Rainfall Spike - Whats the correction process?

[dublin1]

I have been running Cumulus for a couple of months with a Maplin weather station and all has been running really well. I am on v 1.9.3.

Today I had a look at View>Highs and Lows>Monthly and I have a Highest Daily Rain of 19570.0mm at 00:00 on 01 June 2013!
I've read through the forum and I'm guessing that this is one of the infamous spurious measurements and that I need to edit the files.

Having read the posts I'm confused as to what the process is. Do I edit the actual files using Notepad or do I use the Edit>This Months Files facility?

Is it just one file that has to be edited or is there two?

Next, should I just zero the record or try to find out an actual? If the latter, can you suggest where I may be able to find a record of the rainfall for Dublin?

Apologies for asking a very common question.

[Matt.j5b]

My station creates a lot of spikes that need editing as I run my station off the logger. My method of removing spikes is as the following. Do it while Cumulus is not running.

I firstly determine the real minimum values from the graphs or back up copies of the data folder and I type the correct values along with the time into a new text file. I then open today and/ or yesterday.ini and edit the affected values inserting the numbers typed into that text file (so the spikes don't get recorded to the dayfile.txt which would then need editing). Then delete or edit the affected lines in the log file eg Jun13log.txt. Start up Cumulus. All records for all time, monthly, this month, this year can be edited from the edit menu if you either fetch the correct readings from the log file or the dayfile ( in the Cumulus data folder) once you have corrected the log file or dayfile or type in the correct readings into the editor.

The dayfile can be edited with the dayfile editor under edit. The log file is edited either when opened in a text editor or use Cumulus toolbox as it loads the file into the table making it much easier to edit. You can also look at the alltimelog in the Cumulus data folder if it broke an all time record to see what the figures was before the new record. Under edit, Today's rain you can edit today rain but it does not change the all time, this month, this year and the log file used for the graphs for example, it only adjusts the rain total for today if it is wrong.

It also may have affected your current wet/dry spell so that is edited in the today.ini file in the Cumulus data folder under ConsecutiveRainDays and ConsecutiveDryDays. If this happened before today you need to edit the dayfile and if it happened yesterday you may wish to edit the Yesterday total under rain in the yesterday.ini file but that figure will disappear tomorrow when a new yesterday is created.

Details on the log file and dayfile format and the edit menu are in the help file in Cumulus under "Data log file format" ,under "The Displays" is "The Records (Highs and Lows) Editors" and "The Dayfile.txt Editor". It is also in the Wiki under "Cumulus specific files ".

[steve]

Just to add to that - when an all-time record is broken, an entry is made to alltimelog.txt, so you can always find the previous record and edit it manually, as an alternative to getting the editor to fetch the value from dayfile.txt. Similar entries are made for monthly all-time highs and lows, but these are made to the diags files, so are not permanent - only the last ten diags files are kept.

Yet another alternative for correcting the high/low records is to get a copy of the old .ini file from one of the backups that Cumulus takes.

[dublin1]

Matt, Steve, thank you for your prompt replies. I have to clarify lots of points here I’m afraid.Apologies if my clarifying text appears a bit terse - this is not intentional.

I firstly determine the real minimum values from the graphs
I have checked my rainfall graph and it shows no rain on the day in question which I will have to assume is true.

or back up copies of the data folder
In Cumulus\backup I have ten folders with a numeric name and one folder called daily. Which one shoudl I pick?

and I type the correct values along with the time into a new text file.
Is this just a plain note pad file that you are using like a post-it note, or is aformatted as per the original text file?[/i][/color]

I then open today and/ or yesterday.ini
In Cumulus\data or the backup folder?

and edit the affected values inserting the numbers typed into that text file (so the spikes don't get recorded to the dayfile.txt which would then need editing).
I don’t see any reference to my Highest Daily Rain of 19570.0mm in these files. As the error occurred over 10 days ago would there actually be a reference to this in here?

Then delete or edit the affected lines in the log file eg Jun13log.txt.
The one in Cumulus\data?

Start up Cumulus.
Should the problem now fixed or do we continue?

All records for all time, monthly, this month, this year can be edited from the edit menu if you either fetch the correct readings from the log file or the dayfile ( in the Cumulus data folder) once you have corrected the log file or dayfile or type in the correct readings into the editor.

The dayfile can be edited with the dayfile editor under edit.

The log file is edited either when opened in a text editor or use Cumulus toolbox as it loads the file into the table making it much easier to edit.

You can also look at the alltimelog in the Cumulus data folder if it broke an all time record to see what the figures was before the new record.
There is reference to my error here. Do I just delete the lines?

Under edit, Today's rain you can edit today rain but it does not change the all time, this month, this year and the log file used for the graphs for example, it only adjusts the rain total for today if it is wrong.
Am I right in thinking that I am too late for this as the error occurred 17 days ago.


It also may have affected your current wet/dry spell so that is edited in the today.ini file in the Cumulus data folder under ConsecutiveRainDays and ConsecutiveDryDays. If this happened before today you need to edit the dayfile and if it happened yesterday you may wish to edit the Yesterday total under rain in the yesterday.ini file but that figure will disappear tomorrow when a new yesterday is created.

Details on the log file and dayfile format and the edit menu are in the help file in Cumulus under "Data log file format" ,under "The Displays" is "The Records (Highs and Lows) Editors" and "The Dayfile.txt Editor". It is also in the Wiki under "Cumulus specific files ".

[steve]

As the error occurred some time ago, just set the total for the day in dayfile.txt to zero (using the built-in editor) and then use the built-in record editors to fetch the correct values.

[dublin1]

Steve,
Thanks for the tip. Having made a copy of everything and using the system editors I have now edited the dayfile.txt. I then edited the Monthly records , This months records and the all time records.

I also manually edited the alltimelog.txt file.

This has now removed all traces of the offending event.

I'm not sure if I have gone overboard here but it seems to have done the trick.

Thanks for your help and for a fantastic piece of software.