Author Topic: Acurite closes community forum?  (Read 10636 times)

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Offline DoctorKnow

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Acurite closes community forum?
« on: August 17, 2018, 09:53:18 AM »
When you go to the community forum, you now will see a splash page with a 404 error. They also say support will be available by live chat or e-mail only.

This may mean more traffic will occur here for help... Some trolls that were flaming a bunch of nonsense may have led to the ultimate demise of the board.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2018, 11:39:42 AM »
When you go to the community forum, you now will see a splash page with a 404 error. They also say support will be available by live chat or e-mail only.

This may mean more traffic will occur here for help... Some trolls that were flaming a bunch of nonsense may have led to the ultimate demise of the board.

Looks that way.  I'm surprised it hadn't happened sooner.  Acurite had seemed to be abandoning it for Facebook since the "great meltdown".

Earlier this week I was looking at the "get satisfaction" vs "Facebook" stats (users, followers, etc.) and Acurite's official Facebook page is coming up fast.  It made be wonder why they were even bothering with "get satisfaction".

And that doesn't even account for the two non-official Acurite Facebook groups run by independent users.  They are pretty active just in themselves.

Still, it's a bit sad to the "get satisfaction" board go... for all its problems, there were some great discussions.


Anyway, here are the Facebook links for those interested:

Acurite's Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/acurite

Acurite Users Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/558355284373324/

Acurite Weather Station Users: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AcuriteUsers/


Offline DadCooks

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2018, 11:46:30 AM »
It's just an indication that AcuRite does not have a Customer Service clue. If they couldn't handle email and chat before how do they plan to do it now. Hopefully, the same brains in charge of Atlas and Elite product development have not had any influence. Or maybe they have. Silence sometimes speaks louder than words (actions too).

AcuRite product quality has been on a decline for several years now and Customer Service never really existed. The only real support came from members of the forum, other than the fanboy or two who had drunk the AcuRite Kool-Aid.

Sign me,
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2018, 11:54:05 AM »
The non-anonymity on Facebook helps a lot for civility, too.


Offline MacGarage

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2018, 12:03:09 PM »
Thanks for links...however, what about those of us that do not have a Facebook account?

I am one of those that have an Access that has never worked...just sent another email reminding them they did not answer my last email from over a month ago. Live chat told me to email them...seems like a Catch-22.

When you go to the community forum, you now will see a splash page with a 404 error. They also say support will be available by live chat or e-mail only.

This may mean more traffic will occur here for help... Some trolls that were flaming a bunch of nonsense may have led to the ultimate demise of the board.

Looks that way.  I'm surprised it hadn't happened sooner.  Acurite had seemed to be abandoning it for Facebook since the "great meltdown".

Earlier this week I was looking at the "get satisfaction" vs "Facebook" stats (users, followers, etc.) and Acurite's official Facebook page is coming up fast.  It made be wonder why they were even bothering with "get satisfaction".

And that doesn't even account for the two non-official Acurite Facebook groups run by independent users.  They are pretty active just in themselves.

Still, it's a bit sad to the "get satisfaction" board go... for all its problems, there were some great discussions.


Anyway, here are the Facebook links for those interested:

Acurite's Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/acurite

Acurite Users Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/558355284373324/

Acurite Weather Station Users: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AcuriteUsers/
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2018, 12:25:32 PM »
Thanks for links...however, what about those of us that do not have a Facebook account?


For the official Acurite group, a non-Facebook user can view certain posts, but you need a Facebook account to interact with Acurite.

The two unofficial Facebook groups are unfortunately "closed".  This means the general public (even if a Facebook user) can't view posts.  You need to be a Facebook user and a member of that group in order to view and interact.

There are some Facebook groups that are "public" for viewing.  The Weather Underground Users Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/145852786027137/) is a good example.  Ed from Ambient is the administrator.

« Last Edit: August 17, 2018, 12:29:43 PM by nincehelser »

Offline vreihen

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #6 on: August 17, 2018, 05:23:38 PM »
It's just an indication that AcuRite does not have a Customer Service clue. If they couldn't handle email and chat before how do they plan to do it now.

If they lay off all of the tech support people, there's no need for a support forum, chat, or email address.....  #-o
WU Gold Stars for everyone! :lol:

Offline txbayou

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #7 on: August 17, 2018, 08:52:43 PM »
IMO it speaks volumes showing that the company does not have their act together, when they allowed their unmoderated support forums to go on for so long. I was surprised at the number of negative and sheer goofball posts that were allowed to stay up. Personally I don't have a faceplace account because I don't like their business practices, and I'm not changing to get onto an acurite forum.

I noticed an opinion in another thread that the Atlas would go on sale this year yet. Well it better be soon or else it is screwed up marketing, since before very long in many parts of the country, weather will be keeping people from doing the kind of work needed to put up a weather station. And it takes quite a while to fill the supply pipelines, (or maybe they have some scheme sell them all out of Wisconsin, without any dealers), so if this was going to be peddled as a holiday gift for dad, it's really too late for them to start this year.

Just seems like a very confused business "organization". I was reading the tantalizers about Atlas some 2 years ago when I first started to dabble in this stuff which is way too long for a business likethis to putting off the rollout of their biggest product ever. Yeah I know they want it to be RTFT, but this is not a Mars shot either. No matter, I made my decision about upgrades a few months ago and ordered a Weatherflow station, which should be arriving in a week or so. I have a spare 5in1 that I picked up cheap when I used my Access coupon, so I have enough to play with while I wait to see what happens when others test drive the production version Atlas, assuming it ever....

Over and out.  :-)
« Last Edit: August 17, 2018, 08:55:20 PM by txbayou »

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #8 on: August 17, 2018, 08:56:31 PM »
Weatherflow took only 22 months to deliver my station, and that's after payment.

No one will be waiting 22 months for the Atlas.   :grin:


Offline vreihen

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #9 on: August 18, 2018, 07:51:55 AM »
Weatherflow took only 22 months to deliver my station, and that's after payment.

No one will be waiting 22 months for the Atlas.   :grin:

...because it will never see the retail channel at all!  :lol:  Weather Underground should buy Acu-Rite, so they can drag each other into obscurity.  #-o

Glad to see that I'm not the only person who has anything to do with Farcebook blocked on every computer/phone/router that I own.

On a sad note, I made a major change here last week.  After 4 months of running in parallel, I promoted my Davis VP2 to the role of primary weather station.  My not-so-trusty 5-in-1 spontaneously changed sensor addresses again during a t-storm, and that was the last straw.  No complaints about the 5-in-1 when it was working, and its readings tracked both the VP2 and Weatherflow stuff almost exactly.....


WU Gold Stars for everyone! :lol:

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #10 on: August 18, 2018, 08:37:21 AM »
I don't do facebook either. I don't like their leader and his "business practices". I hope those on it will come here and share their secrets. Is the weatherflow a good deal or not? I didn't think so since the thermometer has to be in the shade.

Acurite was supposed to send me another Atlas to replace the beta, but I never got one. Some testers did I believe, so when txbayou says they are "confused", he certainly could be on point.

On the community forum, it seemed like they didn't have but one person operating it, and only occasionally.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2018, 08:39:17 AM by DoctorKnow »

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #11 on: August 18, 2018, 09:10:52 AM »
Acurite was supposed to send me another Atlas to replace the beta, but I never got one. Some testers did I believe, so when txbayou says they are "confused", he certainly could be on point.

The replacements aren't going out until after the production release.

The "replacements" some received were part of "field test" under a separate NDA.  Not all beta testers were involved in that.

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #12 on: August 18, 2018, 09:17:10 AM »
Should be very soon then... at least that is the way I am reading it. Maybe next month?

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #13 on: August 18, 2018, 09:24:14 AM »
Should be very soon then... at least that is the way I am reading it. Maybe next month?

NDA is still in effect, but  ;)

Offline vreihen

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #14 on: August 18, 2018, 09:44:58 AM »
Is the weatherflow a good deal or not? I didn't think so since the thermometer has to be in the shade.

In all honesty, every PWS out there compares itself to Davis.  In the time that everyone (including me) waited for Acu-Rite to release the Davis-killer Atlas, inflation alone would have made it smarter to just buy the Davis and enjoy it for the last two years.  I'm in for under $500 on the VP2 and Envoy, saving money by not buying a disco-era Davis console since I have plenty of scrap Android tablets to use as wall-mounted weather consoles.  Plus, there's no hacks/kludges necessary to intercept the data locally for non-cloud use.

In terms of Weatherflow, feel free to peruse their support forum.  There are reports of wind readings going wonky once it reaches tropical storm forces.  With a disclaimer that I have not measured winds here over 28 MPH with *any* station, the ultrasonic has been tracking the VP2 that it shares the mast with so nicely that I can statistically show that the north marks on both units are 8 degrees off from each other.

I mounted the temperature sensor to the north wall of my detached/unheated garage, which hasn't seen direct sunlight in over 75 years.  I will take that reading to the bank 24/7, whereas the Davis passive shield has a little solar heat rise and the 5-in-1 has huge rises in the late afternoon as the sun moves out of alignment with the solar panel.

If it is used along with a good 4" or 8" tipping bucket rain gauge and some sort of radiation shield, it can give both the 5-in-1 and Davis a run for the money under most non-extreme weather conditions.  When you add up the price of everything, I fear that it may wind up nearing the Davis price point though.....
WU Gold Stars for everyone! :lol:

Offline txbayou

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #15 on: August 18, 2018, 10:07:35 AM »
I don't do facebook either. I don't like their leader and his "business practices". I hope those on it will come here and share their secrets. Is the weatherflow a good deal or not? I didn't think so since the thermometer has to be in the shade.

Acurite was supposed to send me another Atlas to replace the beta, but I never got one. Some testers did I believe, so when txbayou says they are "confused", he certainly could be on point.

On the community forum, it seemed like they didn't have but one person operating it, and only occasionally.

Re the segregated sensor modules of the Weatherflow station, I see this as an advantage. Like my own 5in1, almost all of the other 5in1's in my vicinity, that I can see on WU, read 6-8 degrees higher than what I measure in the shade at my location, which is within a degree or two of an "official" reading I can track, taken at a nearby airport. I am willing to conclude that the aspirator set up on the 5in1 does not function too well. I don't have the interest or the skill to look into the issue further. I would just as well have a separate sensor in a location that I know is good for accurate temp readings.

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #16 on: August 18, 2018, 10:46:22 AM »
The problem with "shade" is that it isn't the right way to do it either. I can put my thermometer in the shade of a large water oak, but it will read way too low. The only proper way to do it is put the sensor in a radiation shelter, (solar radiation shield) and place it in direct sunlight. I have a 5n1 that I have worked on a lot to make it read close to what it is supposed to. I have painted it "glossy white" with rustoleum, I have done regular maintenance on the fan motor, and I drilled out the vent holes a bit larger to allow more airflow. As long as the fan is on, the sensor is 1 degree or exact to my Atlas and fine offset.

Offline MacGarage

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #17 on: August 18, 2018, 11:27:07 AM »
Should be very soon then... at least that is the way I am reading it. Maybe next month?

NDA is still in effect, but  ;)

Do you think they will be releasing an updated firmware for the Access when they release the Atlas?

I am wondering with the new support webpage, how they will announce the firmware release (if it happens).
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #18 on: August 18, 2018, 12:08:14 PM »
Do you think they will be releasing an updated firmware for the Access when they release the Atlas?

I am wondering with the new support webpage, how they will announce the firmware release (if it happens).

I hope so.  Firmware 47 works with the Atlas, but it's not reporting UV and light data properly to wunderground.  It looks like it is just some typos that need cleaned up in the reporting string.

Wunderground's re-coding this summer also triggered an issue with what hostname the Access is sending data to (www instead of rtupdate).  Wunderground implemented a temporary fix, but they want Acurite to correct that for the long term.

(On that subject, Acurite users might want to look at their precip rate plotting on wunderground and see how it looks to them now.  To me it seems the plots finally make sense.  They now behave more like the original precip rate graphs wunderground had from several years ago before their GUI overhaul.)

As far as future firmware update announcements, they should show up here:   https://kbase.myacurite.com/web/content/release-notes/whats-new.htm  or maybe they will show on the new support page on acurite.com.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #19 on: August 18, 2018, 01:06:20 PM »
Re the segregated sensor modules of the Weatherflow station, I see this as an advantage. Like my own 5in1, almost all of the other 5in1's in my vicinity, that I can see on WU, read 6-8 degrees higher than what I measure in the shade at my location, which is within a degree or two of an "official" reading I can track, taken at a nearby airport. I am willing to conclude that the aspirator set up on the 5in1 does not function too well. I don't have the interest or the skill to look into the issue further. I would just as well have a separate sensor in a location that I know is good for accurate temp readings.

Shade for my WeatherFlow is not working to my advantage.  I have only one consistently shaded location (my front porch), but the temperature reading often isn't good.  It doesn't even show up on the wunderground map much of the time, I guess because of the temperature doesn't agree well with the 20+ other reporting stations around my location.  (All makes and models seem well represented in this tech ghetto.)

Meanwhile my 5n1 keeps chugging along in good agreement with everyone else.

The leaves on the trees may be having too much of a cooling effect for my WeatherFlow.   Eventually I might put it in a good shield and relocate it into the sun.  I think the current location is also impacting my lightning readings.

Offline galfert

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #20 on: August 18, 2018, 01:42:18 PM »
Sorry to go a bit off topic, but this thread caught my attention as there are a few of you running more than one weather station at the same location. So I have some questions regarding running multiple stations. I'm basically looking for some tips to run multiple stations at the same location.

Are there any problems with Weather Underground letting you have more than one station at the same location? Wouldn't that mess up the Wundermap? You would never see your second station if it uses the same Lat + Long, even if it is a few decimal degrees different. I'm thinking it would be better to fake the location by at least 2 house distances away.

So then even though you put them on the same pole or on an adjacent pole what do you actually use for a map location? I have a city park across the street from me which I'm thinking of using as a fake second location for the 2nd station. That will be nicer on the map. So that I can compare both stations. Thoughts? Any problems?

Also any problems if your 2nd station stops reporting for some time? Sure WU will drop it from the map as they should with something that isn't reporting, but I want to keep the 2nd ID as a test station that is only operational from time to time and off for a few months and then comes back. Any issues with that? Like I won't lose the ID?

Any other tips?
« Last Edit: December 06, 2019, 01:59:46 PM by galfert »
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CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #21 on: August 18, 2018, 03:22:44 PM »
Sorry to go a bit off topic, but this thread caught my attention as there are a few of you running more than one weather station at the same location. So I have some questions regarding running multiple stations. I'm basically looking for some tips to run multiple stations at the same location.

Are there any problems with Weather Underground letting you have more than one station at the same location? Wouldn't that mess up the Wundermap? You would never see your second station if it uses the same Lat + Long, even if it is a few decimal degrees different. I'm thinking it would be better to fake the location by at least 2 house distances away.

So then even though you put them on the same pole or on an adjacent pole what do you actually use for a map location? I have a city park across the street from me which I'm thinking of using as a fake second location for the 2nd station. That will be nicer on the map. So that I can compare both stations. Thoughts? Any problems?

Also any problems if your 2nd station stops reporting for some time? Sure WU will drop it from the map as they should with something that isn't reporting, but I want to keep the 2nd ID as a test station that is only operational from time to time and off for a few months and then comes back. Any issues with that? Like I won't loose the ID?

Any other tips?

In the country I've "faked" the position by a half-mile to make it easier to read on the default map zoom level.  There's no one around to complain.   ;)

In town I just let them fall where they may.   I'm in a high concentration of stations and there's a good chance I might overlap someone on the map, so I don't do it.

I do have some IDs I use for testing.  I've had no problems letting them go idle for months at a time.


Offline galfert

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #22 on: August 18, 2018, 07:55:03 PM »
nincehelser,

Excellent! Thank you for your words of wisdom.

Now I get to play and have more fun with more stations.

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WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
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Offline daman

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #23 on: August 19, 2018, 05:57:50 PM »
So you cant even call and talk to support now?
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Offline galfert

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Re: Acurite closes community forum?
« Reply #24 on: August 19, 2018, 06:39:29 PM »
So you cant even call and talk to support now?

Maybe not. I didn't see a phone number on their support page. Though they still at the bottom of the page list their support hours, pretty humorous without a number:
Hours
Mon–Friday: 7:00am–5:00pm CT

And they are celebrating 75 long years! ...plastered on the top of their homepage.

Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
Tele-Pole

 

anything