Chris Lott
EF4
I was looking up some stuff on this software and was curious if anyone else has used it. What I saw looked pretty good but is it worth the price? And does it compare to other software already available? Everyone's input is welcome.
Swift WX
- Thread starter Chris Lott
- Start date
nickgrillo
EF5
I have used it in the past, but as for it being the best around -- I would certainly have to say no -- GRLevelX is the absolute best radar analysis software on the market... It also gives you GPS integration, so it will plot your current location on the radar display panel. It is extremely affordable, and is worth every penny, and it also lets you trial it out ( http://www.grlevelx.com ).
Kurt Hulst
EF5
I would agree with Nick. I have a friend who uses the Swift and he loves it but I been trying to get him to go for GRlevel. I do know Swift has GPS compatability but my friend has been having issues with this. I have tested Swift and it seemed to take longer to load products than GRlevel but it could have been the computer i was using at the time. Both are good products but I would recommend the GRlevel3.
I have used SwiftWx in the past and found it to be handy but I believe there have been a couple of versions since then.
Not to hijack the thread or anything but it seems like there are a lot of products (both software, hardware or service) geared toward storm chasers that cycle through then fall off the map. I find that interesting.
I have to wonder if it is a lack of demand for a product/service aimed at such a narrow market or if the people behind the software simply become uninterested in chasing or dealing with chasers...
Not to hijack the thread or anything but it seems like there are a lot of products (both software, hardware or service) geared toward storm chasers that cycle through then fall off the map. I find that interesting.
I have to wonder if it is a lack of demand for a product/service aimed at such a narrow market or if the people behind the software simply become uninterested in chasing or dealing with chasers...
Tim Vasquez
EF5
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I notice that too. I was kind of amazed at all the advertising money poured into Storm Predator, which is a decent program but doesn't seem to be as powerful as some other alternatives out there.
Tim
Mike Peregrine
EF5
Concerning Swift - I've used an older version for several years and it works quite well.
On Steve's point, I have wondered the same thing, as it seems there is a thrust toward getting some of this software on the market, only to die down in a year or two after the initial hubub is over. I have to wonder if there is a 'perceived market' of large numbers of chasers or emergency services who might benefit from such software, which dies down once the reality sets in that this is a pretty tough market in which to make sales. Forming a customer base with return business would be pretty tough with chasers, IMO - just because as a group this is really a 'gadget crazy' bunch of people for the most part, and as soon as something bigger and better comes out it seems like it's often time to jump on the next bandwagon. That's not a slam on chasers in any way - just the way the situation exists currently.
I really don't know why this is, but until now I have seen no real benefit to jumping on the GRLevel3 thing, as I know other places that give me the exact same product - and I'm already familiar with these. Swift is one of the ones I've used and it works fine, though I'm seriously considering something different this year.
On Steve's point, I have wondered the same thing, as it seems there is a thrust toward getting some of this software on the market, only to die down in a year or two after the initial hubub is over. I have to wonder if there is a 'perceived market' of large numbers of chasers or emergency services who might benefit from such software, which dies down once the reality sets in that this is a pretty tough market in which to make sales. Forming a customer base with return business would be pretty tough with chasers, IMO - just because as a group this is really a 'gadget crazy' bunch of people for the most part, and as soon as something bigger and better comes out it seems like it's often time to jump on the next bandwagon. That's not a slam on chasers in any way - just the way the situation exists currently.
I really don't know why this is, but until now I have seen no real benefit to jumping on the GRLevel3 thing, as I know other places that give me the exact same product - and I'm already familiar with these. Swift is one of the ones I've used and it works fine, though I'm seriously considering something different this year.
Edward Ballou
EF4
Personally, I found SwiftWX more user-friendly. I had a hard time getting GRLevelX to work properly. I think I just need to be shown how to use it.
SwiftWX is pretty intuative in its design. Sometimes I'll get messed up because it automatically caches the weather data. And I'll be going out on a chase and have data on there from my last chase - whoops.
Now where did that cell go?!?! Hehe. Good product, I like it and would reccomend it.
Oh, it also has GPS integration. Wish we could get some more road-mapping detail in there though.
SwiftWX is pretty intuative in its design. Sometimes I'll get messed up because it automatically caches the weather data. And I'll be going out on a chase and have data on there from my last chase - whoops.
Now where did that cell go?!?! Hehe. Good product, I like it and would reccomend it.
Oh, it also has GPS integration. Wish we could get some more road-mapping detail in there though.
Joey Ketcham
I used SwiftWX for a period of time but after getting GRLevel3 I no longer used SwiftWX and therefore uninstalled it. SwiftWX I liked because it had the overlays of convective outlooks, watches and warnings. If GRLevel3 could incorporate a national map that would allow displays of watches and convective outlooks, that would rock!
Jeff Snyder
EF5
Just as a comment, GRLevel3 can display dynamic placefiles (as overlays), such as SPC Outlooks, watches, etc, in addition to things like Oklahoma Mesonet data, etc.
Nick Benson
EF0
Not to continue the thread-jack, but...
I think the main problem with trying to make money selling weather data is that the free products that are out there now are so darned good. It's tough to convince people that they should shell out their money for model/radar/satellite/lightning data from [private sector weather vendor] when they can get a fair bit of similar data from [government/university source] for free. Obviously [government/university source] ought to be offering innovative products, but it makes it tough for small developers to stay ahead of them.
There are some good things in the works from [private sector weather vendor] though, hopefully we'll be discussing them here on StormTrack before next chase season.
rdale
EF5
I think people pay for something that is notably better than what you can get for free. SwiftWX (while nice) doesn't offer a whole lot you can't already grab online. GRLevelX is a MUCH different story. That's why people pay, and also go for Tyler's service to deliver the data even though it's on FTP.
People pay a nice price for GEMPAK systems, but "in theory" the same data can be had from CoD & NWS websites. It's just that "in operation" if you want the best, you probably are going to shell out a little cash.
- Rob
People pay a nice price for GEMPAK systems, but "in theory" the same data can be had from CoD & NWS websites. It's just that "in operation" if you want the best, you probably are going to shell out a little cash.
- Rob
Joey Ketcham
So I've heard, but there are no instructions - at least good ones - that shows you how to do this.
Tyler Allison
EF5
Post over here and we'll hook you up. There's only so much thread hijacking that should go on
http://www.allisonhouse.com/forum/
Jeff Snyder
EF5
Originally posted by Tyler Allison+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tyler Allison)</div>
Post over here and we'll hook you up. There's only so much thread hijacking that should go on
http://www.allisonhouse.com/forum/[/b]
LOL agreed... Or go to http://www.grlevelx.com/owners/viewtopic.php?t=897 (assuming you own GRLevel3). I posted the addresses to some scripts that I made this past summer on another thread several weeks ago. A few of them are still a little buggy (e.g. haven't implemented a method to deal with temps or dewpoints <32F / 0C on the METAR script yet, though I'm not too concerned with plotting surface obs over radar in cold environments), but I'm workin' on 'em.
To get post on-topic a bit... I did use SwiftWX a few times several years ago (5 years ago I believe), and found it to be a nice program. However, if I was trying to decide between GR3 and SwiftWX now, I'd have to go with GR3. SwiftWX is a capable program, and I haven't used any version newer than the one I had back in like 2001.
Anthony Silver
EF4
I use SWIFTWX occaisionally, and think it's a great program, however the display of SPC MD's, outlooks and watches can be bizarre at times. The one I use frequently is StormLab V 3.1. It's a little bit on the expensive side, but it's well worth the cost. Here's a link to their site: http://www.interwarn.com/
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