Author Topic: Storm Kickstarter Shipping  (Read 5007 times)

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Offline SpringHillWeather

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Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« on: December 16, 2016, 11:01:31 PM »
I almost forgot that I signed up for the BloomSky Storm.

Well today I received an email that its shipping! 

I'll keep you'll posted  :grin:
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Offline Martlet

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2016, 10:35:54 AM »
I have my Sky2 but haven't set it up yet.  I'm waiting for the Storm and tripod.
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Offline ggsteve

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2016, 09:03:32 AM »
I almost forgot that I signed up for the BloomSky Storm.

Well today I received an email that its shipping! 

I'll keep you'll posted  :grin:

Hi, when did you place your order?  Mine was placed well over a month ago and it looks like I'm in for a disappointing Christmas.  We've heard nothing.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #3 on: December 23, 2016, 12:50:58 PM »
My Storm is scheduled to arrive the day after Christmas when I'm out-of-town.

Thankfully, UPS will hold it at the local UPS store for free so I don't have to worry about it being stolen from my doorstep.


Offline SpringHillWeather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2016, 05:49:02 PM »
I just received my Storm from the UPS driver.   

The instructions are pretty straight forward.  There is a receiver, ethernet cable, USB cable & Power Adapter.
I connected the receiver to my router with the ethernet cable, then connected the USB cable to the receiver unit (this is how it charges) and the other side to the bottom of the Storm under a rubber door that pulls opens.  I then started the Android App, Bluetooth got enabled,  added a new device, picked Storm and it searched and found the new device right away.  Mine did come with a mini Solar panel that mounts onto the spike like the Sky and plugs into the bottom of the unit.   

Even though I have it mounted on the ground I'm surprised how it is picking up the wind.  I will be mounting it to a better location during the daytime.

We'll see how the unit performs :)

Storm

« Last Edit: December 23, 2016, 06:21:16 PM by StatenIslandWeather »
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Offline SpringHillWeather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2016, 05:52:37 PM »
I almost forgot that I signed up for the BloomSky Storm.

Well today I received an email that its shipping! 

I'll keep you'll posted  :grin:

Hi, when did you place your order?  Mine was placed well over a month ago and it looks like I'm in for a disappointing Christmas.  We've heard nothing.

I signed up in July when it was announced.

Hopefully you get yours soon.
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #6 on: December 23, 2016, 05:55:37 PM »
I just received my Storm from the UPS driver.   

The instructions are pretty straight forward.  There is a receiver, ethernet cable & Power Adapter.
I connected the receiver to my router with the ethernet cable, then connected the USB cable to the receiver unit (this is how it charges) and the other side to the bottom of the Storm under a rubber door that pulls opens.  I then started the Android App, Bluetooth got enabled,  added a new device, picked Storm and it searched and found the new device right away.  Mine did come with a mini Solar panel that mounts onto the spike like the Sky and plugs into the bottom of the unit.   

Even though I have it mounted on the ground I'm surprised how it is picking up the wind.  I will be mounting it to a better location during the daytime.

We'll see how the unit performs :)

Storm

I'm confused about the receiver (or dongle as some are calling it).

Is the normal operation that the Storm communicate to the BloomSky servers through that thing?  Or is it just necessary if you don't have a Sky2?

For some reason I was thinking the Storm could connect through the Sky2, but maybe that's not right.

Offline SpringHillWeather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #7 on: December 23, 2016, 06:03:45 PM »
I just received my Storm from the UPS driver.   

The instructions are pretty straight forward.  There is a receiver, ethernet cable & Power Adapter.
I connected the receiver to my router with the ethernet cable, then connected the USB cable to the receiver unit (this is how it charges) and the other side to the bottom of the Storm under a rubber door that pulls opens.  I then started the Android App, Bluetooth got enabled,  added a new device, picked Storm and it searched and found the new device right away.  Mine did come with a mini Solar panel that mounts onto the spike like the Sky and plugs into the bottom of the unit.   

Even though I have it mounted on the ground I'm surprised how it is picking up the wind.  I will be mounting it to a better location during the daytime.

We'll see how the unit performs :)

Storm

I'm confused about the receiver (or dongle as some are calling it).

Is the normal operation that the Storm communicate to the BloomSky servers through that thing?  Or is it just necessary if you don't have a Sky2?

For some reason I was thinking the Storm could connect through the Sky2, but maybe that's not right.

Yes, they call it a dongle.  It looks like this is the device that will connect to the servers.  I'm not sure of the original design but it looks like each device is independent of each other.

I believe the new dongle uses bluetooth for your mobile to connect to it versus using Wifi.

Here is a Screenshot of the App, notice each device separate.

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Offline SpringHillWeather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #8 on: December 23, 2016, 06:11:40 PM »
Here's what it looks like.

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Offline Aardvark

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #9 on: December 24, 2016, 12:12:03 AM »
comparing the accuracy between the Storm unit and the Davis,  is there.   Wind is updated every 30 seconds, as with the 5 minute temperture.   Rain is off 0.03 inches. Humidity 4% off, Dew pt a degree off.

Now the windspeed is in m/sec,  barometer is in mb,   and rain is in mm.   I have to convert units to compare .

The battery was promised to be user replaceable in both the sky2 and the storm, but that isn't the case. They now claim that in the ideal universe, the unit should last 3 years,then you have to buy a unit.

It is a nice toy right now.

the battery easily and quickly discharges compared to the Sky1 or 2 units.   Those can hold a charge all day and beyond. The Storm discharges 50% , at least mine does before the solar panel kicks in. In all fairness,  it has been overcast since I installed it. Cloudy and sleet/snow like today, very foggy tomorrow, and rain on the 25th.   but 53 degrees. The temp drops and it Partly cloudy the week.

I did some searching and was able to find the FCC page, and there is a lot of information if you are willing to look though it.  The battery looks like it is a pouch battery. It is made in China. Not that it is going to explode, but the quality of Chinese pouch batteries are lacking.

The whole irritation to me is,  none of what the Sky units and Storm is accessible other than through the phone app or their portal onliine.   Their server is with Amazon and when it is down, so are we.  It would be nice to be able to see it on a monitor , screen or something...

They have a way to go

Here is the url for the FCC page where you can see all their units, internal and externals.    https://fccid.io/2AD8E
« Last Edit: December 24, 2016, 12:16:27 AM by Aardvark »

Offline waiukuweather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #10 on: December 24, 2016, 01:46:42 PM »
does anyone know any info about the API for Bloomsky?
I cant get the info without having an account (I do not have a Bloomsky myself)
Thanks :)

Offline Aardvark

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #11 on: December 24, 2016, 07:00:18 PM »
does anyone know any info about the API for Bloomsky?
I cant get the info without having an account (I do not have a Bloomsky myself)
Thanks :)

That appears to be the rub.  you have to be able to access the Bloomsky portal https://dashboard.bloomsky.com
as you scroll down the page to the bottom, there is the section "developers," and there is the API

However, you have to have an account.   The API generated is for your station.   

Offline waiukuweather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #12 on: December 25, 2016, 12:36:23 PM »
I eventually found the API info:
http://weatherlution.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/BloomskyDeviceOwnerAPIDocumentation020216.pdf
but you need an account login (which I do not have)
maybe some can PM me there one? :)

Offline Aardvark

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #13 on: December 25, 2016, 01:40:51 PM »
The Storm unit has an IP address.    If the Sky had one , a similar setup to that dongle, I bet we might be able to snag the camera images.

What does impress me about the storm is is the wind unit.  it can  get speeds of less than 1mph which is great compared to my Davis VP2. However,  you can only get the speeds every 5 minutes it seems.   

I am hoping that Bloomsky is thinking down the road of being able to access that data on their portal.  I would love to have it as I have the sky data.  I am guessing they are in a big hurry to get their product out on the market.

What they need to do is to realize customer service is everything. They need to send out information when their servers throw up , when someone has a question. Ignoring will eventually let folks know that it is a nice toy, but if you want what it is now, you need to buy a better unit.

I am going to wait and see how things shake out here.

Offline hankster

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #14 on: December 25, 2016, 09:48:38 PM »
From my understanding is that they only transmit the data once every 5 minutes so even if you could connect directly you'd never get more data than once every 5 minutes. That is done to conserve battery life.

Offline Jáchym

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #15 on: December 25, 2016, 09:52:49 PM »
That's exactly how netatmo works,  also because of battery life

Offline waiukuweather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #16 on: December 27, 2016, 12:07:16 AM »
Weather Display now supports Blooomsky  ;)

Offline SpringHillWeather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #17 on: December 29, 2016, 05:27:03 PM »
Here is a quick observation since its raining today.

AW-1001 - 0.32 inches of Rain (mounted @ 12')
AW-0900 - 0.33 inches of Rain (mounted @ 6')
BS Storm - 0.31 inches of Rain (mounted @ 1.5')

All stations in the backyard within 15 feet of each other.

PS - The wind speed for the Storm is hovering around 1.1 mph and I've seen it up to 3 mph but not much higher where its mounted on at ground level.
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Offline ggsteve

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #18 on: December 29, 2016, 07:53:24 PM »
I got an email and my order shipped last night.  From the description it is hard to decipher what I'm getting besides a Sky 2.  Does anyone know what this means?  I ordered the Sky2/Storm bundle:

SKYLITE Weather Video Station(SKY 2, MTN, SUN

Offline SpringHillWeather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #19 on: December 29, 2016, 08:52:31 PM »
I got an email and my order shipped last night.  From the description it is hard to decipher what I'm getting besides a Sky 2.  Does anyone know what this means?  I ordered the Sky2/Storm bundle:

SKYLITE Weather Video Station(SKY 2, MTN, SUN

The bundle should include the the Sky and the Storm and solar panels the way I understand it.   Depending on the bundle you may get the tripod.
Here is the kickstarter page with each bundle.

Storm Kickstarter

I believe you need a SKY unit with Bloomsky account for the Storm to work since its using the same account as the BloomSky to report its data.
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #20 on: December 30, 2016, 12:46:30 AM »
I got an email and my order shipped last night.  From the description it is hard to decipher what I'm getting besides a Sky 2.  Does anyone know what this means?  I ordered the Sky2/Storm bundle:

SKYLITE Weather Video Station(SKY 2, MTN, SUN

The bundle should include the the Sky and the Storm and solar panels the way I understand it.   Depending on the bundle you may get the tripod.
Here is the kickstarter page with each bundle.

Storm Kickstarter

I believe you need a SKY unit with Bloomsky account for the Storm to work since its using the same account as the BloomSky to report its data.

My Sky2 shipped first and came with the mount and solar panel.  I got mine in November.
The storm was shipped separately.  It's sitting at my local UPS store now.
The tripod will be a third shipment.  Apparently they've just arrived from China.

Offline SpringHillWeather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #21 on: December 30, 2016, 03:20:04 AM »
I got an email and my order shipped last night.  From the description it is hard to decipher what I'm getting besides a Sky 2.  Does anyone know what this means?  I ordered the Sky2/Storm bundle:

SKYLITE Weather Video Station(SKY 2, MTN, SUN

I found this buried on the kickstarter page.

SKYPRO includes one free Mount AND one free Tripod Stand.
SKYLITE includes one free Mount ONLY.
STORM includes one free Tripod Stand ONLY.
PLEASE NOTE: STORM will pair with your current SKY1 or SKY2 device only. Single STORM sales on Kickstarter is available for purchase to existing SKY1 users only right now.

I'm searching old emails now to see if I'm getting the tripod or not, I remember something about a questionaire regarding the mount.

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Offline SpringHillWeather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #22 on: January 13, 2017, 06:55:02 PM »
Just an update if you were waiting on the tripod mount for the Storm I received a notification today that mine has shipped.
Item #   Description   Qty
MTN0210   Tripod   1



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Offline SpringHillWeather

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Re: Storm Kickstarter Shipping
« Reply #23 on: January 21, 2017, 02:02:32 PM »
Just another update that I received the tripod for the storm today.  There was an email from Bloomsky saying there were some delays but they came through.

Its looks pretty sturdy.  Just have to place and mount everything to it when the weather gets slightly better.






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