Rain Record: "Houston we have a problem"

[geoffw]

Al recording has stopped! last reading on Dayfile.txt 9.4 6th november



.........and it's bl@@dy tipping down at the moment!

[steve]

It looks like you have indoor reading, so perhaps the console has lost contact with the transmitter(s). What type of weather station? Your profile says Fine Offset, but this is the Oregon Scientific section. Your screenshot does imply an Oregon, so assuming you have other outside data, the most likely explanation is that your rain gauge has stopped recording or transmitting. Flat battery? Stuck 'tipper'? Stuck reed switch? Is the console showing rain?

[geoffw]

It looks like you have indoor reading, so perhaps the console has lost contact with the transmitter(s). What type of weather station? Your profile says Fine Offset, but this is the Oregon Scientific section. Your screenshot does imply an Oregon, so assuming you have other outside data, the most likely explanation is that your rain gauge has stopped recording or transmitting. Flat battery? Stuck 'tipper'? Stuck reed switch? Is the console showing rain?

Apologies Steve, I've amended my profile as I changed my station to an Oregon WRM200 earlier in the year. My profile is now up to date.

I seem to have solved the problem - the station appears to have been recording. After I installed the backup files from the 30th October and restarted, there is a reading for today and the November total seems OK. Unfortunately. as far as this issue is concerned the rain has stopped , so it is now wait and see.

[steve]

Note that you will now have missing data log entries between Oct 30th and the present (in the monthly logs and dayfile.txt), and that the figure shown for today's rainfall is not necessarily actually that for today. What does the console show?

[geoffw]

Sorry for the delay in following up this issue. Rather busy at the moment!

Anyway I've taken a further look and managed to get a more recent backup installed so I only lost one day's data. It looks very much like a WRM200 issue rather than anything to do with Cumulus! The console is not showing any rainfall, and I am having to revert to my manual rain gauge and enter the data into Cumulus daily till I can find and correct the issue. Cumulus reports a 'good' battery and I can find no external problem with the gauge, which is clear of leaves etc. It looks like I may have to delve inside.

I have also reset the console to no avail. the system is still less than a year old so I may have to go back to the supplier.

ANYONE ELSE WITH THIS MODEL HAD THIS KIND OF PROBLEM?

[steve]

The battery status is rather peculiar with these stations, but Cumulus showing 'good' doesn't mean it's actually getting a 'good' status, it means it isn't getting a 'bad' status, which includes no status at all.

It is likely that the console isn't actually receiving rainfall data from the transmitter. Have you tried changing the batteries in the rain gauge?

To confirm that the console isn't getting the rain transmissions (rather than getting transmissions containing zero rainfall) delete any existing debug.log file, then turn on debug logging for 10 minutes, and then zip up and attach the debug.log file here.

[geoffw]

File as requested Steve!

[steve]

The console is receiving rain packets, so it's not a transmission problem, it's that the rain gauge isn't registering rain. This could be because the tipper isn't tipping, or a stuck reed switch or some electrical problem which means that the tipping isn't causing a rain tip to be registered.

[geoffw]

Thanks Steve. Just had time to demount it, open it, shoo out a spider but nothing obvious mechanically. Accidentally dropped it on the grass, and it registered 3.3mm of rain. So it looks like. the link is sound.

Heavy cloud here and no rain, so it is wait and see!

[geoffw]

Just a quick update, and to thank Steve for his ever helpful advice,, allowing me to home in on the issue. Giving the internals of the gauge a thorough clean seems to have solved the the problem. Hope my 'donation' has arrived!