The BBC Weather presenters 'clickers' or buttons are basically buttons on long bits of wire that are connected to specially modified Apple Mac keyboards.
The software that generates and plays out the weather graphics live is based on Apple Macs, and the control for next graphic etc is a key press on the keyboard. The clicker is wired across the keyboard, so that when they press the button in their hand, the computer thinks they are pressing a key on the keyboard, and changes to the next graphic. (I recall a News 24 weather presenter getting very annoyed when a journo SAT on her keyboard whilst the weather presenter was mid-bulletin and all the graphics started changing very quickly...)
Not all weather clickers work like this though... In the days when all the regions had their own graphics styles, Look East weather presenters had a keyring-like radio 'blipper' similar to those used to switch car alarms on and off from a distance.
This made a buzzer ring in the transmission gallery, to alert the director that the weather presenter wanted the next item in their forecast. If this was a satellite picture, or some weather pictures shot that day, then the director would run the VT and mix to it. If it was the next graphics chart then the director would ask graphics to change on etc. The weather forecasters used to live in fear of the battery in the 'blipper' running out - so always did a test buzz just before they went on air!
I remember watching News 24 once and the weather presenter's button stopped working. It was funny as he got really mad and at the end of the forecast he said 'I'm off to kick my computer' LOL!
Yeap, Noggin is correct. For those who would like to do it yourselves (at your own risk!), here goes...
Pull the back off your keyboard.
Locate whichever key you want the switch to operate & solder one wire to each contact of that key (2 wires in total)
Take the other end of the cable & connect each wire to a contact on the switch.
Heay presto! A magic remote button
In fact, all you are doing is shorting out that key on the keyboard, which is what you do anyway every time you hit a key.
You can get similarly looking switches from Maplins
I know in the RSL I worked at, the weather maps had to be re-designed and subsequently became a large photoshop file with lots of layers for symbols!
This was saved as a JPG and imported into the still store where it would be changed manually by the director when needed.
There was plans to re-design the maps using Flash and use movie clips for animating symbols, having an interface so the presenter could design them herself, and then output the whole thing from a high powered laptop to the switcher.
I left at that point.
(Edited by peterrocket at 7:48 pm on Jan. 19, 2002)
BI
billyfinlay
I noticed that CNN have some sort of control pannel box, as it has a few buttons on it.
