Alerts Not Working Properly in Late Versions

We rely on Weather Watcher for timely notification of NWS alerts, which we read over our Skywarn radio nets, both for our HAM and GMRS group members and anyone who is listening on a scanner. Unfortunately, the later versions of Weather Watcher do not receive the alerts until well after they are issued. That was certainly true of versions 4.6.28, 4.6.29, and 4.6.30.

Eventually most of us have switched back to version 4.6.25 or earlier to solve this problem. We have noted that the option to retrieve forecasts no longer provides the every 1 minute option. We did not think that should effect the program from the timely receipt of alerts, though.

For the most part, our members use Firefox. Operating systems vary but include Vista, XP, Windows 2000, and Linux (I’m not sure the Linux users have attempted to install Weather Watcher, however.)

Any thoughts?

Define “well after”.

The current version of WW is well past 4.x, it is 5.6.30, but if 4.x meets your needs there is no reason to stop using it.

WW contacts TMC at it’s update frequency setting, TWC does not contact WW. Thus if an alert is issued WW will not see it until it’s next update.

If you live in an area where a minute or two wait for an alert is important you might want to consider a different app for your critical weather needs. Have you looked at http://www.singerscreations.com/Weather … Alerts.asp?

My Mistake

The version numbers should have been 5.6.xx.

Still, I was wondering if you have any thoughts on why the alerts aren’t coming up at all or are coming up anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour after they are issued in the later versions.

Sorry about the carelessness in my earlier post.

If you know there is an alert, click on the weather.com link at the bottom of the WW forecast page.

If the weather.com page for your location does not show the alert then there is a problem with Weather.com not WW.

If the weather.com page for your location shows the alert then there is a problem with WW. Do screen prints of both windows, weather.com and WW and post them so Mike can see them. Also do a screen print of your Windows Registry’s HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\Weather Watcher\SevereAlert key and post it also.

You can run both 5.6.25 and the current 5.6.30 concurrently if you:
a. install them to separate folders,
b. install 5.6.30 1st and config it to Store user files in the Weather Watcher program folder,
c. install 5.6.25 normally.
That way their setting don’t cross and screw up the Registry of each other.

This allows you to see how they are handling alerts concurrently.

hth

Troubleshooting WW Alerts

I will do my best to help find the problem. Unfortunately, I am often the Net Control Station during alerts, so it may take a few days to be able to make the screen captures.

Thanks for the tips.