[Jute]

Hi,

We look like we are going to be moving over from the traditional PC to Mac soon. I have always run WeatherlinkIP on my pc so am looking for something which:

• Looks nice!
  
• I am able to use my current files with, i.e. all those stored in prog files which Weatherlink currently uses

I know Davis have a Mac version but I have read mixed reviews.

If anyone uses any weather software on a Mac I would be interested to hear what and how you get on with it.

Thanks.

[Dave K]

You could try asking at http://macweather.net/ too.

[willwood]

I use some software called WeatherCat with my wireless VP2: http://trixology.com/

It works great and has loads of features and a really nice GUI. I believe the lead developer (Stu) is based in Scotland (or somewhere up that way) and sometimes visits these forums. Although WeatherCat (previously known as Lightsoft Weather Centre) was mothballed and went through a period of about 18 months with limited support or development, the new WeatherCat project is very much alive. Updates for Mountain Lion OS compatibility went out last week, for example. Right now I'm working on coding a few extra addons for WeatherCat.

[johnd]

Couple of caveats:

Most Mac software (even WL for Mac) will not read existing WL .wlk files so you need to double-check that any Mac software of interest can actually deliver this import facility, if continuity with existing data is important to you.

Compatibility of software with the IP logger seems to mean different things to different people. I'm not sure that there's any software that offers complete WLIP compatibility, ie even in WL for Windows itself, if you run with the Bulletin open then the hourly archive uploads to wl.com may not be reliable. So you do need to specify how you wish to configure the new software for routine running (ie would you have a local real-time screen like Bulletin open all the time) before asking the question as to whether there's compatibility with your preferred WLIP configuration and upload schedule preferences.

[Mothman]

Stu or a colleague had a converter for wlk files to Lightsoft WC,
I did 10 years of data, but gave up on LWC because it wouldn't talk to my VP.

I assume that this LWC data can be used in WeatherCat.

I'm still using Weatherlink on my mac by running XP in virtualbox but when I have time I'll try WeatherCat assuming that all my converted files will be importable.

[willwood]

Pretty certain I have read somewhere about being able to export your data from Weatherlink or other software, and import that data into WeatherCat. It's not something I have tried myself, but I think it can be done. Likewise I think you can get your data back out of WeatherCat very easily too. Best to ask the developer.

When I bought my VP2, I purposefully went for the Windows version of the data logger and WL. At the time Mac's were switching from PPC to Intel architectures, so there were known issues trying to get the datalogger talking with the computer and vice-versa. Davis unfortunately got the reputation of being very slow at bringing forward vital software updates and providing customer support for Mac users. The Windows version is USB, so it plugs straight into the computer without needing a serial-to-USB converter. There is a single freeware driver to download, and then everything works great from then on. Of course, things might have changed or improved in the meantime.

[Jute]

Thanks for the replies on this one, currently still using a PC and not quite gone Mac just yet!

A few options to consider, however we do have a laptop which we could always use if all else fails with a Mac - I didn't realise that Weatherlink IP easily works on our wireless network, i.e. the laptop will easily connect as if hard wired and even run the live summary/bulletin screen.

[StephenS]

There's also the option of sticking with your existing software and running it on a Mac. This article might help: http://www.macworld....n_your_mac.html