Cumulus Support

Hello all, this is my first post. I seem to have a problem with my Cumulus Data Log, which I cannot resolve. It is repeating the same data every log minute, which is very frustrating. My station (Fine Offset) is recording the data correctly, as I can see it on the digital display, however it doesn't appear correctly in the data log. Eventually, Cumulus throws up an 'error reading from station', which I only see if and when I click on the CumulusMX command window (Windows10) - there is no warning, which is also frustrating. I then have to reset my digital display by removing the batteries, as unplugging and re-inserting the USB Cable never removes the error. When I reconnect CumulusMX it then picks up the first time stamp data from the point it reconnected, then proceeds to repeat this every minute until I disconnect. I have noticed that the Relative Pressure reading on my Digital Display is 'locked' at 1013.2hpa, which is odd, so I may have a sensor issue. There may be a data corruption somewhere that needs to be removed, but I am a complete novice with this, so I would appreciate any help / hand-holding to resolve it. Thanks.

We will need some more information please.

In the CumulusMX directory on your system there should be a folder called MXdiags. Within this folder should be files with numeric names - they are created by combination of date and time of starting CumulusMX.

Stop CumulusMX (if it is running) then ZIP the latest of these diagnostic files and attach it to a reply to this post. This will help us to help you.

It would also be useful for you to look at this file - a simple text editor will do. It should help you work out what is (not) happening. Make sure you take a copy of the file before 'editing' it.

The 'stuck' pressure seems odd - it's been varying gently up and down for the last week or so (at least here in the UK!).

Just one more thing - with regard to the 'stuck' pressure. It may be worth trying to re-install the actual weather station. I.e remove all power sources - leave for a few minutes - and re-install the station from scratch. Assuming you have set the correct altitude for your station then you should be able to check the relative pressure against a local airport or Met Office observation - you can get these off the internet quite easily - or use a service like https://windy.com which will display various weather information around your location.

philpugh wrote: ↑Mon 04 Jan 2021 11:42 am We will need some more information please.

In the CumulusMX directory on your system there should be a folder called MXdiags. Within this folder should be files with numeric names - they are created by combination of date and time of starting CumulusMX.

Stop CumulusMX (if it is running) then ZIP the latest of these diagnostic files and attach it to a reply to this post. This will help us to help you.

It would also be useful for you to look at this file - a simple text editor will do. It should help you work out what is (not) happening. Make sure you take a copy of the file before 'editing' it.

The 'stuck' pressure seems odd - it's been varying gently up and down for the last week or so (at least here in the UK!).

Thanks for responding philpugh. I have attached the zipped files from the MXDiags folder as you suggested.

Regarding re-installing the actual weather station, do you suggest removing the batteries from both the sensor unit and the digital display?

2021-01-04 12:28:29.011 Error reading data from station - it may need resetting
2021-01-04 12:28:32.182 Operation timed out.

That is your problem. Here is some general information on fixing Fine Offset data reads. https://cumuluswiki.org/a/FAQ#Cumulus_s ... .22_screen

water01 wrote: ↑Mon 04 Jan 2021 1:14 pm

2021-01-04 12:28:29.011 Error reading data from station - it may need resetting
2021-01-04 12:28:32.182 Operation timed out.

That is your problem. Here is some general information on fixing Fine Offset data reads. https://cumuluswiki.org/a/FAQ#Cumulus_s ... .22_screen

Thanks for responding David, although I don't understand what problem you are referring to? Can you be more specific please?

If it's the 'error reading data from station' - this happens from time to time. Sometimes I don't see it for months, then I'll see it several times in a week. It happened this week, but I usually resolve it by removing the batteries from the digital display and then it reads ok and I may need to adjust the dayfile. However, the problem I have now is the data coming into CumulusMX is repeating. I have never seen this before, hence the call for help.

DomC

Also:

2021-01-04 08:48:53.705 Reading pressure offset
2021-01-04 08:48:53.862 Rel pressure = 1013.2
2021-01-04 08:48:53.863 Abs pressure = 0
2021-01-04 08:48:53.863 Calculated Offset = 1013.2

2021-01-03 18:03:24.799 Processing data for 03/01/2021 11:33:21
2021-01-03 18:03:24.799 Ignoring bad data: pressure = 2028.9
2021-01-03 18:03:24.799 offset = 1013.2

and this may be a result of the data error reading, or have you put in that large offset?

There have been a lot of changes in CumulusMX since your version 3.4.6-b3070. An update will not likely fix your station issue, but an update can't hurt.

Enjoy,
Paul

PaulMy wrote: ↑Mon 04 Jan 2021 2:40 pm Also:

2021-01-04 08:48:53.705 Reading pressure offset
2021-01-04 08:48:53.862 Rel pressure = 1013.2
2021-01-04 08:48:53.863 Abs pressure = 0
2021-01-04 08:48:53.863 Calculated Offset = 1013.2

2021-01-03 18:03:24.799 Processing data for 03/01/2021 11:33:21
2021-01-03 18:03:24.799 Ignoring bad data: pressure = 2028.9
2021-01-03 18:03:24.799 offset = 1013.2

and this may be a result of the data error reading, or have you put in that large offset?

There have been a lot of changes in CumulusMX since your version 3.4.6-b3070. An update will not likely fix your station issue, but an update can't hurt.

Enjoy,
Paul

Thanks for responding Paul.

In response - no, I never put in the large offset - there is clearly an error somewhere.

Thanks for prompting me to update - I just got too busy with work / life and kept putting it off. Anyway, I got organised as a result of your prompt and I have updated to the latest release following the instructions and other forum commentary. I moved from Build 3070 to Build 3072 and then to Build 3099. You were correct - the station error still exists and I am now at a loss to resolve. I may try to disconnect / clean / reconnect the sensors to see if that helps, but I may cone unstuck if there is a data error now residing in CumulusMX that I don't know about / can't find. Any other suggestions?

Regards

DomC

Only way to check that is to review any pertinent records or long term stats and use the editors in MX to correct the data if they are incorrect.

As to the fine offset reset sorry I took a while to reply but as the Wiki says "remove batteries and the USB cable" from the console i.e. all power in the console and to the console. Leave it for about 20 seconds and then put the batteries and USB connection back in and check it reconnects. You will probably have to reset the time, relative pressure, height of station etc.

I would also check the batteries in the transmitter unit as the cold weather may not have helped, and last thing do you have "Synchronise Fine Offset reads" ticked in Settings/Station Settings/Options as this may help. It didn't with mine but some people have reported better results with it ticked.

I don't use the Fine Offset station so can't be helpful on that but from past readings the suggestion as posted by water01 would be good advice to follow.
Re the pressure issue, perhaps a calibration / spike removal could be helpful https://cumuluswiki.org/a/FAQ#Cumulus_r ... my_station

Enjoy,
Paul

Hello all

Thanks for everyone's input.

I took some time out to try to resolve this, as I refused to be beaten. I updated Cumulus, disconnected and reconnected everything internal and external, removed all Jan21 data files from my root Cumulus directory and any backups that it may reload from, but the problem still existed.

I searched the forum again using different search terms to see if I could find anyone with a similar problem - and I did! Here:

viewtopic.php?t=11758

The long and short is that it appears my W-8681 Console is 'dead' - the barometric pressure sensor has failed and is causing a problem sending the correct data from my outdoor sensors to CumulusMX. I have been taking regular readings (pen and paper) from the console as the display seems to be correct, although not recording / transferring correctly for whatever reason to CumulusMX, so at least I have some form of recording important information (to me, anyway) short term.

This person had a similar problem - although what got my attention is that their barometric pressure also locked at 1013.2 hpa - exactly the same as mine!! So perhaps anyone who has a Fine Offset station should note this. A responder to that thread also had a similar issue, resulting in replacing the kit completely.

It's disappointing, but this is my first station and I have enjoyed the analysis, so maybe now is a good time to buy a better, more robust system with fewer 'outages'.

I know there are many threads on the forum, but can anyone suggest / recommend a good, stable, station as a starting point before I scour The Internet. One with built-in sunshine recording would be a plus, as I have fancied this for a while now.

Regards

DomC

Unless you want to go the expensive route with Davis weather stations, the Ecowitt stations are currently flavour of the month and it will allow you to re-use some of your Fine Offset components.

viewforum.php?f=42