How to install a replacement Vantage Vue console

[Bartonweather]

Hello,
As a newbie to the Forum, I hope I am in the correct place.
My Vantage Vue console packed up about 04:00 a few days ago. The first I knew was about 08:00 when checking Cumulus which showed errors, so it had been running for several hours with no data from the console.
Changed batteries, and checked PSU. Still not working. Display blank.
I now have a replacement console but would like to know what are the correct steps to follow, apart from working through the console setup steps, to ensure correct working to prevent any data corruption in Cumulus.

Thank you

[steve]

I can't think of anything in particular that you need to do as far as Cumulus is concerned, just make sure your console is set up correctly. You'll have gaps in your data, obviously, and daily totals will be wrong - if you've had any rain it will all get counted at once. But there's nothing you can do about this in advance, you'll just have to clean up afterwards if required.

Someone who has actually replaced their console may have some advice to offer, but I don't think it's something that happens very often.

[Bartonweather]

Hello Steve,

Thanks for your quick reply to my query.
As suggested, console setup completed, Cumulus started and all running OK and with no obvious errors or data mishaps.

I do have one supplementary question though. The Davis console user manual has a section headed Setting Weather Variables and allows the user to input known totals for daily, monthly & yearly rain & ET which have accrued prior to the installation of the console.

Obviously with a new console the yearly rain total will be zero.
IF I enter the known accrued value, will Cumulus use this in any way which may alter any of its own accumulators?

Thank you for your help

Kind regards

[steve]

Cumulus calculate all rain totals itself, using the daily totals in dayfile.txt. To calculate rainfall, it needs a counter which just increments every time the rain gauge tips. For Davis stations it uses the annual rain total. I'd forgotten that the counter it uses isn't stored in the rain gauge itself, as with most other stations. It does cope with the counter being reset to zero, so that's presumably what's happened. If you now alter the annual total in the console, Cumulus will notice, but again it should cope, as it will see it is as a very large increase in the counter and ignore it - for the most part. Some items like the rain in the last hour or the last 24 hours will be affected, but only temporarily.

So if you do adjust the annual rain total in the console now, you may see some oddities for a while, and you may have a bit of cleaning up to do (the highest hourly rainfall record may get broken, for example).