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This is the help file and full instructions for the Steampunk Weather Gauge Yahoo Widget. This Steampunk Weather Widget is based on the Digistation widget written by Bogdan Irimia, enhanced and steampunked by Dean Beedell with kind permission of Bogdan. Displays local air pressure, temperature and humidity, as well as the general weather outlook in hundreds of cities around the world. The widget has been given a completely new steampunk skin and some new functionality.

This widget currently uses a Weather feed from : http://vremea.meteoromania.ro to obtain weather information. The default location is London Heathrow. It can be easily changed to a weather feed near you.

Why is this feed needed? The answer is that the weather information (Metar data) is provided by various organisations throughout the world by airports, weather stations &c. If there is Metar data feed near you and the widget can find it then your local weather will be displayed dynamically.

Installation Instructions

This Widget will install and run on Windows XP/Win7 and Mac OS/X systems.Download Yahoo widgets and install it. You must have Yahoo widgets installed in order to run the widget as that is how it has been designed. Yahoo widgets is the runtime engine that allows these widgets to be displayed. Yahoo Widgets does unfortunately come with a load of non-Steampunk widgets already installed that you must remove if you want an uncluttered steampunk desktop. However, removal of these is easily done, a simple right click on each and then "delete widget" is sufficient to uninstall each until all the non-steampunk widgets are removed.

You will  need Yahoo widgets for this widget to run. Get Yahoo widgets here.

This widget is written in Javascript and XML which is used by the Yahoo widget runtime engine. This widget is capable of running under the Yahoo widget engine only.

When Yahoo widgets has been installed, it will detect that a new widget has been downloaded and it will install it automatically.

Widget Startup

When the widget starts it will search via the internet for the default feed selected. If found the Widget will display the weather information. The default location is London Heathrow. There may be a wait for 15-30 seconds whilst the widget pulls in the weather feed. Note: if you do not have an internet connection the weather widget cannot obtain weather information.

Instructions for use

The weather indicators and controls of your widget are as shown above. The widget has a number of graphical controls. You can identify the function of each working component by hovering the mouse over each. A pop-up will show giving you a description.

Most of the configuration changes that can be made can be effected at both the front and back ends.

If you perform a right click on the widget it will pop up a drop down menu. Select "Widget Preferences".

Select the temperature unit, either fahrenheit or celsius.

There is code behind the steampunk thermometer  that allows the yahoo widget to be resized. It can now be made significantly smaller than the standard large size and it looks rather sweet in small form. Not everything will work after a resize though! - this is a beta! The widget can also be resized at the front end using the resizing knob.

You can enable or disable  the 24hr clock. 

Location Selecting Menu

If you perform a right click on the widget it will pop up a drop down menu. When you select to change your location a pop-up will appear giving you the option to type your location. Choose a location near to you that will be providing METAR weather data. For example in the South Coast of the UK you might choose Gatwick Airport. If you choose a local airport or aerodrome you are most likely to find a METAR weather feed.

How does the Widget work?

The answer is that the weather information (Metar data) is provided by various organisations throughout the world by airports, weather stations &c. If there is Metar data feed near you and the widget can find it then your local weather will be displayed dynamically. 

METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting.

Raw METAR is the most popular format in the world for the transmission of weather data. It is highly standardized through International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which allows it to be understood throughout most of the world. 

When an aerodrome completes a weather observation it is sent via AFTN to that country's collecting point. AFTN is a elderly worldwide 'teleprinter' messaging system mostly with a PC front ending it but in some parts of the world it will still be a teleprinter. The system automatically sends the information so it is displayed at airfield controller positions. As an example at Luton Airport (UK) the collecting point is either Heathrow CACC or the Met Office at Exeter. Here it is put into a Global Opmet bulletin and sent out again via AFTN (this bulletin contains several aerodromes together in the same bulletin). It is only at this point that it gets put onto the internet.

The information is published on the internet at several points by different providers, some charge for this service and for some it is free. It is regularly updated and can be relied upon to provide an accurate weather report. We use one of the free feeds. The report is provided in this format:

 764.3|23|65|1cloud_norain.png|http://vremea.meteoromania.ro/metar/EGNM/%lang%|Leeds And Bradford, United Kingdom|1309087200
vals[0]    "764.3"
vals[1]    "23"
vals[2]    "65"
vals[3]    "1cloud_norain.png"
vals[4]    "http://vremea.meteoromania.ro/metar/EGNM/%lang%"
vals[5]    "Leeds And Bradford, United Kingdom"
vals[6]    "1309087200"

The widget regularly visits the feed to see if there is a new report. If there is then it downloads the information and interprets it and then displays it in the form you see above.

Reviews 

I really hope you enjoy this widget, a lot of work has gone into it and it has given me great pleasure to provide a Steampunk widget that would be usable to a lot of other people. I don't ask for donations but can I please ask you to leave some positive feedback at yahoo widgets? Tens of thousands of people have downloaded and installed this widget but only a very few can be bothered to give feedback. By doing so, you make a lonely developer very happy!

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