Can someone help me understand "updateInterval"? DarkSky is charging me a lot of money.

cotxwx

I must have done something really wrong because I’m paying a good bit of coin to DarkSky for API calls. This is for the MMM-NOAA3 module.

updateInterval: 15 * 60 * 1000, //every 15 minutes or whatever you choose

that’s the original ^ and I updated the 15 to 60.

I guess I don’t understand what each number represents. Milliseconds, Seconds, Minutes?

I don’t know how, but I had 25k API calls to DarkSky yesterday. Trying to cut this number down. I’d just like to have it update twice hourly if at all possible (it’s current temps / extended weather forecast).

lavolp3

the updateInterval is not necessarily the API fetch interval. Usually it is used as an update Interval for your content.

DarkySky have changed their API billing for new subscribers and I believe there are no free plans available anymore.
Did you subscribe just recently?
What is your tier/plan?
Do you know which interval you’d need to get free API calls?

Before you throw money at them, there are many free weather services out there and someone may have already reprogrammed your module to use another (free) API provider.

lavolp3

@lavolp3

"Your trial account allows up to 1,000 free calls per day to evaluate the Dark Sky API. If you would like > to make more than 1,000 calls per day, simply enter billing information to upgrade to a full account. "

So you need to stay below 1,000 calls/day.
I have seen that MMM-NOAA uses a new API provider, weatherbit.

You might want to do an update.

lavolp3

@cotxwx
Also,

scheduleUpdate: function() {
        setInterval(() => {
            this.getNOAA();
        }, this.config.updateInterval);
        this.getNOAA(this.config.initialLoadDelay);
    },

this code shows that the API calls really are determined by updateInterval (as you thought).
Here something comes into play that I stumbled upon.

If you have several entities of the mirror open, let’s say you are also using a browser e.g. to develop, the main.js (and hence the setInterval function) will be started a second, third, fourth etc. time.
In that case you would have SEVERAL interval cycles asking for an API call every x minutes.
That can blow the API call ratio.
Don’t know if that’s the case with you.

That’s why I try to keep an API call cycle always inside the node_helper.js and have it start only once in my modules.

sonicgoose

@cotxwx I’m using the MMM-DarkSkyForecast module on two different mirrors, both using the same API key for DarkSky, and the total number of API calls made on my account averages 96 per day. Here’s my config:

		{
			module: "MMM-DarkSkyForecast",
			//header: "Weather",
			position: "top_right",
			classes: "default everyone",
			disabled: false,
			config: {
			    apikey: "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
			    latitude: "43.XXXXXX",
			    longitude: "-79.XXXXXX",      
			    updateInterval: "30", //this is in minutes, so every 30 minutes
			    iconset: "3c",
			    showCurrentConditions: true,
			    showExtraCurrentConditions: false,
			    showSummary: true,
			    showForecastTableColumnHeaderIcons: false,
			    concise: true,
			    forecastLayout: "table", //other option is "table"
 		 	}
		},

raymondjspigot

updateInterval: 15 * 60 * 1000, //every 15 minutes or whatever you choose
that’s the original ^ and I updated the 15 to 60.

I guess I don’t understand what each number represents. Milliseconds, Seconds, Minutes? >

Hi @cotxwx - I think the updateInterval in the original is currently set to 15 minutes. The time will be based in milliseconds, so reading it right-to-left that gives you

1000 (milliseconds per second) x 60 (seconds per minute) x 15 = a 15 minute interval

which I think ends up being clearer than just giving a sort of anonymous/unit-free total (e.g. 900000 or something like that)

hope this helps anyway

sdetweil

@raymondjspigot these should all be adjusted to minutes for the user, and multiply under the covers to avoid this unnecessary confusion

lavolp3

@cotxwx You mentioned MMM-NOAA3.
The readme gives the possibility to choose other APIs.
I would suggest to do that.

taikonaut

@cotxwx maybe you just want to switch the module…

The fork
https://github.com/gerjomarty/MMM-DarkSkyForecast

uses the openweather API. Works like charm.