WeatherStar 4000+: Weather Channel Simulator

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Nostalgia & Atmosphere

  • Many commenters report a strong emotional/nostalgic hit: “Local on the 8s,” CRT hum/squeal, scanlines, and the particular late‑80s/90s smooth jazz/fusion sound.
  • The music is central: people recall discovering bands like The Rippingtons, Pat Metheny, Spyro Gyra, Phish, etc. via The Weather Channel and even buying official Weather Channel CDs.
  • Several mention how hearing the music triggers powerful memories, including of deceased parents, and note how sound (and smell) evokes nostalgia more strongly than visuals.

Music, Rights, and Archives

  • The simulator originally included period music but dropped it due to copyright concerns; some feel this use should qualify as fair use, others point out the original broadcasts were properly licensed.
  • Links are shared to detailed track archives, CD releases, Internet Archive collections, YouTube playlists, and Twitch/Spotify streams of “Weather Channel music.”
  • There’s side discussion over whether music was licensed via ASCAP/BMI versus custom-commissioned to avoid royalties.

Original Hardware, Firmware & Preservation

  • A related YouTube project runs recreated 90s forecasts on real WeatherStar 4000 hardware with custom firmware, written by someone who learned C/assembly along the way.
  • Concerns are raised about undumped/undocumented software (including SGI O2–based Weather Star XL systems) potentially being lost if disks fail or owners lose interest.
  • Some people have full software environments/tarballs sitting on old machines and are encouraged to upload them for archival.

Usage, Tech Details & Variants

  • Feature requests: smaller watermark, better music controls, URL-stored settings (including kiosk mode and audio autoplay), ESC to exit kiosk mode.
  • The site has issues on some Android and iOS devices (tab/app crashes, JS errors).
  • The main version uses US NOAA data only; an “international” fork is linked for global locations.
  • People share setups: Raspberry Pi + small 3D‑printed “CRT,” running it as a TV stream (OBS/SRT or headless X + browser + GStreamer), and Firestick/TV ideas.

Broader Reflections

  • Multiple comments contrast this lovingly crafted, “fun web” nostalgia with today’s homogenized, ad‑ and content‑driven media and speculate about future AI‑generated weather channels, often unfavorably.