New user, some questions

[dexterslab]

hi everyone, i was given a CM2000 (branded ClimeMET) aka FineOffset WH1091 station as a present about a week ago. I have it all setup and running and have initially used the EasyWeather app but i'll probably change over to Cumulus partly due to getting a bit hacked off with EasyWeather today.

I normally dumped the data into easyweather once or twice a day, i liked this as i tend to move the display unit around and didn't want it tethered to a pc. Today i decided to swap out the batteries in the transmitter and the unit for lithium ones but was shocked to find the unit looses all it's data when you take the batteries out, so i lost about 4 hours of data. Not only this but EasyWeather still thinks it's 4 hours ago so is completly out of sync and is timestamping the data as though it continued from when i last downloaded (had a peek in the .dat file).

So, this is time to switch over, but i have some questions...

1) How does cumulus cope with a situation like that? and whats the best procedure to change the batteries in the display unit?

2) Is it generally better not to use the data logger option, and use only the real time data while the unit is plugged in?

3) Up until about 8:30 this morning all the data in my EasyWeather.dat file is valid, can this be imported into Cumulus?

thanks!

(and yes i will be making a donation!)

[steve]

1) How does cumulus cope with a situation like that?

If I understand you correctly, then Cumulus will do the same. It's the way the station was designed. The entries in the logger aren't timestamped, so there's no way of knowing when they were actually created. Cumulus just works backwards through the logger entries until it's found sufficient entries to fill in the gap, then starts processing the entries based on how long ago it thinks they were created starting from the current time.

2) Is it generally better not to use the data logger option, and use only the real time data while the unit is plugged in?

If you can, it's definitely better to run 24/7 and not have to use the logger at all. You lose a lot of detail (wind gusts etc) if you're just using the logger entries, in particular if you stick to the default interval of 30 minutes, which many people do, for reasons I can never understand.

Up until about 8:30 this morning all the data in my EasyWeather.dat file is valid, can this be imported into Cumulus?

I believe one of our esteemed users has a method of importing the data, so I'll leave it to him to offer if he has the time.

[dexterslab]

If I understand you correctly, then Cumulus will do the same. It's the way the station was designed. The entries in the logger aren't timestamped, so there's no way of knowing when they were actually created. Cumulus just works backwards through the logger entries until it's found sufficient entries to fill in the gap, then starts processing the entries based on how long ago it thinks they were created starting from the current time.

ok, thats good to know and all the more reason to real-time only.

Thinking about it, you just need to ensure everything is synced before replacing batteries.

If you can, it's definitely better to run 24/7 and not have to use the logger at all. You lose a lot of detail (wind gusts etc) if you're just using the logger entries, in particular if you stick to the default interval of 30 minutes, which many people do, for reasons I can never understand.

i was logging at 10min intervals.

So if i wanted to leave cumulus running and then unplug the display for a time, cumulus will then once it's plugged back in download enough entries (as you say) to fill the gap and continue with real-time?

Does cumulus need to be restarted in any way after plug/unplug? - the reason i ask is i'll be running cumulus on my server which runs 24/7, but has no keyboard/mouse or screen so needs to be autonomous as possible.

This leads me onto my next question (sorry!!)... my server is also a webserver so i potentially can have real-time data onto a website etc. I see the options for uploading via FTP to a webserver, but of course i only need to move the files into a different location on my hard disk or i point part of my webserver where the cumulus web files are located. Whats the best way to do it?

I believe one of our esteemed users has a method of importing the data, so I'll leave it to him to offer if he has the time.

excellent, thanks!

[steve]

Thinking about it, you just need to ensure everything is synced before replacing batteries.

The console takes power from the USB, so you could leave it plugged in while replacing batteries, to avoid interruption.

So if i wanted to leave cumulus running and then unplug the display for a time, cumulus will then once it's plugged back in download enough entries (as you say) to fill the gap and continue with real-time?

Does cumulus need to be restarted in any way after plug/unplug? - the reason i ask is i'll be running cumulus on my server which runs 24/7, but has no keyboard/mouse or screen so needs to be autonomous as possible.

Cumulus can't cope with the console being unplugged, you have to close it down before unplugging, and start it up again after replugging. There's an option to restart itself when the cable is unplugged, but I don't think that's going to help in your situation. But other than that, yes, when it starts up it downloads the logger data to catch up from when it stopped.

This leads me onto my next question (sorry!!)... my server is also a webserver so i potentially can have real-time data onto a website etc. I see the options for uploading via FTP to a webserver, but of course i only need to move the files into a different location on my hard disk or i point part of my webserver where the cumulus web files are located. Whats the best way to do it?

Use the 'files' tab on the internet settings to list the files, and don't tick the 'ftp' box. See the help for a bit more detail.

[dexterslab]

thanks steve, i have the web side working now, enabled auto update while leaving the ftp details empty, copied the contents of the \cumulus\webfiles into the \cumulus\web folder and created a virtual directory on one of my websites to point to \cumulus\web

i noticed though the realtime wind data doesn't work because the realtime.txt file is updated within the \cumulus folder rarther than the \cumulus\web folder. Can this be altered?

[steve]

i noticed though the realtime wind data doesn't work because the realtime.txt file is updated within the \cumulus folder rarther than the \cumulus\web folder. Can this be altered?

You should be able to copy it to wherever you want by listing it on the files tab and ticking the realtime box?

[dexterslab]

maybe i'm not understanding what the files tab does, but given nothing actually gets ftp'ed i cant see how this would help?

[steve]

If 'ftp' isn't ticked, then the 'remote' filename is where the file gets copied to.

[hungerdunger]

You lose a lot of detail (wind gusts etc) if you're just using the logger entries, in particular if you stick to the default interval of 30 minutes, which many people do, for reasons I can never understand.

What interval would you recommend, Steve? I presume we're aiming to get a balance between accuracy of data and the sheer amount of it if we went for a very small interval.

[dexterslab]

ahh, gotcha...

yep working now, well worth a little expansion about it in the help, it's more flexible than it would imply

[Gina]

I have my logger set for 5 minute intervals. You still get about a fortnight's data storage.

[steve]

yep working now, well worth a little expansion about it in the help, it's more flexible than it would imply

Remote Filenames This column allows you to specify the corresponding name on your web site of each file. You should specify the full path for the file, starting from the point you are at when you log in to your site's FTP server. If the FTP? box is not ticked (see below) then this specifies the file on the local system to which the specified file is to be copied.

FTP? This column allows you to specify whether each file should be uploaded by ftp, or just copied to a location on the PC. In the latter case, the destination file is specified in the Remote Filename box.

Seems clear enough to me... but maybe I could put something about it in the wiki.

[steve]

Yes, a 5 minute setting in the logger still gives you over two weeks, and the same in Cumulus doesn't take up a huge amount of space - well under a megabyte per month.