The New Wendy Central Phone Server

0114 - 287 - 4464

What's Happened To The Old Station Numbers? As part of the upgrade to Wendy, the old system of a landline phone at each station is being done away with. These remote country landlines are unreliable (they have miles of overhead poles-and-wire, and tend go go faulty in bad weather).  If people are calling them direct, it ties up the line, and our office computer can't get in to download the weather and post it to the website very often. We are replacing these landlines with more modern equipment that will collect data via the cellphone broadband system, which will mean MUCH more up-to-date data, AND eventually webcam images too. So, in future, there won't BE a local station number to call. With that in mind, we've introduced a central phone server system.  This should be much better than the old system. You'll find it easier, and more convenient to use. Click Here For Answers To The Most Frequently Asked Questions Click Here for Help With The New Text Services and New Web Site	Rod Buck
Advantages Of The New Number: No Password Needed! You won't need to put in a password - it recognises you as a subscriber from your phone number. (You can call from your home and mobile numbers). No Call Limits! Because it knows with certainty who you are, there is no need to have any call limits - call as often as you like! Check Several Stations With One Call! All the stations are on one number, so you can specify which station you want, and skip from station to station easily.	Lynn Buck

Each station has a 2-digit ID code. These are: Southern Area Stations Devils Dyke 01 Firle Beacon 02 Mercury 03 Compton Abbas 04 Westbury 05 Combe Gibbett 06 Nympsfield 07 Calshot 44 Northern Area Stations Shining Tor 10 Bradwell 11 Nont Sarahs 12 Lobden 13 Parlick 14 Wether Fell 15 Carlton Bank 16 Eyam Edge 17 Western Area Stations Blorenge 24 Long Mynd 26 Moel Accre 28 Marazion 60

Rod, hard at work persuading Wendy to behave!

When you call, if the server recognises your number and lets you in, it will ask you for a 2-digit station ID.

Enter the ID for the station you want. You have about 4 seconds to do so. If you don't enter an ID, the server will go to the menu system to allow you to pick a station by name.  The menu system will remind you of the station ID for future use.

What If The Server Doesn't Let You In?

Either:

1)  You are a subscriber, but you are calling from a number the system doesn't recognise.

     (You can use your home and mobile numbers).


Or:

2)  You ARE calling from your home or mobile number, but Wendy doesn't recognise them.

     Have you changed your phone numbers without letting us know?


In either case, the server will say:

"Call number not valid, access refused, please call Rod on..."

To update your phone numbers, click here, log in (if you aren't already) and go to My Account then on the My Account page, go to Subscription Details.

However, this won't take effect instantaneoously - we have to download your details from the website and apply them to the phone server manually. If we are in the office, it won't be long. but there may be a delay.   Best thing is to call or text us (details at top of page) and we'll put you on immediately if possible.


Or:

3)  You have your number Withheld on outgoing calls.

If this is the case, the server will say:

"Call number not received, access refused, please call Rod on..."

You should call again, putting 1470 in front of the number to release your Caller ID for this call.  If your number is Withheld on your phone, dial: 1470 - 0114 - 287 - 4464 to get the service.  Or, in the case of a mobile, check your phone settings to cancel "Number Withheld On Outgoing Calls"

Or:

4)  You're not a subscriber, in which case, see here  for details of how to join.

Fast-Forwarding:

To fast-forward through a section of the report, (say to jump the wind history) press the Star * key. Press and hold it for about a second. The server will jump to the next section of the weather report.

To Repeat The Report:

Enter the 2-digit ID again, and the report will re-start from the beginning. The digits you enter may be masked by the outgoing speech, so a more reliable method is to press and hold the Hash # key to stop the readout, and then re-enter the station ID when prompted.

To Change to Another Station:

To change to another station, press and hold the Hash # key for a second or so. The server will stop the readout, and ask you for a new 2-digit station ID. Enter it, and you'll get the new station.

No, you don't. Wendy knows who you are from the phone number you call from. It will only accept calls from current subscribers. It will accept calls from your Home and Mobile numbers.

No, the phone server won't let you in if the number is Withheld. It can't know who's calling. You can release your number for just this call by adding 1470 to the front of the Wendy number. In other words, you would dial 1470-0114-287-4464  to get the service. Or use your mobile (no one seems to bar those).

Two. Typically your Home number and Mobile number. (Those are the numbers we store for all Wendy subscribers)

Sorry, no.  For two reasons:  Firstly, Wendy uses Caller ID to recognise who you are. Many companies hide the number on outgoing calls, or just present the switchboard number, not the "real" number the call came from. Because of this, we can't identify the caller on most Work numbers. Also, we only have the storage capability for two numbers per person on the system. You could leave your Work number on the system, but then it won't work from your Home number - and it may not work from your Work number anyway, if it goes through a switchboard.

You can register it with Wendy INSTEAD of your personal mobile, but, for technical reasons you can only have ONE mobile number stored. Your other number normally is your home landline, if you have one.  You can have one landline AND one mobile.

You can't!   Look, how do you think we pay for the erection and maintenance of the stations, the phone lines, and the website, and all the rest of it?

It comes from all the pilots who pay their subscriptions.

If you (and your friend who freeloads on your subscription) cheat the system, we have that much less to invest in the service.

I'm not going to rant on a lot, but I can tell you that Wendy isn't a money-making business - we have to do other things for a living. It's a LOT of hard work and travelling to keep it all going.

Sharing the information with someone else cheats all the other people who stick their hands in their pockets and support what we do.

People sharing a subscription with someone means that we have far less money to put into the service, to the benefit of all. Fewer stations, slower repair times, fewer upgrades.  Is that what you intend?

Wendy is CHEAP!

£2.50 a month - (that's 8p a day!!!) - a pint of beer a month, or, to put it another way, around a TENTH the cost of a mobile phone account. If you maintain you can't afford it, you can't afford to go flying! Don't be tight!

If you always go out together, then it's not a problem, is it? Have one account and use one phone to get site weather messages.

If one of you is at work, and the other wants to go out flying, then you can change the designated mobile on your account for the day. (It's easy to do this on the website).

If this is too much hassle, if you both want independent access, because you go flying independently a lot, then BOTH of you join, please, and get your own individual account. After all - it's £2.50 a month. A ridiculously small sum. It's NOTHING. You pay ten times as much per month for your mobile, typically. (£25 a month is a typical mobile bill -Wendy is 1/10 of that).

After all, if you each have your own mobile, the phone company doesn't give you two numbers and two call allowances for the same monthly payment as ONE phone, does it? Nope, you have to pay for each phone. So why should Wendy give you two lots of access for one payment?

I'd love to hear you justify how you can't afford 8p a day!  Each. Come on, get out your credit card!

Rod Buck