APRX extension

Description

The APRX extension generates an APRS compliant weather beacon file. The extension consists of a single WeeWX service that generates the weather beacon file.

Pre-requisites

The APRX extension requires WeeWX v3.0.0 or greater and when used with WeeWX v4.0.0 or later can be used under Python 2 or Python 3.

Installation

The APRX extension can be installed manually or automatically using the wee_extension utility. The preferred method of installation is through the use of wee_extension.

Note: Symbolic names are used below to refer to some file location on the WeeWX system. These symbolic names allow a common name to be used to refer to a directory that may be different from system to system. The following symbolic names are used below:

• $DOWNLOAD_ROOT. The path to the directory containing the downloaded APRX extension.

• $BIN_ROOT. The path to the directory where WeeWX executables are located. This directory varies depending on WeeWX installation method. Refer to where to find things in the WeeWX User's Guide for further information.

Installation using the wee_extension utility

1. Download the latest APRX extension from the APRX extension releases page into a directory accessible from the WeeWX machine.

   $ wget -P $DOWNLOAD_ROOT https://github.com/gjr80/weewx-aprx/releases/download/v0.2.1/aprx-0.2.1.tar.gz
   

   where $DOWNLOAD_ROOT is the path to the directory where the APRX extension is to be downloaded.

2. Install the APRX extension downloaded at step 1 using the wee_extension utility:

   $ wee_extension --install=$DOWNLOAD_ROOT/aprx-0.2.1.tar.gz
   

   This will result in output similar to the following:

   Request to install '/var/tmp/aprx-0.2.1.tar.gz'
   Extracting from tar archive /var/tmp/aprx-0.2.1.tar.gz
   Saving installer file to /home/weewx/bin/user/installer/Aprx
   Saved configuration dictionary. Backup copy at /home/weewx/weewx.conf.20200412124410
   Finished installing extension '/var/tmp/aprx-0.2.1.tar.gz'
   

3. Restart WeeWX:

   $ sudo /etc/init.d/weewx restart
   

   or

   $ sudo service weewx restart
   

   or

   $ sudo systemctl restart weewx
   

This will result in the weather packet file being generated on receipt of each loop packet. A default installation will result in the generated beacon file being placed in the /var/tmp directory. The APRX extension installation can be further customized (eg file locations, frequency of generation etc) by referring to the APRX extension wiki.

Manual installation

1. Download the latest APRX extension from the APRX extension releases page into a directory accessible from the WeeWX machine.

   $ wget -P $DOWNLOAD_ROOT https://github.com/gjr80/weewx-aprx/releases/download/v0.2.1/aprx-0.2.1.tar.gz
   

where $DOWNLOAD_ROOT is the path to the directory where the APRX extension is to be downloaded.

2. Unpack the extension as follows:

   $ tar xvfz aprx-0.2.1.tar.gz
   

3. Copy files from within the resulting directory as follows:

   $ cp aprx/bin/user/aprx.py $BIN_ROOT/user
   

   replacing the symbolic name $BIN_ROOT with the nominal locations for your installation.

4. Edit weewx.conf:

   $ vi weewx.conf
   

5. In weewx.conf, modify the [Engine] [[Services]] section by adding the WeewxAprx service to the list of process services to be run:

   [Engine]
       [[Services]]
   
           process_services = .., user.aprx.WeewxAprx
   

6. Restart WeeWX:

   $ sudo /etc/init.d/weewx restart
   

   or

   $ sudo service weewx restart
   

   or

   $ sudo systemctl restart weewx
   

This will result in the weather packet file being generated on receipt of each loop packet. A default installation will result in the generated beacon file being placed in the /var/tmp directory. The APRX extension installation can be further customized (eg file locations, frequency of generation etc) by referring to the APRX extension wiki.

Support

General support issues may be raised in the Google Groups weewx-user forum. Specific bugs in the APRX extension code should be the subject of a new issue raised via the Issues Page.

Licensing

The APRX extension is licensed under the GNU Public License v3.