FAQ: Difference between revisions

This is the <big>Cumulus 1 FAQ</big> (consult also the Help screens within Cumulus software, and learn more from the rest of this Wiki)

Cumulus 1 is a finished version, and because the development environment is obsolete no further changes are possible. That said there have been two recent patches to the screen interface, allowing dates from 2021 to 2030 to be selected in drop downs, but the core code will never change. Cumulus 1 is reliable and has more functionality to cope with problems if your weather station set-up may experience problems. However, it does not support some new weather station models, and it will only run  on a Microsoft Windows device, so those two facts may imply you cannot use it! Although there remains some expertise with Cumulus 1 established users, any newcomer may prefer to choose a MX as that has more technical support available.

Cumulus 2 explored an improved data approach using UTC and having better handling of rainfall. Although it was hoped it would make enhancement easier, and allow use of alternative languages possible, it proved too complicated. and has been abandoned and is no longer available, so if you don't already have it hard luck. Subsequently, some of the developments in Cumulus 2 were ported into new version 1.9.0, and remain in final Cumulus 1.9.4 from where they were in turn ported to Cumulus MX. So whichever of the two versions still available you choose, you are benefiting from work done for Cumulus 2.

Cumulus MX runs on Windows from Windows 7 onwards, and on Linux and Mac OS X.

== Where do I find the Cumulus installer? ==

# When you first run Cumulus, it displays the '''Station settings''' screen. On this, make sure you pick the right sort of station (to ensure Cumulus communicates correctly with your weather station, and can identify all the observations) and choose your '''units''' wisely. (Changing units later means all stored Lowest and highest numbers up to that point have to be converted immediately manually).  See the '''Help''' for information about the rest of the screen, but generally you can easily adjust the other options later.

Cumulus MX is different, simply copy the whole download into its own directory (Cumulus MX is the preferred name), and connect your weather station before you run the engine via the executable "CumulusMX.exe". The user interface is separate, so you will need to connect to that interface in order to access the settings.

Cumulus provides multiple options:

{{Version badge 1}}

== Moving Cumulus software to a different location on your PC? ==

Yes is the answer for other weather information, providing you can manipulate the information you have into either (preferably) the format used by the [[Monthly_log_files#Importing_pre-Cumulus_data]] or (second best) [[Dayfile.txt]]. Look up those cross-references in this Wiki (or the Cumulus '''Help''') for further information on required formats.  The support forum includes a few threads related to this topic, and if you post there then people who have already imported from particular systems may offer their services to import your past observations.

*Normally about 10 such back ups are available, each folder has a name based on the timestamp and contains the 6 [[:Category:Log_Files|xxxx.ini files]], the current [[Monthly_log_files|monthly standard data log]]/[[Extra_Sensor_Files|monthly extra data log]], and the most recent update of [[dayfile.txt|daily summary log]].

== What do the various wind speeds in Cumulus correspond to, with Davis stations?  ==

Davis station firmware supplies two windspeeds, a 3-second average and a 10-minute average (later versions of the firmware also supply a 2-minute average, Cumulus currently doesn't use this).   

== What do the various wind speeds in Cumulus correspond to, with Fine Offset stations?  ==

== How do I set up recording wind speeds in Cumulus, with Oregon Scientific and La Crosse stations  ==

== How do I make Cumulus run automatically when Windows starts?  ==

== What formula does Cumulus use for values derived from temperature?  ==

== Where does Cumulus get its this month and this year rainfall totals from?  ==

Stop Cumulus and delete all of the files in the data folder. You may also want to edit the 'StartDate=' line in [[cumulus.ini]] to set the date for the start of your data, if you are starting again on a different date.

== How do I localise Cumulus to my own language? ==

*Moonphases

can all be customised by using the [[strings.ini]] file. This facility may be extended to allow other items to be translated, but it is very unlikely that there will ever be a fully multi-language version of Cumulus in its current form.

== Can I connect/disconnect my weather station while Cumulus is running? ==

No. You must make sure your weather station is connected to your PC and switched on, before running Cumulus. Do not disconnect your station while Cumulus is running.

By default, Cumulus deals with weather stations incorporating solar sensors, if you have selected the relevant station 'Type' or 'Display solar/extra data' in configuration, but it has some capability to deal with extra sensors added including the Blake-Larsen Sun Recorder.

Cumulus has the ability to input, log, and display Current Values/Outputs from the [[Rain_measurement#Optical_Rain_Gauges|Hydreon Optical Rain Sensor - Model RG-11]] and from either Oregon Scientific or Davis [[Extra_Sensor_Files|extra sensors]]. Only today's and yesterday's total rainfall from a Hydreon sensor are available in [[today.ini]] and [[yesterday.ini]] respectively. For some Oregon Scientific models, the temperature from an extra sensor can replace the temperature from the main sensor for processing by Cumulus, but all extra sensor values are stored in a series of [[Extra_Sensor_Files| monthly log]] files. No other processing is performed for Davis extra sensors, but past values are retained in a series of [[Extra_Sensor_Files| monthly log]] files.  The file [[strings.ini]] is used to customise the description associated with extra sensors.

== How do I get my Davis station with USB working with Cumulus? ==

== Why does Cumulus do some things the way it does, when there are better ways? ==

{{Version badge 1}}Cumulus was originally something I 'knocked together' quickly when I got my first weather station, simply because I couldn't find any other software anywhere which I was prepared to use. No 'design' went into it, it was really just a prototype. Some of the things I did were just quick 'hacks' that I intended to fix when I did it 'properly'. But I never got around to going back and doing it 'properly', and it was never my intention that anyone else would use it. But I was persuaded to make it available for others, and then to add more and more enhancements.  

== Can I run 2 copies of Cumulus? ==

If you really do want to try to correct these other rain figures; you would need to stop Cumulus, then find (for the period in question), the correct [[monthly_log_files|monthly log file]] field 11 (assuming date is field 0), which stores the Cumulus 'rain counter' values, and edit (increasing the value in the count field, decreases the difference to the next (or current) count, and therefore reduces the rain in the in-between period) so they are correct relative to the current value of the rain counter (i.e. the latest one logged).

If you need to correct within day values for trend graphs as well as the longer period totals, provided you know roughly when the rogue rainfall was recorded, find (and edit) it in the [[monthly_log_files]], field 11 (assuming date is field 0) is the count used to derive other parameters. Increasing the value in the count field, decreases the difference to the next (or current) count, and therefore reduces the rain in the in-between period.

You probably have Cumulus set to calculate a 10-minute average, and your logger period is 10 minutes or longer, so your gust comes out the same as the average when using data from the logger. Depending on your weather station type, there are a few things you could try, to improve things. Decrease your station's logger interval, and if you have Cumulus calculating the wind speed average and you have a Fine Offset station, set 'Use speed for avg calculation'.

[[File:Badge vMx.png]] However Cumulus MX will ignore any monthly log file data prior to the start date set, so it is crucial to make sure the start date is right before you (re-)start MX.

It really represents "Cumulus began on", so there is an alternative of leaving cumulus.ini unchanged, but editing default Cumulus ''recordsT.htm'' template twice:

If heat index or wind chill is not applicable, Cumulus will set them the same as the ambient temperature.

When running live, Cumulus plots data at 1-minute intervals. When it starts up, it pre-fills the graphs with data from the log files, which generally (depending on how you have Cumulus and your station configured) will be at less frequent intervals.  

You may have closed it very soon after starting it up, when it had a lot of data to download from the station logger, and you use Weather Underground. From version 1.9.1  there is a facility where it 'catches up' with data that hasn't been uploaded to Weather Underground while it hasn't been running. This takes a little while, and if you close it while it is doing it, it will take a long time for all of the updates to time out. You need to give it sufficient time to finish the upload. From version 1.9.2, there is a 'catch up' light which shows that the upload is taking place, and the 'catch up' is optional'; and it will abort much more quickly if you still close it while the catch up is taking place.  

Cumulus assumes a certain level of weather station functionality. It checks that it has received data from a number of sensors (e.g. pressure, outside temperature, wind) before it starts periodic calculations, logging, uploading to the web, or drawing graphs. This is an attempt to make sure that bad data is not logged. If your weather station is not fully functional, you will not be able to use Cumulus fully.  

Cumulus works by whenever the reading it is currently processing exceeds a particular record, that record is updated. In essence, Cumulus end-of-day works by reading what is in the detailed [[Monthly_log_files]] to find the highs and lows during the day just ended, these then update the [[dayfile.txt|daily summary log]]. Cumulus can also read what is in the daily summary log to update the all-time extremes held in [[alltime.ini]] and month-by-month all-time extremes held in [[monthlyalltime.ini]]. Look up those cross-references to help you understand the various items, and how they can be updated.

# Correct the rogue values or values in the detailed [[Monthly_log_files]] ''with Cumulus stopped''. Neither Cumulus 1 nor Cumulus MX provides an editor to do this, and you need to guess new values for readings as there is no other file provided by Cumulus to offer any suggestions, often people interpolate between earlier and later readings.

# Correct the all-time extremes held in [[alltime.ini]] and monthly all-time extremes held in [[monthlyalltime.ini]]. Using the Cumulus 1 [[Cumulus_Screenshots#File.2FEdit.2FHelp_Menu|built-in appropriate editor]] from the first couple of commands in the Edit menu (and now also in CumulusMX) allows you to see, and copy across, suggested extremes based on contents of the detailed [[Monthly_log_files]] or contents of  the [[dayfile.txt|daily summary log]].