Remember when The Weather Channel actually had weather? It’s been a while, but we sure remember what a boon Local on the 8’s was when getting ready for the day. Not having to wait for the low-information national forecast on the morning shows or putting up with the antics of [Willard Scott] or [Al Roker] was just icing on the cake.
Recreating the retro look and feel of the Weather Channel experience is what this 1990s-style weather feed is all about, and we have to say that [Mitchell Scott] knocked it out of the park. Luckily, a lot of the heavy lifting was done already thanks to the WeatherStar 4000+ emulator project, which renders forecasts using online weather APIs in the distinctive retro graphics The Weather Channel used back in the day. He combined the graphics with the original smooth jazz soundtracks that TWC used back then; they’re online, because of course they are.
To really sell the look, [Mitchell] tracked down a period-correct Zenith TV with a 9″ CRT to display the feed from a Raspberry Pi 4’s composite video output. Why such a small screen? Easy. [Mitchell] wanted it on a shelf behind him to be visible during videoconferences. It’s a bit of a weird flex, but we respect it. Getting the composite video output working was a bit of a chore, as was tricking the TV into starting up on channel 14 so the feed is instantly visible.
The nostalgia is strong with this one, especially for weather geeks. For a more in-depth look at how The Weather Channel brought those local forecasts to cable, make sure you check out how the WeatherStar box was reverse-engineered.
Thanks to [USA-RedDragon] for the tip.
If you want the look but not the power drain then you can simply incorporate an NTSC simulator! https://hackaday.com/2022/12/25/encoding-ntsc-with-your-hands-tied/
WeatherStar 4000+ emulator: https://github.com/netbymatt/ws4kp
Thanks for the links!
I’ve been trying to find the theme tune they played when they showed weather channel on MTV back in the 90’s, but I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. It was playing during the intro with the falling umbrellas. Any got it on tape?
It was none of those listed in the article’s link – it was more like a happy chiptune song.
Kept the actual tube display + included the smooth jazz. Excellent execution
What a fun historical resurrection. And I love that he runs it in the background during videoconferences.
Super elegant! And well explained on the site too! Thanks for sharing.
I want channels 18, 24, 63, 109, 87, and the Weather Channel.
All we need is an avatar of Cheryl Lemke to do weather reporting again…