Sky Harbinger for iOS

[Omaroo]

Simon (kustard) has done it again by producing (or reproducing, and improving-on, in this case) another top little app for iPhone (which also runs on iPad at reduced size). The original, "AstroWeather", based on 7-Timer doesn't seem to be available any more. No matter. The Sky Harbinger app was introduced as part of another thread, but I think that it really deserves its own discoverable thread.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/sky-harbinger/id524028630?mt=8

As mentioned, it utilises the same data sources that 7-Timer does which, I've found over time, to be more robust than relying on your mainstream weather services.

Once again - it runs in any of several screen colours, but for we astronomers it happily accommodates with a dark ruby red for preservation of night vision.

Rather than using the pie-graph and "tree leaf" approach for indicating the various parameters, it uses more-familiar bar charts and actual textual information.

Very nice Simon - and thanks a bunch. :thumbsup:

1) Uses location services.
2) Sydney looks good for the next few days.
3) Choosing Melbourne from the granular list.
4) Settings page.
5) Melbourne looks dreadful. LOL

[Octane]

Downloaded and installed.

Well done, Simon, it's a beauty.

H

[troypiggo]

Yep, well done. Great features over and above the other astro-weather apps I've used.

[kustard]

Thanks for posting up the positive reviews guys :)

Like I said in the other post, if you have any features you'd like me to add in I'll certainly put them on the list.

Cheers,
Simon

[troypiggo]

I posted a review on the iTunes store for the first time ever for you too! :D

[kustard]

I saw that Troy! I was very excited :)

(The other review is one my wife did so it doesn't really count *grin*)

[Octane]

You beat me to it, Troy! :)

H

[kustard]

Firstly I want to thank everyone who has downloaded the app. It's had a decent amount of downloads, around 250 or so.

Secondly, I've submitted an update to the app last week and it should be approved within the next few days.

Fixes and features:
1) Temperature setting now saved.
2) Spelling mistakes fixed (I hope I got them all).
3) Fixed an issue with the time not being determined correctly.

4) You can now add up to 10 user locations by accessing the "Sky Harbinger" settings under the iPhone settings.
5) Added moon phase information as a percentage of full.
6) Wind Direction and Speed on the same line, touch to toggle between them.
7) Time and Date on the same line, touch to toggle between them.
8) DMS Location and Location Name can be toggled.
9) Added blue colour for temperatures less than 0C/32F.

Cheers,
Simon

[Omaroo]

Good on you Simon - I can't wait for the release! I've used it lots since the initial offering. Sound like worthwhile improvements, for sure.

I like the sound of Blahville, USA. Will have to visit one day. :lol:

[Octane]

Hey, Simon -- thanks so much for doing this. It's a great little utility, and, you've made it even better. Will update as soon as it shows up in the App Store. :)

H

[Terry B]

It is very good thanks.
I am finding it useful for general weather forecasts as well.
My only comment with it is it is oriented 180deg from the way I hold the phone or the iPad. It just means I have to turn the phone around.

[gb_astro]

Simon I find it takes two goes to get it to work on the iPad 4g sometimes.
First time it starts with just a warning in red that it can not find the network.
Second time it starts as it should.

gb.

[kustard]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys :)

Blahville (and the variables "Blah" when coding) has a popular place for me during my coding career ;)



Hi GB, there are five (5) possible start up scenarios:
1) Black screen with wait animation then data is displayed.
2) Black screen but no data, this is when the app doesn't receive data from the 7Timer! website, most likely due to server issues on their end or the connection is dropped but the internet is available.
3) Red text 1 - Device is in Airplane Mode or Network is unavailable.
4) Red text 2 - Device has Location Services turned off.
5) Red text 3 - App has Location Services turned off.

I'm unsure why you would be getting the 3rd scenario happening if you are able to get data after a second attempt. The only thing I can think of is that for some reason the app is getting notification that the network is not available by the OS but I'm unsure why that would be. I only have a wi-fi iPad to test on so there might be a small discrepancy between them when in wireless internet mode that is causing your issue. I'll have a look about to see if there is something I need to consider for the iPads.

Terry, I'll add in the 180 degree rotation in the next update, I really should have put it in to start with, sorry for your troubles.

Cheers,
Simon

[Omaroo]

I'm the same Simon - my favourite code test client has always been "Acme Roller Bearings Inc". :lol:

[kustard]

Hahaha :)

FYI, App has been approved, thanks again guys :)

Cheers,
Simon

[troypiggo]

I just installed this on my iPad. Did I miss something in the search, or do you have the just install the iPhone version and use the 2x button for iPads?

[h0ughy]

will it work with an ipod?

[kustard]

It should work on an iPod touch with iOS 5.0 or later.

At the moment there is only the native iPhone version. It will run on the iPad and you can either run it with the small window or at x2. I'll be converting it to run on both iPad & iPhone when I get time.

Cheers,
Simon

[troypiggo]

Slight feature suggestion that I would imagine is easy? You've got the wind directions there. What if you used a colour, or for when it's red/monochrome maybe the lightness of the text, could indicate relative wind speeds?

[kustard]

Hi Troy, I have to fix up the time bug, seems I didn't fix it even though I changed the code so I'm going to be updating it soon.

At the moment you can see the wind speed by tapping the "Wind Dir" text but yeah I can add in text colouring for relative speed. Maybe in monochrome mode I could toggle the direction and speed, make it change every second or so?

Cheers,
Simon

[troypiggo]

Sorry, thought I'd replied to this. Don't mind me, I didn't realise you could see the speed by tapping the wind dir icon. That's well and truly sufficient and no need for you to go to any more trouble than that.

[BC]

This looks excellent but I am having a bit of trouble starting it on my Ipod Touch (ios 5.1). I have Location Services on and WiFi connected and I get the message about no network connection or Airplane mode. If I turn Location Services off and run the app, it prompts me to double tap which puts me straight into the Settings page. I then exit from the Settings (since I have already set the location previously) and it is all running fine. A bit of a work-around to get in but a good app when I get there.

Edit: Now that I re-think it, since there is no GPS in the Touch, if I just turn off the Location Services for that app, the whole thing works just fine with about 1 extra tap. I was on a different tack because some apps require Location Services to be on, despite the lack of GPS in the unit (eg Stellarium's dynamic sky feature)

Bruce

[kustard]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the feedback. I'm in the dark when testing it on iPod Touch devices as I don't actually have one physically to play with.

If you have the time (and inclination) can you PM me a step by step procedure of what happens with the app for when the location services are both on and off and what you have to do to get the app working smoothly. If you can make screenshots of each step then that would be great.

What I can do is detect iPod Touch devices and adjust for the fact that the hardware is different.

As I have said earlier I have to fix up a long running bug with the time and I also want to get the app to run natively on the iPad so happy to add this to the list of things to do.

Cheers,
Simon

[michaellxv]

Simon,

I have it on an iPod touch and haven't had a problem with it. I may just be lucky as here at home connected to my wifi the location services does a reasonable job of finding my general area so it has something to go on. I haven't tried it away from home but i'll try to give it a try and let you know the results.

[BC]

Simon,

PM sent.

It is interesting that it works on Michael's.

Bruce

[kustard]

Thanks guys, the more info I get the better :)

I've got your PM Bruce, I'll go over it and see what I can possibly change about to make it at least work more smoothly.

Cheers,
Simon

[kustard]

Me again (and no I've not dropped dead - just lazy hehe),

I'm in the process of adding some new features to the app and have FINALLY fixed the time/date bug that has been plaguing people who have had issues when using some particular International settings.

Once I've tested the changes to make sure I've gotten everything I'll submit the app. Until then, here are some screenshots with some of the features.

Also, feel free to ask for additional features though I have decided that I'm not going to make the app run full screen on the iPad but it will still run in iPhone mode or at "2x".

Fixes and features:
1) Fixed time issues!
2) Adjusted the help text.

3) Orientation of device now changes display orientation (landscape only).
4) Added extra Date information.
5) Added estimated Dew Point calculation.
6) Precipitation and Instability share the same line, toggle between them by tapping on the label.
7) Added Comprehensive Information Block accessible via touching on along the bottom of the screen. Tap to remove. See screenshot 3!

Screenshots 1:
1) At the top you will see more time/date information.
2) New Dew Point calculation shown below "Humidity".
3) Precipitation and Instability show on the same line, tap label to toggle.

Screenshot 2:
1) Tapping the time label will show expanded date information.

Screenshot 3: (this is the good stuff right here guys!)
1) New Information Block display. Simply slide your finger along the bottom of the screen (along the moon and wind values) to select the data block that you wish to view in the Information Block. You now have a moon phase graphic with moon data and a more easily readable table of the information for that block. Tap the block to remove it. And yes, sliding up and down the datablock will make the moon graphic change smoothly though because of the small amounts of phase difference the change isn't massive :)

Cheers,
Simon

[troypiggo]

Awesome! It's already one of my favourite and most-used apps.

[Octane]

Great stuff, Simon!

H

[kustard]

App has been approved and is live on the itunes stores :)

[kustard]

Just a quick heads up, it seems the 7Timer! website is offline and has been for about a day now. I'm hoping it returns soon but until then you'll get the "Black Screen with the S" display.

Cheers,
Simon

[HCR32]

Noticed that! and its has been playing up a little to Ill just hang in there till they sort them selves out it a good little app IMO.

[troypiggo]

I've been getting the black screen in SkyHarbinger since the update pretty much, but I can see 7timer website in Safari.

[kustard]

Hi Troy,

The website has been very unstable lately, it's been very hit and miss for me both via the app and browser. I spent a good deal bug hunting and have come to the conclusion that its not an iOS6 issue but a timeout issue. It occurs on my iOS5 test devices as well. They have just decided to coincide...

I have updated the app to 1.0.3 which has an increased timeout timer (user adjustable) and some extensive error message displaying which will help debug any issues users of the app come across.

I've also programmed the app to run on the bigger iPhone5 and iPad displays.

I'd like to thank everyone for using the app and I apologise for these issues, I'm trying to make sure the app gets every chance to grab the data if it can but unfortunately most of this current drama is unrelated to the app as far as I can determine.

Anyway, the new version should be approved in a week or so and hopefully within that time the 7timer website stabilises back to normal.

Cheers,
Simon

[troypiggo]

Awesome mate. Wasn't complaining about the app, it's one of my most used on the phone and love it.

[gb_astro]

Simon the 7Timer blog has a bit of info:

http://y234.cn/?cat=862

gb.

[kustard]

Thanks GB :)

[kustard]

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone for their patience. The 7Timer website is back up and running normally.

As of today, the new version of the app (1.0.3) has been approved and should be ready to update to your device in the next 24 hours.

Cheers,
Simon

[mithrandir]

It's up now Simon - 18:40 AEDT.

[kustard]

Hi all,

In typical fashion, I've just found a bug with the app. It only affects the iPad as far as I can tell. When you bring up the data block the moon is in the wrong position.

Before I fix it up, is there anything else you can think of that might be useful?

Cheers,
Simon

[gb_astro]

Getting a bit picky here I guess Simon but re the iPad version I see the main sceen is more orientated for landscape viewing (ie reading the Information Block) but the setup and help pages are portrate mode. ???
Also the text in the Help Page is huge. ???

gb.

[kustard]

Hi gb :)

Yeah the main screen is landscape and the other screens are portrait on all devices. The main reason is that the setup & help screens are taken straight from the AltAzAlign app and I didn't rotate them to landscape mode as I believed you'd only be in those screens very rarely.

The text in the help page (along with everything else on the iPad) is just a multiplication of the original iPhone version. The bug in the iPad is purely because when I coded the algorithm to change the screen sizes I must have missed the second part of the moon phase block.

Cheers,
Simon

[gb_astro]

Ok.
We all appreciate the work you have put into it.
gb.

[kustard]

Hi everyone,

V1.0.4 has been approved. It fixes the moon graphics when running on an iPad/iPhone5.

Thanks again to everyone who uses the app :)

Cheers,
Simon

[ourkind]

Thanks for making it available

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: / :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[kustard]

Hey guys,

Long time, no update :)

I've just had a little bit of time to fix up a few things with Sky Harbinger, updating the URL that app uses to download the data from 7Timer to their new address, and some general fixes for iOS7 and new iDevice screen sizes.

I'm hoping to get around to fixing up Alt Az Align at some point soon as well, at least to a point where it doesn't bug out on iOS7.

Cheers,
Simon

[pmrid]

Hi Simon. I saw this app being used recently and was intrigued by it. Thanks for all your work to put it out there. I've downloaded it onto my iPad but can't get past an introductory screen saying the network is unavailable or I am in Airplane mode. I wonder what I am doing that it doesn't like.
Peter

[Octane]

Thanks for the update, Simon. :)

H

[kustard]

There are a couple of reasons why you might be getting this error:

1. If your iPad is WiFi and 3G enabled then you may actually have Airplane Mode selected.
2. If your iPad is WiFi only then you may not have any network selected or you may be out of range of your WiFi.

Check your network connection and make sure you can browse the internet etc.

There are other errors that can occur if the app has network connection but may be restricted if you do not allow location services or if the 7Timer server is offline.

If you have more issues can you post up your iPad version and iOS version.

Thanks,
Simon

[pmrid]

Hi Simon,
I just downloaded the latest iOS 7.0.4 (I had previously been using 7.0.3) and note a slight change in behavior but with the same end result. I still get the "red screen of death "telling me the network is unavailable. I am using a non-GSM 16GB iPad of the older style (i.e. not one of the sexy new mini numbers) and the Model is reported (in Settings > General > Model) as MC979X/A.

The slight change in behavior is that it now takes about 12 seconds for the dreaded message to appear whereas before I installed 3.0.4, the red screen appeared immediately after the initial blue intro screen.

I have had a look in the Harbinger settings and increased the timeout figure to 120 but that doesn't seem to have made any visible difference.

Any other ideas?

Peter

[kustard]

Hi Peter,

I've double checked the code for the exact definition of what can cause that error. The location manager was unable to obtain a location value. The app has asked the location manager to tell it where the device is, by using WiFi, the location manager returns a GPS setting from your internet. It seems that for some reason, the location manager is active but unable to return a position for you.

I've never had an instance where the app will show this error if location services have been enabled for the app and there is an internet connection, whether it be 3G/4G and/or WiFi.

A possible suggestion would be to turn off WiFi, put the unit into Airplane Mode, remove the Sky Harbinger app from sitting in the background, then power down the iPad completely. Start it back up after a few seconds being off, turn off Airplane Mode, turn on WiFi, and try the app again once you have established an internet connection.

The timeout figure is used for when the app tries to connect to the data server for weather data. Initially there was a problem with 7Timer often timing out which is why this value is there but they have fixed their server connectivity so it is more reliable. Leaving it at 120 is not a problem.

Try the above steps out and if it doesn't work, send me another message.

Cheers,
Simon

[pmrid]

Aha, I believe I have a clue to the answer - and it is a "country" issue that those with the luxury of city internet don't know about but which everyone who is forced to use satellite internet under the guise of the NBN will understand.

The way the satellite allocates IP addresses is "different". I have seen how, in the past, other programs trying to use a crude location have shown me as being somewhere in the dockside of Kowloon Hong Kong and other times in Shanghai.

Perhaps you could allow location services to be optioned out and allow users to enter their specific location in the way 7-Timer allows.

Peter

[pmrid]

OK. I have the 7-Timer data displayed.
I turned Location Services off and entered the local Lat and Long. That got me into the data.
Phew.
It's a fix that works for me. Might be worth some though for a future version perhaps.

Peter

[kustard]

Thanks for that info Peter, I didn't know about that at all. I'll make a note and next time I update the app I'll make it so you can enter in location data without the need for location services.

Cheers,
Simon

[kustard]

Hi everyone, I've had a few reports in the past day or so about the SkyHarbinger app not updating.

The reason is that the 7Timer website isn't updating the data so when SkyHarbinger accesses the data it's an old data set.

I've have a quick look at their blog and it seems there is something wrong with their account so hopefully it's just a short term issue and nothing major.

Cheers,
Simon

[gb_astro]

Thanks for the heads-up.

gb.

[kustard]

The 7Timer service is back up and running but the data is still old, it may take them a few days to get everything back to working order.

Cheers,
Simon

Edit: For those wanting to know what happened, it looks like their server actually crashed and had to be sent for repair.

[troypiggo]

Been a while since I've been able to get Sky Harbinger to talk to 7Timer. The error message says try again later. I do, but still won't connect. Have played with timeouts with no effect too. Any ideas?

[NJB]

Glad I'm not the only one. It has been a while since I too have been able to get it to work.

[GTB_an_Owl]

DNS is not working

i have had to change my web pages to the raw IP address

geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

i tell a lie
just tried the web address and it worked

geoff

[troypiggo]

Yeah I can see 7 timer in web browser but not the app.

[Crux]

I too have been waiting for Sky Harbinger to work again, but thought there was something awry when it disappeared from the Apple Store. This morning I have found the answer to its fate. Please see the announcement at sibimon.net :shrug: It is as follows:

Quote
Alt Az Align & SkyHarbinger Updates

Tuesday, 26/08/2014

Hello everyone,

As of today, 26th August 2014, Sky Harbinger and Alt Az Align have officially been removed from iTunes. I have no time to update these apps.
I have however, passed on the code to a fellow Astronomical app developer who will hopefully be coding new versions of these apps when he gets time.

Thanks to everyone who has used these apps and found them useful.

Cheers,
Simon

unquote


Who knows if we will see it back in its current form.

Hayden

[troypiggo]

Aah. Missed that note, and that explains all. Must be hard maintaining free apps.