| Weather Star Jr | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Wegener Communications |
| Family: | WeatherStar |
| Hardware: | Wegener 2450 (TMS34010 at 40MHz) |
| OS: | Proprietary |
| Graphics: | ASCII Text |
| Release Date: | 1994 |
| Status: | Legacy - Used in few cable systems around the country |
The Weather Star Jr is one of many versions of the Weather Star technology developed for The Weather Channel by Wegener Communications in Duluth, Georgia.
Contents |
The Weather Star Jr. was based on Wegener's Series 2450 graphics display platform. This system utilized a TMS34010 graphics processor at 40 MHz, running firmware written for The Weather Channel. The Weather Star Jr. is used in smaller cable headends, where a WeatherStar 4000, WeatherStar XL, or IntelliStar were cost-prohibitive.
In 1990, Wegener Communications created design concepts for the Weather Star Jr, which was first released in 1993. The Weather Star Junior would be used in cable headends that could not afford any other unit (either the former Weather Star III, Star 4000, Star XL, or IntelliStar).
A major Federal Communications Commission deadline of 30 April 2002[1] forced TWC to provide audio tone generators to all operators of a Weather Star Jr in order to provide warning tones after the first display of a weather warning. In some instances, this unit replaced WeatherSTAR III units when the FCC and TWC discontinued the line in December 2004 because it could not produce a tone after the first display of a weather warning. By this time, most of the few remaining III units could no longer produce a tone at all, and making tone generators or other improvements to them would have been costly.
The Jr. had the same products and appearance as the III, but with the font of the WeatherSTAR 4000 and still displayed information from the National Weather Service (and from TWC since 2002) on blue, red, tan, or gray backgrounds. The Jr could produce a warning tone in the event weather warnings were issued with the help of the Weather Star Jr Audio Weather Alert Generator that produces DTMF tones. Many of the larger cable companies never used the Jr. or opted to replace it with the newer Weather Star XL or IntelliStar. Finding a working one today as of 2011 is extremely rare, very few small communities and independent cable providers still use the Jr. system, most others have adopted the 4000, XL or IntelliStar.
| Flavor | Added | Length
(Minutes and Seconds) |
Segments Featured | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 1993 | 1:00 | Latest Observations, Almanac or Tides, 36 Hour Forecast, Regional Conditions | |
| E | 1993 | 1:00 | 36 Hour Forecast, Extended Forecast, (Air Quality), Latest Observations | |
| H | 1993 | 1:00 | 36 Hour Forecast, Regional Forecast, Almanac or Tides, Latest Observations | 1995 |
| J/LL | 1993 | 3:00 | Current Conditions, Latest Observations, Regional Conditions, 36 Hour Forecast, Almanac or Tides, Regional Forecast, Travel Cities Forecast, Extended Forecast, (Air Quality), [Outlook] | 1997 |
| K | 1993 | 1:30 | Current Conditions, Almanac or Tides, Regional Forecast, 36 Hour Forecast, Extended Forecast, (Air Quality), Latest Observations | |
| L | 1993 | 2:00 | Current Conditions, Latest Observations, Regional Conditions, Regional Forecast, Almanac or Tides, 36 Hour Forecast, Extended Forecast, (Air Quality) | |
| M | 1993 | 2:00 | Current Conditions, 36 Hour Forecast, Extended Forecast, (Air Quality), Travel Cities Forecast |
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