Author Topic: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?  (Read 8158 times)

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Offline ValentineWeather

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #25 on: May 27, 2018, 10:22:59 AM »
Try this GIF for radar.
https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/lite/N0R/BMX_loop.gif

Anyone else just replace BMX with radar site you need.
Randy

Offline Intheswamp

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #26 on: May 27, 2018, 10:45:04 AM »
Hey, Randy.  I think I used that one before, though it was the Mobile or Fort Rucker radar.  I'll revisit it again.  Thanks for the memory refresher!

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Offline Aardvark

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #27 on: May 27, 2018, 11:46:05 AM »
I am still going to send data to them until they won't accept it.   If someone can benefit from my data  then it is worth the sending. Otherwise, it just sits somewhere doing no good for anyone.    IF their API costs, well shucks, I don't need to use it.   There are other sources out and about. 

Offline Jasiu

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #28 on: May 27, 2018, 09:48:31 PM »
If you aren't using the API as described here:

   https://www.wunderground.com/weather/api/d/docs

you are not affected. In other words, if you are using URLs that currently do not include a WU API key within the URL string, this isn't an issue.

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Online saratogaWX

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #29 on: May 27, 2018, 10:40:04 PM »
The WU-forecast.php (both standalone and in the Base-World template) is the only script that requires a WU API key for operation.
It is used for worldwide, multilingual forecasts.   I'm looking at replacing it with DarkSky forecasts (also worldwide, multilingual).

The WU-History.php script by Jim McMurry uses WU URLs but no API access is used/required.

The WU-radar script (in Base-USA) uses WU URLs only, no API access is used/required.

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Offline ValentineWeather

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #30 on: May 28, 2018, 12:04:51 AM »
Thanks Ken for clearing that up. Appreciated.
Randy

Offline R_o_B

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #31 on: May 28, 2018, 07:46:17 AM »
I'm working on a replacement script for WU-forecast.php that uses DarkSky.net and another that uses Aerisweather.com APIs (free for Developer access).
Ken, have you looked at Apixu - I have been spending most of my time at the home automation site Hubitat and the weather related drivers are being re-written to use the services of Apixu.
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Offline spweather

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #32 on: May 28, 2018, 09:13:18 AM »
Ken,

Thanks for the clarification.

Dennis
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Offline 92merc

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #33 on: May 28, 2018, 11:22:48 AM »
I'm pulling the WU temp records for the day into my ajax file.  I had to get an API key for that.  But those days are probably over.
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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #34 on: May 28, 2018, 11:41:56 AM »
I'm working on a replacement script for WU-forecast.php that uses DarkSky.net and another that uses Aerisweather.com APIs (free for Developer access).
Ken, have you looked at Apixu - I have been spending most of my time at the home automation site Hubitat and the weather related drivers are being re-written to use the services of Apixu.
Hi Ray,
Yes, I've been looking at apixu also.  I liked darksky a bit better as the translations are built-in.  Apixu uses a JSON file with translations, so it's more do-it-yourself. 

Both DarkSky and apixu have 7 day forecasts (no day/night) with min/max temps and rather terse descriptions for the 'forecast' -- like 2 to 5 words.  I'm looking to 'flesh that out' with descriptions ala WXSIM for min/max, wind, precip to make the forecast better with the data they provide (and enable the WXSIM plaintext-parser.php technology to enable the multilingual feature for the add-on English phrases).

I've discontinued looking at aerisweather as their free developer key only lasts 2 months, then you have to pay.  Darksky and apixu have continuing (low monthly usage) free developer API keys.
Ken True/Saratoga, CA, USA main site: saratoga-weather.org
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Online chief-david

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #35 on: May 28, 2018, 02:17:00 PM »
The WU-forecast.php (both standalone and in the Base-World template) is the only script that requires a WU API key for operation.
It is used for worldwide, multilingual forecasts.   I'm looking at replacing it with DarkSky forecasts (also worldwide, multilingual).

The WU-History.php script by Jim McMurry uses WU URLs but no API access is used/required.

The WU-radar script (in Base-USA) uses WU URLs only, no API access is used/required.

Great clarification



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Offline R_o_B

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #36 on: May 29, 2018, 10:50:08 AM »
Yes, I've been looking at apixu also.  I liked darksky a bit better as the translations are built-in.  Apixu uses a JSON file with translations, so it's more do-it-yourself. 
But, Ken, from what I have read about the 'Dark Sky API' is that one must provide credit card information for the 'Standard | $0.0001 per call | Pay-as-you go' subscription (1,000 calls per day for free) ... or have I missed something about being entirely free...  :???:
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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #37 on: May 29, 2018, 12:11:51 PM »
Yes, I've been looking at apixu also.  I liked darksky a bit better as the translations are built-in.  Apixu uses a JSON file with translations, so it's more do-it-yourself. 
But, Ken, from what I have read about the 'Dark Sky API' is that one must provide credit card information for the 'Standard | $0.0001 per call | Pay-as-you go' subscription (1,000 calls per day for free) ... or have I missed something about being entirely free...  :???:
I didn't have to use a credit card to sign up with DarkSky .. just email address.
Ken True/Saratoga, CA, USA main site: saratoga-weather.org
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Offline wvdkuil

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #38 on: May 29, 2018, 12:34:12 PM »
Yes, I've been looking at apixu also.  I liked darksky a bit better as the translations are built-in.  Apixu uses a JSON file with translations, so it's more do-it-yourself. 
But, Ken, from what I have read about the 'Dark Sky API' is that one must provide credit card information for the 'Standard | $0.0001 per call | Pay-as-you go' subscription (1,000 calls per day for free) ... or have I missed something about being entirely free...  :???:
I didn't have to use a credit card to sign up with DarkSky .. just email address.
Me neither, only an email-address. But by doing that you only have 1000 free API-calls / month.
This 1000 "seems"  adequate for a normal weather-website, even when using a selection box with forecasts for multiple cities, as long as the retrieved JSON is cached.  The DarkSky-API supports multiple languages, when calculating the cache-time taking you have to take that also into account.

This is the beta version of my DarkSky script running in a Saratoga template: https://www.weerstation-herent.be/saratoga/wx_lvn_darksky.php

Wim
 
« Last Edit: May 29, 2018, 01:18:50 PM by wvdkuil »

Offline wvdkuil

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #39 on: May 29, 2018, 01:06:19 PM »
Yes, I've been looking at apixu also.  I liked darksky a bit better as the translations are built-in.  Apixu uses a JSON file with translations, so it's more do-it-yourself. 
But, Ken, from what I have read about the 'Dark Sky API' is that one must provide credit card information for the 'Standard | $0.0001 per call | Pay-as-you go' subscription (1,000 calls per day for free) ... or have I missed something about being entirely free...  :?
I didn't have to use a credit card to sign up with DarkSky .. just email address.
Me neither, only an email-address. But by doing that you only have 1000 free API-calls / month.
This 100 "seems"  adequate for a normal weather-website, even when using a selection box with forecasts for multiple cities, as long as the retrieved JSON is cached.  The DarkSky-API supports multiple languages, when calculating the cache-time taking you have to take that also into account.

This is the beta version of my DarkSky script running in a Saratoga template: https://www.weerstation-herent.be/saratoga/wx_lvn_darksky.php

Wim
Great script mate, so this will do translations like to WU-forecast script?
The translations of the forecast- and conditions texts, are done already by DarkSky , they support 40+ languages.
They also have different UOM - sets. So the JSON already contains more or less the data you may need.
When you visit their website at https://darksky.net/ you can choose which language and which UOM's you want to use. Same languages and UOMs as in their API.

Wim

P.S. you can embed their maps https://maps.darksky.net/ also in your own website, if they are advanced enough I do not know.
« Last Edit: May 29, 2018, 01:09:39 PM by wvdkuil »

Offline Jáchym

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #40 on: May 29, 2018, 01:18:00 PM »
Meteotemplate uses Darksky as primary forecast source, no credit card needed and with proper caching you shouldnt run into problems

Offline spweather

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #41 on: June 04, 2018, 02:56:14 PM »
FYI,

I cam across another requirement for a WU API...

IPTimelapse when using WU as a data source for adding local weather to images.

Dennis
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Offline SteveFitz1

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #42 on: June 04, 2018, 03:59:04 PM »
If you have your own weather station data on the computer running IPTimeLapse, you can create a text file that IPTimeLapse can read and place that information on the image. I've been using that process for over a year now. It eliminates the WU API requirement and you get more frequent updates to your images.

Steve

Offline spweather

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #43 on: June 04, 2018, 04:37:35 PM »
WOW Steve,

I did not know about that and would much prefer using the info directly from my weather station.

Can you please help me with how to do it? Possibly send me a sample text file.

Dennis
« Last Edit: June 04, 2018, 05:02:38 PM by spweather »
Regards,
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Offline spweather

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #44 on: June 04, 2018, 05:20:12 PM »
Steve,

I think I have a handle on the text file.

Thanks again for the idea.

Dennis
Regards,
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Offline SteveFitz1

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #45 on: June 04, 2018, 06:02:16 PM »
Hey Dennis,

Sorry I missed your request for assistance but glad you figured it out. The text file method is actually more functional than grabbing the data off WU.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Steve


Offline mikeym2m

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #46 on: June 05, 2018, 11:24:36 AM »
Hi Steve

I'd appreciate the info on grabbing the data from my weather station for use with IPTimelapse.

Thanks

MikeyM

Offline SteveFitz1

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #47 on: June 05, 2018, 11:44:13 AM »
Hey MikeyM,

It's actually very easy. Just create a text file with the verbiage you want along with the "pre-parsed" weather conditions. Then have your weather software program parse the text file so that it pulls in the current conditions. Then, in IPTimeLapse, select the checkbox option to read the text file you've created. You might also update the frequency of updates since you're no longer limited by WU. The option is located near the current text option.  IPTimeLapse then adds the text to the image. That's it.

Steve

Offline spweather

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #48 on: June 05, 2018, 12:35:30 PM »
This tagged text file overlay works so good, I'm so glad Steve suggested it.

Since I was more familiar with WL tag processing I went with it to test, see the attached htx file for an example using Weatherlink tags.

However I am having problems where WD & WL disagree on an important value, time of hi wind. I've brought this to Brian's attention on his forum. In the meantime the time of hi wind shown on my image doesn't match that listed on my home page.

I actually combined using IPTimlapse text with date/time and the weather data from the tag text file. I wanted the timestamp of the photo capture rather than that of the weather data.

You can see an example on my home page and clicking on the webcam image.

I may covert to WD tags so I can include snow data during the winter, but quite frankly, I get lost trying to make my way through the WD settings.

Dennis
Regards,
Dennis

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Offline mikeym2m

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Re: WUnderground about to shaft PWS Contributors?
« Reply #49 on: June 05, 2018, 01:12:57 PM »
Steve & Dennis - thank you both!

Cheers

 :grin:

MikeyM