Can Cumulus damage the Instromet Data Logger.

[fdhugo]

Instromet claims that Cumulus can damage their Data Logger.
Is this feasible?
Data has not been recorded and transferred to Cumulus for periods when Cumulus has been Closed.
The first Instromet equipment was supplied with a faulty Data Logger Board, incorrect chip.
The board was replaced, and worked over Christmas.
The board then failed and was replaced.
The third board worked initially but the symptom has returned, data not being transferred for periods when Cumulus is closed.
I think that the board has failed, I have done nothing different.
Instromet has been totally unhelpful, stating that I must use this forum to solve the problem.
They state that they have not tested the returned board.
I think that it is their responsibility as they have no program for their equipment and require the use of third party programs to operate it.

[steve]

Instromet claims that Cumulus can damage their Data Logger.

Do they indeed? It's the first that I've heard of it. I'm just a software developer, with little understanding of how hardware functions, but it's hard to see how software using a simple text-based serial protocol, such as that used by the Instromet stations, could cause damage to the hardware.

[fdhugo]

Shall I forward the correspondence?
To?

[steve]

I've just emailed Instromet myself, but yes please, forward it to steve@sandaysoft.com

[steve]

They don't actually appear to be saying that Cumulus has damaged the hardware. They are saying that the problem might lie with Cumulus, and that I should investigate from a software point of view first, and if I believe that the fault lies with the station itself, then they will investigate. This all seems perfectly reasonable.

What build of Cumulus are you using? Instromet asked me to stop using one of the functions of the logger, as they said it caused problems. So I produced a version of Cumulus which doesn't use that function - it identifies itself as build 1100 in Help - About. You can download a copy here - http://nybbles.co.uk/downloads/CumulusSetup.zip

It's a probably a good idea to reset the logger to clear its memory - I'm not actually sure how you do that - before running this version. Let it run for a while and then try stopping it for a while to see if it downloads the missing data when it starts up again. If it doesn't please zip up the the diags folder and attach it here.

[fdhugo]

1.9.4 1096.
OK.
It may not be quick, I'm on leave , and working remotely through VNC.
Seeya

[fdhugo]

I have:
Uninstalled previous edition of Cumulus.
Installed the edition recently downloaded, 1.9.4 build 1100.
I have not zeroed the datalogger, it requires hyperterminal, which is not included in Windows 7.
Configuration appears to have been retained.
08:10 UT data present in log.
Cumulus closed.
>08:30 Cumulus Opened, no colour in data transfer window.
08:20 and 08:30 records not present in log.
08:40 data present.
I think that the data logger has failed.

[steve]

If you zip up the diags folder and attach it, I'll take a look.

[fdhugo]

I am not used to zipping.
Hope this has worked.
One file will not zip as it is in use.
I have attached it as is.
The file of the rest is too big for attachment, I shall email.

[steve]

I am not used to zipping.

Instructions are in the post linked to near the top of the forum - "Please click here before posting".

It looks like I have added some extra diagnostics to this build for something else, and it is increasing the size of the diags files significantly - I've removed it and put a new version (but still build 1100) at http://nybbles.co.uk/downloads/CumulusSetup.zip

The problem seems to be that there is no response when Cumulus asks for the first logger entry. This could simply be because it isn't waiting long enough. The default time is 200ms, you can increase it to 500ms by stopping Cumulus and editing cumulus.ini. Add a line to the [Station] section:

ImetWaitTime=500

So, please stop Cumulus and download and install the new version from the link above, then before starting it, edit cumulus.ini as above. There seem to be a lot of old logs (21978) but Cumulus does attempt to reset the pointer when it exits. If this hasn't worked, and it does manage to start downloading logs when it starts up, it may take a long time to work its way through them all, and this means there may still be a gap in the logged data when it's finished (live data isn't logged during logger data processing).

[fdhugo]

OK.

I have sent the rest by email.

[fdhugo]

Suggestion.
Identify files by ISO date, CumulusSetup2015-07-28.zip, ferinstance.
I use the technique, and find it useful.

[fdhugo]

>09:50 UT
Uninstalled.
Installed.
Modified.
>10:00 Opened.
10:10 data present.
Closed.
>10:30 Opened
Transfer window possibly open longer.
No colour in transfer bar.
10:40 data present.
No data for 10:20 or 10:30.

Going home, if I can retain remote access, which is a separate issue, I'll look later.

[steve]

Please let me have the diags files for those runs.

[fdhugo]

No new file name, but updated.