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FAQ: Difference between revisions
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→I have inserted pre-Cumulus data making 'Records began on' date wrong
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... check you have the correct station type selected (see the Cumulus ''Help'' for the settings screen). | ... check you have the correct station type selected (see the Cumulus ''Help'' for the settings screen). | ||
Choosing the wrong station type means individual items of information are not correctly assigned to weather parameters. Cumulus knows what is at what location for each station type. | {{Version badge 1}}Choosing the wrong station type means individual items of information are not correctly assigned to weather parameters. Cumulus knows what is at what location for each station type. | ||
*Is the information ''correct on the station console'' (i.e. not a fault with a sensor), but incorrectly displayed on Cumulus screen (i.e. transfer problem)? | *Is the information ''correct on the station console'' (i.e. not a fault with a sensor), but incorrectly displayed on Cumulus screen (i.e. transfer problem)? | ||
Check all your settings on Cumulus, or see a [[#Cumulus_can.27t_read_a_data_update_from_my_station|previous question]]. | Check all your settings on Cumulus, or see a [[#Cumulus_can.27t_read_a_data_update_from_my_station|previous question]]. | ||
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'''Fine Offset stations''' are prone to reporting the odd nonsensical value, and Cumulus has the ability to compare successive readings: | '''Fine Offset stations''' are prone to reporting the odd nonsensical value, and Cumulus has the ability to compare successive readings: | ||
*From the '''Configuration''' menu select [[Cumulus_Screenshots#Configuration_Menu_Screens|''Calibration'']] and in the '''Spike removal''' frame you can specify "the maximum '''differences''' between successive values" that Cumulus is to tolerate. See the '''Help''' for that screen, and note that spike removal applies while Cumulus is running, not to catch-up readings from the station's logger. | *{{Version badge 1}}From the '''Configuration''' menu select [[Cumulus_Screenshots#Configuration_Menu_Screens|''Calibration'']] and in the '''Spike removal''' frame you can specify "the maximum '''differences''' between successive values" that Cumulus is to tolerate. | ||
*{{Version badge 1}}See the '''Help''' for that screen, and note that '''spike removal applies while Cumulus is running''', it is not applied to catch-up readings from the station's logger. | |||
'''Possible Cure:''' | '''Possible Cure:''' | ||
The purpose of the backup files is to allow Cumulus to be 'rewound' to a particular point in time. It simulates the situation where someone had closed Cumulus down at that point, and is only now starting it up again, and needs data to be downloaded from the station's logger to catch up to the present time. Obviously this cure will not work if your station type does not have a logger (one is needed for Cumulus to read old readings again). | The purpose of the backup files is to allow Cumulus to be 'rewound' to a particular point in time. It simulates the situation where someone had closed Cumulus down at that point, and is only now starting it up again, and needs data to be downloaded from the station's logger to catch up to the present time. Obviously this cure will not work if your station type does not have a logger (one is needed for Cumulus to read old readings again). | ||
*If you have only installed Cumulus a few days ago, or have just re-started Cumulus after it was stopped and encounter multiple ''rogue readings in the catch-up from the station logger''; '''one possibility''' is to stop Cumulus and find the [[#On_restarting_Cumulus.2C_it_did_not_successfully_read_all_data_from_when_it_last_ran|backup files]] that it took when you started it up (or just after the previous roll-over time), copy those files into the data folder, overwriting the ones that are there, then when you start it up again it will rewind back to the time in that back-up, and could sort itself out. | *If you have only installed Cumulus a few days ago, or have just re-started Cumulus after it was stopped and encounter multiple ''rogue readings in the catch-up from the station logger''; '''one possibility''' is to stop Cumulus and find the [[#On_restarting_Cumulus.2C_it_did_not_successfully_read_all_data_from_when_it_last_ran|backup files]] that it took when you started it up (or just after the previous roll-over time), copy those files into the data folder, overwriting the ones that are there, then when you start it up again it will rewind back to the time in that back-up, and could sort itself out. | ||
The Cumulus 1 [[Diags|Diagnostic]] log often contains useful information for sorting out what has been read, which values have been ignored, and which highs or lows may have been updated incorrectly. Note that automatic backups are made just after roll-over time because restarting Cumulus when there are no logger records to read before roll-over has been known to cause problems. Therefore, the backup to choose might be one with the date before when the problem occurred, but remember that any calculations Cumulus makes are based on readings at least every minute when Cumulus is running, but for the catch up period such calculations can only use the readings available at your station's logging interval. Note if you choose a later backup and it does not work, you can always then repeat the 'rewind' with a earlier backup. | {{Version badge 1}}The Cumulus 1 [[Diags|Diagnostic]] log often contains useful information for sorting out what has been read, which values have been ignored, and which highs or lows may have been updated incorrectly. Note that automatic backups are made just after roll-over time because restarting Cumulus when there are no logger records to read before roll-over has been known to cause problems. Therefore, the backup to choose might be one with the date before when the problem occurred, but remember that any calculations Cumulus makes are based on readings at least every minute when Cumulus is running, but for the catch up period such calculations can only use the readings available at your station's logging interval. Note if you choose a later backup and it does not work, you can always then repeat the 'rewind' with a earlier backup. | ||
== How to restore a corrupted log file == | == How to restore a corrupted log file == | ||
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Because many positive values are realistic, Cumulus generally will accept those odd increases as a result of accidental knocking of a tipping bucket gauge, due to wind effects on the gauge, or even due to the station electronics generating a rogue reading. The sub-answers below explain how to correct such errors. | Because many positive values are realistic, Cumulus generally will accept those odd increases as a result of accidental knocking of a tipping bucket gauge, due to wind effects on the gauge, or even due to the station electronics generating a rogue reading. The sub-answers below explain how to correct such errors. | ||
=== (Invented rain) Error in today's total === | === (Invented rain) Error in today's total === | ||
Easy - correct today's total using the [[Today.ini#Editing_rainfall_in_today.ini_within_Cumulus | 'today's rain']] editor on the edit menu (select from main screen in Cumulus 1, or find in the MX | Easy - correct today's total using the [[Today.ini#Editing_rainfall_in_today.ini_within_Cumulus | 'today's rain']] editor on the edit menu (select from main screen in Cumulus 1, or find in the MX admin interface). | ||
=== (Invented rain) Error in date/time of 'Last Tip' === | === (Invented rain) Error in date/time of 'Last Tip' === | ||
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If you do this, you will probably need to edit your log files in the '''data''' folder as you may have duplicate entries and/or entries out of order. Your rain totals will almost certainly also be wrong - the total for "today" in particular. See the [[FAQ#My_station_invented_some_rain_that_didn.27t_really_occur.2C_and_I_want_to_set_it_to_zero_.28or_some_other_figure.29 |FAQ]] entry about correcting rainfall data. If you have only just started using Cumulus, you could delete all of the files in the data folder, and just create a simple today.ini as below. Then when you start Cumulus, processing will start again with just the data from the station's logger. | If you do this, you will probably need to edit your log files in the '''data''' folder as you may have duplicate entries and/or entries out of order. Your rain totals will almost certainly also be wrong - the total for "today" in particular. See the [[FAQ#My_station_invented_some_rain_that_didn.27t_really_occur.2C_and_I_want_to_set_it_to_zero_.28or_some_other_figure.29 |FAQ]] entry about correcting rainfall data. If you have only just started using Cumulus, you could delete all of the files in the data folder, and just create a simple today.ini as below. Then when you start Cumulus, processing will start again with just the data from the station's logger. | ||
Note that this method does not work for the Oregon WMR200 station. This station deletes logger entries when they are downloaded, and there is no mechanism for retrieving logger entries for a particular period - it just sends all the entries that it has. You may be able to circumvent this by creating a today.ini file in the data folder before you run Cumulus 1, with just this in it: | Note that this method does not work for the Oregon WMR200 station. This station deletes logger entries when they are downloaded, and there is no mechanism for retrieving logger entries for a particular period - it just sends all the entries that it has. {{Version badge 1}}You may be able to circumvent this by creating a today.ini file in the data folder before you run Cumulus 1, with just this in it: | ||
<pre> | <pre> | ||
[General] | [General] | ||
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CurrentDay=10 | CurrentDay=10 | ||
</pre> | </pre> | ||
Note that Cumulus MX stores some time-stamps '''in ISO format''' (yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss) within '[[today.ini]]', the format example above only works for Cumulus 1, see the article on the log file itself for specifics. | Note that Cumulus MX stores some time-stamps '''in ISO format''' (yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss) within '[[today.ini]]', the format example above only works for {{Version badge 1}}Cumulus 1, see the article on the log file itself for specifics. | ||
Change the dates and time to match the point from which you want Cumulus to start downloading data. If the station has already sent the data, this may not work, unfortunately. | Change the dates and time to match the point from which you want Cumulus to start downloading data. If the station has already sent the data, this may not work, unfortunately. | ||
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{{Version badge 1}}'''Note''' ''StartDate=xxxx'' does ''not'' need to be updated for Cumulus 1 to recognise earlier data in log files in its ''data'' subfolder. | {{Version badge 1}}'''Note''' ''StartDate=xxxx'' does ''not'' need to be updated for Cumulus 1 to recognise earlier data in log files in its ''data'' subfolder. | ||
[[File:Badge vMx.png]] However in calculating and updating extremes, | [[File:Badge vMx.png]] However in calculating and updating extremes, '''CumulusMX.exe''' will ignore any standard log file for any month prior to the start date set, so it is crucial to make sure the start date is right before you (re-)start MX. However, if you use '''ExportMySQL.exe monthly''' this will start with January 2000 and process any standard log found for any month after that. | ||
{{Version badge 1}} | {{Version badge 1}}and [[File:Badge vMx.png]]There is one web page template file ''recordT.htm'' that in two places uses this date. If you want to make one of those be the earliest date you now have for your data and the other one to be when you started using Cumulus; there is an alternative of leaving '''Cumulus.ini''' unchanged, but editing the ''recordT.htm'' template twice: | ||
*after the h2 heading is ''<p>Records began on <#recordsbegandate>. Here are the extremes recorded since then.</p>''; you can replace '<#recordsbegandate>' with the new earliest date typed in as text; and | *after the h2 heading is ''<p>Records began on <#recordsbegandate>. Here are the extremes recorded since then.</p>''; you can replace '<#recordsbegandate>' with the new earliest date typed in as text; and | ||
*at the start of the table is the ''<caption>Records Since <#recordsbegandate></caption>''; replace the label "Records since" with "Cumulus began on" leaving the web tag unchanged. | *at the start of the table is the ''<caption>Records Since <#recordsbegandate></caption>''; replace the label "Records since" with "Cumulus began on" leaving the web tag unchanged. | ||
