Author Topic: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie  (Read 1112 times)

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Offline geno

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Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« on: October 04, 2021, 01:30:28 PM »
I have been running a "not very sophisticated" weather web page for over 10 years.  I set it up mostly for myself and few close friends who enjoyed keeping an eye on the weather. 

I'm more of a "visual" person and tend to prefer maps over raw data.  I like seeing where the hurricanes are and when/where they may make landfall here in Florida!

I recently moved my web page to a new host and encounter all kinds of problems.  I've been using Weather Link and Virtual Weather Station but can't seem to get the data from my Davis Pro2 to post on my site.  Thus, I'm dropping my web page and going to Weather Link Live.

Before I actually delete my account and page -- am I correct that I cannot post the data from Weather Link Live to my current web page?

I appreciate your patience with me -- I don't have the tech knowledge most of you have -- I poke around with HTML ONLY when I need to add a map to my site or drop one. 

Thanks for your time to offer any guidance.
-gene
Geno

Davis 6323 Wireless Vantage Pro2 ISS
with 24-Hr Fan Aspirated Radiation Shield and Aerocone
VWS 15.0  p03
www.genesweather.info

Offline johnd

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2021, 01:41:51 PM »
Before I actually delete my account and page -- am I correct that I cannot post the data from Weather Link Live to my current web page?


Well, the simplest answer is probably to say, yes, correct. But that needs qualifying in at least a couple of ways:

1. Assuming that you have an account at weatherlink.com and that your WLL is uploading to there then you can use an Embed to include an automatically-updating text summary of weather conditions into an iframe in your own web page. See the Share & Uploads | Embed menu option at wl.com. This works well but you have no control over the data displayed, beyond choosing from 3 or 4 different formats for the data - try the Preview button on that menu option to see the results.

2. If your question was 'am I correct that I cannot post the data from Weather Link Live directly to my current web page?' then the answer is yes. But there are of course ways of doing it indirectly. ie you can run a program like CumulusMX on a local computer (even a Raspberry Pi). CMX can read data from a WLL unit and then upload a digest of the data to your own web page.
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline geno

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #2 on: October 04, 2021, 01:53:42 PM »
Thanks for the quick reply, Johnd.

My new WLL device has not yet arrived, so will wait before cancelling my account and look into the options you noted in your post.

I did download Weather Display the other day.  I could not see immediately how to embed a weather map from NOAA or other source -- so, It would not be a viable option for my current web page.

Thanks, again, for your time.
Geno

Davis 6323 Wireless Vantage Pro2 ISS
with 24-Hr Fan Aspirated Radiation Shield and Aerocone
VWS 15.0  p03
www.genesweather.info

Offline SteveFitz1

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2021, 04:00:39 PM »
Before I actually delete my account and page -- am I correct that I cannot post the data from Weather Link Live to my current web page?

A third option you have is to have your webpage issue API calls either directly to your WLL (using API V1) or to the WeatherLink Cloud (using API V2). If you don't have a subscription for the WeatherLink Cloud, then I'd suggest using API V1. You can issue API calls without any time restrictions between them. All the data you can access is current; there is no historical data available via this option. Similar current data is available from the WeatherLink Cloud with the Basic option. This option is free, but the data is updated every 15 minutes. The Pro and Pro+ options will cost you, but you can access historical data. The main difference between these options is one updates data every 5 minutes and the other every minute. If you don't need historical data and want to use the API, I'd recommend API V1.

Steve

Offline geno

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #4 on: October 04, 2021, 05:07:15 PM »
Thanks, Steve.  I hate to admit I have no idea what API is.  I've not embraced this hobby like many.  I did my website just for me (as noted earlier) so I'm just a hacker.  I sorta spread my interest around (reef aquariums, building watches) -- and as a result never get very deep in any of them -- just enough to satisfy my personal interest.

Other than the lack of maps -- I'm thinking the WLL will satisfy my needs in the future.  I have access to local radar and other NOAA maps to keep an eye on the hurricanes.

Thanks, again, Steve!
Geno

Davis 6323 Wireless Vantage Pro2 ISS
with 24-Hr Fan Aspirated Radiation Shield and Aerocone
VWS 15.0  p03
www.genesweather.info

Offline johnd

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #5 on: October 04, 2021, 05:10:59 PM »
A third option you have is to have your webpage issue API calls either directly to your WLL (using API V1) or to the WeatherLink Cloud (using API V2).

But please remember that weatherlink.com's API v1 does not support WLL, to the best of my knowledge. API v1 is for legacy upload devices like a WeatherlinkIP logger or Vantage connect or uploads from Weatherlink for Windows.

Perhaps what you're thinking of is WLL's local API, but that's something different from the v1 API to access data at weatherlink.com. I guess it's technically feasible for a remote server to access your WLL's local API but you'd need to set up port forwarding etc on your router.
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline SteveFitz1

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #6 on: October 04, 2021, 06:32:44 PM »
A third option you have is to have your webpage issue API calls either directly to your WLL (using API V1) or to the WeatherLink Cloud (using API V2).

But please remember that weatherlink.com's API v1 does not support WLL, to the best of my knowledge. API v1 is for legacy upload devices like a WeatherlinkIP logger or Vantage connect or uploads from Weatherlink for Windows.

Perhaps what you're thinking of is WLL's local API, but that's something different from the v1 API to access data at weatherlink.com. I guess it's technically feasible for a remote server to access your WLL's local API but you'd need to set up port forwarding etc on your router.
John,

The "Local API" you mentioned is, as far as I can tell, the same as the "v1 API" and accesses the WLL directly. It's not only technically feasible, but extremely easy to implement using port forwarding. I created a very simple page a few months back to test the process out and it works great. https://tylertexasweather.com/testwll3.htm The values will get updated each time the page is either manually or programmatically refreshed as long as the duration is more than 1 minute between refreshes.

I then changed the same code to use the v2 API destination on weatherlink.com. I was able to retrieve the same data but, because I'm on the basic plan, the results are updated only 4 times an hour.

I think for someone trying to get data up very quickly on a webpage without any weather station software, I'd strongly recommend creating a webpage using the WLL V1 API.

Steve

Offline johnd

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #7 on: October 05, 2021, 03:54:59 AM »
@SteveFitz1 This is just a comment about terminology and not worth expending much energy on, but there's quite a bit of confusion already about the various APIs so it's worth keeping the naming consistent.

What's generally referred to as the wl.com v1 API includes the Web Download protocol described in the Davis Serial Tech Ref documentation, along with certain other options provided in the first generation of weatherlink.com, like a download for current conditions data in JSON or XML. Yes, one of wl.com options does provide for a JSON download and both include 'v1' in the URL, but I take that to mean that each represents v1 of their respective APIs, not that they're the same API. If you compare the detail of the two calls for JSON data then you'll see that the JSON structures returned are quite different (other than both being in JSON format of course).

The basic point is that what are called wl.com API v1 and WLL local API v1 return very different JSON structures, though yes I agree that anyone with enough programming skills to make API calls and to parse the JSON returned should not have much trouble with either. But your code of course needs to be tailored to the particular API call you're using.

As to the ease of implementing port forwarding, I think that depends on the user's experience level. Trying to explain how to set it up to a user whose router doesn't even use the term 'port forwarding' but calls it something different and who maybe doesn't even have a static public IP address can need some patience.
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline SteveFitz1

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2021, 02:06:15 PM »
John,

While I'm aware of the differences you spelled out, I agree it's always good to keep naming consistent.

The intent of my original response was to make the OP aware that accessing the WL directly is possible and that option would provide up-to-the-minute data without having to have any WL subscription.

Regarding port forwarding, like most "technical" things, a user's experience level will usually determine the difficulty of implementing any project. A very helpful site for first time users of port forwarding is https://portforward.com/. This site provides detailed instructions for setting up port forwarding on probably hundreds of different routers. The site is written so that most "newbies" could implement this.

Steve

Offline geno

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2021, 10:29:42 AM »
Just a quick update:

I purchased the Weather Link Live module, installed it with no problem and elected the pro option for data collection.  The process was painless and the program is working well.

Of course, the only downside I see to this approach, is the lack of control I have.  I can't add a map or other link to the WLL program (at least not easily I assume).  But, it does provide the essential data from my Davis Pro2 station.  As noted in a previous post, I'm more of a visual person than data driven -- thus, I prefer the basics (temp, humidity, dew point, etc..) along with maps of my area to monitor approaching storms & hurricanes. 

I've dropped my 10-year-old weather page from the internet and will give up my domain name when it comes up for renewal.  This has been a delightful journey (embraced when I retired) -- but, I need the simple/easy approach now -- and WLL provides that nicely.

Regards,
-gene
Geno

Davis 6323 Wireless Vantage Pro2 ISS
with 24-Hr Fan Aspirated Radiation Shield and Aerocone
VWS 15.0  p03
www.genesweather.info

Offline TraderGary

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #10 on: October 08, 2021, 05:07:50 PM »
Gene,

Be sure to check out the Davis Android or Apple smart phone app!
I use the Android app and absolutely love it. I have my VP2+ data wherever I go.
Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus 6163 (Wireless) | Davis WeatherLink Live 6100 | Meteobridge Pro
WeatherLink | WundergroundCWOPAWEKASWindy

Offline geno

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #11 on: October 08, 2021, 07:58:20 PM »
You bet -- the app is on my iPhone and iPad.  Of course, I have it on my PC -- but really the app is more convenient.

I also have an app that provides a detailed map of my area so it's easy to keep up with approaching storms, etc.

WLL has really simplified the hobby for me.  I decided to go with the Pro plan for one year to see if I benefit from any historical trends.
Geno

Davis 6323 Wireless Vantage Pro2 ISS
with 24-Hr Fan Aspirated Radiation Shield and Aerocone
VWS 15.0  p03
www.genesweather.info

Offline TraderGary

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Re: Using Weather Link Live -- Newbie
« Reply #12 on: October 08, 2021, 09:09:18 PM »
You bet -- the app is on my iPhone and iPad.  Of course, I have it on my PC -- but really the app is more convenient.

I also have an app that provides a detailed map of my area so it's easy to keep up with approaching storms, etc.

WLL has really simplified the hobby for me.  I decided to go with the Pro plan for one year to see if I benefit from any historical trends.

I went with the Pro plan. I like the way you can slice and dice the data in the charts option. With the chart option, you can also see  all the other Davis sites around you.

With the Pro plan you can also download any portion of your data to use with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access.

For $50/year, I'll definitely continue with the Pro plan.
Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus 6163 (Wireless) | Davis WeatherLink Live 6100 | Meteobridge Pro
WeatherLink | WundergroundCWOPAWEKASWindy