it all worthwhile.  I went through the same Google process myself.  I saw a couple messages from people that were having trouble figuring out the C84612 data format.  Since reverse engineering and TCP/IP is something I like doing, I jumped on it, and here we are.

Quote
It only took me a few hours to get everything up and running, and most of that was because of the Firewall...

That sums up about 95% of all install issues.   :-)

Quote
The only issue I have so far is Email Alerts, I tried both GMAIL and HOTMAIL but neither seems to send.  I get Sending Email in the DEBUG, but never get a thread end?  I saw a few posts back there was a question of a missing file, could this be the case?

Alerts needs some work to make it play nice with the variety of Email servers out there.  Alerts used to work on my old ISP, now that I moved my business domain to another ISP, it no longer works.  It is on my todo list in the next version.  My time is severely limited right now, so I don't know when I will get it fixed.

Quote
I did need to run monitor as ADMIN in order to get the changes to save properly in the .INI

I have partially completed a rewrite of big chunks of the Service and Monitor that should fix this once and for all.  The tests went well on the new algorithms, but I haven't integrated them into the two programs just yet.  In the next version, Monitor will tell Service when it wants to update a non-shared INI file.  Service will own the file 100% and do all the reads/writes and pass the results back to Monitor as needed.  This involved writing a language that Service and Monitor use to send commands and values back and forth across your desktop using something called Named Pipes - a lot of work.

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KUTPLAIN2 (http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KUTPLAIN2)

Cool!  Here is mine:

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KWAOLYMP86 (http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KWAOLYMP86)
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: markmanxp on June 08, 2015, 04:50:24 PM
Howdy!  Been using this for a year now or so... awesome.  But yea, I thought it was something broken with my rain gauge and seeing after a 2 inch rain even the other night only showing on wunderground as .36 while the panel showed 1.86 (so the rain gauge is fine).  I then realized I have seen this behavior the last few times we had some decent rains.   So I presume this hasn't been fixed yet? (not seeing any posts).    Also tried downloading the latest version with stmp / alarm support.  So far haven't been able to get it working with Google.  I use another program called SCIT PRO with the gmail configure just the same and that works.

I'm willing to make a small donation to support this great service/app.  Thanks again!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on June 12, 2015, 10:47:42 PM
Kevin,
Have you tried this on Windows 10.  The service does not start on it's own.  I have to start it manually.  Just letting you know.

T
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on June 14, 2015, 03:04:11 AM
The latest Win 10 build totally killed SkySpy.  The service is running but nothing ever gets updated.  No error messages displayed.  I hope you have time to look at this.  I'm going to miss WU  and my desktop display.

Tony
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on June 20, 2015, 10:06:52 AM
If the service is running but nothing updates, then I'd start looking at firewall or IP address issues.  Did you check to see if your computer's IP address is the same as the old PC?  You may have to update the proxy address in the GW.  Make sure you use a static IP on your SkySpy box and use that address in the GW proxy setting.

I don't have a Win10 box - it's a bit early for that just yet, since it is still in beta.  Let me know how things go.

There are some rumors going around that Win10 is simply a M$ trick to get all Windows users to buy in to a subscription based operating system.  You get Win10 for free the first time, but you have to agree to automatic updates.  Then comes the monthly subscription - buy it or your updates quit.    It could also come to pass that your OS moves mostly to the Cloud.  In that case, its pay or say goodbye to all your files.

I would not be comfortable with a forced-update business model for Windows, or one where I have to remote in to my Cloud session.  What happens when the dump "Vista2020" or "Son of Win8.0" in our laps during a nightly update - a real stinker, especially when the previous OS version ran just fine.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: markmanxp on June 28, 2015, 07:26:58 PM
So again today we got over an inch of rain.  Looking at Wundergroup shows only .36.  I have had skyspy monitor running on my desktop last few days and they too shows Rainfall Today of .36.    I check the actual unit itself and it shows the true values.  Wish I knew what changed or why it can't see more than .36 anymore.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: msimon360 on July 02, 2015, 04:16:49 PM
I am having the exact same behaviour. No matter how heavy the rain or what is shown on the display WU only shows .36 inches.

Right now I am having another problem. I have lost my connection somewhere. All that shows up in SkySpy are Get Requests?

I have had SkySpy working for nearly a year and love it.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: msimon360 on July 02, 2015, 04:45:18 PM
I got my station back online. I had to run GAS again. My PC got a new IP after a power outage reset my router.

Now, next time it rains here in Texas (September?) I will try to gather some data on that .36 inch max rainfall issue.

Mark
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jflowers on July 22, 2015, 11:26:57 AM
I understand the constraints on the inventive author so I hope there are willing others with talents.  I use skyspy on a fairly old but adequate XP Media Center (AMD 3400+ 2.21 GHz with 3 GB memory) and it works very well with one annoying problem.  When it comes time to reset skyspy every few days the service hangs and does not restart. I am notified by wunderground and several hours later get it going again.

When this happens, I cannot "restart" the service via control panel as it remains "started" but does not actually restart.  When I "stop" the service, a message says that it cannot but after a minute or so the status updates to show it is stopped.  It can then be started successfully.

So it looks as if skyspy similarly initiates a stop to kill the server process but then tries to start it again before it is actually stopped.

I would appreciate any guidance or workarounds.

Thank you.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: markmanxp on July 22, 2015, 11:32:22 AM
jflowers,

Exactly the same issue and behavior I have been seeing now for a while!   The emails from Wunderground notifying me that they haven't received an update in a few hours is usually what alerts me to this.    This issue and the precip never showing more than 0.36 inches during a large rain event (panel itself does reflect actual amt even when more than 0.36) has really been making this no longer a hand-offs off process.   Guess I could go back to La Crosse's server but really don't want to.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jflowers on July 22, 2015, 02:39:02 PM
Some more info.  I wasn't able to start the skyspy service in safe mode so rather than chase that I just restarted the machine without the larger programs (a dozen chrome tabs, WiRNS, and a bunch of others).  I'll have to wait for the service to restart itself but manual service start, stop and restart all seem to work correctly.  There is now a computer beep during restart and the monitor shows both the "shutting down" and "service startup messages.  May be just a matter of slow computer response.

The above turned out to be optimistic.  After putting back in service the XP would still not survive the auto-restart every so often.  I finally solved my problem by using a batch file daily with Scheduled Tasks to stop, then start SkySpyService.exe.  Also found that my Scheduled Tasks wasn't working but found an Internet post that told me how to fix that by running "Add Scheduled Task" after removing the corresponding file in  the "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\S-1-5-18" folder.

For those still wanting to use XP here is my batch file:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\bin\RestartSpySkyService.bat

----------------------------------------------------------------
@ECHO OFF

rem RestartSpySkyService.bat
rem bat file to stop restart SkySpy Service
rem run daily at 6am as scheduled task

c:\windows\system32\net.exe stop "SkySpy Server Service" >NUL && c:\windows\system32\net.exe start "SkySpy Server Service" >NUL

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I also tried a time delay between stop and start but found it was not needed.  Has worked for several weeks without a problem and Wunderground is happy.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: W3DRM on July 22, 2015, 03:20:13 PM
Wanted to check and see if there's been any new updates with SkySpy lately.  It's an awesome piece of software, hope to be able to contribute to it in some way!  Thanks again for all the hard work on this!

Thanks, and welcome aboard  :D

Here is the most recent SkySpy release:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tyw2728dhsw9p0g/SkySpyInstall.exe?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/tyw2728dhsw9p0g/SkySpyInstall.exe?dl=0)

You can check the release date of a given SkySpy installer by right-clicking on the SkySpyInstall.exe file.  Look at the Details tab.  Right now the installer version is 1.1.0.0 and the modify date is 5 March 2015.  The SkySpy executables will be a little older than that.

Lurker note:  if this thread gets longer, go to the newest post (the last one in this forum list) and work backwards looking for download links to the latest SkySpy release.  If/When I make a new release, then the link I mention in this post will no longer work.

I'd like to make a suggestion that will make it easier for everyone watching this thread for new updates to your software. Use the very first post in the thread to announce new updates and current links to your software downloads. That way, folks won't have to hunt through pages of posts to find the latest release. You can always post a new reply to the thread that announces a new release but, be certain to update/revise the first post with current release info in it. Many developers on the WXFORUM use this technique and it really speeds-up the process of finding the latest version.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: flamand on August 10, 2015, 03:35:28 PM
10ACTony (or anyone)...have you found a way to make this work on Win 10 yet?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on August 14, 2015, 03:04:57 AM
It is now working under the RTM version of Win 10.  Great now if only we could get the email and rainfall working correctly.


Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: flamand on August 17, 2015, 10:34:25 PM
Congratulations. Did it "just work"? When I try on my Win 10 machine it just sits there.

I loaded Win7 on an old laptop and when I get it going, Wunderground keeps saying I have a bad password. The password works fine logging into the website, but not in SS. Data is streaming locally, just not to Wunderground. Here's the screen cap, if you have any ideas.

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: 10ACTony on August 17, 2015, 11:46:05 PM
I removed the version that wasn't running and reinstalled.  Quick monitor and restarted with run as administrator.  Set all settings,  saved settings and it worked.   Tried the same with the previous build and it just sat there doing nothing. Try it that way.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: flamand on August 20, 2015, 10:23:59 PM
I removed the version that wasn't running and reinstalled.  Quick monitor and restarted with run as administrator.  Set all settings,  saved settings and it worked.   Tried the same with the previous build and it just sat there doing nothing. Try it that way.

Thanks. It's now working for me too! It looks like the problem was in the firewall again.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on September 04, 2015, 07:41:04 PM
Hi guys!

I thought I would poke my head in the door and take a look around.  :grin:

I am doing software design contract work here in Kissimmee Florida - a long way from Olympia, WA and my weather station hardware. I haven't forgotten about ya. 

Fire away if you have questions, but my programming time is pretty well booked solid for the next few months.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jflowers on September 12, 2015, 01:31:16 PM
XP periodic auto-restart problem solved

Anyone with this problem might want to check out post #114 that I modified to document a solution that worked for me.  YMMV.

The only problem I still have from operating 100% is the ceiling on the amount of rain that is passed on when 0.36 in. is exceeded that everyone seems to be experiencing.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: gpiveta on September 15, 2015, 10:20:54 AM
Please u software works in apple like mac os???
and ..  if i install in windows the pc have to stay on always??

tks

Gus
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jflowers on September 15, 2015, 10:57:36 AM
Skyspy software is specific to Windows PCs and yes, to be useful the PC should be on all the time with a 24x7 Internet connection.  A low power PC with minimal memory is all that is required.  Costs me about 15 cents a day for my XP.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: gpiveta on September 15, 2015, 11:34:52 AM
Excelent work anda thanks for the soft

Skydvrz please i can use more than one station in the program ???

how is the configurate for the station? simple the serial number ???
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: gpiveta on September 15, 2015, 11:35:53 AM
Skyspy software is specific to Windows PCs and yes, to be useful the PC should be on all the time with a 24x7 Internet connection.  A low power PC with minimal memory is all that is required.  Costs me about 15 cents a day for my XP.

thanks
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jljflys on September 22, 2015, 06:10:30 PM
Just thought I would check in.  Have had my site up and working since early July, thanks for all the info available and the SkySpy software. My PWS is KMNFERGU7
Title: Help for Dummies please, SkySpy Software
Post by: Jarhead on December 01, 2015, 02:47:38 AM
I do appreciate your looking at my post. I am at a loss, and a lot of what are in the threads is a bit above my understanding, but I do understand opening a window, pinging and IP addresss, and the more simple stuff.

Folks around here seem to be a lot more saavy than I am, reading through the threads, and picking up pieces here and there, but just understanding little pieces and slowly learning.

Is there a guide all in one place, to setting this all up?

I have the Win 7 PC plugged into a wireless router, and the Lacrosse module plugged into the same router, both on Ethernet basically.

It doesn't report anything within SkySpy program yet, I think I did the firewall software change in Win 7 okay?

I did put in the WX underground station ID and such, but not sure where to get the 7FFFxxx... PWS serial number from?

What is the GAS tool, does it talk to the GW-1000U Gateway and modify the IP it talks to?  Where do I find it?

"So...  ...  If restarting SkySpy didn't work then you might want to run GAS on the SkySpy PC and make sure that the settings are correct in the Gateway.  Did you see a restart message in the Monitor when you restarted SkySpyService?  It should show the version number of SkySpyService."
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jljflys on December 01, 2015, 10:42:19 AM
If your station is registered with Lacrosse then you find the assigned Serial number under settings in Lacrosse Alerts Mobile.  Lacrosse changed their software and access late summer or early fall of 2015.  The serial number is assigned when you register with Lacrosse Alerts.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jflowers on December 01, 2015, 12:27:51 PM
GAS references the Weather Direct Gateway Advanced Setup module available here: https://www.weatherdirect.com/help/software.aspx .  Yes, it is how you talk to your gateway and tell it where your skyspy software is running and is useful for both setup and troubleshooting.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Jarhead on December 02, 2015, 02:22:23 AM
Okay, that helps explain why things aren't working, I haven't used the GAS tool yet.

Sorry, I am a bit of a noob at this, but I certainly appreciate the help a lot!

So, which Values do I change to what?
PC is on 192.168.1.2

Actual IP: 192.168.1.8

IP:192.168.1.206
Netmask: 255....
Gateway: 192.168.1.254
DNS IP: 192.168.1.253

Use DHCP is checked
Proxy server is not checked.

Do I need to change the values here, or take values from here and put them in the SkySpy program, or both?

Did I miss a post anywhere with all these setup instructions on how to get everything going?  I know reading through the two threads, maybe I missed a page of posts somewhere, all the buzzword monkiers kinda threw me for a bit of a loop, I've read through this whole thread twice, didn't find anything here either.

Or am I just dense and going blind?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jljflys on December 02, 2015, 08:06:52 PM
Do you have the installation Manual for Skyspy?  If not you can find access to it on reply #234 on this page     http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=14299.225
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Jarhead on December 03, 2015, 12:10:06 PM
That was what I was looking for, awesome, thanks!

I got it reporting to SkySpyMonitor now, but I get a WU invalid password error.
I've cut and pasted the Station ID from WUnderground page directly, and logged out of WUnderground, and re-logged in, using the password, then entered this same password into SkySpyMonitor.

Am I missing something?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jljflys on December 03, 2015, 10:01:47 PM
I have had trouble with cut & paste picking up some control character or something.  Did you trying clearing the entry and typing the ID in? If you don't mind sharing your WU ID I will try to see if it reports no data.
I think I found your PWS #22 in your area but no data reported.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Jarhead on December 04, 2015, 02:34:01 AM
That is mine. I looked for the .ini file, but could not find it, as the info should be in there.  Yes, that is mine.

I will try that, thanks!
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Jarhead on December 04, 2015, 03:43:16 AM
So I tried lots of things, including re-entering by keyboard, that didn't do it.  Even re-booting to start all the software up again.

However, I changed SkySpy Monitor to run as Administrator, and when I went in to look at the Station ID and password, it was now bogus.  So I re-entered the information, and now no errors on WU update Service Debug.

So, I am looking forward to Weather Underground to start reporting.

Still curious where that .ini file is hidden.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jljflys on December 04, 2015, 08:34:19 AM
Skyspy.ini is found in the Program Data folder where you find a Skyspy Data folder.   I had to save the edited ini file with a different name then rename the original to something like Skyspyo.ini then rename the new file to Skyspy.ini. hope this works for you
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jljflys on December 04, 2015, 08:49:54 AM
I see you are now reporting data.  Looks Good
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Jarhead on December 08, 2015, 10:00:02 AM
KORMOLAL22 is my station, the rain totals are acting a bit weird.  We did get 3.5 inches yesterday according to the radio, in many areas, I noticed.  It is interesting, weather.com is even reporting the total yesterday wrong.

Many stations in the local area are definitely greatly underreporting rain on WUnderground.

One that looks more correct for the total is KORCOLTO7, this one looks correct- KORMOLAL8. KORMOLAL8 is up in the mountains a bit, and it seems that often more rain gets dumped here, maybe due to terrain.

Are there any known quirks with this model we all have, for rainfall?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jljflys on December 08, 2015, 12:02:15 PM
It seems that usually the Skyspy software has been maxing out at .36 " for any 24 hr period.  But I see your station started reporting 3" plus midmorning yesterday.  That is very interesting but probably still a problem with the software. - Jerry
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Joelm on March 06, 2016, 06:14:11 PM
Hi - we're back and running with our lacrosse at http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KCABENIC2#history
Thanks again Dev for the great software!

I've forgotten how I can set the interval of data capture - and interval of data posting to Wunderground and Weatherflow.  Help pls

Thanks - Joel  ](*,) ](*,)
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: jljflys on March 09, 2016, 11:43:59 PM
The only place for changing the interval that I could find is in the skyspy.ini file in the skyspy data folder within the program data folder.  I have never tried changing the sampling rate or interval.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Joelm on March 15, 2016, 11:08:26 AM
Skyspy.ini lines with Interval are:
AlertsMessageIntervalMinutes=10
WUupdateIntervalMinutes=3

I've tried a few different settings with no change in the 13 minute interval we're seeing. 
It's funny because before our 13 month outtage WU confirms my memory:  6 minute interval.

Any tips out there?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: PDM1964 on March 15, 2016, 11:17:25 AM
I've never tried changing the any of the settings.  My WU updates about every 4 minutes which would coincide with the WUupdateIntervalMinutes=3 

I believe the alert line was supposed to control the email alerts, but I have never been able to get those working.  Unfortunately the original Author of this had some employment issues last year and has been offline since...

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KUTPLAIN2
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: Joelm on March 15, 2016, 12:18:15 PM
Tks PDM1964
I'm still wondering what I can do - will dwell on it awhile.

Summary:

Your WU has been up since June 2015.  Presume thats when you implemented SkySpy. you report no changes in INI to achieve 4 minute interval.
http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KUTPLAIN2#history

My PC died Feb 2015 after a year of 5-6 minute interval reporting.   13 months later, a fresh SkySpy install in March 2016,  I can't improve on my present 13min interval on SkySpy Monitor which is also reflected on WU. 
http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KCABENIC2#history

Joel

Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: PDM1964 on March 15, 2016, 11:02:22 PM
I tried a few different settings in the ini with no change from the 4 min interval.  I ran the Skyspy monitor as well with logging set to INFO.  I can see the exchanges from the Gateway, below is a snipet from where I restarted the service after setting the interval to 1.  It appears the SDP from the station drives the WU Update.

DateTime   Packet
3/15/2016 20:58   Ping Received
3/15/2016 20:58   RTC Packet Request
3/15/2016 20:57   WU Update
3/15/2016 20:57   SDP Received
3/15/2016 20:54   Service Startup v1.2.0.439
3/15/2016 20:54   Service Shutting Down
3/15/2016 20:53   Ping Received
3/15/2016 20:53   RTC Packet Request
3/15/2016 20:53   WU Update
3/15/2016 20:53   SDP Received
3/15/2016 20:49   Ping Received
3/15/2016 20:49   RTC Packet Request
3/15/2016 20:49   WU Update
3/15/2016 20:49   SDP Received
3/15/2016 20:45   Ping Received
3/15/2016 20:45   RTC Packet Request
3/15/2016 20:45   WU Update
3/15/2016 20:45   SDP Received
3/15/2016 20:42   Ping Received
3/15/2016 20:42   RTC Packet Request
3/15/2016 20:41   WU Update
3/15/2016 20:41   SDP Received
3/15/2016 20:40   Service Startup v1.2.0.439
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: markmanxp on March 27, 2016, 09:38:54 PM
Is it safe to say this project is officially dead?
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: PDM1964 on March 28, 2016, 09:12:50 PM
Unless someone with the original programmers skill and drive picks it up I would agree.  Its been a year since the last version...
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on April 09, 2016, 06:51:04 PM
Hi guys!

Well, I just completed my move from Washington State to Central Florida.  Unfortunately, I had to leave my La Crosse weather station at my old house in Washington. It was pretty much shot anyway with a couple dead sensors.  I had to get packed up and leave quickly, since I just started a new job here in Florida and didn't have any vacation time saved up.

Sooo....

Due to the new job, I have zero time to work on SkySpy and it would be very difficult to continue without the hardware. 

If there are any Embarcadero Delphi programmers out there I'd be happy to pass the torch on to them and help them get up to speed.  Feel free to translate it from Object Pascal to some other language, but this would be a huge effort.  SkySpy is multi-threaded and uses some pretty intense algorithms to decode the various data packets that the Gateway sends out.

The SkySpy installer copies most of the source code to your hard disk so you can see all of the important algorithms.  This code lacks all the expensive GUI libraries I used (DevExpress VCL).  If you own a copy of DevExpress, then you could probably compile most of it.  I'd be happy to turn over all the forms code, but please note that it is completely useless without a recent DevExpress VCL installation that costs $800-$1500 USD.  I used DevArt MyDAC components to manage the SkySpy database.  I think you can get a low-end version of MyDAC for a couple hundred bucks - and it is useful for lots of other projects.

Contact me via private mail here on the forum if you'd like to take a crack at a new version of SkySpy.
Title: SkySpy Software with Cumulus
Post by: Boston4 on August 15, 2016, 10:24:27 PM
I have been successfully uploading to WU for almost a year now using SkySpy.  I would like to enable the Cumulus option in the service settings page so I can send to CWOP .  Does anyone know:

1.  If this option is working in the SkySpy program?
2.  If yes, which file do I point to in the cumulus directory?
3.  What settings need to be adjusted in Cumulus to make this work?

Thank you.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: skydvrz on August 16, 2016, 07:27:13 AM
Sorry, the Cumulus feature was never completed. 

I can't work on SkySpy any more since I sold the house I was living in when I wrote it. My old La Crosse weather station is still attached to the house.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: PDM1964 on November 24, 2016, 07:30:37 PM
For anyone who is still using this weather station and may be looking for alternative software.  I recently switched over to weewx with the Interceptor driver.  Spent some time working with mwall and got the clock to set etc. \:D/ As much as I have loved using SkySpy I am looking forward to running in Linux now.
https://github.com/matthewwall/weewx-interceptor

https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KUTPLAIN2
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: SDWeather on December 16, 2016, 03:56:30 PM
This is exactly what I want to do with my Lacrosse c84612.  I have a Synology NAS 413j which is what I'd like to run the software on.  I am a 70 year old ex structural engineer so I understand processes and procedures, but have little knowledge of IT jargon.  Is the posting on WX Forum the easiest to follow, or is there something simpler that a mere retired engineer can understand?
Thanks for helping.
Title: Re: SkySpy Software
Post by: PDM1964 on December 16, 2016, 05:46:04 PM
I'm not familiar with the Synology, but take a look at the weewx web site it may help.

http://weewx.com/