Davis Weatherlink
Davis weather stations including the Vantage Pro, Vantage Pro 2, Weather Monitor 2 and Weather Wizard 3 will all work with the Davis Weatherlink software.
We have written an interface that allows data to be taken out of Weatherlink and imported into Skymet at regular intervals.
It is done this way due to the proprietary connector that exists on Davis weather stations, which prevents the use of a standard serial or USB lead. However, the advantage of this means that Skymet can run alongside Weatherlink without the usual conflicts that would otherwise occur when trying to access the same weather station with different pieces of software.
Weatherlink comes with built-in Internet facilities that will allow a template text file to be converted into weather data. We supply the template file with Skymet. In Weatherlink, you need to choose the template file and the time interval at which you want to generate the data. In Skymet, you set the same time interval and choose the file output by Weatherlink in the preferences.
Setting up WeatherLink
This document assumes the weather station has been set up on the PC and that weather data is being recorded on the computer successfully in the Weatherlink software.
Inside the WeatherLink installation directory, there will be a directory named for the station. Underneath this there is a directory called 'Templates'. Place your copy of the template file (eg wx-template.htx) in here. For example, if your weather station is named 'Office', the template directory is underneath the 'Office' directory.
Now, start WeatherLink if it is not already running.
To set up the file generation, take 'setup' - 'internet settings' from the menu. Press the button for 'internet connection settings'. Tick the 'local transfer enabled' button and put in a filename.
Underneath the main Internet settings there are some profiles. Pick one of them and press the 'configure' button. Make the following settings:
Upload every: 15 minutes
Starting at: 0:00
Download weather station first: tick this box
Press the 'Select Template File' button. A new panel will appear.
Press 'Add' to choose a file. It should show you the files in your current templates directory. If you dropped the template file into the right place, it should show here. Choose it and press 'Open'.
Change the extension of converted HTX files from .htm to .inc
Press OK.
You don't need to upload any reports or images so we are now done. Press OK again until you get out of the internet settings.
Weatherlink should start generating the file automatically. Make sure it does so before proceeding to Skymet. You should normally see a dialogue box pop up at each storage interval, telling you what it is doing.
Setting up Skymet
In the Preferences section, choose 'Vantage Pro 2' as the weather station type. The COM port box will change into a file selector dialogue. Use this to pick up the file Weatherlink has generated.
While still in Preferences, switch to the General Settings tab and choose a storage interval that is the same or less than the one you chose in Weatherlink. Skymet will read the file at the requested storage interval and if the data is new, it will store the data in its own database.
You can see the last import status on the Weather Display screen. If it says 'unsuccessful', it is likely the data has not changed in between file readings. The next import time is also shown on the bottom of the Skymet window.