Manual recordings on website

[Matt.j5b]

With my website, I want to add my manual recording. For every month I have created a spreadsheet and I am in the process of doing that to all months since 2009. Now I want to include these on my site.

Now what file format should it be in? It is possible to use a spreadsheet on a website? Now a text file would work, but I would have to convert that manually every day I update. Or is there a automatic way to do that? I would have to upload the current month via FileZilla. Is that right. I would create a page with links to different months and I guess that would point to the monthly files I uploaded using filezilla.

Is that the best way, or is there a better way. It would be great for help with this. I am no expert on this, but I am learning as I go. Thanks.

[GraemeT]

If you are using excel you can save them as html files and then display the pages on your website via a menu.

Another way is to put them all in an excel workbook, save it as html, then show in an iframe, which is what I've done with my old rainfall records here: http://weather.gktnet.com/rainchart.php

This tends to keep things a little neater as the individual sheets can be selected by tabs, as in excel.

Cheers,

[Matt.j5b]

I never thought that was possible. I use excel. How would I do the iframe on the web site .Thanks so much.

[GraemeT]

http://www.w3schools.com/ is my bible.
You can find iframes here: http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_iframe.asp

Edit: I have to say that frames and iframes mightn't always be the best way to go , but certainly an easy place to start.

Cheers,

[serowe]

What are you actually trying to do though? Is this supplemental to your current readings (ie comparisons to an automatic station) or to add to them (records maintained before you went automatic)?

If the latter why not convert them/save them in the cumulus format files and have Cumulus parse them for records etc. Easier in the long run to do this.

But if to add to automatic readings (ie they are going to continue to be added to) consider using a MySQL dataase which, once you have imported the data, you can then design your own input screen to add to daily/weekly etc

[Matt.j5b]

http://www.w3schools.com/ is my bible.

Thats a good site, thanks for that. So I would save it as a html file, and how does go to the web site, Do I upload it and how do I get it show the spreadsheet?

What are you actually trying to do though? Is this supplemental to your current readings (ie comparisons to an automatic station) or to add to them (records maintained before you went automatic)?

Well I have made manual recording since 2009, with paper up to March 2011 and directly entering the using spreadsheets for each month since then. I am going back over the old recordings and entering those too. Now I have been running Cumulus since October of last year, and while it records many things I can't do ona manual basis like rain rate, graphs etc.... I rely on the manual recordings for the true measurements.

The reason why I do manual recordings is as I said before, the data in Cumulus is not entirely accuate, however the manual recordings are because it takes in account inaccuracies in the readings. Also because I run Cumulus off the logger, there are some errors in the wind data, and the wind sensor is not as good as the other station. We have discussed before the accuacy of the readings and have that sorted and I am not going any further with making the readings better.

If the latter why not convert them/save them in the cumulus format files and have Cumulus parse them for records etc. Easier in the long run to do this.

Also entering these recordings into Cumulus I am not interested in, because the Cumulus records are not correct anyway. The measurements comprise of max and min temp, humidity, pressure, manual daily rain, max wind speed and gust;averages of the above;extremes for the month; estimated thermal comfort like apparant temp and daily graphs.

But if to add to automatic readings (ie they are going to continue to be added to) consider using a MySQL dataase which, once you have imported the data, you can then design your own input screen to add to daily/weekly etc

The database is a good idea except I have already entered 1/4 of the readings using spreadsheet, and it sounds like even more work , when I know nothing about them.

My aim is working how to provide these recordings on the site.

[serowe]

To be honest - from what you have described I am wondering why you are even bothering with an automatic weather station - it is obvious you don't trust it, so why continue?

As for saying just because you have entered the manual data in a spreadsheet means you can't use the data in a SQl database is completely wrong. Yoiu can very very easily import existing data from Excel spreadsheets into MySQL (any SQl flavour really) and then continue to use it instead of the spreadsheet. Excel can export ANY data as a CSV file which can be extremely easily imported into SQL databases without too much trouble at all.

Personally I think you need to make a decision as to which method you are going to continue to use - like I said, you obviously don't trust the electronic station (well you actually said Cumulus so be careful, steve doesn'y like any criticism of his software ) so I have to wonder why you are even trying to use it...

[Matt.j5b]

My manual recordings are done manually from a electronic weather station that has no pc connection. I trust the electronic ones , it is just that the manual takes more into account (are therefore more accurate results) then just processing the data from the station in use with Cumulus.

Regarding the database, I don't know anything about that, I said that, thanks for that, but I don't konw if its worth the extra effort.

Your not understand what I saying...This is in addition to Cumulus, Cumulus makes recordings that I can't do manully, but some of the data from Cumulus due to the sensor siting as I said before is not not quite correct. Just one doesm't work. Now can we stop this discussion on my mission with the weather recording. This is how I do it. There is nothing wrong with Cumulus, I never said anything hard against Steve, it is my setup which makes not correct. Now what I need is advice on how to do this, not why I am doing this.

[serowe]

What I am querying - and you appear to have just confirmed this - is that the electronic weather station is giving you data which you trust but when Cumulus gets hold of that data it somehow becomes wrong? Have I misunderstood this part? Or are you running two seperate stations? (And, as has been discussed before, unless you have a very high end weather station, the individual readings from almost all commercially available home stations are suspect and not as accurate as many would believe them to be).

As for a database - it isn't as hard as you appear to think - you are already using one form of a database (it's just called a spreadsheet inthis case). And I think if you look into it further, in the long run there wouldn;t be much difference in doing what you do now - a SQL database can also be set up to verify figures/entry data for you.

[Matt.j5b]

My Manual recordings makes allowances because I use a) two stations and I pick the best data, b) I make changes to the min/max readings - for example min temp is out by x, max humidity is too low by y and so on. Cumulus can't do and I don't expect it to. The main point is no one sensor can be sited to capture all the data. That is why I am including these records in addition to the ones Cumulus does that I can't do. These are adjustments I make I have found to be fairly accurate. I am not saying that my station is the most accurate one and nothing beats it, I have created readings that accurate enough.

I never knew excel is a database, so I could import them into the database. It is tempting to use, but for the moment it seems a way of going off the track a bit, but I don't know about databases.

[serowe]

Just seems that you have complicated a reasonably simple task - by combining readings from two stations how do you know which is accurate? This discussion has been had before - at least by using a single stations data, even if it is wrong at some part of the scale, it would be consistently wrong. But once you start utilising data from 2 (or more stations) you now effectively have corrupt data (this is why even the BoM use both cylinder and electronic rainfall readings - the electronic - tipping bucket - readings are used for instant readout and rainfall intensity, but the 'official' figures are always taken from cylinders because of their accuracy compared to electronic - they are never combined. Same with temperature readings).

[Matt.j5b]

This how I do it. mostly using old station

Temp:
min: adjust depending on temp, use extra station over winter
max: leave it as it is

Hum:
min:leave it as is
Max: add 6 per cent

Pressure: use newer station, measures down 0.1 rather than rounded

wind: use old station,better

rain:ignore electronic for daily figures

everything else uses the new station and Cumulus

This way, I use the better figures to get good results, after testing ages ago and I have sticked with this.

[serowe]

Have to say though doing a static 6% adjustment (or for min temp adjust 'as necessary') implies that only the maximum readings (or whichever) are wrong whereas it is more likely a sliding scale eg humidity correct at 10%, 6% out at 90% - what would you do if the max is 50%? You can't reliably add 6% making it 53% - the other side of this is what if the min humidity is 50% - do you leave it or alter it (it can't be right for one and not the other).

Obviously what you are doing is up to you but it appears by making adjustments like this you are over-complicating it and, let's face it, it is only a home station !

[Matt.j5b]

No that not right.
Daytime temps are fine.
Night time temps are out, so I fix those.

Min humidity is fine
Max humidity I fix up. if its above 70 it works fine. very rarely is it below that. if it is it doesn't bother me.

Of course it is a sliding scale, but by fixing the daily extremes, I avoid that tricky bit. In winter it can be 2 to 3 warmer than it is. And because I made a set system it doesn't ruin it. It not that complicated. Web sites to my mind are more complicated.

[Matt.j5b]

OK lately I been working on this. I created a new page http://localweatherdata.0glo.com/manualmonthlydata.htm , with a little trouble getting the extra file to work, added a menu with the first month linked, added a iframe. Thanks to GraemeT with some general instructions. I have created a new spread sheet designed for the web site as a more compact and simple set of tables for each month. I uploaded the current month as a test. I have included a link to a file giving more information about the recordings.

I did the iframe, and that works fine. However it does not show the graphs, and what with the code below the pages. The link to current month I put at the top, how can I get it open in the iframe. That link opens on a new page and that works fine, but it would be nice to put in the iframe, but I might work better to forget the iframe because you can see more of the table with out a iframe on a seperate page. Some comments might help.

I would appreciate help with this.Thanks.