Ambient Weather WeatherBridge User manual

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 1
Ambient Weather WeatherBridge Universal Weather
Station Server Quick Start Guide
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................2
2. Packing List ....................................................................................................................................3
3. Connections.....................................................................................................................................3
3.1 USB Connection.....................................................................................................................3
3.2 IP Connection.........................................................................................................................6
3.2.1 Davis Vantage Pro and VantageVue IP Data Logger..........................................................6
3.2.2 Acurite Internet-Bridge......................................................................................................6
3.2.3 Ambient Weather ObserverIP ............................................................................................7
4. IPAddressing (finding the WeatherBridge)....................................................................................8
4.1 Magic IP Finder (preferred)....................................................................................................8
4.2 Software Scan Tool (alternate IP finder)................................................................................8
5. Browser Access...............................................................................................................................9
6. License............................................................................................................................................9
7. System...........................................................................................................................................10
7.1 Security (password)..............................................................................................................10
7.1.1 Remote Login................................................................................................................... 11
7.2 Localization.......................................................................................................................... 11
8. Network.........................................................................................................................................12
8.1 Type of Connection and Configuring WiFi..........................................................................13
8.2 Lan Bridge............................................................................................................................13
8.3 IPAddress.............................................................................................................................13
8.4 Restoring the default IPAddress..........................................................................................13
8.5 Restoring to Factory Default................................................................................................13
8.6 Advanced Network Settings.................................................................................................13
9. Select Station.................................................................................................................................14
9.1 Weather Station Type............................................................................................................14
9.2 WeatherLinkIP (WLIP) ........................................................................................................14
9.3 Altitude.................................................................................................................................15
10. Live Data..................................................................................................................................16
11. Weather Network......................................................................................................................17
11.1 Wunderground.com (Weather Underground).......................................................................18
11.2 Other Web Hosting Services.................................................................................................18
12. Services (Email, Twitter, http, ftp and mysql)..........................................................................19
13. Communication with PC and Mac software (Davis Instruments only)....................................20
13.1 WeatherLink Software...............................................................................................................20
13.2 Virtual Weather Station ........................................................................................................21
13.3 WeatherSnoop for Mac.........................................................................................................22
14. More Information .....................................................................................................................23
15. Liability Disclaimer..................................................................................................................23
16. Warranty Information ...............................................................................................................24

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 2
1. Introduction
Note: For technical issues, please email the developer: [email protected].
Please reference Section 7.1.1 for instructions on providing remote access to the developer. Provide
the URL and your password.
The following quick start programming guide provides basic instructions for connecting your
WeatherBridge to your weather station and router and the Internet. This is a supplement to the detailed
information provided at www.MeteoBridge.com.
Note: Ambient Weather uses the terms WeatherBridge and MeteoBridge interchangeably.
WeatherBridge is the complete product, including the Linux computer (TP-LINK), and operating
system. The operating system is referred to as MeteoBridge, developed by smartbedded UG, on the
web at www.MeteoBridge.com.
Note: The WeatherBridge has been programmed and licensed by Ambient Weather before you receive
it. For warranty replacement, please contact Ambient Weather directly. Ambient Weather warranties
this product for 1 year.

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 3
2. Packing List
The packing list is as follows:
No
Description
Image
1
WeatherBridge Computer
2
WeatherBridge Power Adapter
3
WeatherBridge Power USB Cable
4
Ethernet Cable
5
USB Hub Converter (optional)
-OR-
Figure 1
3.Connections
There are two weather station connections supported by the WeatherBridge:
1. USB (reference Section 3.1)
2. TCPIP (reference Section 3.2)
3.1 USB Connection
Connect the WeatherBridge as follows (reference Figure 2 and Figure 3X):
1. Connect the weather station USB connection into the USB port on the WeatherBridge.
Note: If you have a Davis Instruments WeatherLink 6510USB USB data logger, connect one
end of your data logger into the console (refer to the 6510USB data logger instructions), and

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 4
the other end into the USB Hub (Figure 3).
Figure 2
USB Connection
If your weather station does not support USB 2.0, you will need to connect the USB hub (optional)
between the weather station console and the WeatherBridge, as shown in Figure 3.
-OR-
Figure 3
Optional USB Hub/Converter for 1.x Devices. Carefully note the USB Hub output connections to the
WeatherBridge.

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 5
The following table summarizes the USB version for most weather stations:
Weather Station
USB
Ambient Weather (WS-1080, WS-1090, WS-2080)
1.X
Davis Instruments VantagePro, VantagePro2 and VantageVue 6510USB and
6520 WeatherLink Data Logger
1.X
Fine Offset WH-1080, WH-2080, WH-3080
1.X
Honeywell / Meade TE923, TE827, TE821, DV928, Hideki, Mebus, IROX
1.X
La Crosse/ELV: WS-2300 Series, WS-300-PC, WS-300-PC-2, WS-300-PC-US,
WS-444, WS-500 , WS-550-Technoline, WS-550-US, WS-550-2-US, WS-777,
WS-888, WDE1
1.X
Oregon Scientific WMR-88, WMR-100, WMR-200, WMRS-200
1.X
Peet Bros: Ultimeter 100/800/2000/2100/II (requires USB to Serial
Converter)
Check
your
device
Rainwise MKIII Series, serial data logger (requires USB to Serial Converter)
Check
your
device
USB to Serial converters
Check
your
device
Use USB Hub for 1.X. No USB hub required for 2.0.
2. Connect the WeatherBridge to your router or switch.
Note: a cabled connection is required to configure the device. It can later be disconnected
after the optional WiFi LAN is configured.
3. Connect theAC power adaptor to the WeatherBridge. The power light will turn ON
(reference Figure 4).
The Status/Reset light will flash slowly, then rapidly, then solid green. This process can take
several minutes. Once the status/reset light is solid green, you are ready to begin.
If it does not turn green, and continues to flash rapidly, it has not made a connection to the
Internet. Check your connections and firewall settings.
Figure 4
Status Lights
Note: If you have a Davis Instruments WeatherLinkIP 6555 data logger, reference Section

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 6
3.2.
Note: If you have a weather station with a serial port, you will need a USB converter and
serial cable available here:
HTUhttp://www.ambientweather.com/cousbto9sead.htmlUTHand
HTUhttp://www.ambientweather.com/secoca6.htmlUT
3.2 IP Connection
3.2.1 Davis Vantage Pro and VantageVue IP Data Logger
Connect both your VantageVue 6555 IP Data Logger and the WeatherBridge into the same router, as
shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5
The Davis Instruments 6555 and WeatherBridge communicate over your local area network.
3.2.2 Acurite Internet-Bridge
The WeatherBridge must be configured as a WiFi device to support the AcuRite Bridge, since the
AcuRite Bridge uses the only Ethernet Port.
In order to configure the WeatherBridge as a WiFi device (as outlined in Section 8), you must connect
the WeatherBridge via an Ethernet or LAN cable, shown in Figure 6.
Once the WeatherBridge is configured as a WiFi device, unplug the Ethernet cable from the Router
and plug in theAcuRite Bridge, as shown in Figure 7.
The "LAN Bridge" option on the Network Tab (reference Section 8.2) must be enabled to allow the
Acurite Internet-Bridge to connect to the Internet as before.

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 7
Figure 6
Connections Required to Configure WeatherBridge as WiFi Device.
Figure 7
AccuLink Connections After WiFi is Configured.
3.2.3 Ambient Weather ObserverIP
1. Connect both your Ambient Weather ObserverIP and the WeatherBridge into the same router,
as shown in Figure 8.

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 8
Figure 8
The Ambient WeatherObserverIP and WeatherBridge communicate over your local area network.
4.IP Addressing (finding the WeatherBridge)
There are several different ways to read the IP address of the WeatherBridge (easiest first):
Use the Magic IP Finder (preferred). Reference 4.1.
Use a network software scan tool. Reference 4.2.
4.1 Magic IP Finder (preferred)
If the WeatherBridge Status light is solid green, it has made a connection to the internet. Simply type
the following web address into your computer’s web browser, and the MagicIP Finder will find your
IP:
http://magicip.meteobridge.com
The date and time of the last successful connection will be recorded. Here is an example:
Meteobridge TL-MR3020 (MAC A0:F3:C1:C9:34:EE) with LAN IP 192.168.0.42 at
2013-02-19 20:25:29.
If prompted for the Username and Password, enter:
Username: meteobridge
Password: meteobridge
4.2 Software Scan Tool (alternate IP finder)
The WeatherBridge is programmed from the factory for dynamic addressing (or DHCP). This allows
to you to address the unit from any computer on your network without modifying the IP address.
However, since it is dynamic, you will have to determine the address that was assigned to the unit.
To determine this address, download a free IP scan tool here:

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 9
Hhttp://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com
For Mac and Linux users, visit:
HTUhttp://www.angryip.org/w/DownloadUT
Select the Scan button in the software. After the scan is complete, locate the IP address associated
with the Mac Address of the MeteoBridge. The prefix will begin with one of the following:
90:F6:52:xx:xx
A0:F3:C1:xx:xx
Figure 9
In the example above, type http://192.168.0.33 into your browser to begin communicating to the
MeteoBridge.
5. Browser Access
Enter the IP address found in the previous step into your web browser.
If prompted for the Username and Password, enter:
Username: meteobridge
Password: meteobridge
6.License
From the Menu tab, select License, as shown in Figure 10. Record the License Key for warranty

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 10
purposes:
License Key (case sensitive):
Figure 10
License Key
7.System
From the Menu tab, select System.
7.1 Security (password)
The default username and password is meteobridge and meteobridge. There is likely no need to
change this, but you can enter a new username and password. Record the changed username and
password here for future reference:
Username: (default is meteobridge)
Password: (default is meteobridge)
To make the changes permanent, select Save andApply.

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 11
7.1.1 Remote Login
To login remotely, from the System Tab, select the checkbox Allow login from the internet via this
URL.
Note: It can take up to one hour for this remote login URL to become active.
Figure 11
7.2 Localization
Enter the appropriate time zone, longitude and latitude, and select Save andApply.

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 12
Figure 12
8. Network
From the Menu tab, select Network

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 13
8.1 Type of Connection and Configuring WiFi
The default network connection setting is LAN, DHCP (dynamically assigned IP address).
To connect to your wireless network, select the Wireless LAN option and enter the wireless network
settings, as shown in Figure 13 (this is only an example, your settings will be different)..
To convert from LAN to Wireless LAN, select Save and Apply and Reboot, and disconnect from
your router. The IP address will likely remain the same and can be accessed in a few minutes through
your browser.
8.2 Lan Bridge
Check this setting for the AcuRite Bridge. WeatherBridge will “sniff” weather data from the TCP
traffic, and the Acurite Internet-Bridge data will pass through the WeatherBridge to the Internet.
8.3 IP Address
You can change from DHCP to manually assigning the IP address, as shown in Figure 13 (this is only
an example, your network settings will be different). In most cases, you will not need to change the IP
address to a static IP on your network.
To convert from DHCP to statically assigned IP address, select Save andApply and Reboot.
The IP address can be accessed in a few minutes through your browser. Wait until the status light on
the WeatherBridge transitions from blinking rapidly to a solid.
8.4 Restoring the default IP Address
In the event the IP address cannot be accessed and the status light is blinking rapidly, plug the
WeatherBridge into your router, press and hold the status light until it blinks once, then let go. The
WeatherBridge will reboot and wait until the status on the WeatherBridge transitions from blinking
rapidly to a solid.
8.5 Restoring to Factory Default
To restore the WeatherBridge to factory default, plug the WeatherBridge into your router, press and
hold the status light until it blinks five times, then let go. The WeatherBridge will reboot and wait until
the status on the WeatherBridge transitions from blinking rapidly to a solid.
8.6 Advanced Network Settings
If you are having issues communicating over your Local Area Network (LAN) or Wireless Area
Network (WLAN), we recommend reviewing the following guide:
http://meteobridge.com/wiki/index.php/Setup_Network#Type_Of_Connection

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 14
Figure 13
9.Select Station
9.1 Weather Station Type
Reference XFigure 14. From the Menu tab, choose Weather Station.
Select your weather station type and then Save.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you own a Davis weather station USB or Serial data logger, DO NOT enter
a value for WLIP. Leave this field blank. This is reserved for the WeatherLinkIP data logger.
9.2 WeatherLinkIP (WLIP)
If you own a Davis Instruments WeatherLinkIP data logger (6555), enter the WLIP address. Otherwise,
leave this blank.
Enter the IP and port (separated by a colon) in the "WLIP" input field (example:
"192.168.1.222:22222").

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 15
This will tell WeatherBridge to connect this station over your LAN/WLAN (in the example on IP
192.168.1.222 at port 22222) and not the USB port.
To obtain the WeatherLink IP settings, you will need to run the WeatherLink software that came with
the WeatherLinkIP and select Setup | Communications port to identify the IP address and port number.
9.3 Altitude
Enter your station altitude in meters. The WeatherBridge will automatically calculate the sea-level
corrected pressure (or relative pressure) from the measured pressure (or absolute pressure).
To convert feet to meters:
1 foot = 0.3048 meters
Example: I live at 1,000 feet. What is the altitude in meters?
Altitude (meters) = 1,000 feet x 0.3048 meters/feet = 304.8 meters.
Note: Your console relative pressure may be different than the WeatherBridge calculated pressure
because of the difference in the methodology of calculating relative or sea-level corrected pressure.

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 16
Figure 14
10. Live Data
To view the live data from your weather station, select the Live Data tab. To refresh the data, select
the refresh button from your web browser.
The most common issues to no live data are:

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 17
The incorrect weather station is selected
The weather station USB port has locked up and needs to be reset. To reset your weather
station console, reference your weather station user manual. Most consoles require you power
down and power up again.
Reference Figure 15 for the typical live data presentation.
Figure 15
Live Data
11. Weather Network
To upload the live data from your weather station, select the Weather Network tab.

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 18
11.1 Wunderground.com (Weather Underground)
To upload data to Wunderground.com, you must first register on the Wunderground.com website.
Registration is free.
1. Visit http://www.wunderground.com/ and select Join if you do not have an account.
2. Once registered with Wunderground.com you will need to sign up your station. To get started
visit:
http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/setup.asp
3. Once registered, enter your Station ID, Password and Upload Interval in the WeatherBridge
fields.
4. Click on the wunderground.com logo to view your current data.
NOTE: It may take up to 30 minutes for your live data to appear on Wunderground.com.
Figure 16
11.2 Other Web Hosting Services
To add more Weather Networks, select the pull down menu bar to select from the list.
Logo
Description
Website
Location
Meteo Plug
www.meteoplug.com
Germany
AWEKAS Weather
Map Reporting System
www.awekas.at
Austria

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 19
Logo
Description
Website
Location
WeatherBug Backyard
www.weatherbug.com
USA
WeatherForYou
www.pwsweather.com
USA
UK Met Office
wow.metoffice.gov.uk
UK
Windfinder
www.windfinder.com
USA
Citizen Weather
Observation Program
www.wxqa.com
USA
Open Weather Map
www.openweathermap.org
USA
12. Services (Email, Twitter, http, ftp and mysql)
To upload the live data via email, twitter, http, ftp and mysql, select the Push Services tab.
WeatherBridge provides some additional "push services", which can send weather information via
email, twitter, HTTP requests, FTP uploads, mysql queries or by implementing a user defined script.
All of these services can be triggered by certain alarm conditions, at a certain time of the day or in
periodic intervals ranging from a few seconds to minutes or hours.
Configuring push services is done in two steps.
When you want to use a email, twitter, mysql or FTP you have to configure the basic authentication
for these services fist.
Having configured the service, you can then define a specific event that uses of one of the services.

Version 1.10 ©Copyright 2016, Ambient LLC. All Rights Reserved. Page 20
For additional information on Push Services, please visit:
http://meteobridge.com/wiki/index.php/Push_Services
Figure 17
13. Communication with PC and Mac software (Davis
Instruments only)
If you own a Davis Instruments weather station, and own a WeatherLink data logger (6510USB,
6510SER or 6520), you can run WeatherLink software while the WeatherLink data logger is
connected to the WeatherBridge.
13.1 WeatherLink Software
1. Run WeatherLink software from any computer on your local area network
2. Select Setup | Communications Port.. from the menu bar.
3. Select TCP/IP as the communications. The TCPIP port is 22222 (default). Enter the IP
address of WeatherBridge, as shown in Figure 18 (your IP address will be different than the
example below).