Brian Hurst
EF1
Just downloaded PYKL3 Radar update 1.05 is on the market now with GPS,Interstates and Gesture pad is pretty cool.
rdale
EF5
The gesture pad / AFOS request interface is a GREAT add-on.
Tim Stoecklein
EF5
The latest update is a huge step up. I'm a fan of the addition of the gesture pad, and the functions that go along with it. Did anyone mention SN integration and position reporting? Everything has been very quick to load for me, even as I came across the far reaches of E CO to W KS yesterday where signals were weak.
Great work!
Great work!
Mike Ridgeway
EF2
Just downloaded this app to my phone, very cool. Thanks! Those forecast discussions come up quick too.
Jeremy Den Hartog
Is anyone else having problems getting this? I was going to purchase this a couple weeks ago and decided to hold off and instead I downloaded the demo. I now changed my mind and was planning on purchasing the full app. I go into the marketplace and now the full version isn't available? I can find the demo version but not the full app...
rdale
EF5
Uninstall the demo first.
Jeremy Den Hartog
Yep tried that...maybe the 'marketplace' is having some issues
Darren Addy
EF5
Don't see Mr. Jurecka in the ST Members list yet. If it is true that he has applied for ST membership, I'm curious as to what is taking so long to get him approved?
Adam Ball
EF0
I've talked to him a number of times and he has said that he has applied, but was still waiting.
Jeremy Den Hartog
Just an update for anyone else having the problem that I was having (where I could only find the trial version of this app in the marketplace and not the full version). To find the full version of the app (if you have flashed different firmware on your phone like I have), you have to download/install the 'Droid Eris marketplace fix' which you can find in the Droid marketplace. Then just wipe your cache file and you should be good to go...
J Nelson
Joe (the developer) is still waiting for membership approval. He asked to relay a message that PYKL3 1.06 is available for Android Tablet devices on appslib.com.
joe.jurecka
EF2
Hi all,
After a month of not hearing a thing out of the site administrators, I went a different route to obtain access to this site. I must admit that I find it quite poor that no response was made after the initial request or follow-ups. Ok, that is off my chest....
I'm here now and hope that I might be able to contribute something useful to the discussions.
Joe
After a month of not hearing a thing out of the site administrators, I went a different route to obtain access to this site. I must admit that I find it quite poor that no response was made after the initial request or follow-ups. Ok, that is off my chest....
I'm here now and hope that I might be able to contribute something useful to the discussions.
Joe
Rob H
EF5
Hey Joe, welcome aboard!
Out of curiosity, what's your background in development and weather, and what's your long-term goal for PYKL3? Some of the applications out there now seem to have a focus on armchair chasing, and the on-the-road features can be lacking at times. Your gestures to open other pages were a welcome feature and have me thinking that this app could have some more chaser-friendly functionality.
joe.jurecka
EF2
Hi there,
Well, I have a pretty unique background and actually on my second career path. My BS was in Electrical and actually engineered and later product managed cellular network infrastructure for a company which has since fallen into the history books. Back in the mid 90s, I wrote an application called Squawkbox which enabled a simulated real-time air traffic control environment for Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane, ATP, and I think perhaps one other sim (memory is the first thing to go). That app, to this day, although I relinquished development to another individual, remains quite popular and the only app of its kind nearly 15 years later. I've written a number of 10k+ line programs for my employers over the years although I've never been hired as a programmer. I just use my skills to improve things when I can. About 5 years ago, I embarked on a career change and picked up my Masters of Atmospheric Science. My thesis was actually related to storm electrification and compared the findings of the National Lightning Detection Network and intra-cloud lightning as detected by networks such as the Houston LDAR Network http://atmo.tamu.edu/ciams/ldar/, the Oklahoma Lightning mapping array (LMA), New Mexico Tech LMA, and others. I often help out with regional projects such as the West Texas LMA (still under development) and the West Texas Mesonet. My "day" job is a full time meteorologist. PYKL3 is a project I work on exclusively in my free time.
As I wrote in another posting here a few minutes ago, in another discussion, I'm not here to get rich and I think my design philosophy exudes this. I am very open when it comes to letting the users express their desires in the program. I value their feedback immensely and so I take their suggestions and try to incorporate what makes sense. I keep a list of requests on my web page so people know what's already been requested, and where it is in the development cycle. Right now, I'm diligently working on looping, but the limitations of the Android device have necessitated some additional re-architecturing. Writing for Android is WAY different than writing a PC application. I have no trade secrets or secret agendas. I just do what I can when I can and hope that people like what I create. Now, one may ask, why do I value feedback? Two reasons, really. 1. I'm not exceptionally creative when it comes to user interfaces, wow features, etc. However, there are some things that I'd like to do as the architecture allows. 2. Also related to 1 is that I believe if you listen to the users and take their ideas, you end up with a product that becomes even more valuable to the community. If we all help each other out, then everyone benefits.
I suspect that a number of chasers will find my program useful, but I also want to have something which helps Emergency Managers do their job more effectively. I also believe that, given the vast number of people out in the vicinity of weather, there is VERY little feedback to aid in public safety and storm verification (despite that I've seen so many "chasers" saying they chase in the name of science and public safety-yet they NEVER report anything either during the event or afterward--not good!) So, I'd like to help facilitate making reports too as I am able.
Regarding your comment about on-the-road features, this is a challenge. A significant challenge from a technical perspective...especially when it comes to displaying roads. I am always looking for and thinking about ways to enhance the on-road usability. I think others have found the limitation of using the Google Maps API. I actually started off going down that road (so to speak), but quickly discovered that it was too "heavy" if I wanted to really allow a flexible and scalable radar image. As it stands now, detailed road data is also too "heavy" given the CPU and memory requirements on the device. To illustrate this, in Android, an application gets 16MB to play with. That's it! The data store required for one volume scan (say BREF) is just over 10MB. Not much left over is there? You can quickly see, that to enable looping, some savvy programming techniques are required. Again, I'd love to give everybody everything they want in a radar app, but alas, we are limited by the technology. I'm just happy that I've been able to make it work as well as it does.
So, there's a little intro (well, maybe more than a little).
Joe
Well, I have a pretty unique background and actually on my second career path. My BS was in Electrical and actually engineered and later product managed cellular network infrastructure for a company which has since fallen into the history books. Back in the mid 90s, I wrote an application called Squawkbox which enabled a simulated real-time air traffic control environment for Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane, ATP, and I think perhaps one other sim (memory is the first thing to go). That app, to this day, although I relinquished development to another individual, remains quite popular and the only app of its kind nearly 15 years later. I've written a number of 10k+ line programs for my employers over the years although I've never been hired as a programmer. I just use my skills to improve things when I can. About 5 years ago, I embarked on a career change and picked up my Masters of Atmospheric Science. My thesis was actually related to storm electrification and compared the findings of the National Lightning Detection Network and intra-cloud lightning as detected by networks such as the Houston LDAR Network http://atmo.tamu.edu/ciams/ldar/, the Oklahoma Lightning mapping array (LMA), New Mexico Tech LMA, and others. I often help out with regional projects such as the West Texas LMA (still under development) and the West Texas Mesonet. My "day" job is a full time meteorologist. PYKL3 is a project I work on exclusively in my free time.
As I wrote in another posting here a few minutes ago, in another discussion, I'm not here to get rich and I think my design philosophy exudes this. I am very open when it comes to letting the users express their desires in the program. I value their feedback immensely and so I take their suggestions and try to incorporate what makes sense. I keep a list of requests on my web page so people know what's already been requested, and where it is in the development cycle. Right now, I'm diligently working on looping, but the limitations of the Android device have necessitated some additional re-architecturing. Writing for Android is WAY different than writing a PC application. I have no trade secrets or secret agendas. I just do what I can when I can and hope that people like what I create. Now, one may ask, why do I value feedback? Two reasons, really. 1. I'm not exceptionally creative when it comes to user interfaces, wow features, etc. However, there are some things that I'd like to do as the architecture allows. 2. Also related to 1 is that I believe if you listen to the users and take their ideas, you end up with a product that becomes even more valuable to the community. If we all help each other out, then everyone benefits.
I suspect that a number of chasers will find my program useful, but I also want to have something which helps Emergency Managers do their job more effectively. I also believe that, given the vast number of people out in the vicinity of weather, there is VERY little feedback to aid in public safety and storm verification (despite that I've seen so many "chasers" saying they chase in the name of science and public safety-yet they NEVER report anything either during the event or afterward--not good!) So, I'd like to help facilitate making reports too as I am able.
Regarding your comment about on-the-road features, this is a challenge. A significant challenge from a technical perspective...especially when it comes to displaying roads. I am always looking for and thinking about ways to enhance the on-road usability. I think others have found the limitation of using the Google Maps API. I actually started off going down that road (so to speak), but quickly discovered that it was too "heavy" if I wanted to really allow a flexible and scalable radar image. As it stands now, detailed road data is also too "heavy" given the CPU and memory requirements on the device. To illustrate this, in Android, an application gets 16MB to play with. That's it! The data store required for one volume scan (say BREF) is just over 10MB. Not much left over is there? You can quickly see, that to enable looping, some savvy programming techniques are required. Again, I'd love to give everybody everything they want in a radar app, but alas, we are limited by the technology. I'm just happy that I've been able to make it work as well as it does.
So, there's a little intro (well, maybe more than a little).
Joe
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Ben Holcomb
EF5
I purchased this app the other day, and have to say I am rather impressed. Definitely a lot of features that can be added, and definitely a lot of places to improve, but it is a very good and functional app so far. I think it's well on it's way to being a radar scope equivalent for Android.
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