Trixology

General Category => New Member Introductions => Topic started by: Weatheraardvark on March 30, 2016, 01:03:56 AM

Title: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: Weatheraardvark on March 30, 2016, 01:03:56 AM
Yup, Des Moines isn't at the end of the universe but you can see it from here.

Funny story..  (or not).   I had been running Weather Display for years with no problems on my Gateway computer. I also have been backing up data as well.  Well two weeks ago, I went to do some work on my PC, and it smelled funny as well as wouldn't boot.  I figured out that the motherboard gave it up and rather than buy a new one and all that I should get something different.

The wife knew that I also have an iPhone, ipod, and iPad.   So why not consider going to the dark side of the force, jump ship.    I had been in to Apple early this year when the wife needed a computer for her graduate school classes, and settled on a Macbook pro.   I liked the self contained unit as I am not working (retired, put out to pasture,   I taught 30 years Science, 3 years university chemistry and 20 of those years, youth at risk, court ordered kids in physics, algebra, geometry and Earth science)  and I wasn't writing lesson plans or reports ad nauseum.

So  I went with the Mac as it looked like fun.  I got the latest one out with El Capitan, 4k video....   I have a wireless key board, mouse  and eventually added a wireless keypad.  Got the printer to play nice, the scanner and then when I went to my weather software.   I found that  Weatherlink is terribly lacking in what it does, other than the basic stuff.

I have a Vantage Pro Plus with a 24hr Fars, fully populated soil moisture/temp station;  4 temp/humid stations, envoy, console..   So when I found that the Weatherlink wouldn't  play nice with what I had. I called Davis. Davis said  in so many words that they had no intention of doing anything in the near future to correct that problem.  The Weatherlink IP is on the console so it does upload everything to their site,but their desktop doesn't.

I also had been using and still use Weatherdisplay for Mac,  and it is fine .  However, with what I needed I decided to look around at different software. This seems to be what I need. I can name the different variables, export the data and that I use with my weather analysis that I have been doing for several years .

I had to change my webpage until i sort things out, and have a program that does the work.  I will add to it as time goes on.    I like this new program because right now, that I am not ftp ing anything anywhere that might add some strain on the 8G ram.

Anyway,   here I are....    I do have a lot of experience with the Vantage pro.  I have been the route the WMII the VP1 and now the VP2+

Here is my URL and it will be changing as I glean data, process it and add to my site. right now it is pretty basic.

http://www.desmoinesweather.org (http://www.desmoinesweather.org) 
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: Blicj11 on March 30, 2016, 01:32:30 AM
Welcome to WeatherCat! And congratulations for being brave enough to give the dark side a try. We think you'll like it. Many of us are Windows converts.

I have been to Des Moines and thought it was a lovely place.

I looked at your website. I think you will enjoy discovering what WeatherCat can do for you.
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: Weatheraardvark on March 30, 2016, 02:14:54 AM
 [cold1]
Title: Welcome! (Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa)
Post by: elagache on March 30, 2016, 11:27:12 PM
Dear Weatheraardvark, Blick, and WeatherCat welcome wagon . . . .(http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/welcomewagon.gif)

Welcome to the WeatherCat forum Weatheraardvark! (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/welcome_smiley.gif)

Yup, Des Moines isn't at the end of the universe but you can see it from here.

 [wink] . . . . Really?  So what is at the end of the universe?  Maybe a sign that says: "end of pavement?" . . . . .  [biggrin]

Funny story..  (or not).   I had been running Weather Display for years with no problems on my Gateway computer.

. . . .


So  I went with the Mac as it looked like fun.  I got the latest one out with El Capitan, 4k video....   I have a wireless key board, mouse  and eventually added a wireless keypad.  Got the printer to play nice, the scanner and then when I went to my weather software.   I found that  Weatherlink is terribly lacking in what it does, other than the basic stuff.

I have a Vantage Pro Plus with a 24hr Fars, fully populated soil moisture/temp station;  4 temp/humid stations, envoy, console..   So when I found that the Weatherlink wouldn't  play nice with what I had. I called Davis. Davis said  in so many words that they had no intention of doing anything in the near future to correct that problem.  The Weatherlink IP is on the console so it does upload everything to their site,but their desktop doesn't.

You have followed a similar path to many of us.  I suppose Davis doesn't want to exclude a future upgrade to the Mac version, but they clearly have no interest at the moment.

I also had been using and still use Weatherdisplay for Mac,  and it is fine .  However, with what I needed I decided to look around at different software. This seems to be what I need. I can name the different variables, export the data and that I use with my weather analysis that I have been doing for several years .

I hope you will come to like WeatherCat as much as the rest of us do.  It is extremely powerful and nonetheless is pleasant and as easy to use as the functionality you asking for.

I had to change my webpage until i sort things out, and have a program that does the work.  I will add to it as time goes on.    I like this new program because right now, that I am not ftp ing anything anywhere that might add some strain on the 8G ram.

Feel free to start using the WeatherCat FTP functionality.  Yes, it would be desirable to upgrade your memory, but WeatherCat is miserly with memory use.  You shouldn't have any problems.

Once more welcome!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: Weatheraardvark on March 31, 2016, 01:01:20 AM
There is no way to upgrade memory, with this model.   It is a sealed unit.   I wanted more but  the store didn't have a unit in stock and I needed it for other reasons right away.
I have the smaller of the two:  http://tinyurl.com/zht9ufn (http://tinyurl.com/zht9ufn)
Title: Re: Welcome! (Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa)
Post by: Weatheraardvark on March 31, 2016, 03:42:37 PM
Feel free to start using the WeatherCat FTP functionality.  Yes, it would be desirable to upgrade your memory, but WeatherCat is miserly with memory use.  You shouldn't have any problems.

Once more welcome!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
As before this all in one is a sealed unit.  The down side is that the RAM can't be upgraded .  The other annoyance is that the monitor can be dimmed but not turned off , it goes into a sleep cycle and with no fan,  i am concerned about over heating.   BUT other than that , Mrs. lincoln, how as the play?

we should be good with getting data when I need it.   
Title: Re: Welcome! (Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa)
Post by: Felix on March 31, 2016, 04:20:03 PM
The other annoyance is that the monitor can be dimmed but not turned off , it goes into a sleep cycle and with no fan,  i am concerned about over heating.


System Prefs --> Desktop & Screen Saver --> Screen Saver. Set up a Hot Corner to "Put Display to Sleep." Everything else will continue running in the background as long as the Energy Saver tab is configured properly.
Title: 8 Gb isn't much. (Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa)
Post by: elagache on March 31, 2016, 11:15:10 PM
Dear Weatheraardvark, Felix, and WeatherCat Mac fans,

There is no way to upgrade memory, with this model.   It is a sealed unit.   

Oh well, it depends how you use the Mac, but 8 Gb isn't giving you a lot of reserve.  Keep an eye on your memory use.  You might need to reboot a bit more frequently to free memory.  Let us know if you need a pointer to a nice memory display utility.

Cheers, Edouard
Title: Re: 8 Gb isn't much. (Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa)
Post by: Weatheraardvark on April 01, 2016, 02:34:32 AM
Dear Weatheraardvark, Felix, and WeatherCat Mac fans,

There is no way to upgrade memory, with this model.   It is a sealed unit.   

Oh well, it depends how you use the Mac, but 8 Gb isn't giving you a lot of reserve.  Keep an eye on your memory use.  You might need to reboot a bit more frequently to free memory.  Let us know if you need a pointer to a nice memory display utility.

Cheers, Edouard
For the time being, I need to work with the program to see what works and isn't.   So I won't keep it on 24/7  for now.   Sure, the memory display utility would be great.
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: nowait on April 01, 2016, 12:31:37 PM
I have several macs.  I have couple Mac Minis (which I run weather cat on).  I also have a couple iMacs.  I've been able to add/replace memory in all of my macs (some are easier than others).  What model (and year) is your iMac?  Go to "About this Mac" from the apple  symbol in the upper left.  The choose about this mac. This is where it tells you what model and year.  Maybe we can help you figure how to swap/add memory in your iMac if you want.

nowait
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: Weatheraardvark on April 01, 2016, 04:57:00 PM
Mac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)

There is no way to get in. It is a sealed unit, no bays, no ports.    I know 8 G of ram on a PC will run most everything and two of them critters as well.

and .. what is that memory use program you are talking about. Is it better than the activity monitor that comes with this unit?
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: nowait on April 01, 2016, 07:03:00 PM
Here's an online video from Other World Computing (which I've no affiliation with.... just a happy return customer) showing how to upgrade the memory for your mac.  There are videos for most all the mac models.  Its a great site that sells mac certified memory.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/Retina-5K2015/DDR3L
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac

if the link doesn't work the main site is http://macsales.com

Hope this helps.

nowait
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: Weatheraardvark on April 01, 2016, 08:03:37 PM
Again, there is no memory door on the smaller version. All dimms are soldered to the board when it comes from the factory.  I have shown you on the attachment of the back of my unit. There are vent fans for the fan but this model, no way to upgrade the memory.  Had I the more funds, I would have got the new unit and maxed the ram.
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: nowait on April 01, 2016, 10:20:36 PM
That is really unfortunate that the memory is soldered in!!!  I've had quite a few macs and never had one that couldn't be upgraded.

I did find an article showing pictures of the memory soldered in place....
http://blog.macsales.com/33640-owc-tears-down-21-5-inch-imac-retina-4k-confirms-memory-is-soldered

I'd be frustrated too!

Sorry I couldn't find you a solution.  We have a lot of helpful WeatherCat people on this forum.  We always try to help.

nowait
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: Felix on April 01, 2016, 10:56:27 PM
Glad that's settled. I'd been scratching my head trying to figure out how the 'ordinary' end user could possibly upgrade memory on the current 21? iMac after nowait indicated it could be. The absence of a memory upgrade path was the #1 complaint of most of the reviews on the model when it was released.
Title: My personal favorite memory monitor (Re: 8 Gb isn't much. )
Post by: elagache on April 01, 2016, 11:57:52 PM
Dear Weatheraardvark, nowait, Felix, and WeatherCat Mac hardware tinkerers (when possible.)

Sure, the memory display utility would be great.

There are a bunch of them and folks using WeatherCat have their favorites.  I hope they will chime in because I've forgotten the alternatives.  The one I use is XRG:

http://www.gauchosoft.com/Products/XRG/ (http://www.gauchosoft.com/Products/XRG/)

It is free and it doesn't take too much screen real-estate.  As a result, I can have it on every OS X space and check on the health of my computer no matter which application I'm working on.  There are others including some that use the menu bar, therefore using less screen space in a way.  However, what you gain on your screen is lost on your menu bar.  It is one of those things you need to settle on a solution and accept the trade-offs associated with it.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: Weatheraardvark on April 02, 2016, 01:20:29 AM
I appreciate the information and thank you.  I am working on weather stats tonight.   I use MS Excel and have for years. The Mac version isn't too much different.  :)
Title: Re: Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa
Post by: Bull Winkus on April 04, 2016, 05:18:17 PM
You might also note that, unlike the more expensive iMacs, this one does not use dedicated RAM for graphics memory. This, lifted from Mac Tracker: (http://mactracker.ca)

Graphics Memory   Up to 1.5 GB shared from main memory

Not to worry, though. I was getting by on 4 GB RAM until just a few months ago with no difficulty at all. Mac OS X, with its Unix underpinnings, can get along swimmingly with limited available memory. It will grab memory space from the hard drive and use it as virtual RAM. The downside is a lower response time. However, 8 GB will do quite nicely. Just remember to use "Quit" from the File menu, instead of just clicking the window closed with the red chiclet. That will clear programs from memory when you're done. (Note that some programs clear when you click the red chiclet, but not all do.)

When I noticed a slowdown on upgrading to Mountain Lion, I upgraded my 2008 iMac's RAM from 4 GB to 6GB, which maxed it out. It quit spooling to HD and performs much better. It is running my WeatherCat, 24/7.

 [cheers1]