Internet weather display

[Shrek]

I really like the securify almond due to its stand alone ability to display the internet weather without the need for a computer; but the service is becoming unreliable and I was wondering if there were any suggestions for a replacement.

The newest Echo Dot can do it, but are there any other units that don't break the bank?

The Sharper Image EC-WS115 looks great, but I belive no longer works and was not stand alone when it did.

 

[mechtech]

I like to keep it simple Thermometer optional. Grass = warm Snow = not warm

 

[Bill_Bright]

What do you mean by "internet" weather? AFAIK, there is no such thing. All those weather apps and services get their weather from some other provider. Windows, for example, uses Foreca. My Samsung phone uses The Weather Channel. And these services all get their weather information from multiple, but the same computer "models" provided by various government agencies like National Weather Service, NOAA.

Local meteorologists (like from your local TV stations, Weatherbug, Weather Underground, etc. then use their own local experience (and sensor locations) to [hopefully] provide a more precise forecast (and current readings).

I live in the Omaha, Nebraska metro area. The "official" weather station for Omaha is NOT, as many might expect, at Omaha's major airport but it is located in Valley, Nebraska is, as seen here, 30 miles away (by road, anyway). Then I live nearly 20 miles south of the airport and 35 miles from Valley.

My point is, if I go by the "official" provider, there can be HUGE differences between the weather at my house and the official weather station.

Even if I enter my zip code, that station is 10 miles away and I can tell you from personal experience, that can easily mean the difference between just cold at the station and 8 inches of snow on my driveway!

One of my local TV stations has a weather monitoring station located at the high school 3 blocks away. With the stations app, I can select that station. I am also fortunate to have a military installation less than a mile away. That is actually the one I use most.

Still, I say if you are really interested in the weather at your house, "invest" in a home weather station. Not only are they informative, they entertaining and fun - at least for me. That one is just an example. There are many to choose from. I would stick with La Crosse, AcuRite, or Ambient Weather. Other brands may be just as good, or better. I just have no personal experience with them. If security is a primary concern, many models use BT or local RF remote connections (not wifi). But those that do connect via wifi typically can be accessed by you from anywhere.

If you have a lot of trees (no open-sky access) skip the rain gauge.

 

[Shrek]

What do you mean by "internet" weather? AFAIK, there is no such thing.

Weather forecast got over the internet such that I don't need to boot my computer to see it.

 

[Bill_Bright]

So you want a device that connects to your network via wifi (or Ethernet), correct? And it then uses your location (or you program in your zip code) to [hopefully] get your local weather? The problem there, as I see it, is you don't really know the location of the station providing that information. I know in my case, it is the closes station to my POP (point of presence) - the point where my ISP connects me to the internet backbone. In my case, that is about 11 miles away, on the other side of a long ridge of hills. There can easily be several degrees difference in temperatures, raining there and nice and sunny here. Not good enough - at least not for me, personally.

How much weather information do you want? A simple atomic wall clock with an outdoor sensor can give you the current indoor and outdoor temperature and basic 12 hour forecast based on barometric pressure. What I like about these is they automatically sync with Ft Collin's NIST atomic clock.

 

[dgianstefani]

Raspberry pi hooked into an old laptop LCD installed behind a mirror unit, with weather, stocks and RSS loaded, put it in your bathroom or dining room.

MagicMirror²

 

[Shrek]

Definiely an option since I have a Raspberry Pi and old monitors; but I'm really after a stand alone unit (like the Almond).

 

[OkieDan]

I imagine there's some smart thermostats that would give you what you want, and remote control over the net. I got one just so my wife would quit asking me what the temperature was and then telling me to adjust the temp. Now she just has that talk with Amazon Alexa.

 

[LabRat 891]

Well, I read the jist of the thread.

Home Weather Stations seemed to be more popular back before mass-proliferation of Internet Access, IMO.

Any (mostly) plug-and-play solutions recommendable these days?
<$200, isn't bad.

 

[A Computer Guy]

I have an Amish Weather Log that pretty accurate but connecting it to a display is fairly difficult let alone the internet. I'll have to wait until daylight to take a picture of it if anyone is interested. The nice thing about it is that it's always on but also energy efficient.

 

[OkieDan]

Seems like an old tablet left on a weather website or running weather app would be fine if tablet has option to leave screen on.

 

[68Olds]

La Crosse has lots of wifi weather stations available. I don't remember the specific model I own, but it was a pain to connect to wifi because I had to turn off 5g in the router so it could connect via 2.4g (turned 5g back on once connected). Once that was done, it has been working fine. It has a phone app that allows you to check conditions at home when you are away too.
Weather Stations – La Crosse Technology

 

[Bill_Bright]

Home Weather Stations seemed to be more popular back before mass-proliferation of Internet Access, IMO.

This is probably true. But even back in the day, "Home Weather Stations" were more for meteorology "enthusiasts" (and perhaps farmers, fishermen and pilots) than "normal" people who just wanted to know the temperature outside. Those folks just hung an outdoor thermometer on a tree then looked out the window. Those a little more interested might have an old style, "decorative" analog "weather station" like this hanging on their wall for temp, humidity, and atmospheric pressure.

The problem with Internet sources (via Alexa, etc.) is that they may not be that local, but instead, could be 10, 15 or even more miles away. So IMO, home weather stations, those that display the temp, humidity, pressure, wind speed, wind direction, rain amounts, etc. out your back door are still for the meteorology "enthusiasts" and not "normal" people.

"You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows." - Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
"Took a look around, see which way the wind blow" - Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman

but it was a pain to connect to wifi because I had to turn off 5g in the router so it could connect via 2.4g (turned 5g back on once connected

That was clearly a bug somewhere. I would find that very frustrating too. I am not sure I would suspect the weather station however as being at fault. I am not familiar with all La Crosse models, but two I am familiar with that have wifi support only use 2.4GHz. And that makes sense since 5GHz, while offering better performance, has such a limited range. 2.4GHz could easily penetrate a couple internal and then an external wall and still extend 50+ feet out into the yard. My point is, the weather stations should not even be sending any 5GHz signals that would interfere with 5GHz access points.

Of course, I could be wrong.

However, I just helped a friend set up the outdoor sensors for his new La Crosse W41 Wi-Fi Pro and note it only supports 2.4GHz. A look at the specs in the manual even talks about connecting to a multi-band router, saying, "Note: If you have a multi-band router, this device will connect to the 2.4GHz band when connecting to Wi-Fi."

If the bug is in your station, I can only assume (hope!) it has been fixed in their newer products. I am a bit disappointed, that, even in this new W41, there is no way to update its firmware.

My problem with my La Crosse station is that I live very close to a military base. And while they vehemently deny it, when doing maintenance on the electronics of some of their aircraft, they occasionally send out a very wideband, 5 - 10 second burst of intense RF energy that temporarily interrupts a variety of RF devices - like garage door openers and my weather station's link from the sensor array back the display unit. But like I said, they deny it. I was only a certified radio electronics technician who maintained air traffic control radio systems, stationed on that base for 10 years, so what do I know?

The garage door openers recover immediately. But for my weather station, I have to drop the outdoor sensor unit from the pole, press the reset button, hoist the unit again, then re-orient the sensor to due south. Now that is a PITA. Why don't they have auto-recovery and a built in compass? Oh well. I digress.

 

[Shrek]

Very useful to know they don't have firmware updates.

I got spoiled as the Securify Almond was very cheap second hand, but can no longer reach the weather server.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Very useful to know they don't have firmware updates.

I get it for those systems that don't connect to our wifi networks. But more and more do support wifi access so why not support firmware updates? I can only assume it is because it would add a couple $$ to the cost, and sadly, I assume they would much rather we buy new instead up upgrading.

 

[Shrek]

I am very much for longevity

Bug zapper went out yesterday, not the tube but the circuit board, great excuse to get one with UV LEDs rather than a tube that doesn't last long; also saves on electricity.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Too bad they don't really do anything for mosquitos, gnats and other biting, disease-carrying bugs because mosquitos are not attracted to UV and other types of light.

In fact, studies have shown bug zappers are very effective at killing beneficial insects instead.

I would urge you do your home work before spending your money.

Do bug zappers really help fight mosquitoes? | HowStuffWorks

However, a bug zapper might not be the best answer to your mosquito problem. Timothy Frick and Douglas Tallamy from the University of Delaware checked through 14,000 insects killed in six zappers in different spots around Newark, Delaware, and found that only 31 were biting gnats or mosquitoes -- that's less than one-quarter of one percent. The truth is that mosquitoes are not attracted to ultraviolet light in the way that many other insects are, making the usual type of bug zapper almost useless in getting rid of them. Worse, the sheer number of non-harmful insects killed by the zappers can take a heavy toll on the ecosystem.

 

[INSTG8R]

I’m more of a nut about temps some rooms literally have 2 different temp monitors. But I’m just as curious about out side and recently lost one of my outdoor sensors. So i really didn’t need an excuse to upgrade my old one hooked to Wif i and was unreliable and I nev used the ap anywa so I grabbed the latest model which still uses the same sensor so I was back to 2 again 1 sensor on the west wall, one on the south. Of course the sun beating on then kind a defeats the purpose but for morning temps and more importantly when it’s cold I’m ready

 

[nomdeplume]

I really like the securify almond due to its stand alone ability to display the internet weather without the need for a computer; but the service is becoming unreliable and I was wondering if there were any suggestions for a replacement.

Have you made any official inquiries into the matter or just decided to purchase another device?

A part of me is snickering at the idea to suggest a smart watch that is in every room and every location you are.

 

[Shrek]

Too bad they don't really do anything for mosquitos, gnats and other biting, disease-carrying bugs because mosquitos are not attracted to UV and other types of light.

In fact, studies have shown bug zappers are very effective at killing beneficial insects instead.

I would urge you do your home work before spending your money.

Do bug zappers really help fight mosquitoes? | HowStuffWorks

I'm after catching fruit flies from my Wife's indoor plants, and it is very effective at this.

Have you made any official inquiries into the matter or just decided to purchase another device?

I keep bothering them, and they fix the server issue... till recently when they seem to no longer care.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Of course the sun beating on then kind a defeats the purpose

LOL

I think we are a bit alike here (being a nut about it, that is). Except for my La Crosse weather station (which is designed to sit out in the open and in direct sun), I really have no place around my house to place sensors where, at some point during the daylight hours, the air temp is not thrown off by the sun. I thought the north side of my house would work but it seems the sun beating on the south side of my neighbor's house and the heat that reflects off several windows of his house, significantly affect the temperature there too.

So, I have multiple weather monitors and atomic clocks (with outdoor temp and humidity sensors) in the house with sensors placed at different points around the yard. And depending on the time of day, I will ignore on display, then check a different display to see what the temp outside really is.