Cumulus Support

I have a Davis VP2pro weather station. Running Cumulus MX-3107 via serial, MonoFramework-MDK-6.12.0.122, Mac OS 10.14.6

According to the terminal window I am connected to the station. It has downloaded and processed data from the data logger but I’m not showing any data in my web browser (Firefox). As far as I can tell everything is working as it should, it indicates, “Normal Running”

I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Is there something else besides setting up your weather station I need to do to get the data flowing? I saw a warning about Mono 6.0 having issues but being that it’s up to 6.12 and the warnings typing is struck through I assume that means it’s not an issue anymore. Or do I need to go to Mono 5.12? Seems if there was an issue with 6.12 there wouldn’t be any communication with the station.

Thanks in advance for any help getting this up and running.

Could you please zip up the contents of your MXdiags folder and attach to a reply to this topic.

Here it is. Thanks

Looks as if there is an intermittent problem with the connection to the station. Do you have an alternative USB cable you could use? Preferably a shielded one.

Are you by any chance running the Big Sur update?

I have seen it reported with other software that this update has caused all sorts of issues, including the Silicon Labs driver used to access the Davis loggers. I believe there is an updated version of the driver available that works with Bug Sur.

mcrossley wrote: ↑Tue 23 Feb 2021 9:09 am Are you by any chance running the Big Sur update?

I'm running Mojave which is a 2 or 3 OS's behind Big Sur. It is the last that will run 32bit programs.

freddie wrote: ↑Tue 23 Feb 2021 8:32 am Do you have an alternative USB cable you could use? Preferably a shielded one.

I will find another and try it in the morning. However until a week ago this station has been driving WeatherDisplay successfully for years. I just recently got a WeatherLink Live box to drive WD and wanted to run Cumulus off the now vacant serial connected VP2 console as a backup source. I'm not sure why there is now a problem with the connection. If it's intermittent, shouldn't I be getting data intermittently? So far I've never gotten data.

why not just run cumulusmx off the WLL?

hahniv wrote: ↑Tue 23 Feb 2021 9:35 am

mcrossley wrote: ↑Tue 23 Feb 2021 9:09 am Are you by any chance running the Big Sur update?

I'm running Mojave which is a 2 or 3 OS's behind Big Sur. It is the last that will run 32bit programs.

OK.

hahniv wrote: ↑Tue 23 Feb 2021 9:35 am I'm not sure why there is now a problem with the connection. If it's intermittent, shouldn't I be getting data intermittently? So far I've never gotten data.

Cumulus is getting the data (intermittently), but you cannot see it. It looks like your browser is not connecting to the web sockets port of Cumulus to get the data for the dashboard. Can you open your browser Dev Tools, refresh the page and see what errors you are getting in the console and network tabs?

why not just run cumulusmx off the WLL?

+1

Maybe WD has not released the use of the logger? WD uses a bunch of driver supporting applications.

But as ConligWX stated, why not run everything off the WLL?

OK, just you guys talking about it seems to have made it work. I'm now getting data. I took a known good USB cable and changed it out. Known good because I put a USB HD through its paces. I don't think it was the cable because I took the old cable and put it through the same test and it passed with flying colors. I had plugged and unplugged the old cable so I don't think the cable had somehow been loose, besides which all along it's been communicating with the station just not the web browser.

I suppose I could use WLL be that would defeat the purpose of what I'm trying to do. WeatherDislpay (WD) is the primary weather software. I've got historical data back to 2007 and it is tightly integrated into my Home Automation program "Indigo". It triggers many events. Classic would be, with EV and PHEV cars and 2 Tesla Power Walls in the garage I used an Evap Cooler to keep the garage temp around 80 where it would be 115 in the summer. When the dew point reaches 50 degrees and the cooler does not, the automation system shuts it down triggered by WD. Actually that's a moot point because on Thursday the Evap Cooler is being replaced with a thru the wall AC unit because with all the batteries in the garage, going through the normal 2 months of monsoon dew points the garage would be 115 most of the summer. This last summer was a non-soon, cooler was only shut down 9 days. Those 9 days told me it was time for a change. Also my water bill is now more than my elec bill.

I've got VERY reliable electricity. With solar panels, Tesla Powerwalls, and industrial grade UPSs left over from pre solar which cushion the transition from grid to battery should the power go, so I'm covered. In the 23 years I've lived in this house the longest power outage I've had is when they were putting the solar panels on last June. I've got the basic 15 min archive time with my WLL. I don't want to pay Davis for my data to get 5 mins even more for the 1 min the data logger on the VP2 console gives me. I don't mind sharing my station on the Davis network but I do mind paying them for the privilege.

The purpose of Cumulus is a data backup source which is why I'm using the serial / data logger connection. I run Mojave because it is rock solid. Weather and my home automation system have a dedicated computer. Only reason why I'm running Mojave is because I upgraded the computer a couple of years ago. Mojave was the OS at the time and Mac isn't backwards compatible otherwise I'd be running the previous OS (can't remember what it was) which was a couple OS's back of Mojave. I take the, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach. I do run the latest and greatest OS on my laptop but not on the Home Automation machine.

I am concerned that the computer crashed yesterday which it almost never does, like I said, it's rock solid. I will keep my eye on it. If it happens again i'd suspect it's related to MonoFramework and would uninstall it in a heart beat and my Cumulus adventure will be over. Right now though it seems to be working, I look forward to exploring.

One question, is there a way to close the terminal window? When I close it, it wants to terminate the process.

hahniv wrote: ↑Tue 23 Feb 2021 7:21 pm I suppose I could use WLL be that would defeat the purpose of what I'm trying to do. WeatherDislpay (WD) is the primary weather software. I've got historical data back to 2007 and it is tightly integrated into my Home Automation program "Indigo". It triggers many events.

I don't see how any of that affects how Cumulus gets its data. The only advantage of the USB/Serial logger is that it can backfill data if the computer stops running, because the WLL can't do that except for data uploaded to Weatherlink.com if you have a PRO plan. That said if the computer runs 24/7 then the WLL might be a better way to feed data only because it simplifies your setup and then frees the display console to not need a logger connected to it. Maybe you can then even use the display console in a different location as it could then be free to be more mobile and not tethered to the computer. The display console can even run for 6 months to 1 year on only batteries (with no logger and no backlight).

But if you are looking for reliability I would look to run Cumulus MX on a Raspberry Pi rather than an old Mac.

One question, is there a way to close the terminal window? When I close it, it wants to terminate the process.

Yes there is a way. You just have to start Cumulus MX as a service. There are several ways to accomplish that. But maybe rather than go down that rabbit hole on the Mac you might consider the Raspberry Pi solution and then implement Cumulus MX as a service on that.

galfert wrote: ↑Tue 23 Feb 2021 8:52 pm Maybe you can then even use the display console in a different location as it could then be free to be more mobile

I had thought of that but the console is pretty worthless as a display device, it's only purpose for me is as a logger/USB interface. Why it only displays whole numbers is baffling. To me there is a world of difference between 74.5 and 75. It must be worse in celsius. Unless there is some setting which I've been trying to find for years that can display X.X ... without it the display is worthless. When I was setting up the WLL and they had a resolution setting where you could change it to X or X.X, I thought wow, that must also be on the console . . . nope, unless it's well hidden.

galfert wrote: ↑Tue 23 Feb 2021 8:52 pm rather than an old Mac

It's not an old Mac, it's a not as new, reliable OS. The Mac is maxed out in processor power & ram, it still holds it own since there's only been one Mac Mini hardware update since. Every new OS is a nightmare to get things running smoothly again so I avoid that until I have to update. I don't want to be running several computers when I have one dedicated to the task.

I'll have to look into running it as a service but first I want to run it awhile to make sure it hasn't destablized (crashing) my machine.