SkyWeather2 Gmail Configuration

There are a log of Gmail users getting an unexpected surprise from Google if they use their Gmail password in other applications (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) These apps no longer work.

This is due to a security change Google is rolling out. Google now requires 2-Step Verification is activated and all ‘less secure’ apps must use an App password instead of a Gmail password.

Despite the surprise, this is a good security practice. I am all for it.

If you have your SkyWeather2 systems’ Email notification service configured with your Gmail password, these emails will be rejected by the Gmail servers. To fix this, you need to configure an App password for your SkyWeather2 system.

Fear not! I wrote up a ‘How-To’ document that walks through the process. It is pretty painless and only takes a few minutes.

You can find the document here.

Sopwith

SkyWeather2 Issue Resolved

As noted in previous posts, the latest version of SwitchDoc Labs SkyWeather2  software release (May 7, 2022 – Version 027.6) broke my installation script. The problem involved updates to the MySQL database schemas.

New releases of the SkyWeather2 software are updates. This means there is an assumption that you have a working installation of a previous version. My installation script starts from a clean Pi OS and installs all software and dependencies from scratch.

This has not been a problem historically, but the latest SkyWeather2 update makes changes to the existing database schemas, and assumes the databases exist.  To correct this problem, I need to be able to create the databases before running the update scripts.

SwitchDoc Labs support has been terrific in helping me fix this issue. I was provided access to all of the information (e.g detailed database schemas) I needed to get my install script working again.

You can find the latest version of the install script here. It is recommended you install SkyWeather2 software on a Pi running the 32-bit Buster version of Pi OS.

It is interesting to note, my install script runs fine on the 32-bit Bullseye version of Pi OS with legacy camera support enabled. This is not officially supported but those of you that like to live on the edge can hack around and report any issues.

Thanks again to the great folks at SwichDoc Labs for supporting me in getting this issue resolved.