Ambient Weather

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.01p02

2007-03-15T13:15:00.001-07:00

1. Completely finished French language version.
2. Updated NOAA server location for METAR reports.
3. Fixed problem with Weather Warnings not working (problem was introduced in Version 13.00).

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.01p00

2006-12-28T13:16:00.000-08:00

After two months of pure agony, I finally got the WMR100 to communicate to the weather station without loss of communication issues.

Turns out the USB.DLL that was provided by Oregon Scientific required some modifications to make it work properly with some computers, such as dual core processor.

Also fixed the issue with daily and monthly rainfall with the WMR100.

Completed the implementation of the French version.

The latest build can be downloaded here:

http://www.ambientweather.com/do30tr.html

Regards,

Ed

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p20

2006-10-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

I updated this version based on some issues that John Norman was experiencing.

Under Internet Network Connection, if you select Use Default Connection, there was a flag that would not get set and would cause the FTP transfers to timeout. This flag is now properly initialized.

I went to an updated compiler and it appears to be less forgiving. Thanks for the help, John!

I also addressed some lock-up problems (I have never been able to reproduce them and it could be OS dependent or processor dependent). Microsoft has notes on multi-processing and XP appears to be more stable then other operating systems, but I need to support these OS.

And now for some benchmarks (which I will be adding to each build). Your results will vary.

1. CPU: About 14-28%
2. Mem Usage: 20,000 K
3. Peak Mem Usage: 30,000 K
4. VM: 68,000 K
5. Threads 6 - 9

This appears to be better then most weather applications out there (not all but most :-)

You can download the latest version here:http://www.ambientweather.com/do30tr.html

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p19

2006-10-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

Oops, in the previous version I fixed a problem with the WMR-968 and WMR-100 updating the panels before all of the sensors reporting in, but the fix caused another issue where the panels do not update after all of the sensors report in.

You can download the latest version here:

http://www.ambientweather.com/do30tr.html

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p18

2006-10-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

The software is now available as part of the main software build now and was formally released:

Fixed problem with WeatherFlash and Rapid Fire competing with each other's timing.
Fixed possible crashing problem.
Fixed problem with the Cable2 panel settings.

Please visit the following link for the latest download:

http://www.ambientweather.com/do30tr.html

Regards,

Ed

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p17

2006-10-09T01:21:00.000-07:00

Finally, I figured out the problem with WeatherFlash. There is a size limitation (2048 bytes) defined in the Windows Internet API (wininet). The URL length would exceed 2048 bytes for the wflash2 string (which contains all of the high and low data).

This limitation was ignored by my old compiler, but my new compiler would not write a string larger then 2048 bytes. I changed this limit to 4196 and everyting works now. One month on the same problem - ouch.

Here is the download link:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

I have also mistakenly removed the priority option for ftp transfers. This option was added again to the FTP General Settings.

By the way, there is a lot of mention to why the ftp transfers take so long. The issue is that it takes about 80% of the time to convert your screen image to the jpeg image and only 20% of the time to upload this image.

Thus, the ftp functionality is not necessarily slow, but creating a jpeg image from a bitmap image is.

I can not explain why it was slower with the last few builds, except for the aforementioned accidental deletion of the FTP General Settings FTP Priority.

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p16

2006-10-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

The good news is I was able to reproduce the WeatherFlash update problems with the historical file wflash2.txt. The bad news is I could not figure out why this was happening, although it appears the function was not getting enough priority. The good news is I boosted the priority and it has been working fine here for 3 days.

Here is the download:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Regards,

Ed

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p15

2006-09-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I looked into the issues with WeatherFlash not updating, and although I could not find anything, I did not like the way this was implemented. Instead of launching a seperate thread, I decided to put the whole function on a separate async timer and it works great! The CPU usage droped and the memory useage dropped. I did the same thing with Rapid Fire and will look at this implementation on other functions if I get positive feedback from this build.

Also, I am in the middle of modifying panel sizes in support of the foreign language versions that are coming soon.

Here is the download link for the latest:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

for those running WeatherFlash, lemme know if this fixes your problems.

Thanks!

Ed

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p14

2006-09-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

With the support of a patient and helpful customer, the issue with lock-ups (where the menu freezes and the program is non-responsive), memory leaks (caused by threads opening but not closing) and other related issued caused by this problem (increased CPU useage and ftp functionality problems) are now solved! I was able to reproduce the issue with increased thread and VM loss. I ran this version for 24 hours with no noticable loss in Virtual Memory.

Here is the download link:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Also , the launch default browser function in previous versions is now fixed.

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p13 was a no-go... lucky #13 I guess :-)

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p11

2006-09-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

Another fix related to Version 13.00p10. I forgot to add the same mult-thread flag for MesoNet updates...

Here is the download link:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p10

2006-09-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

yet another build addressing the lock-ups and memory issues all related to the Internet uploads and downloads to and from Wunderground...

I found that I was still launching a new thread if the last one was still in use and it may be causing multiple threads doing the same thing and eventual lock-ups.

I found and corrected this problem.

Here is the download link:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

I will need the next month or so to finish up the foreign language version of Oregon Scientific WMR-100. If you post comments under this link, I will read them and make changes, but it may be at least one month.

I will need you to distinguish between Lock-Ups (where Virtual Weather Station freezes and you can not update menu items, change the display, etc) and Loss of Communication (this occurs when the data stops updating and it is specifically related to the VantagePro2 with their USB interface).

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p09

2006-09-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for sending me their oslog.txt files. The lock-ups appear to be related to terminating a thread before it is completed. In reading the Microsoft documentation, this is a no-no, although I never reproduced it.

One issue is that you do not want to wait 5 minutes for an internet operation to complete, so I have a seperate watchdog timer that checks when threads finish and terminates them.

So that the program adheres to the FTP Timeout value, the program will move on to other operations even if the thread has not finished. If you upload your data every minute, and the thread takes five minutes to complete, it will not restart this thread until the first one completes. I found that if you do this enough time, it will consume CPU and lock up your computer.

Note that if your download times out, select Internet FTP General Settings, and adjust the FTP Timeout (the default is 120 seconds).

So I feel we are close to the solution if not completely solved. Here is the link:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p08

2006-08-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

There are several complaints about lock-ups, high CPU usage during internet operations. I have changed several things - it now downloads all of the data at once, resulting in faster reponse. I also kill the threads after 3 minutes - if the threads are left open and another thread is launched, it tends to increase the CPU resources - after some time, this can cause a lock-up.

Here is the update link:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p07

2006-08-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Chas Rimpo of www.Rimpo.org (he is our very first beta tester from 1999) he pointed out that the Calibration panel is not properly displayed when upgrading from an older version, so it has been repaired in this version. You will need to re-enter your calibration data, so write these variables down before you upgrade or you will lose your data.

He also mentioned ghosting (this is a Windows thing). The best fix is to minimize and then remaximize the window.

You can download this version here:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

By the way, Chas has way too many hobbies (if you visit his website). How does he find time to beta test?

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p06

2006-08-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Oops. I broke the rapid fire in Version 13.00p05. This is now fixed:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Regards,

Ed

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p05

2006-08-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

There have been several complaints ragarding lock-ups of the Virtual Weather Station download during uploading data from Weather Underground (Forecast, Mesonet, Climate and Warning Data). I have not been able to put my finger on the problem, but it may be due to multi-threading. I was lauching a seperate thread within a thread and it appears the Windows does not always like this (I was following all of the rules).

I am not able to reproduce the problem, but with the help of a customer that is getting this issue on a regular basis, we are working through it.

Version p05 addresses this problem by simplifying the thread functionality.

Here is the download link:
http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p04

2006-08-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

We fixed the issue with the Oregon Scientific communication issues introduced in this new version. By resetting the sensor communication panel, everything is fixed. You will still need to check the appropriate boxes.

Here is the download link:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p03

2006-08-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Read your post about the WMR-968 Channel 1 issue, and this problem was there all along, which I fixed in this version. If you use the feature that replaces the Channel 1 sensor with the outdoor sensor, there was an issue with this station because all of the sensors do not report in at the same time. This would cause the outdoor temperature to cycle to zero if you have a non-working outdoor sensor.

Here is the donwload link:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p02

2006-08-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the rainy Sonoran Desert!

OK, found the problem with the crashing. If you install the new version over the top of the old version without uninstalling the old version first, it crashes (not sure why). Now, I force an uninstall of the old version first by matching the GUID of the old version (for those that care what GUID is, search on the Micrsoft website - my head is spinning with technical jargon.

Here is the download link:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p01 (debug)

2006-08-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

If you are experiencing crashing issues with the new version V13.00p02, download the following debug installation kit:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install_debug.exe

The purpose of this application is to determine why some programs are crashing. If it is crashing within the program, I can pinpoint the line and execution because there is a full memory map. It may run a little slower as well.

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p01

2006-08-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

I uploaded the new version on the server. There were a couple of issues with Version 13.00p00. The VantagePro and VantagePro 2 windspeed was not updating, and I found that I had mixed some of the new DLL components with the old VantagePro dll components, and everything worked except the windspeed (they had changed the casting from an integer to a float). Anyway, problem solved, download the new version here:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

I did receive a comment that Version 13.00p00 crashed as soon as one customer ran it, and hopefully it was solved with the new version. If not, I can pinpoint why this occurred by creating a debugging application.

Virtual Weather Station Version 13.00p00

2006-08-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

I uploaded a new pre-release version of Virtual Weather Station here:

http://www.wunderground.com/autoasp/downloads/vws_install.exe

This is a pre-release version, so I am limiting the number of users and not posting this on the website to get some feedback. You can email issues to:

support@ambientweather.com

Here are the major changes:

1. VantagePro2 Loss of Communcation. Found this problem to be associated with the VantagePro.DLL, which will randomly drop communication (and not recover) if the historical highs and lows are called. This is not a show stopper since it can still get this information from the real-time updates. You may miss a gust or two if it happens within the communication rate, but this is far better then losing communication to the unit. I have informed Davis of the problem, and as a minimum, they need to add a timeout.

2. VantagePro2 Lock-up During Archive Download. This problem was solved by creating a seperate thread for the download function. To speed the downloads up, I temporarily max out the CPU Performance.

3. WMR-100 Support. This new weather station from Oregon Scientific is now supported. The station has not been released by Oregon Scientific yet. The WMR-100 supports up to 10 temperature and humidity sensors, so you will see references to these sensors. The Davis VP and VP2 additional sensors are not supported at the moment - they released a new DLL with this support (archive memory download), but the DLL has a bug in it - it will not download any data. I have brought this to Davis Instrument's attention.

4. 3D Graphic Drivers Included on Installation Kit. We are using a new compiler, and now have the ability to check and update 3D graphical interface drivers. The problem before was that the program could crash if your graphic drivers were not up to date. This problem is fixed.

5. New Compiler. The new compiler fixes a number of installation issues. You will no longer have to remove the previous version of the software.

6. Foreign Language Support. This is a work in progress. You will see a window pop-up, but there are little changes to the software and does not include full language support, but we are working with translators.

7. Oslog.txt File too large. If you select Help Internet Status and File Log, you will see that there is an operating states log generated (if selected). This file allows me to troubleshoot issues and see if timeouts are occurring. However, this file was not being managed and would grow to a huge size, resulting in slow performance after several months. Virtual Weather Station will not delete this file every day at midnight to improve VWS performance.

8. Other Issues. The file for the calibration values has changed to reflect the new sensors, so if you have values in this calibration panel, write them down before installing. The Broadcast and Icon desktop displays will be slightly moved because their designated position has changed. No worries, simply move the images on your desktop back to their original position.

9. Additional Comments. You will see references to the parameters THW and THWS, which are calculated for the VantagePro2. However, these parameters are not yet implemented. We are waiting for Davis to fix their latest DLL.

2006-08-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new Ambient Weather Blog, where we will discuss interesting new weather products and features, upcoming discussions to our flagship product, Virtual Weather Station, and features on our website, http://www.ambientweather.com.

We are busy making changes to Virtual Weather Station. One of the key problems that will be addressed in the next version is the loss of communication to the VantagePro2 weather station.

I was never able to reproduce this problem, so I decided to dedicate many hours to solving it.

To fill you in on the difficulty in finding this problem, I set up five computers all running Virtual Weather Station and Vantage Pro units with five data loggers, five different operating systems, and then hammered them with communication. I found that the VantagePro.dll we use has a flaw in that it will lose communication if you request the daily highs and lows. This is intermittent and may be related to reading and writing data at the same time (the console writes the data, the software reads the data). By removing this function, the problem went away.

This is itself should not be a problem if the timeout function worked properly, but it does not. The communication is lost until you restart the program.

Removing this function has little impact. It was possible that Virtual Weather Station could miss the high wind gust for the day. I will be using a more direct method to get this data (direct communication that circumvents the higher level commands associated with the DLL).

Why do we use the DLL? Davis Instruments developed this tool to make programming easy. Virtual Weather Station calls this DLL to download archived data and update data real-time. It results in less bugs and problem free operation.

There are some drawbacks - the communication rate is slower, and we can not easily debug problems like the loss in communication problem.

Davis has released a new VantagePro.dll which will offer archiving of all the auxillary sensors as well as calculate THW and THWS, but there is a bug - it will not download archvied data.