Feature Requests

[SunDial]

hi,

Where does one post feature requests for Cumulus MX?

Thanks

[ExperiMentor]

You could try sending them to:

Santa Claus
The North Pole

[SunDial]

Does that mean no-one is taking them then?

[ExperiMentor]

It means there is a long queue but it might happen.

Mark Crossley, the moderator, is your guy who is kindly making changes and he seems to read all the posts most days.

He has a list of things of his own that he wants to attend to, but if you post your suggestions here, one of them might just catch his eye ...

[SunDial]

I was hoping that the Calibration Settings pressure offset setting could be enhanced to improve the accuracy of lesser accurate weather stations. Nothing really offers the level of accuracy a Davis Instruments weather station offers, but its price tag is a little out of reach for many.

If the pressure offset setting could be developed to allow a different offset setting per 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 mbars (one selected) depending on how far out the user's weather station creeps as barometric pressure increases or falls (between 950 - 1050 mbars) that would improve barometric pressure accuracy for the majority of PWSs. So my idea is to have a barometric pressure value box (X/Y intersection value) that defines where CMX begins to either add or subtract from the sensor-provided pressure reading, then four drop-boxes paired together. The drop boxes define the amount and range to increase or subtract from the sensor provided reading. In one drop-box the user sets the value between "+1" and "+10" and in the second drop-box the user sets the range, so every 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 mbars - this sets the value to increase the sensor reading value below the X/Y intersection value. Then, in the second pair of drop-boxes, the user sets the value between "-1" and "-10" in the first drop-box and in the second the user sets the range, so every 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 mbars - this sets the value to decrease the sensor reading value above the X/Y intersection value.

In my own case, with my ageing but reliable OS WMR928N, the suggested enhancement would be very useful as, although linear, the pressure setting drifts out of true as pressure drops or rises at about 1020 mbars by a consistent number approximately every 10 mbars. Consequently, I have to keep updating the calibration pressure offset value to adjust for this. Of course this idea assumes linearity within all or most weather station devices but presumably this is not an unreasonable assumption for most reasonable quality PWSs.

[mcrossley]

So if it is linear, a combination of offset and multiplier would fix it - much easier than binning offsets - as there already is for wind, temp, humidity, rain etc?

That would be easy to add.

[SunDial]

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your reply and apologies for the delay in my reply to you.

Yes, that makes sense but would that allow for to the addition or subtraction above and below the point at which no offest is needed? In my case, my barometric sensor crosses the 'origin', of a graph, where it needs "0" offset, at about 1020mbar. I would need to be able to specify that for every +/- value above or below the origin to add x amount or subtract x amount in order to achieve an accurate barometric reading. If it needs to be done in multiples of 10mbar I'm okay with that. I hope that makes sense.

Tony

[ExperiMentor]

I've read your messages several times, but just get increasingly confused what you are requesting.

You say the relationship is linear. If that's the case, then Mark's offer to simply add offset and multiplier (as for other measurements) would be a perfect fix.

If it's not linear and it's as messy as some parts of your message imply, it's not at all clear that a messy fix would be a good one.

Why do you think your device is typical of what other people have, and that the messy fix you suggest would help anyone else?