Trixology

WeatherCat => WeatherCat Releases => Topic started by: Administrator on March 18, 2018, 12:55:26 PM

Title: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Administrator on March 18, 2018, 12:55:26 PM
We are very pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of WeatherCat 3.0.0.

This release brings the following changes to WeatherCat:
Please see below for a full list of changes.

Upgrade pricing from previous versions is available at half the full retail price - more information can be found on our purchasing page: https://trixology.com/purchase/ (https://trixology.com/purchase/)

As always, WeatherCat 3 is available for immediate download from our WeatherCat page at: https://trixology.com/weathercat/ (https://trixology.com/weathercat/)



Requirements
Whilst WeatherCat works best on a computer that is always running and which is permanently connected to the Internet, it will work on any Intel Macintosh running OS X 10.9 (or later) that has Internet access. It will not launch on earlier versions of the operating system.


Installation
Download the disk image and open it. Drag WeatherCat to the alias of the Applications folder in the disk image - this will copy WeatherCat to your Applications folder. Run WeatherCat from there (not the disc image).

If you have an existing WeatherCat installation, please compress/zip up your existing WeatherCat folder (just in-case you have something in there you need) and then delete your existing WeatherCat folder as it isn't used or needed any more.




Changes since WeatherCat 2

Added a rich client protocol interface
This interface runs over http and supports the following functionality: discovery, data retrieval, web-tag processing,  images (graphs, webcam etc) and help. See below for functionality/usage. A client for iOS is in development by Poobah Industries.

Movie functionality has been rewritten and expanded.
As well as the normal hourly movies, WeatherCat can now also create a true 24 hour time-lapse movie. This movie is updated hourly throughout the day and can be uploaded to your website with a new web-tag on an hourly basis. The format of the generated movies has been changed from Quicktime (.mov) to H.264 (.mp4) and an inter-frame dissolve option added. Daily movies are now also archived at ~/Movies/WeatherCatMovies in a year/month hierarchy. You can access the new functionality via the Webcam pane of WeatherCat's preferences.


Webcam/movie changes as follows:
a.  Hourly movies are now created at the end of the hour on a background thread. Previously they were created on the main thread. These are smaller than the hourly movies created previously (for the same quality).

b.  Webcam: 'Disable webcam uploads at night' relabelled to 'Disable webcam at night'. If this option is selected, the webcam will stop capturing 1 hour after sunset and restart 1 hour before sunrise. Previously it would just stop webcam related uploads.

c. Added a DAILY_MOVIE$ tag which will upload the daily time-lapse movie on the first custom web run after the movie is created. If WeatherCat isn't running at that time, then no upload will take place. The file uploaded by this tag is called 'WeatherCatDailyMovie.mp4'. The daily movie is created every hour as the day progresses.

d. The custom web tag 'MOVIE$' now uploads a file called 'WeatherCat1hrMovie.mp4', previously the file uploaded was called 'WeatherCatDailyMovie.mov'.

e. The webcam status in the 'Status' window now shows how many frames have been captured.

f. Daily movies (not 1 hour movies) are now archived at ~/Movies/WeatherCatMovies as they are created. Year and month folders will be created to aid organisation. There is a user configurable default to switch this on/and off (ArchiveMovies) but it isn't available in the UI yet.

g. Added movie run-time length (default is 15 secs/hour) and inter-frame dissolve sliders (default is off) to the webcam preferences. Note that enabling inter-frame dissolve will increase the movie sizes significantly.


Auto-update functionality.
After installation, all updates are automatic from within the application itself. You will be notified of updates within the application and via email if enabled.


Added Custom Text Windows.

A custom text window is a window you can create and edit to have just the data you want in it.

Custom text windows (CTW's) can be found in the Tools menu. There can be an unlimited number of CTW's. On installation, example weekly and monthly windows are created and will appear the the CTW menu - these can be used as an example for building new CTW's.

To create a CTW, use the Tools->Custom Text Window->New menu item.

To delete a CTW, use the Tools->Custom Text Window->Delete menu item.

To create items in a CTW, ctrl-click in the window. A pop-up menu lists items that can be added (the window name can also be set from this menu as well as other functionality).

To edit an editable item, click it. To edit an items attributes (font, colour etc), first click the item to make it editable then ctrl-click in the item where a pop-up menu will list the available options.

Multiple items can be selected by cmd-clicking items. Items can be dragged with the mouse or moved via the keyboard arrow keys by holding down the alt key whilst using the arrow keys (the window's title bar will indicate the coordinates of the item).

Selected items can be copied with cmd-c. Items can be pasted with cmd-v (items can be copied and pasted between CTW's).
 
Items can be cleared either by selecting delete this item in the  pop-up menu (for a single item) or using the Edit menu 'Clear' command when multiple items are selected.

All items in a CTW can be selected with cmd-a. cmd-z will undo the last operation.

The background image for a CTW can be set by dragging an image over the window.

You can save a Custom Text Window (CTW) from its pop-up menu. Similarly, individual Custom Text Windows can be loaded from the Custom Text Window's menu (Tools->Custom Text Windows->File->Load... ).

All CTW's can be saved and loaded as a set from the CTW menu (Tools->Custom Text Windows->File->Save Set.../Load Set...).
Note: loading a CTW set replaces your current CTW's with the CTW's in the set being loaded.


Added additional time specifiers for use in web tags.
a) Added an HRSAGO(x) time period specifier which will pull out a single value x hours ago - for example:
STAT$TEMPERATURE:HRSAGO(1)$ will return the temperature value an hour ago whereas STAT$TEMPERATURE:HRSAGO(0.5)$  will return the temperature value half an hour ago.
This tag is useful for building things such as scrolling historical data-sets either for direct display (for example in a table) or further processing on the server (for example graph generation).
The upper limit on the parameter x is the start of your data set. Negative values or values off the start of your data-set will return 'N/A'.

HRSAGO(x) can also be used in a STAT$ tag with an operation type of MIN/MAX/AVERAGE. This will pull out the minimum, maximum or average for the hour. Hours in this case refers to wall-clock hours, and not the 60 minutes x hours ago from the time of the call.  E.g. If the time is 21:50 and HRSAGO(24) is called, the data returned will be for the hour 21:00 to 21:59 24 hours ago.

Example: STAT$TEMPERATURE:MAX:HRSAGO(12)$ will return the maximum temperature for the hour 12 hours ago.

b) Added an DELTAHRS(x) time period specifier which will pull out the delta across the specified time period - for example:
STAT$TEMPERATURE:DELTAHRS(1)$ will return the temperature delta over the last hour whereas STAT$TEMPERATURE:DELTAHRS(0.5)$  will return the temperature delta over the last half an hour.

DELTA1 and DELTA24 are deprecated as of version 3. These tags are retained for backwards compatibility, but going forward new templates should use DELTAHRS(x).

Notes: The upper limit on the parameter x is the number of hours ago to the start of your data set. Negative values or values off the start of your data-set or in the future will return 'N/A'.

c). Added RAINSTORM as a time specifier for STAT$ tags. The period of time specified by RAINSTORM is the period between a rain rate being detected and now. The rainstorm period ends when there has been 24 hours with no rain rate. If there is no rain storm period, the tag will display as 'N/A'.
E.G:
STAT$TEMPERATURE:MAX:RAINSTORM$
will display the maximum temperature during the rain storm period or N/A if there is no rain storm period currently active.

Note this tag is different to the Davis definition of a rain storm in that starts when the console detects 2 tips of the bucket rather than a rain rate being detected.


Re-written Twitter functionality.
When you first open the Twitter uploader (Tools->Twitter), a sheet will open where you'll need to enter your Twitter account details. Once done, the tool should then operate normally as the authentication data it receives from Twitter will be stored in your keychain and used for subsequent sessions. The Twitter uploader is compatible with Sylvester data and will load your default set of Tweets as well as loading any saved sets from Sylvester

Should you wish to change the account you are posting from in the future, you'll need to delete the authorisation data from your keychain. To do this, quit WeatherCat, open Keychain access, search for 'WeatherCat Twitter' and delete it. Launch WeatherCat and open the Twitter uploader,  it will then ask you to sign in to Twitter again.



WeatherCat Rich Client Protocol (RCP)
The RCP provides an interface to fetch various objects from WeatherCat.

This interface runs over http and supports the following logical sections, or domains:
discovery
webtag
data
image
help


All replies are in the form of an NSDictionary (or plist/xml). The protocol runs over http on port 49255 and advertises itself on Bonjour as 'WeatherCat Rich Client Protocol Data Server' - _wcrcps._tcp.

A typical request might be (these can be run in any web browser for testing):
http://localhost:49255/webtag/STAT$TEMPERATURE:CURRENT$
(replace 'localhost' with the address of the machine running WeatherCat)

Replies are typically of the form:
<plist version="1.0">
<dict><
<key>result</key>
<string>5.8</string>
<key>error</key>
<integer>0</integer>
<key>errorDescription</key>
<string>OK</string>
<key>serverTime</key>
<string>2017-03-27 22:17:00 +0000</string>
<key>processTime</key>
<string>0.00217700</string>
</dict>
</plist>

The returned dictionary will contain the following keys:
result - the result of the query (as a string)
error - a negative error number or 0 if no error. If there is an error, the result value will be set to "0".
errorDescription - a human readable english language description of the error, or 'OK' if no error.
serverTime - the time on the server in UTC
processTime - how long the request took to process in seconds.

Programmatically an RCP call can be made with the following code: (Objective-C, in this example a call to process a webtag):
Code: [Select]
NSDictionary* myDict=[NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/webtag/stat$TEMPERATURE:CURRENT$"]];myDict will then contain the keys and values as described above.


Domain: discovery
channelList
Returns an array of dictionaries as the result which contains all active channels. Each dictionary contains the following keys:
channelName - the name of the channel (string).
channelNumber - the channel number (integer)
channelType - enumeration, station_channel_type (integer)
channelBasicType - base channel type (integer) - for example temperature, wind speed, pressure etc
channelValid - 1 if valid (integer)

The channel types are as defined in the 'station_channel_type' enumeration found in the WeatherCat SDK header 'StationPlugInProtocol.h'

channelBasicType is defined as:
NONE 0 //Not applicable or not known.
TEMPERATURE 1 //External temperature
PRESSURE 2 //Barometric pressure
WINDSPEED 3 //Wind speed
WINDDIRECTION 4 //Wind direction
PRECIPITATION 5 //Rain
RH 6 //Relative humidity
CLOUDBASE 7 //Coud base
SOLAR_RAD 8 //Solar radiation
UV 9 //U.V. Index
LEAF_WETNESS 10 //Leaf Wetness
SOIL_MOISTURE 11 //Soil moisture
CO2 12 //CO2
NO_UNITS 20 //Synthetic channels with no units
NO_UNITS_1DP 21 //Synthetic channels with no units, display to 1 decimal point
NO_UNITS_2DP 22 //Synthetic channels with no units, display to 2 decimal points
NO_UNITS_3DP 23 //Synthetic channels with no units, display to 3 decimal points


getChannelOfType
Given a channel type, returns the channel number of the found channel (as an integer). If the channel type is not found, -1 will be returned as the channel number and the error will be set to -3.
e.g. http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/discovery/getChannelOfType/4
(get the pressure type channel - see the 'station_channel_type' enumeration found in the WeatherCat SDK header 'StationPlugInProtocol.h' for the channel types).


customGraphList
Returns an array of dictionaries describing the custom graphs available. Each dictionary contains the following keys:
name - the name of the custom graph (string)
UID - the unique identifier for the graph (integer). Used for retrieving the image of the custom graph


customTextWindowsList
Returns an array of dictionaries describing the custom text windows available. Each dictionary contains the following keys:
name - the name of the custom text window (string)
UID - the unique identifier for the custom text window (integer). Used for retrieving the image of the custom graph


alertsList
Returns an array of dictionaries describing the alerts and their status. Each dictionary contains the following keys:
name - the name of the alert (string)
triggered - the alert triggered status (bool)


systemData
Returns a dictionary of useful data such as sampling period, comms data, version information etc.


Domain: data
getChannelValue
Returns the value of the given channel.
Example:
http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/data/getChannelValue/0
If the channel is not found the error will be -3 (otherwise 0).

Note - as it is possible for the user to quit WeatherCat, change the station to that of a different type/manufacturer, then relaunch WeatherCat, channel numbers should not be cached in clients. To get at the live value of a channel use the getChannelOfType to get the channel number then use that channel number for getChannelValue.


getData
This command takes three parameters:
param1 = the channel type (as per the enum found in the SDK header StationPlugInProtocol.h).
param2 = the number of samples to return (first sample in the array is the latest in the database)
param3 = the period between samples in minutes.
Returns an array of values.
Example:
http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/data/getData/1/288/5

Returns an array of 288 external temperature values (channel type 1) at 5 minute intervals (i.e. the last 24 hours at 5 minute resolution). The first entry in the array of returned values represents the latest sample (i.e. now), the second entry in the array will be the temperature 5 minutes before that and so on.

Note: This command is limited to returning a maximum of 10000 data items.

Possible errors for this command:
-5 = Too much data requested - maximum is 10000 values.
-4 = Wrong number of parameters
-3 = Channel not found


Domain: image

getCustomGraph
Given a custom graph UID (see customGraphList), return the image of the graph with the dimensions as set in the custom graph web width and height.
Example:
http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/image/getCustomGraph/1490220331

Possible errors for this command:
-5 = Custom graph not found, check UID.


getBasicGraph
Returns a basic graph with the given ID - for example:
http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/image/getBasicGraph/ID

where ID is one of:
TEMPERATURE 1
DEWPOINT 2
WINDCHILL 3
PRESSURE 4
WINDSPEED 5
WINDDIRECTION 6
PRECIPITATION_RATE 7
PRECIPITATION_DAILY 8
RH 9
INT_RH 10
INT_TEMPERATURE 11
SOLAR_RAD 17
UV 18


Possible errors for this command:
-8 = Basic graph not found, check ID.


getCustomTextWindow
Given a custom text window UID (see customTextWindowsList), return the image of the custom text window with the dimensions as set by the current custom text window size.
Example:
http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/image/getCustomTextWindow/1507983243

Possible errors for this command:
-5 = Custom text window not found, check UID.


getWebCam
Returns the current camera image.
Example:
http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/image/getWebCam

Possible errors for this command:
-2 = camera not enabled or operational.
-3 = camera off-line for the night.
-6 = image not ready. Try again later.


image domain notes:
1. All images are returned as a string of hex-chars and can be converted to an NSImage object with the following Objective-C code:

Code: [Select]
    myDict=[NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/image/getCustomGraph/1490220331"]];
    NSString* hexchar_data=[myDict objectForKey:@"result"];
    NSMutableData *imageData= [[NSMutableData alloc] init];
    unsigned char the_byte;
    char byte_chars[3] = {'\0','\0','\0'};
    for (int i=0; i < [hexchar_data length]/2; i++)
        {
        byte_chars[0] = [hexchar_data characterAtIndex:i*2];
        byte_chars[1] = [hexchar_data characterAtIndex:i*2+1];
        the_byte = strtol(byte_chars, NULL, 16);
        [imageData appendBytes:&the_byte length:1];
        }
       
        NSImage *image = [[NSImage alloc] initWithData:imageData];
       
       

2. Images can be scaled before transmission by appending integer width and height parameters - for example:
http://localhost:49255/image/getBasicGraph/ID/width/height
Note that the aspect ratio of the image will be maintained during scaling; the dimensions you get back may not match the dimensions you requested.


Domain: webtag
Processes the given tag and returns a string with the result.
Example:
http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/webtag/STAT$TEMPERATURE:CURRENT$

Webtag return values are always strings.

The following webtags are currently supported:

STAT$ tags, so current and statistical data can be retrieved.

JOURNT$ - return the journal text
SUNRISELOCAL$ - local sunrise time
SUNSETLOCAL$ - local sunset time
SUNRISEUTC$ - UTC time of sunrise
SUNSETUTC - UTC time of sunset
DAYLIGHTTIME$ - day light time today
SUNRISELOCAL1$ - sun rise time tomorrow
SUNSETLOCAL1 - sun set time tomorrow
SUNRISEUTC1 - sun rise time tomorrow in UTC
SUNSETUTC1$ - sun set time tomorrow in UTC
DAYLIGHTTIME1$ - daylight time tomorrow
STRECORDS$ - Records stats (formatted text)
STRECENT$ - recent stats (formatted text)
STMONTHLY1$ - monthly stats part 1 (formatted text)
STMONTHLY2$ - monthly stats part 2 (formatted text)
STMONTHLY$ - monthly stats in total (formatted text)
STYEAROVERYEAR - year over year stats (formatted text)
STDAILY$ - daily stats (formatted text)
STTHISMONTHOV$ - this month overview (formatted text)
STLASTMONTHOV$ - last month overview (formatted text)
STNOAAMO$ - this month NOAA report (formatted text)
STNOAAPRMO$ - last month NOAA report (formatted text)
STNOAAYR$ - this year NOAA report (formatted text)
STNOAAPRYR$ - last year NOAA report (formatted text)
BTTEXT$ - baro trend as text
DOMWDTEXT$ - dominant wind direction as text
WINDBEARINGFROM10$ - last 10 mins lowest clockwise bearing
WINDBEARINGTO10$ - last 10 mins highest clockwise bearing
DOMWDDEGREES - dominant wind direction as degrees today
WEATHERFACT$ - return the current weather fact
AT_Aus$ - current Australian apparent temperature.
AT_US$ - current US apparent temperature
HUMIDEX$ - current humidex
WINDROSE8 - wind rose as 8 sectors
WINDROSE45 - wind rose as 45 sectors
CP$ - current potential solar radiation
CC$ - current conditions string
CF$ - current forecast string
CSF$ - current short forecast
CU$ - time of last sample
CD$ - current dew point
CG$ - current wind gust
CP$ - current pressure
CR$ - current rain
CT$ - current temperature
CW$ - current wind speed
CWC$ - current wind chill
CX$ - current wind direction
BD$ - build string
BDL$ - build string, localised
t12s$ - 12 hour time with seconds
t12$ - 12 hour time, no seconds
t24s$ - 24 hour time with seconds
t24$ - 24 hour time, no seconds
da$ - date in the format of month/day/year
de$ - date in the format of day/month/year
UT$ - WeatherCat uptime as a string
RS$ - rain storm value
RSD$ - date of rain storm start
RLD$ - last rain date
RLDi$ - last rain date (ISO format)
Llat$ - latitude of station
Llong$ - longitude of station
Lelevf$ - station elevation in feet
Lelevm$ - station elevation in metres
L$ - station name
DUTC$ - date and time in UTC - yyyy,m,d,h,m,s
D$ - date and time
HEIGHTUNITS$ - string describing the height units - one of Metres of Feet
TEMPUNITS$ - string describing the temperature units - one of ?C or ?F
RAINUNITS$ - string describing the rain units - one of mm or in
WINDRUNUNITS - string describing the wind run units - one of km, miles, NM's or metres
HEIGHTUNITS$ - string describing the height units - one of Feet or Metres
PRESSUREUNIT$ - string describing the pressure units - one of mb, inHg, hPa
WINDSPEEDUNITS$ - string describing the wind speed units - one of km/h, MPH, Knots, m/s
COMMSFAILFLAG$ - set to 1 if comms to station have failed

Domain: help
List the current RCP help.
Example:
http://address of machine running WeatherCat:49255/help
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: JosBaz on March 18, 2018, 02:59:45 PM
Congratulations on the new release Stu!  ThU32:-)

The beta has been working flawlessly and I'll definately be getting Version 3.0.
E-mail coming up for the upgrade pricing. ;)

Jos
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: The Grand Poohbah on March 18, 2018, 04:35:02 PM
WeatherCatRCP is the iOS client of WeatherCat 3.

WeatherCatRCP gives you 13 ways to view your personal weather station data on your iPhone:

Alerts - a list of weather alerts that you have created and their status.
Basic Graphs - 13 graphs of weather data including temperature, wind speed, and precipitation.
Channels - 70 measurements ranging from external temperature to annual rain to communication status.
Classic - 20 channels of weather data in the "classic" WeatherCat for iPhone format.
CTW - Custom Text Windows that you have created in Weather 3.
Custom Graphs - all the custom graphs that you have created in WeatherCat 3.
Dial-A-Stat - hundreds of weather observations for periods ranging from daily to yearly.
Options - tailor the appearance of graphs and images.
Reports - 4 customizable text reports of your weather data and weather conditions.
Settings - select weather data units and which WeatherCat server to use.
System Data - get the status of your weather station and the WeatherCat host software.
Tags - 107 weather measurements including barometric trend, hours of daylight, and forecast.
WebCam - the latest image from your weather station webcam.

You must have installed WeatherCat 3 to use WeatherCatRCP.

WeatherCatRCP will be available for purchase from the Apple App Store in April. In the meantime, you are invited to use WeatherCatRCP free of charge for up to 60 days by joining the WeatherCatRCP Beta Testing group. See http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=2690.0 (http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=2690.0) for information on how to join the WeatherCatRCP Beta Testing group.
Title: Thanks Stu and Grand! (Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available)
Post by: elagache on March 18, 2018, 10:45:27 PM
Thanks Stu and Grand for WeatherCat 3 and WeatherCatRCP!!  (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/thankyou.gif)

The pair make weather watching that much more pleasant when inside away from the elements!  :)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

P.S. Of course WeatherCatRCP could be used out of doors, but . . . . . it's cold wet and miserable out there right now!  [rain2]
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Blicj11 on March 19, 2018, 02:54:29 AM
Thank you Stu. Version 3 is a very nice upgrade and adds some wonderful new tools and customisation options. I am now running Version 3 on Sierra 10.12.6 after running the betas without issue. You have made what was already the best weather software for MacOS even better! Your development vision and skills are much appreciated by all WeatherCatters.

Grand, thanks for your terrific update to the iOS client, including the app for the Apple Watch. I am running your latest beta on iOS 11.2.6 on my 8+ and also on watchOS 4.2.3 on my Series 2 watch.
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: ELO on March 20, 2018, 05:06:15 PM
I now have WeatherCat 3 release version installed and running successfully  ThU32:-). I had only one associated issue and now have one question.

The only issue I encountered was with my use of Steel Gauges on my web page (wx.oshlo.net). WC 3 caused the gauges to fail to load on my site. I traced the problem to the formatting of the Version: "BD$" tag at the bottom of the realtimegaugesWC.txt template file. Apparently, WC 3 returns the new version info including an additional, new "(64-bit)" parenthetical. Something in the formatting of how WC 3 populates the BD$ tag caused Steel Gauges js & css files to gag. Removing the BD$ tag and just inserting "3.00" as fixed text solve the issue. This problem may be caused in part due to my continuing use of Steel Gauges v2.4.2 since it ran fine for my purposes and I had the attitude of "if it's not broken, don't fix it" with respect to updating all the js file info in a newer version, so this issue may not occur in more recent Steel Gauges versions. I'll have to get around to updating it eventually!

Now the question: prior version of WC included a Mac OS WeatherCat Client that allowed the WC Gauges window to be displayed on a remote Mac. It was not included in the WC 3 dmg file. The older version 1.6.1 still works fine; however, it is a 32 bit app. Does anyone know if Stu has plans to update the app to 64 bit before "time runs out" for 32 bit apps?

Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: The Grand Poohbah on March 20, 2018, 05:22:48 PM
Quote
Does anyone know if Stu has plans to update the app to 64 bit before "time runs out" for 32 bit apps?

Yes. It is my understanding that Stu plans to do an OS X client update for 64-bit.
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Blicj11 on March 20, 2018, 06:02:47 PM
Elo:

I have been using the SteelSeries Gauges for 5 years and when I upgraded to WC3 I had no issue with the build name displaying correctly. However, I suspect you are correct about using the older version of the gauges. I am using SteelSeries 2.6.3. If you want to update, the wiki is up to date for that version. The most recent release of SteelSeries is 2.6.4 and that version is updated for using SSL to secure your site via https. I haven't updated because I have SSL working fine with my tweaked edition of 2.6.3.

SteelSeries has some nice improvements since the version you are using. Several reporting accuracy errors have been fixed, a Cloud Base gauge was added, auto-scaling is improved, mobile phone display is improved, easier implementation of SSL, and other fun stuff.

By the way, I have always loved the graphic on your weather page. Very clever.

Wiki: http://wiki.trixology.com/index.php?title=Steel_Series_Gauges
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: ELO on March 20, 2018, 09:55:35 PM
Thanks Blick,

I really do need to hunker down and update my SteelSeries files. There's barely enough snow here in Breckenridge to make it worth skiing, so perhaps it's time to get on with it. Hope you have better conditions over in Utah!

Thanks for the kudos on my weather page. It's pretty basic and simple compared to most but the wine bottle does garner it's share of comments! It was just a standard site template that was compatible with Sandvox, which I used to create the site.

Rick
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: ELO on March 22, 2018, 03:40:50 PM
Ok Blick,

You nudged and shamed me into getting off my lazy "can" and updating my steel gauges to v2.6.4  [cheers1]

It took me a while to sort out the changes I'd made to the older 2.4.2 .js file several years ago, but I've now joined the modern world. Thanks.

Rick
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Blicj11 on March 22, 2018, 04:35:54 PM
Hey Rick:

I am proud of you!! Nothing says you are a professional-grade back yard weather enthusiast like a brand new set of SteelSeries gauges on your site. Nicely done sir.
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Felix on March 23, 2018, 12:29:38 PM
Noticed something interesting the morning I switched from the final developmental build to the 3.0.0 shipping version. Note the attacted screenshot, starting at 0744 hours (from the top), external temperatures suddenly start being recorded with a "9" in the hundredth's column for a short period. And then at 0839, we suddenly jump back to 0744 hours. Yet when we jump back, the temps are slightly different!

However, all's well after the midnight rollover to the 22nd.

I'll forward raw data to the developer team after I've had a chance to go back and look at what happened when I loaded the previous developmental versions. Maybe I just missed the anomoly since it was short lived. Or maybe it didn't happen before. Or maybe it's tied to the High Sierra 10.13.4 beta.

Anyone else care to go back and see what happened when their 3.0.0 shipping version was loaded?
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Blicj11 on March 23, 2018, 04:57:56 PM
Thanks for the heads up Felix. I've had a look at my data and found the same anomaly you describe. At 2:14 PM, the time stamp reverts to 1:17 PM, but with a different external temperature than the previous 1:17 PM record. Also, from the second iteration of 1:17 PM, I have only zeroes in the hundredths field. Prior to then, I have digits in the hundredths field for months whilst running various development builds. According to my WC data log, I started running the 3.0.0 shipping version on 16 March at 1:17 PM. The data log looks perfectly normal; the anomaly only shows up in the Data Viewer/Editor. Stu is out of town for the weekend so we'll just have to wait until he gets a chance to look at this upon his return. Good catch Felix!
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: ELO on March 23, 2018, 07:08:42 PM
I believe there is a bug in how WC3 displays or returns the longitude of a station location in NOAA reports and using at least the STNOAAMO$ & STNOAAYR$ NOAA report tags. Since I'm not sure whether this is new to WC3, I've posted complete details in the Bug Forum at http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=2723.0

Rick
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: JosBaz on March 24, 2018, 12:16:19 PM
FYI - I browsed through a week worth of data and could not see the issue Blick and Felix reported. Not sure if it matters but I am using 24hr time format and adaptive sampling.

WC 3.0.0 (build 2224) on a Mac Mini with MacOS Sierra (10.12.6).

Jos
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Weatheraardvark on March 24, 2018, 09:39:39 PM
Oddly I do not see the error either. I do have version 3 and I just don't see it.  Other than the time interval being different than yours, perhaps if you would tinker with the interval, making it further apart in time,  there  is a sweet spot that would identify the problem.
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Blicj11 on March 24, 2018, 10:04:56 PM
Just to make sure we are all talking about the same thing here, Felix and I saw this only on the date and time that we first uploaded the production build, WeatherCat 3.0.0 Build 2224. We did not see it prior to loading this build and haven't seen it since the one time it occurred.

Weatheraardvark, I assume you loaded the new production build for the first time yesterday afternoon, as that is the time period of the sample you posted.
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Weatheraardvark on March 25, 2018, 03:50:35 AM
I have had it for a few days. no problems.  I did have to re assign names to stations and then get stations to show up and agree. good now
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: xairbusdriver on April 06, 2018, 06:09:59 PM
Just upgraded to WC3. Thanks!
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Blicj11 on April 06, 2018, 06:47:55 PM
XAir, time lapse movies are a whole lot simpler when they are built into WeatherCat than the method you previously employed. Congratulations on the upgrade.
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: xairbusdriver on April 06, 2018, 07:29:07 PM
Yeah, I can hardly wait for the first one to complete! [cheer]

I had at least three launch daemons running Applescripts and a video formatter running to grab the .mov file, change it to MP4, change the name to match what the web page expected, clean out the secondary directory, etc., etc. Hopefully I won't need any of those, but I'll have to see if WC creates a 'standard' or unchanging name before uploading. I guess I could read The Manual, but they don't even make those on paper anymore!! [roll]

Actually reading The Manual is not difficult, although I had to do such searching to find where it actually resides! I moved a copy to the iMac for easier reading.

Found what I was hoping for, I think.
Quote
MOVIE$ will upload a 1 hour movie covering the previous hour on the first upload after the hour. The file uploaded by this tag is called ?WeatherCat1hrMovie.mp4'.
DAILY_MOVIE$ will upload the current daily movie on the first upload after the hour. The file uploaded by this tag is called 'WeatherCatDailyMovie.mp4'.
I think that answers the 'standard' name question.

I also think the following is great!
Quote
For images captured from a local file or URL, WeatherCat will use the image size as it finds it.
There have been some comments about the image sizes offered by a camera don't always match up with the choices in WC. The text above takes care of that question. It may work the same way in WC2, I never looked for that info and was happy with what I was given!

I doubt I will use the Daily movie as that will get to be a pretty huge file by the end of the day (or until the Sun sets). I will use the "inter-frame dissolve" just because we now can! Whether I continue will be determined by how much this increases the size of the 1hr movies. Stu has already warned that it may be significant! It may also depend on how often the snapshots are captured.

Anyway, I'm off to edit my web cam page to handle the 1hr movies ASAP! Thanks, again for all the work that has been put into this new version! [computer] [cheer]
Title: Sorry X-Air! . . . . (Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0)
Post by: elagache on April 06, 2018, 11:30:36 PM
Dear X-Air, Blick, and WeatherCat feature-o-holics,

Just upgraded to WC3. Thanks!

XAir, time lapse movies are a whole lot simpler when they are built into WeatherCat than the method you previously employed. Congratulations on the upgrade.

It was really tough to be a WeatherCat "sekret" agent (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/spy_smiley.jpg) while you were struggling with your .mp4 solution X-Air.  The best thing I could imagine was trying to be as helpful as I could be given that you wanted your solution "now" and Stu wasn't ready yet to "let da' cat out of da' bag!" . . . .  [cat]

Sorry that you had to struggle like that!  :-[

Cheers, Edouard
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: xairbusdriver on April 07, 2018, 01:28:24 AM
The only struggle was creating several launch daemons to do the work after a third-party app did the converting. Also had a couple of AppleScripts/Automator apps that changed the names so they would simply over-write the files already on the web space. Other daemons deleted the converted vids so the directory never had more than one file in it and deleted even that file after it was uploaded. I could have made things simpler by creating one daemon that did multiple things, of course. But I do well to walk and chew gum at the same time. And I never even tried chewing gum and flying!!! cmu:-)

I can't tell you how much simpler and easier it is to have WC3 do all this work for me!!! [cheer] [rockon] ThU5:-) I certainly appreciate the care and skill of The Dev and the faithful work by the many Beta Testers! Thanks, guys!! :)
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: jsnell on April 09, 2018, 09:53:24 PM
Hi folks, I'm noticing 90% CPU load on WeatherCat 3.0, the older version definitely didn't hit the processor this hard and I don't see any reason for it. Is this a known bug in 3.0?
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: jsnell on April 09, 2018, 10:11:57 PM
Just heard back from Trixology support, who suggested I enable Webcam in Settings, then disable it. That solved it!
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Blicj11 on April 13, 2018, 07:09:04 PM
I doubt I will use the Daily movie as that will get to be a pretty huge file by the end of the day (or until the Sun sets). I will use the "inter-frame dissolve" just because we now can! Whether I continue will be determined by how much this increases the size of the 1hr movies.

I ran every combination to see how the time lapse movie settings impacted file size. I ended up with some huge files. I currently have my images capture set to 30 seconds and am creating an 800x800 image. Movie length per hour of capture is set to 5 seconds and I have inter-frame dissolve turned off. This creates a daily movie that is 27 MB and I delete the movies every few months.
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: xairbusdriver on April 13, 2018, 07:32:24 PM
I'm capturing only every 3 minutes. That's one sixth of your potential file size right there. But I set the dimensions to 1280 x 1024 which is as close to what my camera can produce. I'm getting 1920 x 1080 from the camera, I assume that WC is 'clipping' the extra width and a bit of the height if I understand its operation. And I also have the length of the hourly movie at 30 seconds. Both of those settings should increase file size. They are ~11Mb right now. I forgot to check the "Disable video between Sunset and Sunrise (+/- an hour) yesterday, so my Daily movies is much larger than I intended! [rolleyes2] [lol]

I'm not seeing any changes by using the "Inter-frame Dissolve" function. I've had it on 40% for a little over an hour and I may need to wait for the next 1hr vid to see any changes. I had tried a much smaller value days ago and didn't see any changes then either, but I didn't have a stable camera connection then.

I was going to create a new thread, but I guess this one is suitable for these questions and Stu is probably more likely to look here. [cheers1]
Title: Your mileage will definitely vary. (Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0)
Post by: elagache on April 13, 2018, 11:42:21 PM
Dear Blick, X-Air and WeatherCat weather cinematographers,

The sizes of the daily movie files will definitely vary depending on the size of the images you choose to upload.  I'm still using my venerable Logitech 9000 which can only do 640x480 pixels.  That ends up generating daily movies in the neighborhood of 15 MB.  That isn't too costly in my book.  Of course as you increase the resolution, you increase data storage roughly as the square - not linearly.   So modest increase in resolution could make the files get much bigger.  Even so, you can use a high resolution webcam and throttle the size using WeatherCat's own post-processing to reduce the resolution.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: xairbusdriver on April 14, 2018, 12:10:49 AM
Dear Edouard and WC3 web cam video producers,

Have any of you used the inter-frame function?

I have mine set at 40% and I think I am seeing a n ice, smooth fade between images. I had thought, embarrassingly, that there would be a fade-to-black/white between images. Now that wouldn't be particularly "professional"! Instead, I'm seeing, barely, a fade from one image to the next, with no black/white mess. It's been very windy today and I'm only capturing an image on a 3 minute interval but it is obvious in the swaying trees that the fading is working. The last true* 1hr video is still just short of 11Mb.

* We had a leaking transformer between our house and a neighbor. I called the electric company and reported it. They were here within 45 minutes and it took only another 45 for a new transformer to arrive (they don't usually drive around with these above-ground, but ground-level transformers) and be installed! I should have called months ago! I can still not believe how quickly they responded! Fortunately, the leaking one was built after they started using mineral oil instead of the highly toxic oil used before 1980.
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Blicj11 on April 14, 2018, 12:20:45 AM
I tried inter-frame dissolve. The effect is more pronounced on the larger sized files, where you are capturing larger images and creating a longer amount of of video per hour captured. I stopped using it because it doesn't have much effect on shorter video clips. I am of the opinion that the probability of someone watching a timelapse webcam video of weather for more than 60 seconds is highly unlikely unless you are capturing a flood or massive snowstorm. Just watching clouds stream by gets old fast.
Title: Inter-frame dissolve at 10% (Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0)
Post by: elagache on April 14, 2018, 10:55:04 PM
Dear X-Air, Blick, and WeatherCat cinematographers,

Have any of you used the inter-frame function?

I just checked and on my installation Inter-frame dissolve at set to 10%.  That could be the default.  If I fussed with it, I'm happy with that setting at the moment.

I am of the opinion that the probability of someone watching a timelapse webcam video of weather for more than 60 seconds is highly unlikely unless you are capturing a flood or massive snowstorm. Just watching clouds stream by gets old fast.

I see your point, but perhaps these sort of videos will never be of much interest to the general public unless they capture something unusual.  I daily video takes about 4 minutes.  If I'm interested in that particular day, I'll gladly sit through it.  Otherwise I won't bother at all and I suppose most of your website visitors will do the same.  The newbie might start sitting through one just to understand what sort of a video this is.  Once they are satisfied they'll move on.  I don't see any harm in having longer videos.  Should you capture something unique, you'll be glad to have a longer video to share.  The rest of the time, your website visitors will mostly ignore it and you will delete the leftover files to recover the disk space.

We had a leaking transformer between our house and a neighbor. I called the electric company and reported it. They were here within 45 minutes and it took only another 45 for a new transformer to arrive (they don't usually drive around with these above-ground, but ground-level transformers) and be installed! I should have called months ago! I can still not believe how quickly they responded! Fortunately, the leaking one was built after they started using mineral oil instead of the highly toxic oil used before 1980.


Yes, you should have reported the leak as soon as you observed it.  It could have been a transformer with toxic PCB oil.  A few years back I noticed a fallen branch on a power line and reported it.  It was gone in a few hours.  Utilities really need to hop when the issue is one of public safety.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: xairbusdriver on April 15, 2018, 08:52:53 PM
I bumped up the capture to 2 minutes and the inter-frame fade to 70% late last night. Today's movies are ~ 18.6Mb compared to the 10.9 yesterday. Roughly a 70% increase, but that includes the 50% increase in images captured. Solid clouds all day. All I can see is the movement of the trees in the gusty winds. Grass is still mostly dormant, not much activity there. I'll probably kill the fade and leave the capture rate. At least until the grass starts growing faster. [lol]

OTOH, it was interesting to watch a landscaping crew re-working the back yard a couple of days ago. I can't show the the vids as I did not get releases from them. :P
Title: Don't make stars out of them! (Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available)
Post by: elagache on April 15, 2018, 10:13:56 PM
Dear X-Air and WeatherCat movie "directors,"

OTOH, it was interesting to watch a landscaping crew re-working the back yard a couple of days ago. I can't show the the vids as I did not get releases from them. :P

 [wink] . . . . Don't even think about publicizing videos like that!  Once those guys have tasted fame, they'll never go back to just being a landscape crew! . . . .  lol(1)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: xairbusdriver on April 18, 2018, 04:31:13 PM
Just an update on file size and the inter-frame fade function. As Stu alerted us, that function can increase file size considerably. My less-than-scientific-and-capture-rate "data":The effect is subtle, even at 100%. But is makes the changes much easier on the eyes, should they be watching the movie for any length of time. Without the fading or with less than 30%, the movies has mainly a 'stop-action' effect. Each frame simply get replaced by the next one. As one increases the fade, the frames start to simply dissolve one after another. Beyond 70%, the fading is as professional looking as we can probably achieve, probably equal to anything you might see in a movie/TV show.

Of course, the size of the file does increase considerably, and yet I have seen no "FTP Overload" messages. But I do have a fairly good interweb connection. Web space, at my host, is not a problem.

All in all, the improvements in WC3, especially in the video area, are outstanding! Thanks, again, Stu! ThU5:-)

Maybe the next version of WC will feature multiple-camera support! [lol] cmu:-) Meanwhile, I'll probably dial back the fade to 70%... at least until the grass starts to really grow! :P
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: Blicj11 on April 18, 2018, 05:14:46 PM
Time-lapse movies:

This feature is working very well. Most recently I changed my settings to 60 second capture image with 5 seconds per hour of playing time per hour captured, resulting in a 26.5 MB daily movie file. I like this better because it seems to have eliminated the lag time when playing the larger movie on my iPhone. The movies at all settings have played fine on my iMac but the larger files have a loading lag on iOS. Here is a summary of my tested settings and the resulting file sizes so far.

File Sizes
1. 5 min capture rate, 15 sec per hour, capture image at 640x480, movie at 800x600=2.2 MB
2. 3 min capture rate, 25 sec per hour, capture image at 640x480, movie at 800x600=3.6 MB
3. 2 min capture rate, 25 sec per hour, capture image at 640x480, movie at 800x600=3.9 MB
4. 1 min capture rate, 25 sec per hour, capture image at 640x480, movie at 800x600=10.3 MB
5. Same as #4 with 0% crossfade=10.1 MB
6. Same as #4 with 100% crossfade=19.7 MB
7. 30 sec capture rate, 5 sec per hour, 0% crossfade=20.5 MB
8. Same as #7 with capture image at 12800x960, movie at 1280x960=52.3 MB
9. Same as #7 with 1 min capture rate=26.5 MB

Also, you want to set your Source image size and your Movie size to the same size for best results.
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: wurzelmac on April 18, 2018, 05:55:57 PM
Maybe the next version of WC will feature multiple-camera support!

 [tup] [tup] [tup]
Title: Hmmm, da' plot thickens . . . . (Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0)
Post by: elagache on April 18, 2018, 10:44:49 PM
Dear X-Air, Blick, Reinhard, and WeatherCat fans with a sense of humor - I think?  ???

Maybe the next version of WC will feature multiple-camera support! [lol] cmu:-)

Maybe the next version of WC will feature multiple-camera support!

 [tup] [tup] [tup]

 [wink] . . . . . . But, but, but, . . . . I think X-Air meant that as a joke! . . . .  [biggrin]

Meanwhile, I'll probably dial back the fade to 70%... at least until the grass starts to really grow! :P

 [wink] . . .  Never mind that!!  Will somebody please find the setting in WeatherCat that controls how fast the grass grow? . . . Today's high was 57.8˚ F (14.3˚ C).  However by the weekend, the highs are supposed to be 76˚ F (24.4˚ C) and I know what the grass is going to start doing!  I don't even have fresh gas for the lawn mower! . . . . . (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/D'oh.gif)
. . . . .  lol(1)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0 Now Available
Post by: xairbusdriver on April 19, 2018, 12:57:21 AM
Quote
I don't even have fresh gas for the lawn mower!
Maybe you can siphon some of that antique gas in the Buick?! OTOH, that gas may be too powerful of that little mower!!! :o
Title: All gone! No mor'! (Was: WeatherCat Version 3.0.0)
Post by: elagache on April 19, 2018, 11:20:46 PM
Dear X-Air and WeatherCat ground keepers,

Maybe you can siphon some of that antique gas in the Buick?! OTOH, that gas may be too powerful of that little mower!!! :o

 [wink] . . . . . All gone!  No Mor'! . . . . .  [biggrin]

Sadly, I'm getting better at this mothballing the car routine.  As soon as brought the wagon home, I bought myself a fancy gas siphon and drained as much as I could from the tank.  I'll need to find a moment to run over to a local gas station and put 1 gallon in the portable container.  That's usually enough to last the entire season.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]