- This topic has 7 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 10 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
rummaging through the forums, it looks like opensprinkler is having issues with APIs disappearing from the weather sites they use. When setting up my system, I noticed that the weatherunderground API key will expire in six months. I run a local weather station that transmits its data to several weather sites, but is also locally accessible on my LAN. Is there any possibility of either opensprinkler accessing this local weather station, or this weather station broadcasting its data to opensprinkler? The local station I use is https://www.meteobridge.com/wiki/index.php/Meteobridge_PRO. It might even be possible to integrate the function of the Meteobridge_PRO into the Raspberry PI on my OpenSprinkler PI setup.
I would also like the weather data to be cached locally so that the weather based adjustments could be based on the weather since the last watering cycle. I use my opensprinkler pi to control the watering of my fruit trees. Some are on a once a week schedule, and others are watered every two weeks. The current weather based adjustments had one tree watered at 120%, and the next day another tree watered at 49%. The current weather based adjustments only work if you water every day.
Looking at the rain delay, I do not see any way to set the threshold for how much rain will cause a rain delay. It would also be good to be able to adjust the delay based on how much rain accumulated.
Just to make sure I understand this question: are you referring to using PWS (personal weather station) as weather data source? I am not sure what you mean by “issues with APIs disappearing from the weather sites they use”. The default weather source we use is DarkSky, and we have a paid API key for it. I’ve not heard reports that the API disappears. So I assume you mean using PWS with Wunderground. Understand that currently we only support PWS through Wunderground. Whether WU API key expired in 6 months or not is beyond my knowledge — I haven’t heard of this, but if this is a new thing, I will take a look and see if there is any work-around. It’s difficult to read directly from your PWS because different PWS have completely different APIs and it’s going to be a big challenge to write code to accommodate them all. On the other hand, those that can send data to WU will all follow WU’s API standard, that’s why read their data through WU makes things much easier and streamlined.
Also, source code for all pieces of the project is available on Github. If you want to customize any part of it, such as changing the way it calculates watering percentage, change the rain delay threshold, you can feel free to do so. The github is:
http://www.github.com/opensprinklerThere was another thread a few years ago about weather underground changing their API key policy and not allowing access.
As far as the API expiring, I found that my old API key was gone, and created a new one on weather underground, and found that it had an expiration date six months from when I created it.Yes I am referring to using the PWS as the weather data source. The advantage is that I would not have to worry about the api key expiring, or the web site being purchased by someone else and being screwed up.
As far as attempting to modify code, I once attempted to modify the mouse driver in linux to support a different mouse. I wasted a bunch of time trying to figure out even which files the part I wanted to change was buried in. I never found it. These projects usually have a steep learning curve that one must climb before one can do anything useful in them. I am a hardware guy, and have not done serious programming in 20 years. It is fine to point me at the source code, and for you it might be a trivial change, but for anyone else the learning curve to be able to do anything useful is a huge barrier to even making a trivial change.
Perhaps interfacing with WeeWX http://www.weewx.com/docs/hardware.htm#vantage_notes would alleviate the problem of too many APIs. They seem to support a lot of different weather stations, and it can be run on a raspberry pi.
I have not tried using it yet, so I’m not sure how hard it is to connect to my Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station.I believe that’s already supported. Check the github repository:
https://github.com/OpenSprinkler/OpenSprinkler-Weather
close to the bottom of the page, where it describes WeeWx.I just received my first OpenSprinkler and set it up on my wireless network to start learning about it. Unfortunately the “Powered by Dark Sky” link at the bottom of the Forecast page takes you to a page that says “Dark Sky API”and “We are no loner accepting new signups” (https://darksky.net/dev)
The blogpost the page lists says that existing users will be supported until July 1, 2020. Afterwards all non Apple subscribers will be cut off. Typical Apple move!
It goes on to say, the API service will continue to function through the end of 2021, but will not accept new signups. It seems to be blocking my device from connecting.
Unless it is actually an hour later and 58 degrees in New Orleans today in the middle of the eye of Christobal…My apologies to the Forum. I posted too soon. I figured out that the controller does not take the location settings from Dark Sky but from manual location and time zone inputs. I promise to experiment more before posting in the future.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.