Configure Pidgin to NWS WeatherWire

[Nathan Parker]

I need to access my NWS WeatherWire account on a Linux Mint Uma Cinnamon machine (on Windows, I've used Weather Message to access my NWS WeatherWire account). I followed the Pidgin instructions here:

Configuration

I am able to connect to the chat room and see all the watches/warnings/advisory headings flow in over chat.

Is there a way to:

1. View the complete text of a watch/warning/advisory?
2. Filter to just display watches/warnings/advisories by State, County, or NWS Office?

Thanks!

 

[Jeff Duda]

Boy...I'm not sure if we have any remaining active NWS personnel on this forum that could help you with this, Nathan. Hopefully someone comes along and provides the necessary information.

In the meantime, I might suggest checking other help pages or Googling this issue. You may get a resolution sooner.

 

[Alex Elmore]

I'm only vaguely familiar with this service, but was able to find the contact information for Weather Wire. This is a pretty niche thing that I'd be willing to bet that most NWS personnel aren't well versed in (including myself), so this is likely the best route to get the information you need.

 

[rdale]

Are you using the XMPPP console? That's the only place where the full text is displayed.

No - you cannot filter using Pidgin.

 

[Nathan Parker]

Re rdale: I do have the XMPP Console enabled. Do you know of another Linux app that would allow me to filter by state, county, or NWS office? Weather Message said it may eventually work under WINE when they upgrade the .NET framework underneath. I've offered to test it.

I also emailed the NWS Weather Wire support line on this as well.

Thanks!

 

[rdale]

GOESTOOLS works with the satellite EMWIN feed, which costs about $100-150 to set up. I don't know if there's a way to tweak it for XMPP, but worth a look (or "feature request"?)

GitHub - creinemann/goestools: Tools to work with signals and files from GOES satellites

Tools to work with signals and files from GOES satellites - creinemann/goestools

github.com

 

[Nathan Parker]

I was told the National Weather Service has an End User Client (EUC) for External Partners. Trying to determine how to get access to it. Once I hear back, I'll update this thread.

I don't have a satellite EMWIN feed at the moment, but it'd be fun to have someday as a backup in case my Internet goes out (which is way too often).

 

[rdale]

They got rid of the EUC a while ago, and it was a Windows program anyways.

See note 6 - https://www.nws.noaa.gov/directives/sym/pd01017016curr.pdf

 

[Nathan Parker]

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[Nathan Parker]

I managed to get Weather Message itself running on Linux using WINE. Here are the instructions:

These instructions are for Linux Mint Una Cinnamon. They should work with other Ubuntu/Debian-based distros.

1. Install WINE (I highly recommend WINE 7 or later): Ubuntu - WineHQ Wiki

2. Install winetricks. Instructions are here, but I installed my copy from the Linux Mint Software Manager since it was easier to grab: Winetricks - WineHQ Wiki

3. I HIGHLY recommend creating a dedicated prefix for WxMessage. I used the following command to create the prefix:

WINEPREFIX="/home/username/.winewxmessage/" winecfg

I did a 64 Bit Prefix so that as WINE improves 64 Bit performance, the prefix would have more breathing room on 64 Bit systems. For those who need to create a 32 Bit Prefix, use this command instead

Winearch=win32 WINEPREFIX="/home/username/.winewxmessage/" winecfg

4. Run WINEPREFIX="/home/username/.winewxmessage/" winetricks

Select "Install a Windows DLL or Component". If you don't see it, select "Install an Application", then click "Cancel", then the option will appear.

Select "dotnet48" from the list (.NET 4.8)

.NET 4.8 will install.

5. Grab the latest WxMessage installer from the WxMessage website.

6. Run WINEPREFIX="/home/username/.winewxmessage/" wine "/path/to/wxmessageinstaller.exe"

WxMessage will install.

7. Once WxMessage has finished installing, either launch WxMessage Server and license the application or import over the settings from a previous Windows installation (to copy over your Windows installation, select "View>Show Hidden Files" from the Files window, then navigate to /home/username/.winewxmessage/dosdevices/c:/Program Files/WxMesgNet. Copy the files from the Windows exported installation there.

8. Check to ensure WxMessage Client and Map are set to the correct IP address and port number of the WxMessage Server.

9. WxMessage may put program icons on the desktop but not the Mint Menu. To add the launchers to the menu, right click on each launcher on the desktop, click "Properties", then right-click on the Mint Menu, click "Configure", then "Menu", then "Open the Menu Editor", select "Other", click "New Item", and copy the command from one of the launchers on the desktop into the "Command" line on the "Launcher Properties" dialog box. Give the launcher a name and comment. Double-click on the application, select "Applications", and choose one of the WxMessage icons from the list.