Cumulus Support

Needed to shut down so that I ciould get a reboot for WL communication error. Cumulus hung at 'Cumulus is closing down - Please wait... This may take several minutes'. I waited for over 30 minutes during which the message continued, then checked Task Manager which indicated Cumulus.exe not responding and selected Close the program.

Upon restart Cumulus started okay except that all the yesterday data is gone from the console and from the website upload. Everything else and other data seems to be okay other than missing one of the 30 minutes logging in the dec10log file, which is no problem. In checking the yesterday.ini before shut-down and after everything is identical. The today.ini has some changes in data which is expected as some time has elapsed, but it also had a difference in the Date and Timestamp from 12/28/10 to 12/28/2010 in both instances but the time is in the same format. In checking a little later on the current today.ini file it has reverted back to the 12/28/10 format.

This shut down not responding and yesterday data lost had happened several times before and 3 times yesterday when I was also working on the WL communication error so I printed the today.ini and yesterday.ini before shut down (also did a manual 'data' backup). Unfortunately WL problem did not go away with the reboot but that is another matter.

I have attached the Diags file. Any suggestions on how to avoid the shut-down lockup and loosing the yesterday data? (which is really not a big deal as it will correct after the day's rollover but would be nice if it did not occur).

Paul

Is this the diags file from the run where you had to kill it, or the run after where there was no yesterday data? Could I have the other one too, please? Could you also upload the today.ini and yesterday.ini files, please?

I suspect that the Davis DLL was having trouble talking to the station, causing the data reading thread to hang. I don't know why it didn't pick up the yesterday.ini file when it started again, though.

Thanks Steve,
It was the latest Diags so that would be after the restart. Now added the earlier and today/yesterday.ini.

Paul

You're getting the same problem that Steve Willington reported in the Davis section:

12/27/10 13:35:44.498 : VP2: LoadCurrentVantageData_V, error = -32701
12/27/10 13:35:44.498 : VP2: Closing connection, result = 1
12/27/10 13:35:45.560 : VP2: OpenTCPIPPort_V, res = 0
12/27/10 13:35:47.054 : VP2: LoadCurrentVantageData_V, error = -32701

You're using TCP/IP but you have a USB Envoy? How does that work?

You're using TCP/IP but you have a USB Envoy? How does that work?

Thanks Steve,
I have had it setup that way for over a year as per the VVP instructions and it has worked but with occassional communication loss by WL, and the seldom Cumulus lockup but that did not appear to be a communcation issue. In checking VVP Cumulus is allows running ok. But I did see your mention yesterday about the TCP/IP vs Serial and have fired off an e-mail to Steve at softwx if using the Serial option can work. I guess trying that is a quicker method but a little uncomfortable in tinkering with these matters. Initially, before VVP and running 24/7, Davis had me set it as Serial and that is how I had been using WL and Cumulus on an on-and-off basis until a year ago.

The WL communication errors have happened quite a bit and was always corrected by a computer reboot but not yesterday and today. I had talked to Davis last year about the WL communication error and they thought it might be due to too many/frequent uploads - WU, CWOP, and website. However Cumulus just keeps on working away and updating my website without that problem - just the shut-down and yesterday data loss.

Paul

Ah, Virtual VP, the same as Steve. I know that there are a few issues with Virtual VP and the Davis DLL, but it's odd that you two both had the same problem at the same time. Is this a new version of Virtual VP?

I'm afraid I can't see why it wouldn't read the yesterday.ini file, that should only happen if there had been a failed rollover, which isn't the case here.

Thanks again Steve,
I am still using the original version 1.2.3 of VVP that I started with a year ago and have asked Steve H if an upgrade might be helpful and awaiting his response.

It definitely is a Virtual VVP and/or Start Watch issue and not Cumulus. I have tried several startup and settings including running and stopping WL and Cumulus separately and without VVP and without SW.

In the running and stopping separately WL and Cumulus behaved correctly (except the WL communication error) and the yesterday data was there in Cumulus.

In running with VVP both WL and Cumulus was fine (except for the WL communication error) and stopping also fine, including yesterday data in Cumulus.

In starting with Start Watch it looked fine with VVP, WL and Cumulus all came up and running ok (except for the WL communication error). Stopping SW and selecting "not to have SW shut down the programs it started" and then individually stopping WL, Cumulus and VVP was fine.

However, starting with Start Watch it looked fine as above, but in stopping SW and selecting "to have SW shut down the programs it started" WL and VVP stopped ok but Cumulus, after selecting 'yes' to shutting down, had a lightning flash of the console after about 10 seconds and then hung and had to use Task Manager to stop Cumulus. And this is the scenario that has occured several times in the past, including the console flash. BUT this time the yesterday data was there in the next startup of Cumulus.

I will monitor future Cumulus shut down and if there is then again a loss of yesterday data to try to back trace the steps.

One other minor matter was that at restart of Cumulus after the first shut down of today (both times running without SW) two All Time Records were logged in error, All Time Daily Rain and All Time Hourly Rain, and I can edit to put the previous data back in. The today and yesterday .ini and the Dec10Log files are all okay.

Thank you for your help and looking into this issue. I will pursue further with SoftWx and Davis.

Paul

PaulMy wrote:I am still using the original version 1.2.3 of VVP that I started with a year ago and have asked Steve H if an upgrade might be helpful and awaiting his response.

Paul, the latest release of Virtual VP corrects (or at least tries to correct) problems that Davis Instruments introduced when they modified WeatherLink, the software and the adaptor/data-logger and the DLL (that Steve is using for communications between Cumulus and the Davis weather station consoles) without telling anyone and refusing to release any information on the modifications they have done.

PaulMy wrote:It definitely is a Virtual VVP and/or Start Watch issue and not Cumulus.

I am using both StartWatch and Virtual VP on two computers without problems:
- on one computer, Virtual VP gets its data from a Vantage Pro2 Weather Envoy through the serial port and pass that data on to WD, WXSIM and a couple of other utility programs;
- on the other computer, Virtual VP gets its data from a Vantage Pro2 console through the USB (serial drivers) port and pass that data on to Cumulus, WD, WXSIM and a few other utility programs.

I use StartWatch on both computers in order to 'stagger' the starting of the different programs as well as to monitor both Cumulus and WD. Other than for setting up the console, the WeatherLink software is not very reliable...

I do not and cannot run the WeatherLink software on a continuous basis ( as I do with Cumulus, WD, WXSIMM, VWS) as it 'crashes' regularly and seems to affects the reliability of Virtual VP.

Thanks for that Ray. I'll see if Steve H gets back within a reasonable time, otherwise will do the version update. For the moment I have shut down WL.

Paul