Attention ZaraRadio users!:
I just updated my Weather Watcher Live, and now I have 30 days to pay for it to keep using it! It's not a free program anymore--
Attention ZaraRadio users!:
I just updated my Weather Watcher Live, and now I have 30 days to pay for it to keep using it! It's not a free program anymore--
Crazy thing is I made the same mistake on my desktop pc a couple month ago, but forgot about it. I need to start learning my lesson the first time!
If you currently have the free version installed it will keep working fine with current weather updates, and no expiration... but just don't click "yes" when it ask you if you'd like to install the new version.
sigh.
If you need the older version Weather Watcher you can download from my MRAM WEBPAGE.
Click on the Zara Radio button where you'll find a link to the installer file.
Usually when they start charging for plug-in's that were once free..expect more charges for more free things to come.
If you really want free...why not simply hook up a WX radio to your systems or record the hourly WX updates, play them back through the Zara and be done with it??
Or..open up the mic, read the temp gauge just outside that window and announce the LOCAL weather?!
Curious.
RFB
Weather Watcher updates in real time if desired and drops the data into a file for Zara to use.
Zara integrates the temperature and humidity from Wx Watcher automatically. That allows Zara automation to insert the current weather data voice files into canned weather announcments which can be scheduled or run in the current playlist.
The problem with patching audio from the wx radio is it doesn't fit the schedule. I download current NOAA audio files from their FTP and run them in the playlist as needed.
I have WGET download the NOAA audio from their FTP every 15 minutes to ensure I'm as current as NOAA.
While I worked at commercial FM with a teletype machine and a weather radio, I became aware that NOAA updated their local forecast once an hour at 10-minutes before the hour.
The government rarely changes the way they do business, so I would expect they still have the same schedule.
RFB, as Mram pointed out, it's nice having frequent announcements of current time, temperature and humidity integrated into the automation during those spans when the station is running unattended.. and of course it's also nice having that capability cost-free!
I'm not really trying to raise a lot of hell about the matter, the cost isn't all that much (only $9 a year) -- But it's just a irk that an update of an always free software would entail a cost-for-use which is announced only after the fact of install!
- It would have been appropriate to let the user know that installation of the update would also eliminate it's free use.
MRAM, thanks for the old version of WW. I would like to see your script for wgetting the audio, a batch file?
Tommy J
Weather Watcher hasn't been free for a few years now. On install, you have to accept the license (which I'm sure most people do not read). The following is included in the license:
"You can try Weather Watcher Live for free for 30 days. After that point, you must purchase a license key in order to keep using Weather Watcher Live."
Also, in order to download Weather Watcher Live from my website, you have to click the download button above the "Try it free for 30-days" message.
I agree that it would be ideal to make this more apparent for those using old freeware versions. However, I cannot change the text in the update notification that is displayed within Weather Watcher because it's hard-coded in the software.
If anyone here would like to purchase the latest version, email me at [email protected] and I'd be happy to give you 25% off. I know that's not free, but I suppose every little bit helps 🙂 If you upgrade though, you'll also be able to access weather stations at WeatherUnderground.com. The free version can only access WeatherBug.com weather stations.
"I download current NOAA audio files from their FTP and run them in the playlist as needed.
I have WGET download the NOAA audio from their FTP every 15 minutes to ensure I'm as current as NOAA."
Same here.
The weather does not change so radically so quickly every minute of every day thus I do not clutter my station schedule or racks with stuff that will only be used once in a while.
Ironic isn't it when a listener is desperately tuning across their radio dial seeking weather information, all the while they are sitting at a stop light looking out the window, glancing at their outside temperature reading in the rear view mirror, and searching for local weather on the iPad and across the street is a bank with a huge time and temp sign.
Har Har.
RFB
Sometimes the best solution is doing nothing.
If all you're doing is broadcasting over the airwaves to a strictly local audience, then weather makes sense.
But if you're also streaming, and your listener base is mostly scattered over the world (mine is primarily the U.K., Asia and the South Pacific), then local weather doesn't do you much good. Radio stations do it because most of their listeners are, well, local.
Artisan Radio's tip of the hat towards your typical radio station is to play world news (not North American centric) at the top of each hour. Other than that, the focus is on the programming (although we do have some great DJ's, myself not included).
...If you upgrade though, you'll also be able to access weather stations at WeatherUnderground.com. The free version can only access WeatherBug.com weather stations.
WeatherUnderground data, by the way, is what influenced me to hit the upgrade to begin with.. For some reason the very local Fort Pulaski weather station would not show up in my WWlive station list, so I had to use a Savannah station some 20 or so miles away, but if I put my zip code in the online version of WW it did show up!... I then noticed my installed version did not include the needed WeatherUnderground data.
The temperature in town is always about 7-10 degrees different than what it is here at the beach... ANYWAY.. the upgrade did enable me to get an accurate local temp and humidity which I didn't have before.
Concerning the NOAA reports.. I find it odd that there's no data source for the Savannah GA area.. the closest are Hilton Head SC, and somewhere in Florida - neither which is particularly local.
Somewhere I have newer free versions that yeild more text when you roll over the TaskBar Icon. It is Weather Watcher Live, the older version on my site is Weather Watcher.
If anyone is interested I will look for it.
Following is the batch file to retrieve the audio for my area:
==============================================================
echo off
REM Change this next line to match your content
REM directory.
cd C:NOAA
REM For sanity, lets remove any files that
REM already exist in the directory.
del CLESAFNW4.*
REM Now lets use wget to get the latest file.
wget http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cle/mp3/CLESAFNW4.mp3
REM Go back to where we started.
cd C:
REM Of course my link is for the Cleveland-Akron, Ohio area.
REM You'll need to find the link to your NWS NOAA area if
REM they have one.
=============================================================
As noted in the REM statement, you'll have to see if your local NWS-NOAA site offers the audio for download.
Using Windows NOTEPAD, copy the text above and paste into NOTEPAD. Save the file with the "bat" extension. Or save as a "txt" file and change the extension to "bat".
WGET.exe can be downloaded free. Simply drop it in the Windows directory to use.
I use Windows Scheduler to run the batch file 10 minutes before the file is to run.
Weather Watcher hasn't been free for a few years now....
Mike,
I didn't realize that. I downloaded my version just earlier this year, but not certain from where I got it, but I don't think it was directly from the WeatherWatcher website...
Seems to me that I was following some tutorial for ZaraRadio and the links to the software and time files were all provided.
It must have been a old version I got.
MRAM,
thanks for posting that bat file. - I'm sure it will be use to several people, but unfortunately I already know there's not an NOAA audio file download for the Savannah area. (I looked for all that stuff a few months ago.
Rich, here are audio files for your general area:
=================================================================================
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/jax/audio/nwr/MIASYNALL.mp3
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/jax/audio/nwr/MIAHWRGEO.mp3
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/jax/audio/nwr/MIAZFPBQK.mp3
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/jax/audio/nwr/MIACWFCHS.mp3
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/jax/audio/nwr/MIACWFBQK.mp3
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/jax/audio/nwr/CRSTIDSSI.mp3
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/jax/audio/nwr/CRSSUNBQK.mp3
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/jax/audio/nwr/CRSMOOALL.mp3
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/media/jax/audio/nwr/pause_2s.mp3
=================================================================================
These files were in a Winamp m3u playlist file. The last file was placed between each file to insert a 2 second pause between them.
Maybe some of these are close to your area.