Author Topic: SD Card Question (Atlas?)  (Read 2102 times)

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Offline Victoria

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SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« on: February 01, 2019, 11:40:46 AM »
Hello friends, I hope you all have been keeping warm in this icy weather.

Now that we have a device (Atlas) that offers an SD card feature, I was wondering how well it has been received.

More specifically, in the scenario where you have a non-connected device (the display), how much do you value the SD card feature? Is it something you'd love, or is it a nice side feature that wouldn't impact your purchase? Is it something that you don't need at all?

I would love to hear your feedback. Thank you!

Offline Beech33

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2019, 08:42:46 PM »
Hi Victoria
I personally don't value a pure SD card memory option without it protecting data history.
Recently I decided not to have a local display but rather view my station on WU and MyAcurite on smart phone. I prefer cloud storage solutions.

If the functionality was as a backup then I'm interested.  Memory is cheap and if an SD card could store data when/if internet service is down and then fill in the the history then it has value. For example. During hurricane Florence, my 5-in-1/ smart hub lost power and internet for 3 days. It would be of value to have recorded data for those days. Knowing that a UPS might be needed to survive 3 days.

Offline SuperStorm

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2019, 10:48:37 PM »
I would prefer battery backup over the SD card feature. I would enjoy the plain old lcd displays that the 5in1 uses since the display could be put on counter without needing to be plugged in.

Offline vreihen

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2019, 09:42:26 AM »
With a disclaimer that I don't own an Atlas (yet) due to a lack of third-party connectivity options, I have a question.  Does the console use data from the SD card for computing its own historical data?  The biggest nuisance with earlier products was losing the console's historical data whenever you had to use the reset feature to re-link a temperamental 5-in-1.  If the SD card is used to hold console-accessible data that survives resets and can be transferred to future/replacement consoles, then it does serve a useful purpose.

If you're looking at the SD card as a way to cut a component and shave unit costs, replacing it with a wifi, Bluetooth, or USB chip and a published API to access the live readings locally would be more useful to me...enough where I would finally upgrade to an Atlas.....
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2019, 11:21:48 AM »
The main gripe I have about the SD Card is that it doesn't give you LOCAL LIVE access to our weather data.

The SD Card is sorta OK for archiving data, but what we really want to do is process the data in real-time, preferably in a modern, innovative way that doesn't involve cables or playing around with CSV files. (Hint: Broadcast the weather data on the local network)

While I do like the idea of having the SD Card option available, development efforts should focus on providing LOCAL LIVE access to our weather data.  That's going to bring more people on-board in accepting the Atlas systems as a real contender.


Offline Bushman

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2019, 12:40:54 PM »
SD cards n general are useless IMO on weather stations.  Even as backup, they are unwieldy, assuming they work when you need them.  I've run into a lot of bad brand name cards lately and the industrial strength ones, while great are really expensive.  Just make the data available to the local network LIVE as others have said.
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Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #6 on: February 03, 2019, 01:49:37 PM »
I agree with everyone. I like the idea of being able to send data to multiple sites much more and is a greater selling asset than an SD card IMO. Having the ability to do that on the display via WiFi would be the way I would suggest moving towards. Nobody has bothered to really get into this yet like I would have expected by now. I would suggest making the data available so that a customer could use a tablet to receive sensor data, and upload it to the sites they like. Several on here are already using tablets to view their weather.

Offline John Z

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2019, 06:44:48 AM »
Hi Victoria,

I have an SD card in my display, but I just don't use it. MyAcuRite and WU are giving me all the look back that I need. As a Chromebook user, I would have to upload the SD card to the Google cloud if I wanted to do something with the data, as Chromebooks do not themselves play nice with .CSV files.


I also believe that opening up user data to multiple services could be a very good thing. One risk of course is that AcuRite might see more support demand, much of which should probably be directed elsewhere. Like today, when WU hiccups, and you get the calls!

Offline galfert

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2019, 08:14:58 AM »
I feel the SD card is a good backup. SD cards are cheap and they take up minimal space on a console. The ability to record data easily during a power outage by just running the console on a UPS is a good feature to have. Then when power comes back you can pull the SD card and extract the missing data an add it to your primary weather database. But being able to have this other primary database is a functionality that needs to be become available by enabling the Atlas or Access to be able to send weather data on the local network to a 3rd party software like WeeWx, Weather-Display or Meteobridge. So I'd say please focus on enabling the ability to send data on the local network. Do not think that enabling your cloud service to send this data via an API is a suitable solution to what we are asking. Enabling weather data via cloud API requires Internet service to be available and sometimes we lose it. The best solution is LOCAL network access to the data.
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Offline gardengrub

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2019, 10:21:30 AM »
I think having some local storage on an SD card is good, especially as others have mentioned for holding console specific hi/low history on a reset or power/internet outages.  But as far as collecting large amounts of data and having it "stuck" on an SD without ease of access to it is not desirable.  For a system not connected to the internet, that local storage becomes much more valuable but is then dependent on the ability of the console to work with displaying that data.  I'd guess that the vast majority on WXForum have their systems connected to the internet.
That being the case, having local sensor data easily available is of prime importance to many in the community here.  Others have mentioned the third party hardware/software solutions for collecting/processing/uploading weather sensor data - I use Meteobridge with my many Acurite sensors.  These developers have created exceptionally powerful tools honed to the weather enthusiasts needs and creative abilities.  I'd suggest Acurite embrace this community of weather enthusiasts as we are top influencers to those within our sphere of influence.  Everyone knows that I'm a Wx nut and when they are thinking about a weather station for themselves or as a gift they always come to me for my recommendations. 
With the smartHUB end-of-service just weeks away I've had to consider how I can continue using my many Acurite sensors with Meteobridge -- this has included switching to alternate brands of sensors and delaying a possible Atlas upgrade.  My preference would be to keep using my Acurite sensors with Meteobridge because it works so reliably and does exactly what I want.  May I suggest that Acurite give top priority to supporting the weather enthusiasts by opening up Atlas/Access to Local Network sensor data availability.  I think it would we a Win-Win for all of us!

Offline Victoria

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2019, 03:26:10 PM »
Thanks for the great feedback, everyone. I had suspected that while the SD card adds some value, that we still have an opportunity to build a more complete solution, especially based on some of the feedback I've heard around Access.

Offline vreihen

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2019, 06:39:25 PM »
A simple UDP broadcast on the local network from the Access as sensor observations arrive has zero hardware costs, and probably only a day of programmer time.  They can even contact me directly, and I'll give them advice for the data formats that would be most useful to both weather geeks and the home automation crowd.

I will even personally commit to write/share an open-source weewx station driver, just as I have already done for WeatherFlow's UDP broadcasts (and for the new Atmocom weather station interceptor that I plan to release by the end of this week once I finish a few code cleanup tasks).....
WU Gold Stars for everyone! :lol:

Offline cbutterworth

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Re: SD Card Question (Atlas?)
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2019, 03:37:35 PM »
Just curious..... does inserting an SD card open up data transfer via the “hidden” USB on the display?

I read about the older 5-1 display that had various options, one being data transfer via USB. The Atlas HD display has a USB supposedly for servicing use, but wonder if some design oversight cause it to open up to data transfer if an SD card is inserted.




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