XM WX Works Deactivation

[Jeff Buss]

I searched old threads and did not immediately see this, so my apologies of this was covered.

Called XM today to downgrade my service to the "Sailor Package" for the remainder of June. In my conversation, I also asked if they could just stop the service on a given date rather than having me call again.

She inquired whether I would activate again and I told her "next year."

She then told me that instead of deactivating, you can request "end of season." The difference was that it keeps your account active, and you do not have to pay the reactivation fee next spring.

I did ask if this was true even if you weren't going to have any monthly service during the nine months or so between now and then and she again reaffirmed that you would pay no monthly charges nor an activation fee next spring.

This certainly made me happy. Not sure if this was something I've overlooked or something new they are offering.

 

[John O'Keeffe]

Jeff,
This is something they offered last year as well. I deactivated my service at using the "end of season" offer at the end of November 2006 and reactivated in February 2007. I was not charged in December or January and no reactivation fee was charged. It is a sweet deal and a good way for WXWORX to keep its customer base.

 

[David Drummond]

I was told last season that I was getting mine put on "end of season" and wouldn't have to pay the activation fee.

When it came time to start it back up this year, come to find out they had deactivated it and was going to charge me the fee anyway. I finally got it waived.

Glad I sold mine. GRL3 and Sprint have been working out quite fine without it.

 

[Brett Adair]

Working on selling mine currently. I don't want to have to deal with these issues as well as the data issues with the system.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I have been downgrading to Sailor for the off-season but I may try this for the winter.

Despite the issues, I wouldn't toss WxWorx yet. Seems I've been reading a lot of chase reports this year about chasers missing tornadoes because they were in a data void. The cell coverage is getting better, but the holes are still there to bite you when you need the data the most. I don't care how fancy Grlevel3 radar is, when you don't have the data at the critical time, it's useless. WxWorx radar could have 1982 Atari 2600 resolution and would still get you to the storm.

 

[Dick McGowan]

Just a quick comparison:

GRlevel3 = 80 bucks. Alltel connection that has failed me 0 times (for more than 5 minutes) 25 bucks unlimited, phone cost 49 (motorola razr), phone plan 40 a month (1000 texts a month too!). Jeff Snyder's placefiles for GR3 = free.

So 65 a month, for phone and unlimited data and I bought a new lens instead of a "unit."

Wxworx unit 700-up to $1,000 (for new) packages vary from 30-100 a month (100 a month gets you spc overlays).

While wxworx is "reliable", I'm poor, and can deal with a spotty connection, which I haven't really had. Coverage will only get better.

If they don't lower their prices, or come up with some better software, people will be giving them away for FREE in the future.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

While wxworx is "reliable", I'm poor, and can deal with a spotty connection, which I haven't really had. Coverage will only get better.

Well, that and the radar resolution truely, truely sucks. I know that I could not use WXWorx for radar interpretation -- there are chasers out there talented enough to divine good info from that smoothed data, but I'm not one of them.

If they don't lower their prices, or come up with some better software, people will be giving them away for FREE in the future.

EVDO keeps rolling out. There will probably be a few niche chasers who keep WXWorx for various reasons (can't get a cell plan with the right carrier, need 100% reliability, have lots of money and need another gadget), but I suspect in a few years you'll see WXWorx units selling on Ebay for $50-$100.

 

[David Drummond]

I won't say I haven't had a few data holes with Sprint....but I just did what we did in the old days and chased without the data for a while. It's amazing...it still works.

I like the WXWORX, but in my experience with it my own personal opinion of it is that it's way overpriced for what you get (both the unit itself and the service). If you were getting the kind of data (and data manipulation) with WXWORX that you get with GRL3, but through the satellite, all the time, everywhere....it would be well worth it and a no brainer.

 

[Gene Moore]

Reading WXWORX

The more I use WXWORX the more I get used to the resolution vs what's really going on. As mentioned before the biggest value is the placement of the first echo, especially at night. Also the general awareness of the situation that's always on. I've learned to spot subtle indications of a hook on WXWORX and other signs of a storm going supercellular even though the resolution is 2KM. For example, the Santa Fe NM (tornadic) storm the other day had a different look than the other echoes, rather kidney bean shaped.

My season is over, except some random runs on special occasions. It started in February in the Texas panhandle with the Hadley tornadic storm and ended with a photogenic storm at Garden City KS on the 9th. During that time I wore 25,000 miles of tread off my tires, mainly with trips to the Dakotas. My Cingular connection worked about 70 percent of the time, better than last year....year before etc...their coverage is increasing in KS and Nebraska, but remains far from great. Still, there are places it does not work, nor will other cellular providers. I chased with people that had Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile this season. None of them worked as well or as much as Cingular and no I don't own stock in AT&T

. I remain skeptical of claims that Cellular-X works everywhere for me. That said, I chased 8 states and did not get into IL, WY, MT, MO this year. Celluar coverage still can't beat WXWORX coverage, or the turn it on and forget it approach. With cellular there is an ongoing fight to get and keep cellular connections out in rural areas, time that should be spent watching the road and the sky. WXWORX missed placing spinnin-wheels on about half the tornadoes I saw, but how many mesocyclones on GRLevelX actually produce a tornado in the camera? I caught myself become a radar-chaser a few years ago and backed off the radar only decisions. My chasing got better when I did. I think as a group we're depending too much on radar and not so much on the sky these days. Radar chasing would be great if Doppler was correct most of the time, but it is not. On high shear days pretty much all storms are forced to have mesocyclones, but of that number few produce tornados. Initial updraft development, flanking lines, inflow bands are all not seen on radar.

Gene Moore

 

[beaudodson]

There is little doubt that if WxWorx doesn't lower the price and add more products - better resolution - that they will go the way of the dinosaur. How long will that be? Not sure. We are just a few years away from satellite internet - mobile - for anyone who wants it...at affordable prices. This will make WxWorx obsolete. You will be able to get internet wherever you are in the United States - sending and receiving - and it will be cheaper than anything WxWorx offers. As much as I like WxWorx for some events I just can't see it surviving. Once everyone can "go on-line" with ease in their cars...well that is it.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I agree that WxWorx will be obsolete in a few years once cell coverage gets good enough to be dependable on the Plains. Right now cell coverage is not 100% dependable. It's good, yes, but people are missing storms because of the data holes that are still out there.

As for the unit's value, those of us that have had it since it came out have gotten our money's worth out of it and them some IMO. I won't be worried if I only get $50 for it when I sell it. More than half of the tornadoes I've seen in the past three years WxWorx played a pivotal role in. I'd have gladly paid $1000 plus the monthly fees to avoid busting on all of those chases over 3 years.

 

[J Kinkaid]

The end of the season special has been around for at least 2 years that I know of .