Virtual VP via TCP/IP with HW_VSP

Archive Tinplate Software
1

Is there an easy explanation somewhere to tell me how to do what I’d like to do with VirtualVP via TCP/IP? Here’s what I have. My VP2 on one PC with N8VBVCOM, Virtual VP, VPLive, and VWS running fine for years. I’d like to run VWS on another computer on my home network and connect via TCP to the weather station computer, but I can’t figure out how to do it.

I have HW_VSP installed on the weather station computer and have Virtual VP setup (I think!) for Virtual Console 5 and it shows dark green in Connections. Never used, of course. I have it set to the IP of that computer, lets say 192.168.0.101, port 5511. I have copied HW_VSP’s exe, which is now called HW_VSP3s_client.exe to the Virtual VP directory. In VirtualVP, I try to check Auto Run HW_VSP and it won’t stay checked. There is nothing in the right most pulldown under Virtual Console TCP/IP Settings, can’t pull it down, nothing. HW-VSP doesn’t show up in Task Manager as running. If I double click the desktop icon for HW_VSP it shows up in Task Manager, and closing HW_VSP’s window makes it go away in Task Manager.

I tried renaming HW_VSP3s_client.exe to HW_VPS.exe for the one in the Virtual VP directory. It starts up when I start VirtualVP, but it just opens the GUI window and when I close it HW_VSP doesn’t show up in Task Manager any longer.

So I guess I’m stuck. I don’t know if I have it right on the weather station computer and I have no clue where to start on the client computer where I’d like to run VWS and have it connect to the weather station computer. Can anyone point me to a simple explanation of how to do this or explain it?

Thanks!!

Tom

Edit: I might have discovered something. I uninstalled HW_VSP and deleted all it’s files from VirtualVP folder. I noticed a choice re-installing HW_VSP to install in standalone. I did that and now the exe is named hw_vxp3s.exe. I copied THIS one to the Virtual VP folder, not renaming it, but it still doesn’t start with VirtualVP. Do I need to rename it to HW_VSP.exe and will it work then?

I still have no clue what to do on the client computer however!!

2

I will answer in more detail in a bit, but a quick way to do what you want might exist in the lastes version of VWS. I believe it added TCP/IP connection support (for the IP data logger) which should connect to VirtualVp ports just like it would the data logger IP port.

Steve
SoftWx

3

Hmm…I’m running VWS v14 p42, looks like the latest is v14 p54. I don’t see anything about TCP/IP in the release notes, but I’ll install it and see what happens!

Looking forward to your help otherwise!

4

It was added in p53

5

I went for a real solution and ordered a IP datalogger today.

If you still want a beta tester for VirtualVP or anything, I’d be happy to participate. I’ll send an email, too.

6

Back to my original dilemma. I have everything setup like the original post still even though I’ve ordered WeatherLinkIP.

So I’d like to use VWS on another computer on my network to access the weather station computer which has a VP2 connected via serial and has N8VBVCOM, VirtualVP, VPLive, and VWS running. I upgraded to the latest VWS, v14p56. It now has Davis Vantage Pro 2 TCP/IP as a station choice, but in the communication setup it has a box for TCPIP with 22222 in it, looking like a TCP/IP port number, and a box for Device ID (DID) with what looks like a MAC address. So that might indicate that you need a real WeatherLinkIP with a MAC address in order to use VWS via TCP/IP WITHOUT HW_VSP type solution, right? I can’t see how to connect via TCP/IP directly from a remote computer. No place to enter just an IP address.

So, back to step by step on how to setup both computers to make this work would be appreciated.

One more question. With WeatherlinkIP, can you connect to the station from more than one program WITHOUT something like VirtualVP, which I understand is in beta to connect via TCP/IP?