TWCJim's STAR Database

TWCJim's STAR Database

Type of site	Google Sheets database Database site (former)
Available in	English
Country of origin	United States
Owner	TWCJim
Founder(s)	Aaron Walsh (socool775)
URL	docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/164wc97QU5rdEz5MEg6n-Rr2lYaQ77vzpYb4ZF9-RyiA
Launched	January 2010 (2010-01), or earlier
Current status	Site dead; Database active as Google Sheets document

TWCJim's STAR Database is a database and former website with the intention of documenting all known Weather Star units used by The Weather Channel.

Database

The database currently only reflects currently in-use IntelliStar 2 xD and IntelliStar 2 Jr. units submitted by fans of The Weather Channel. As a result, the list is small in comparison to the true number of units currently in use. As of December 2024, there were 92 IntelliStar 2 xD units and 23 IntelliStar 2 Jr. units on the list. Despite the intention of the database, lists for previous Star iterations have been removed after their retirement. Prior to the database migrating to Google Sheets, there were 430 IntelliStar units and 38 Weatherscan IntelliStar units on the list. The number of Weather Star 4000, Jr., and XL entries previously in the database is lost.

For each unit, a STAR ID (unit identification number), cable/satellite provider, and a main location served are documented, plus images or video links documenting the unit if applicable.

History

The database was originally established by Aaron Walsh (socool775) as STAR Database on the website builder platform ZoomShare sometime during or prior to January 2010. His ownership continued until 2013, when ZoomShare's free service was discontinued and ownership was transferred to TWCJim (then ImBoredIIDeath) as a result of affordability concerns. Jim had previously been the primary contributor to the database, hence Walsh's decision to consider him as the next owner. Later, Jim would move the database to another free website builder and hosting platform, Webs.

On May 16, 2014, the database pages for the Weather Star 4000, Jr., and XL were removed due to the retirement of those units. No known archives were made of the pages.

On November 16, 2015, despite The Weather Channel retiring the domestic IntelliStar, TWCJim announced he would continue accepting IntelliStar submissions to the database, including those already replaced with an IntelliStar 2 xD or Jr. The database's IntelliStar 2 (HD) list was renamed to reflect the IntelliStar 2 xD, and any new xD submissions were to be added to the renamed list in addition to previous HD submissions due to the difficulty in differentiating the two unit types on air. A new list for the IntelliStar 2 Jr. was also added at that time.

In late 2020, hosting service Webs announced the discontinuation of its free service, originally effective March 31, 2021, and later moved to June 30 of the same year. As a result, on November 19, 2020, Jim created a Google Sheets document to host the database, replacing the Webs version at the time it was discontinued. Later, after the retirement of the Weatherscan IntelliStar in late 2022, Jim announced that the domestic IntelliStar and Weatherscan lists on the document had been deleted and new submissions for those iterations would not be accepted. The lists from March 2021, prior to the transition to the Google Sheets document, were archived, although any changes after this point have been lost.

External links

• TWCJim's STAR Database (Google Sheets)
• STAR Database IntelliStar list (Internet Archive)
• STAR Database Weatherscan IntelliStar list (Internet Archive)

See also

• socool775
• TWCJim