wxn weather server 0.1 released

The first release of the Linux version of my WXN weather server, 0.1 is now available for download. The code is open source and is licensed under the GNU/GPL.

The WXN weather server is a suite of daemons that run on the Linux platform. It allows users to obtain real-time, archived weather data and other related information stored in a database via APRS on amateur radio, the Internet, or a Local Area Network. Most common weather stations are supported (listed below). The various daemons are written in C/C++. The RDB used is PostgreSQL.

Highlights of key features are as follows:

* SQL based
* Supported weather stations: Heath ID-5001 (now Questech), Peet Brothers Ultimeter stations (all), TAPR T-238/T-238+ and Davis Instruments Monitor II, Wizard, Perception, and Vantage Pro stations.
* Support for additional sensors using 1-Wire technology. The current list includes the following: barometer, temperature (inside, outside, soil), rain gauge, EMP (lightning) sensor, outside humidity, control interfaces for aspirator (used with humidity sensor) and rain gauge heater, and background radiation (as in nuclear). With the exception of the soil temperature sensor, all features are supported in the X1W series of kits available from TAPR. Instructions (with pictures) on how to build a soil temperature sensor can be found on my home page.
* Support for the Peet Brothers Weather Picture (does not require a Peet station to use).
* Built-in native APRS support for weather, position, PHG, and status.
* Built-in callbook support for callsign resolution using US and Canadian data readily available over the Internet or QRZ cdrom.
* Query server allows polling database over radio using APRS messaging protocol.
* Support for extended weather data over APRS (highs, lows, climatological, and other data not natively supported by APRS).

The system has been extensively tested on Red Hat 9, Fedora Core 3, Fedora Core 4, and current versions of Gentoo, Debian, Suse, and Mandrake. Fedora Core 4 is the main target.

Under development is a NWR SAME daemon that will monitor, record and broadcast watches and warnings from the NWS over APRS.

More information, including an on-line sysop manual, can be viewed on my web site:

http://n4xi.home.insightbb.com

The code can be downloaded at my web site or from TAPR in the weather area:

    http://www.tapr.org

John Bennett, N4XI
14 January 2006

John Bennett
Evansville, IN
Amateur Radio Web: http://n4xi.home.insightbb.com
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Does anybody have a widget or routines, preferably PERL, for interfacing an application to the HTPP CONVER server?

I'd like to tie our local chat channel to APRS.

For example.

Messages on CONVER channel 14646 get broadcast from the local APRS server. Likewise, sending an APRS message to some alias such as C14646 would have the server forwarding it to CONVER channel 14646.

Thanks,
Bill - WA7NWP

Is this a very low volumn converse channel? seems it would put a lot of action on the APRS channel?

Neat idea, just wonder how it will impact the APRS channel if there were a lot of converse activity.

--
Chuck Hast -- KP4DJT --
To paraphrase my flight instructor;
"the only dumb question is the one you DID NOT ask resulting in my going out and having to identify your bits and pieces in the midst of torn and twisted metal."

CONVERS is about dead. APRS "activity" is dieing. Both need a jump start. If it gets busy, we have lots of underused spectrum to light up.
On the air activity is a good thing.

Bill