Author Topic: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?  (Read 49607 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline MrM1

  • North Central Florida
  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 141
    • Bethel Weather
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #250 on: November 03, 2018, 09:55:01 AM »
Not saying they shouldn't if that is their business model,   I am just coming at it from an AmbientWeather.net point of view.   I almost pulled the trigger on the fixed lightning issue Atlas early this week,  before I realized the data captive nature of Acurite.  For that reason alone I am glad I did not and instead went with a WS-2000.

I am watching what happens with the next Atlas model release.  It is still on my wish list.  But look at my local weather sticker link,  I threw that page together at midnight last night using the "share" code feature from Ambientweather.net and other sources.   I really would not like to loose this ability.  Would not mind a different layout,  but can I grab code from MyAcurite to embed on my webpage as I did from AmbientWeather.net?

(Note: the Title "Interlachen's Most Accurate Weather" is a gag for a few friends of mine that named my station that back 2 years ago.  The page is not linked from any of my web sites,  and is only linked from here in my sig - so it has a very limited audience and is essentially not public - for private consumption only)
« Last Edit: November 03, 2018, 10:14:59 AM by MrM1 »







Offline DoctorKnow

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 1982
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #251 on: November 03, 2018, 10:58:18 AM »
Did I read a discussion here on the board somewhere that AcuRite is considering charging a fee for My Acurite in the future?  I think that might be another suggesting for them NOT to do.

Davis offers subscription-based services.  Why shouldn't Acurite be allowed to charge for advanced services, too?

I'm thinking this is what they could be planning, with the data being harder to capture from their Access. I don't see anything wrong with this idea, and I think a lot of users will jump on it when it starts... depending on what sites they let you share with, and the price.

Offline galfert

  • Global Moderator
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 6822
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #252 on: November 03, 2018, 11:52:04 AM »
Well I disagree. It's my own data. I don't think I should have to pay for my own data. Limiting the Access to then charge you for getting at your own data is not good business. Sure there could be added benefits they throw in like forecasting or maps or graphs or whatever else along with your data that they do, but those are things you could do yourself if you could easily have at your data directly from within your own network using hardware that you've already paid for.

I'm not disagreeing that a company should be able to create added services and then charge you for it. The problem comes when they purposefully do what they can to limit and force people to have to pay. But in the end it is true that the company can do whatever it wants. Their lack of vision only creates opportunities for other companies. People vote with their wallets. I'm very excited about the Atlas Elite, but I'm standing by and watching how it unfolds. Today I'm not happy so far with Acurite, but tomorrow is another day. I'll just wait and see if they start listening. The potential is there, they seem to have a great product, fixing issues, and reaching out to their customers (excellent by the way). They just haven't done enough to win me over yet.

If a company made a computer that didn't allow you to backup your own files, but then charged you for cloud backup as an added service, would that be okay? Or would you rather be able to backup your own files for free locally? There are several benefits to remote cloud backup, but you should have a choice to roll your own.
Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
Tele-Pole

Offline nincehelser

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 3337
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #253 on: November 03, 2018, 12:50:30 PM »
Well I disagree. It's my own data. I don't think I should have to pay for my own data. Limiting the Access to then charge you for getting at your own data is not good business.

No one limited the Access for the purposes of keeping you from your own data.  I'm not aware of any plans for Acurite to charge you to get to your own data, either.

Tiered subscription services are just-that.  In this case there is a "free" tier that is unlikely to go away.  Higher tiers require fees for advanced services.  Some of those services probably involve more than just "your data".  (e.g. fast-updating forecasts, maps, etc.)

If you don't want the advanced services, don't subscribe.


Offline radioman61

  • Senior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 93
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #254 on: November 03, 2018, 07:27:46 PM »
If a company made a computer that didn't allow you to backup your own files, but then charged you for cloud backup as an added service, would that be okay? Or would you rather be able to backup your own files for free locally? There are several benefits to remote cloud backup, but you should have a choice to roll your own.

Apple does this now...and quite successfully

Offline galfert

  • Global Moderator
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 6822
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #255 on: November 03, 2018, 07:42:30 PM »
If a company made a computer that didn't allow you to backup your own files, but then charged you for cloud backup as an added service, would that be okay? Or would you rather be able to backup your own files for free locally? There are several benefits to remote cloud backup, but you should have a choice to roll your own.

Apple does this now...and quite successfully

Im able to backup iOS and macOS without issues using various methods. So I'm not sure what you are getting at.
Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
Tele-Pole

Offline radioman61

  • Senior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 93
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #256 on: November 03, 2018, 08:11:47 PM »
My iPhones and iPads have no card slot. Lots of folks paying for iCloud storage.

Offline galfert

  • Global Moderator
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 6822
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #257 on: November 04, 2018, 09:23:08 PM »
I think iCloud is great. I'm glad Apple offers it. I'm also glad it isn't the only solution. Don't need a card slot when there is WiFi and USB and an app store that offers 3rd party apps and services.
Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
Tele-Pole

Offline nincehelser

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 3337
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #258 on: November 04, 2018, 09:41:46 PM »
I think iCloud is great. I'm glad Apple offers it. I'm also glad it isn't the only solution. Don't need a card slot when there is WiFi and USB and an app store that offers 3rd party apps and services.

Acurite gear doesn't have an "only solution", either.

Offline galfert

  • Global Moderator
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 6822
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #259 on: November 04, 2018, 09:56:34 PM »
I think iCloud is great. I'm glad Apple offers it. I'm also glad it isn't the only solution. Don't need a card slot when there is WiFi and USB and an app store that offers 3rd party apps and services.

Acurite gear doesn't have an "only solution", either.

I agree with you. They offer myAcurite and WU and SD card.
Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
Tele-Pole

Offline nincehelser

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 3337
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #260 on: November 04, 2018, 10:00:38 PM »
I think iCloud is great. I'm glad Apple offers it. I'm also glad it isn't the only solution. Don't need a card slot when there is WiFi and USB and an app store that offers 3rd party apps and services.

Acurite gear doesn't have an "only solution", either.

I agree with you. They offer myAcurite and WU and SD card.

And all the 3rd party solutions, too.  Just like Apple.

Offline galfert

  • Global Moderator
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 6822
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #261 on: November 04, 2018, 10:07:30 PM »
I think iCloud is great. I'm glad Apple offers it. I'm also glad it isn't the only solution. Don't need a card slot when there is WiFi and USB and an app store that offers 3rd party apps and services.

Acurite gear doesn't have an "only solution", either.

I agree with you. They offer myAcurite and WU and SD card.

And all the 3rd party solutions, too.  Just like Apple.

Okay. This is good news. I can't wait for the Atlas Elite. I'll probably buy one.
Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
Tele-Pole

Offline Victoria

  • Senior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 56
Re: New Acurite Atlas 7/8 Station (Elite Summer 2018?) HD FARS
« Reply #262 on: November 07, 2018, 05:02:46 PM »
UV does, but not lumens.

Is this on Acurites road map?

Yes, this is something we plan to add in the near future. No specific timeline available yet.



Well I disagree. It's my own data. I don't think I should have to pay for my own data. Limiting the Access to then charge you for getting at your own data is not good business. Sure there could be added benefits they throw in like forecasting or maps or graphs or whatever else along with your data that they do, but those are things you could do yourself if you could easily have at your data directly from within your own network using hardware that you've already paid for.

I'm not disagreeing that a company should be able to create added services and then charge you for it. The problem comes when they purposefully do what they can to limit and force people to have to pay. But in the end it is true that the company can do whatever it wants. Their lack of vision only creates opportunities for other companies. People vote with their wallets. I'm very excited about the Atlas Elite, but I'm standing by and watching how it unfolds. Today I'm not happy so far with Acurite, but tomorrow is another day. I'll just wait and see if they start listening. The potential is there, they seem to have a great product, fixing issues, and reaching out to their customers (excellent by the way). They just haven't done enough to win me over yet.

If a company made a computer that didn't allow you to backup your own files, but then charged you for cloud backup as an added service, would that be okay? Or would you rather be able to backup your own files for free locally? There are several benefits to remote cloud backup, but you should have a choice to roll your own.

Hi Galfert, my name is Victoria, and I'm a Product Manager for AcuRite. Regarding your concerns, I'd like to assure you that there's no scheme to try to coerce you into paying for some kind of service by restricting access to your data. The reasoning behind the current management of your data is more based around customer feedback and trying to reach different goals to deliver certain features and capabilities, such as increased security.

Besides, like you suggested, that kind of behavior would never work anyway; people vote with their wallets, like you said, and if we limit ourselves with petty tricks, someone will just come in and do it the right way and it all falls apart. I would rather be the people to do it the right way and deliver the solution people want and need.

Anyway, as I mentioned, we base product decisions around customer feedback, which is why I'd like to better understand your use case. For example, what is it exactly that you would like to do with your data?



Offline galfert

  • Global Moderator
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 6822
Re: New Acurite Atlas 7/8 Station (Elite Summer 2018?) HD FARS
« Reply #263 on: November 07, 2018, 06:45:54 PM »
UV does, but not lumens.

Is this on Acurites road map?

Yes, this is something we plan to add in the near future. No specific timeline available yet.



Well I disagree. It's my own data. I don't think I should have to pay for my own data. Limiting the Access to then charge you for getting at your own data is not good business. Sure there could be added benefits they throw in like forecasting or maps or graphs or whatever else along with your data that they do, but those are things you could do yourself if you could easily have at your data directly from within your own network using hardware that you've already paid for.

I'm not disagreeing that a company should be able to create added services and then charge you for it. The problem comes when they purposefully do what they can to limit and force people to have to pay. But in the end it is true that the company can do whatever it wants. Their lack of vision only creates opportunities for other companies. People vote with their wallets. I'm very excited about the Atlas Elite, but I'm standing by and watching how it unfolds. Today I'm not happy so far with Acurite, but tomorrow is another day. I'll just wait and see if they start listening. The potential is there, they seem to have a great product, fixing issues, and reaching out to their customers (excellent by the way). They just haven't done enough to win me over yet.

If a company made a computer that didn't allow you to backup your own files, but then charged you for cloud backup as an added service, would that be okay? Or would you rather be able to backup your own files for free locally? There are several benefits to remote cloud backup, but you should have a choice to roll your own.

Hi Galfert, my name is Victoria, and I'm a Product Manager for AcuRite. Regarding your concerns, I'd like to assure you that there's no scheme to try to coerce you into paying for some kind of service by restricting access to your data. The reasoning behind the current management of your data is more based around customer feedback and trying to reach different goals to deliver certain features and capabilities, such as increased security.

Besides, like you suggested, that kind of behavior would never work anyway; people vote with their wallets, like you said, and if we limit ourselves with petty tricks, someone will just come in and do it the right way and it all falls apart. I would rather be the people to do it the right way and deliver the solution people want and need.

Anyway, as I mentioned, we base product decisions around customer feedback, which is why I'd like to better understand your use case. For example, what is it exactly that you would like to do with your data?

Victoria,
Thank you for taking notice of my post. In response to your inquiry about my concerns the following are the things that I would like any weather station that I own be capable of doing with my weather data.
  • Provide the capability to upload weather data to a custom server address. This custom server could be a local computer on the network running 3rd party software like Meteobridge, Weather-Display, WeeWx or the like. Work with these popular software solution providers to establish a working solution
  • Alternatively provide the capability to upload weather data to a local SQL server for backing up weather data. If this is done then I'm sure the 3rd party software providers will embrace the ability to tap into this data. But my prior method is preferred as it could be more live or instantaneous than just logged data
  • Ability to publish to more weather website services than just Weather Underground. Namely CWOP, PWSweather, WeatherCloud...etc. This is the third best improvement. It adds functionality. Realize that with each of these items the prior method negates the current suggestion because if the connectivity is there for 3rd party software then there is no need for the Access for example to need to be able to publish to more weather websites. Although it still might be a nice option to offer as some people may not feel the need to expand with additional software and hardware to be able to publish to more places. If you only added this capability to publish to more weather websites it would fall short of my expectations, because I want to be able to backup my data locally and be able to run 3rd party software.

Take for example your competition. On the high end there is Davis and then on the lower price market there is Ambient Weather. With either of these hardware vendors it is very easy to run 3rd party software. Ambient only requires an ObserverIP and then a Meteobridge and then the sky is the limit on what you can do with your data. A Davis station likewise supports Meteobridge and other software by connecting a computer to their console (via USB or via the network), as their logger can be queried for data.

You claim security reasons for not having the ability to directly get data from your station. But I don't see what you are securing. Having the capability to send your data elsewhere would be the customers choice to configure. It would most likely be a local network system that receives the data. Weather Underground data is sent over the Internet in clear text format anyway. You don't have to give direct control of the network device, instead you add the capability for the station to send the data where the customer wants it to go.

I can understand limiting the functionality of your hardware so that it cuts on customer service support. If you add a functionality then you may get inundated with requests for making that advertised feature to work. But your competitors manage to have these features. I think it is pretty much understood anyway that if you need help with this added functionality that you go to the 3rd party software for help or the user community.

The above is pretty much the critical part of what should be done minimally. Now if you want to put the icing on the cake and make your weather station hardware/software solution stellar then see this post for a list of improvements to the Atlas Elite. But by all means feel free to add these to the Atlas 7/8 also.
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=31119.msg363055#msg363055

I even have a list of improvements for Davis Instruments on their next weather station hardware (some of which are features you already have), do all this too (what you are missing) and then you've knocked it out of the park:
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=35354.msg362228#msg362228

Here is my perspective as a weather station owner. Today I can't buy the perfect solution at any price. Lets just take Acurite, Ambient and Davis. With Davis at the premium priced end there is much reputation in the professional industry to perhaps justify the higher cost and the solution they provide. But the Davis current solution is very dated to some consumers like myself that are looking for all the bells and whistles in eye candy like the beautiful Atlas display color touch screen. You can't get that with the Davis currently, and there is also no lightning detection. Then you have Ambient Weather and their reasonable price and much improved hardware offers a lot of the connectivity functionality in a Davis. Sure the Ambient Weather solution does not use as high end sensor as Acurite and Davis but the added functionality to do what you want with your data is there. With Acurite you have come out with new hardware that looks amazing, has industry leading sensors, and it almost feels perfect....till you consider the limited ability to get at the data. So I can't win no matter which hardware vendor you choose, there is always a compromise. I'm used to the compromise being price, as they say you get what you pay for, but in this case even at any price you can't have it all. I don't think Ambient is looking like they are in the market to deliver the top end solution. But I currently selected them because it was a minor investment till I waited for the right top end high priced solution to come along. At this point I'm waiting for Acurite or Davis to make the right move.
« Last Edit: November 07, 2018, 08:23:56 PM by galfert »
Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
Tele-Pole

Offline nincehelser

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 3337
Re: New Acurite Atlas 7/8 Station (Elite Summer 2018?) HD FARS
« Reply #264 on: November 07, 2018, 07:09:58 PM »
Anyway, as I mentioned, we base product decisions around customer feedback, which is why I'd like to better understand your use case. For example, what is it exactly that you would like to do with your data?

From my observations, much of the customer base is anxious for the ability to send your weather data to more weather networks.  I recently took an informal poll in one of the Facebook groups and came up with these results:

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]


I think the Holy Grail that many here want is a local API so they can use their own data gathering/archiving/visualization programs (e.g. weewx) and/or to produce their own weather websites for their local communities.  A big advantage of a local API is that you are not dependent on the internet ("cloud") during severe weather events.

A simple solution that would suit me is to have the Access re-broadcast sensor data packets on the local network, sort of like what WeatherFlow is now doing.

For example, each time an Acurite sensor broadcasts over the airwaves, the Access would pick it up and re-broadcast that data on the local network.  Interested programs (clients) on the network would intercept and process the data however they want to.  This should be a very simple task for the Access and wouldn't be a huge development burden on Acurite.

The disadvantage, of course, is that clients would have to keep track of the data themselves (e.g. rainfall accumulation), but as long as you explain the format of each broadcast packet, it would be well within the capabilities of most programmers and developers on this forum.




Offline vreihen

  • El Niņo chaser
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 1216
  • K2BIG
Re: New Acurite Atlas 7/8 Station (Elite Summer 2018?) HD FARS
« Reply #265 on: November 08, 2018, 06:01:47 AM »
A simple solution that would suit me is to have the Access re-broadcast sensor data packets on the local network, sort of like what WeatherFlow is now doing.

For example, each time an Acurite sensor broadcasts over the airwaves, the Access would pick it up and re-broadcast that data on the local network.  Interested programs (clients) on the network would intercept and process the data however they want to.  This should be a very simple task for the Access and wouldn't be a huge development burden on Acurite.

As the person who developed/shares the open-source WeatherFlow UDP station driver for weewx, I think that the engineers on their team who came up with the idea of broadcasting JSON UDP packets on the local subnet as they are received from the sensors should receive a Nobel Prize!

Show this API link to the Access programmers, and I bet that they can have a similar scheme implemented by the end of the day:

https://weatherflow.github.io/SmartWeather/api/udp.html

(Pass along my suggestion to go pure JSON in their implementation, and not use the list-of-lists that WeatherFlow uses for their observation data blob.)

Here's my weewx station driver, as an example of how easy it is to gram these UDP broadcast packets and import them into a local app:

https://github.com/captain-coredump/weatherflow-udp

As someone who collects weather stations and received a positive long-term ownership experience with my aging 5-in-1, the only thing preventing me from adding an Atlas to my collection is the lack of a published API or scheme to access (pun intended) the data locally.....
WU Gold Stars for everyone! :lol:

Offline DadCooks

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 17
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #266 on: November 08, 2018, 10:34:22 AM »
Just sitting back in my rocking chair and observing the very interesting dialog that has developed in the past couple of days since an actual AcuRite person has expressed an interest in customer suggestions. I like the direction that this is taking. I have nothing to add other than I am an interested observer and consider this a positive point of how a company listening to its customers is necessary for the bottom line and company longevity. AcuRite has fumbled the ball with the too early announcement of the Atlas and then not keeping the interested customers apprised of the development and technical challenges.

I will add one final point, that I hope AcuRite will answer forthrightly. What is going on with the Elite? I am not looking for a release date necessarily (I know those are written in mush), but I do want to know what challenges have been and are being experienced.

Thanks.

Offline kiwirob

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: New Acurite Atlas 7/8 Station (Elite Summer 2018?) HD FARS
« Reply #267 on: November 26, 2018, 06:17:02 AM »

Anyway, as I mentioned, we base product decisions around customer feedback, which is why I'd like to better understand your use case. For example, what is it exactly that you would like to do with your data?

I'd like to be able to store the weather data to a local database on my vineyard so I build a smart system to intelligently control my irrigation.

If I can see how much rainfall has occurred in the previous period, say 7 days, then I might decide to not automatically turn on my irrigation.  This saves valuable water resources in a restricted aquifer by not watering when my vines don't need watering.  It is environmentally friendly by not using electricity to pump water unnecessarily and saves money because I have to pay per volume of water (around $10,000 annually for the water and also $10,000 annually for the electricity costs).

Making an API with JSON data format weather data (as previously mentioned in this thread) would be ideal to be able to easily handle the data with Internet of Things (IOT) automation hardware and software systems, such as Node Red an IBM developed automation platform that has been provided freely to the Open Source community.

If AcuRite opened up the data there could be whole eco-systems built around their sensors connecting it to IOT automation.  AcuRite doesn't have to provide an end to end solution for this and it's probably best if they don't because a one size fits all approach won't cover the multitude of use cases people may have.  Here is a link to some of the work IBM has been doing in this area https://www.ibm.com/watson/stories/ejgallo/ If IBM are investing in this type of technology then the use cases are real and serve a broad community and environmental function. 

Would be great if AcuRite came on board, with a JSON based API that could be quickly integrated into the ever expanding IOT automation systems.  Everybody else has already done the heavy lifting with open standards and hardware on the automation side, we just need access to quality local weather data to feed into the system. Having to reverse engineer RF signals, can be done, but this limits the main-stream adoption of weather collection stations to people who can get out a soldering iron and build custom hardware.

A single 100 acre vineyard might have as many as 4 or 5 weather stations monitoring very specific weather conditions in each sub-zone.  A Node Red automation system might be able to do so many useful things like monitor wind speed in each specific block and send a email / SMS/ Text Msg alert to a tractor driver if the wind speed has got too high for the area they are spraying, or also alert the driver if they are applying a chemical that can not be sprayed on the vines over a certain temperature.

As an added bonus having the ability to mount custom antenna to expand the range of devices would save having to pull the weather data for each site locally and then using a custom solution to get the data back to the central data logging device.  On the hardware side of things the Xbee platform are an example of a range of devices with different RF solutions that are already used for custom environmental data logging solutions https://www.sparkfun.com/pages/xbee_guide

Offline tandy1000

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 107
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #268 on: November 26, 2018, 06:47:15 PM »
+1 for someone who would like local access to the data. An API that could be queried would be great, but I look at that as a second phase. Right now the bare minimum would suffice! Like others have said, just having the parsed/JSON-formatted data broadcast over a local port would be a big step.

Reasons include use of my own monitoring software and database. That lets me decide the retention and visualization. I can make my own (even if they are weird) metrics like "rain since the top of the hour" or "fastest temperature drop in the last month" and anything else I can dream up.

I've disconnected my old Acurite bridge in favor of rtl-433. Not including the 5N1, I have a mix of 16 Acurite sensors. And it's not that I have a big house (quite the contrary) but I have a couple of leak detectors, tower sensors near pipes that are prone to freezing, etc. I don't think I could do this as easily (or with the same cost-effectiveness) with any other manufacturer's equipment.

That said, I'm looking to get my next station. Any product w/o realtime, local, restriction-free access to the sensor data won't be a purchase.

Thanks Victoria, for listening to our feedback!

 

Offline HeloMech

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 17
Re: New Acurite Atlas 7/8 Station (Elite Summer 2018?) HD FARS
« Reply #269 on: December 14, 2018, 11:20:58 PM »
Anyway, as I mentioned, we base product decisions around customer feedback, which is why I'd like to better understand your use case. For example, what is it exactly that you would like to do with your data?

From my observations, much of the customer base is anxious for the ability to send your weather data to more weather networks.  I recently took an informal poll in one of the Facebook groups and came up with these results:

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]


I think the Holy Grail that many here want is a local API so they can use their own data gathering/archiving/visualization programs (e.g. weewx) and/or to produce their own weather websites for their local communities.  A big advantage of a local API is that you are not dependent on the internet ("cloud") during severe weather events.

A simple solution that would suit me is to have the Access re-broadcast sensor data packets on the local network, sort of like what WeatherFlow is now doing.

For example, each time an Acurite sensor broadcasts over the airwaves, the Access would pick it up and re-broadcast that data on the local network.  Interested programs (clients) on the network would intercept and process the data however they want to.  This should be a very simple task for the Access and wouldn't be a huge development burden on Acurite.

The disadvantage, of course, is that clients would have to keep track of the data themselves (e.g. rainfall accumulation), but as long as you explain the format of each broadcast packet, it would be well within the capabilities of most programmers and developers on this forum.
          +1 here too!


Acurite #01075RM  5in1 W/ Access
Acurite #06016M    Color Display
Acurite #06058M    HD display
Acurite #06045M    Lightning Detector  (2)
Acurite #06002RM  Temp/Hum Sensors  (4)
Acurite #00827A1   What to Wear display  (for the camper)

Offline galfert

  • Global Moderator
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 6822
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #270 on: December 15, 2018, 07:49:00 AM »
Okay it is year end December 15th. Where is the promised Atlas Elite?
Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
Tele-Pole

Offline DoctorKnow

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 1982
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #271 on: December 15, 2018, 08:01:06 AM »
Okay it is year end December 15th. Where is the promised Atlas Elite?
I think they are still building it...

Offline abusuzuki

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 14
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #272 on: January 08, 2019, 09:44:19 AM »
Here's a video about Atlas Elite at CES2017 if anyone interesting:
https://www.facebook.com/acurite/videos/1188336244577100/

and If I am not mistaken, I have heard the announcer say that it is possible to make customization for different readings in the home screen of display, this sounds promising.

Offline wase4711

  • Senior Contributor
  • ****
  • Posts: 188
Re: **Acurite Atlas 7/8 with FARS + Many Add-Ons Now Available** -Elite Soon?
« Reply #273 on: January 08, 2019, 06:32:31 PM »
Here's a video about Atlas Elite at CES2017 if anyone interesting:
https://www.facebook.com/acurite/videos/1188336244577100/

and If I am not mistaken, I have heard the announcer say that it is possible to make customization for different readings in the home screen of display, this sounds promising.

that video is 2 years old, and still nothing..maybe the 2019 CES show will be the charm!

 

anything