Davis WeatherLink - Internet Connection Settings (Version 5.2 or later)

There are three parts to configuring your Internet connection settings:

·    You need to set up the Internet connection to your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

·    In order to upload weather information to a web site you will need to enter your FTP Host information.

·    If you are putting weather data on a local hard disk, either in your computer or on your local network, you will need to set your local path information.

Here are the options available to configure your Internet Connection settings:
Internet Connection
FTP Setup
Local Transfer Path
Exit Internet Connection Settings

aprs_davis_internet_connection.gif (9704 bytes)

Internet Connection

To specify how your computer connects to the Internet, select the appropriate radio button in the Internet Connection section of the Internet dialog box.

Select your type of Internet Connection:

·    Select "Connect through a local server" if you are not dialing a phone number to connect to the Internet. This is the only step required to setup your Internet connection if you are connecting through a local server.

·    Select "Connect through a Dialup Connection" and enter the information listed below if you are dialing up to connect to the Internet.

To Configure Your Dialup Internet Connection:

Note:    These selections are grayed-out if you are not using a dialup connection, or if you do not have dial-up networking installed on your computer.

1.    Select a Dialup Connection:

·    If you have a dialup connection already setup, it should appear in the Select a Dialup Connection window. If the connection you want appears, simply click the connection to select it.

·    If no connection appears, you need to create a dialup connection through another application. Depending on your computer configuration, use one of the following paths to open the Dial-Up Networking application, then set up a dial-up connection.

·    Start menu > Programs > Accessories > Dial-Up Networking

·    Start menu > Programs > Accessories > Communications > Network Dialup Connections

·    Start > Settings > Network Dialup Connections

Note:    If you cannot find the Dial-Up Networking application, it may not be installed on your system. Check your operating system’s help files or user guide for assistance if you have any trouble finding or installing the application, or setting up a new connection.

·    Once you have set up the dialup connection, return to the WeatherLink and re-open the Setup menu > Internet Settings dialog box to continue with the configuration. The connection you created should appear in the Select a Dialup Connection window. Click the connection to select it.

2.    Enter your ISP User Name:

·    If you have a user name to log into the ISP (Internet Service Provider), enter it in the User Name text box.

Note:    This may be a different user name than the one used to log into your FTP (or Web) site.

3.    Enter your password if you are dialing up to connect to the Internet ISP:

·    If you have a password to log into the ISP (Internet Service Provider), enter it in the Password text box located below the User Name.

Note:    This may be a different password than the one used to log into your FTP site or web site.

4.    Select your ISP connection duration/hang-up option:

·    Select "Stay Connected all the Time" if you want your computer to stay connected to the Internet all the time. You must hang up manually if this option is selected.

·    Select "Only Connect during Transfer" if you want your computer to only connect to the Internet when it is transferring files. The software will dial your Internet connection when it is time to upload data and then hang-up when the transfer is complete.

Note:    WeatherLink will only hang-up a dial-up internet connection if the connection was established by WeatherLink. If your computer is already connected to the internet, then WeatherLink will share the connection and will not hang up after transferring files.

5.    Select the number of times to attempt to connect:

·    Select the number of times your computer will attempt to make a dial up Internet connection.

·    Additional attempts to make the connection will only occur if the line is busy. No additional attempts will be made if the connection cannot be completed for any other reason.

·    If there is no dial tone, then WeatherLink will not attempt another connection until the next scheduled data upload.

·    The default is 5 attempts.

6.    Select the number of seconds to wait between connection attempts:

·    Select the number of seconds your computer will wait between dial-up attempts in case the line is busy.

·    The default time is 5 seconds.

FTP Setup

Enter the specific destination on the Internet to transfer your files in the FTP section of the Internet Connection Settings dialog box. If you simply want to transfer the files to a shared network drive or save them somewhere on your own computer, you can leave this section blank.

To Configure your FTP Host Information:

Note:    Check out FTP Help for answers to common FTP questions.

1.    Enter the FTP Host name:

·    The site you want to send the data to. For example, here at Davis, we might want to send the data to www.davisnet.com, or to our local intranet site. You can enter either a domain name (e.g., www.davisnet.com) or an IP address (e.g., 207.226.250.66).

Note:    The FTP Host address may be different than your web site address.

2.    Enter the FTP Port used by your host:

·    The "channel" on which you want to communicate with the host site. The standard port for FTP is 21. Unless you know that your host site’s FTP service "listens" on a different port number, use the default of 21.

3.    Select Use Passive Mode only if required:

·    Passive Mode is a security measure that is typically required to transfer files through a firewall. Select this feature only if required.

4.    Enter your FTP User Name

·    If your host site requires that you have a user name to log in, enter that name here.

Note:    If you also have a dialup connection, this is not necessarily the same user name you use for your dialup connection.

5.    Enter your Password

·    If your host site requires that you have a password to log in, enter that name here.

Note:    If you also have a dialup connection, this is not necessarily the same password you use for your dialup connection.

6.    Enter the Remote Path Directory (Optional)

·    The path to the particular directory where you want to place the uploaded files.

·    If you want your files transferred to your default directory at your FTP server, leave the Remote Path box empty.

Note:     If the Remote Path is empty, WeatherLink inserts a single back slash "\".
Note:     WeatherLink uses the backslash "\" for all paths. Windows converts fore and back slashes as required for FTP transfers.


·    If, however, you want your files transferred to a subdirectory, enter the name of the subdirectory in the Remote Path box. WeatherLink will create the subdirectory if it doesn't already exist.

·    Suppose, for example, that you have your own directory at the davisnet.com site "www.davisnet.com/~yourdirectory" and your default ftp directory and HTML homepage is "/users/yourdirectory".

In that case, if you want to store your data in a subdirectory of www.davisnet.com/~yourdirectory (e.g., www.davisnet.com/~yourdirectory/weather), you can simply enter the subdirectory "weather/" in the Remote Path box.

·    To send the files to www.davisnet.com/~yourdirectory/weather/moreweather, you would simply enter "weather/moreweather/" into the Remote Path box.

Local Transfer Path

Enter the Local Path Directory (Optional)

·    Enter the path to transfer weather data into a directory on your network or on a local disk drive.

·    This is required only if you are putting weather data on an Intranet or posting current weather information to a server in your local network. A Local Transfer Path is not required to upload data to a remote web server.

Tip:    Use a local transfer path to test your HTML templates before uploading them to your web site.
Note:    Network paths must be mapped to a drive letter (e.g.: "H:") to be used for a local path.


Exit Internet Connection Settings

To Exit the Data Upload Profile Dialog Box:

·    Click "OK" exit and save the changes made in this dialog box (Upload Interval, Reports File to Upload)

·    Click "Cancel" to exit without saving any changes made in this dialog box

Note:    Any changes made in the Template Files, Current Data Images, or Historical Data Images will be saved when you click "OK" in that dialog box. Clicking Cancel here will not cancel those changes.

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