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Latest Cumulus MX V4 release 4.0.1 (build 4023) - 16 May 2024
Latest Cumulus MX V3 release 3.28.6 (build 3283) - 21 March 2024
Legacy Cumulus 1 release 1.9.4 (build 1099) - 28 November 2014
(a patch is available for 1.9.4 build 1099 that extends the date range of drop-down menus to 2030)
Download the Software (Cumulus MX / Cumulus 1 and other related items) from the Wiki
Problems with station communication: USB locks up completely
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- Posts: 70
- Joined: Mon 04 Apr 2011 11:35 pm
- Weather Station: 1-wire Windblown solution
- Operating System: Win XP
- Location: Wellington, NZ
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
And failed again - console memory empty, might be too soon to see if the baro is out of whack again, everything else appears ok. It actually seems worse on this usb cable - will try a 3rd.
- GTB
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Thu 06 Nov 2008 12:14 am
- Weather Station: ws1081 with Cumulus
- Operating System: win 2000
- Location: Terrigal NSW
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
you might be on the right track with the usb gentlemen
i lose contact when it is wet or dewy as a general rule
but to-day - after many days of no connection, i replaced the batteries in the sender - NO JOY
for some reason i decided to put batteries back in the console - VOILA!
connection again
but the darn thing has dropped out again to-nite - i guess because it has got dewy again
geoff
i lose contact when it is wet or dewy as a general rule
but to-day - after many days of no connection, i replaced the batteries in the sender - NO JOY
for some reason i decided to put batteries back in the console - VOILA!
connection again
but the darn thing has dropped out again to-nite - i guess because it has got dewy again
geoff
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- Posts: 70
- Joined: Mon 04 Apr 2011 11:35 pm
- Weather Station: 1-wire Windblown solution
- Operating System: Win XP
- Location: Wellington, NZ
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
Back on the original usb lead and it seems more stable than the spare lead I tried.
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- Posts: 418
- Joined: Sun 26 Apr 2009 7:30 pm
- Weather Station: w8681 BlakeLarsen Sun Recorder
- Operating System: Windows 7 SP1
- Location: West Cornwall UK
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
Hi All
One of our Sunrecorder users had problems with USB dropouts and signal corruption and the answer appears to be to wind the USB cable three or four times around a ferrite ring (through the hole and round again). Most USB cables now have ferrites but not extensions (maybe there is a clue there.) The suspicion (only that) is that laptops and netbooks in particular are less shielded than desktops and RF or EMI interference escapes from them. Or it could be interference from some outside source. Anyway from getting coruptions every few seconds our user has been running for a week with no problems. Worth a try ?? It would also be interesting to know if anyone still using CRT monitors has greater problems.
Regards
Alan
One of our Sunrecorder users had problems with USB dropouts and signal corruption and the answer appears to be to wind the USB cable three or four times around a ferrite ring (through the hole and round again). Most USB cables now have ferrites but not extensions (maybe there is a clue there.) The suspicion (only that) is that laptops and netbooks in particular are less shielded than desktops and RF or EMI interference escapes from them. Or it could be interference from some outside source. Anyway from getting coruptions every few seconds our user has been running for a week with no problems. Worth a try ?? It would also be interesting to know if anyone still using CRT monitors has greater problems.
Regards
Alan
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- Posts: 74
- Joined: Fri 26 Dec 2008 8:03 pm
- Weather Station: Maplin N96GY (WH-1081)
- Operating System: Windows 10 Pro
- Location: Carmarthen, West Wales
Re: Problems with station communication
My old N96FY worked well with rare connection problems for three years, but after I broke the anemometer and the external humidity sensor packed in I was given an N96GY last Christmas.
I've had regular "lost contact with sensor" problems from the start. Contact was usually OK when there was no USB lead attached, but within 10 minutes or so of connecting it to my PC, Cumulus would give me the error message. Disconnecting the USB lead would usually re-establish contact within a few minutes, but not always. I also suspect that it was worse in damp weather.
Anyway, I wrote to Maplin about it, and they asked me to return it for their techies to inspect it. I'm not hopeful that they'll find a fault, but I'll let you know.
In the meantime I've got my old N96FY up and running with no connection problems after four days.
I've had regular "lost contact with sensor" problems from the start. Contact was usually OK when there was no USB lead attached, but within 10 minutes or so of connecting it to my PC, Cumulus would give me the error message. Disconnecting the USB lead would usually re-establish contact within a few minutes, but not always. I also suspect that it was worse in damp weather.
Anyway, I wrote to Maplin about it, and they asked me to return it for their techies to inspect it. I'm not hopeful that they'll find a fault, but I'll let you know.
In the meantime I've got my old N96FY up and running with no connection problems after four days.
- pete_c
- Posts: 228
- Joined: Wed 12 Oct 2011 11:22 pm
- Weather Station: Davis Vue-Pro2 - Fine Offset
- Operating System: W2003-XPSP3-Linux
- Location: Time Traveler
Re: Problems with station communication
I just moved the Fine Offset from Illinois to Florida. I connected it to a dedicated IBM T-40 running XP SP3.
In Illinois Cumulus was running on W2003 standard. The weather station was about mounted outside on a 6X6 8ft post attached to a deck adjacent to the house and the server / Fine Offset tablet was in the basement.
So starting a bit from scratch with setup. The weather station is mounted on a mast on top of a two level home and the laptop / Fine Offset tablet is around 200 feet from the weather station. The weather station is about 200 feet from the water that you see in the picture.
In Illinois Cumulus was running on W2003 standard. The weather station was about mounted outside on a 6X6 8ft post attached to a deck adjacent to the house and the server / Fine Offset tablet was in the basement.
So starting a bit from scratch with setup. The weather station is mounted on a mast on top of a two level home and the laptop / Fine Offset tablet is around 200 feet from the weather station. The weather station is about 200 feet from the water that you see in the picture.
Last edited by pete_c on Wed 21 Mar 2012 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Pete
Automator
Automator
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- Posts: 70
- Joined: Mon 04 Apr 2011 11:35 pm
- Weather Station: 1-wire Windblown solution
- Operating System: Win XP
- Location: Wellington, NZ
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
Nice tip Alan, thanks. I'm using a Netbook (eeepad) so I've grabbed a couple of ferrites I had laying about after a ham radio project and wrapped the usb lead 3 times through those. I'll let you know how it goes. I may make a quick trip to a local parts store and grab one of the clip-on ferrites.apenwith wrote:Hi All
One of our Sunrecorder users had problems with USB dropouts and signal corruption and the answer appears to be to wind the USB cable three or four times around a ferrite ring (through the hole and round again). Most USB cables now have ferrites but not extensions (maybe there is a clue there.) The suspicion (only that) is that laptops and netbooks in particular are less shielded than desktops and RF or EMI interference escapes from them. Or it could be interference from some outside source. Anyway from getting coruptions every few seconds our user has been running for a week with no problems. Worth a try ?? It would also be interesting to know if anyone still using CRT monitors has greater problems.
Regards
Alan
Cheers
Colin
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- Posts: 70
- Joined: Mon 04 Apr 2011 11:35 pm
- Weather Station: 1-wire Windblown solution
- Operating System: Win XP
- Location: Wellington, NZ
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
Very positive results here so far with the usb lead and ferrite combination, we've had shocking weather here over the past few days, the sort of stuff that would normally lead to poor reception or signals from the outside sensors - but so far it's rock solid. Could be coincidence of course .......
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- Posts: 44
- Joined: Fri 27 Jan 2012 2:55 am
- Weather Station: Ambient Weather WS-2080
- Operating System: Windows 10
- Location: Cleveland, TN, USA
Re: Problems with station communication
This has nothing to do with Cumulus it is working great,, Cumulus 1.9.2 build 1030 windows XP SP 3........
My problem has been with my Ambient Weather (FO) WS-2080.. I've had it up and running since January 26,2012.. I would run for about 10 days with no problem, then Cumulus would start showing occasional data loss in the error log, it would do this for about 3 maybe 4 days, then it Cumulus would show a complete data loss and suggest checking the weather station and the USB connections.. The WS-2080 usually showed memory about 25%.............. I could unplug the USB, pull the batteries out of the WS-2080, pop the batteries back in reconnect the USB, restart Cumulus and all would be fine for 9-10 days then it would start all over again..
SO, yesterday the weather station locked up again, once again I disconnected it from the computer pulled the batteries out of the WS-2080 console when I reinstalled the batteries the console is showing 140° F Inside and Outside.. I actually removed and replaced the batteries SEVERAL times, did not clear anything at all...... The inside humidity went to 94% and has not changed at all (actual inside humidity is about 45% according to another desktop unit)
I got in touch with Ambient Weather and they seem to think there might be a software problem trying to write to a bad memory sector... They were great, 3 e-mails explaining what was going on and answering a few quick questions, they already have a new console in the mail and an RMA to send in the old one.. They wanted me to leave the batteries in it so it could stay powered up, so they could test it..
I'll try to remember to report back after I get the new console and let everyone know if it is working out....
I sure hope they use express mail, I feel almost naked without my weather station!!!!
My problem has been with my Ambient Weather (FO) WS-2080.. I've had it up and running since January 26,2012.. I would run for about 10 days with no problem, then Cumulus would start showing occasional data loss in the error log, it would do this for about 3 maybe 4 days, then it Cumulus would show a complete data loss and suggest checking the weather station and the USB connections.. The WS-2080 usually showed memory about 25%.............. I could unplug the USB, pull the batteries out of the WS-2080, pop the batteries back in reconnect the USB, restart Cumulus and all would be fine for 9-10 days then it would start all over again..
SO, yesterday the weather station locked up again, once again I disconnected it from the computer pulled the batteries out of the WS-2080 console when I reinstalled the batteries the console is showing 140° F Inside and Outside.. I actually removed and replaced the batteries SEVERAL times, did not clear anything at all...... The inside humidity went to 94% and has not changed at all (actual inside humidity is about 45% according to another desktop unit)
I got in touch with Ambient Weather and they seem to think there might be a software problem trying to write to a bad memory sector... They were great, 3 e-mails explaining what was going on and answering a few quick questions, they already have a new console in the mail and an RMA to send in the old one.. They wanted me to leave the batteries in it so it could stay powered up, so they could test it..
I'll try to remember to report back after I get the new console and let everyone know if it is working out....
I sure hope they use express mail, I feel almost naked without my weather station!!!!
No matter how carefully you choose your words, they'll always end up being twisted by others!
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- Posts: 20
- Joined: Sun 22 Jan 2012 5:30 am
- Weather Station: WH3081
- Operating System: Windows 8.1, Raspbian
- Location: Australia
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
Since I had my WH3081 replaced, my memory has lock up once using Easyweather, so I clear the memory now running fine, even now with a full 31 days of recording on it, still running strong.
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- Posts: 111
- Joined: Thu 09 Jul 2009 10:47 am
- Weather Station: WH1081, Elecsa AstroTouch 6975
- Operating System: openSUSE 13.1, Raspbian, OpenWrt
- Location: Epsom, UK
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
Ah ha! This is the first report I've seen of a lock up with EasyWeather. Do you run it continuously, 24/7?aurion45 wrote:Since I had my WH3081 replaced, my memory has lock up once using Easyweather
Jim
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- Posts: 70
- Joined: Mon 04 Apr 2011 11:35 pm
- Weather Station: 1-wire Windblown solution
- Operating System: Win XP
- Location: Wellington, NZ
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
41south wrote: Edit: Easyweather also locks up so I don't think it's anything to do with Cumulus
Once one of them is locked up the other won't work either
Still going great with the usb cable wrapped through the ferrite rings - not a single error from either a lost signal to the external sensors or a console error. The external errors seem to precede the console errors. Makes me wonder if there is some sort of rf interference getting at both the console and the signal to the outside sensors possibly being radiated from the usb cable and/or netbook I'm using
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- Posts: 111
- Joined: Thu 09 Jul 2009 10:47 am
- Weather Station: WH1081, Elecsa AstroTouch 6975
- Operating System: openSUSE 13.1, Raspbian, OpenWrt
- Location: Epsom, UK
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
I stand corrected. Sorry for not paying attention.41south wrote:41south wrote: Edit: Easyweather also locks up so I don't think it's anything to do with Cumulus
Jim
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- Posts: 244
- Joined: Tue 24 Jun 2008 9:43 pm
- Weather Station: MyDEL WX2008 Mk2 Fine Offset
- Operating System: XP and W7
- Location: Maghull, nr Liverpool, UK
- Contact:
Re: Problems with station communication
Hi guys.
I have been running a FOSH unit and Cumulus for over 3 years now and regularly get 'lost connection' reports so decided to have a review of operations.
The set-up is an old, dedicated Toshiba laptop running 24/7, ethernet connected to a cable router, also running 24/7.
I get lock ups when i run the main desktop PC also connected to the router. The PC triggers a USB connection to a ham radio station whether its on or not. This usually stops the Laptop USB and consequently stops Cumulus reading the FOSH console. This is repeatable and i live with it.
I also get 'lost contact' at random, usually once a week. This is a pain but often corrects itself and no data is lost BUT sometimes it flatlines and must be corrected by a laptop reboot. This can be done remotely over the network . I usually run Easyweather and dump the last months data for 'touching up' Cumulus.
I never seem to get issues when running the radio station, even with up to 100 W to a dipole mounted within 5 m of the sender on HF and verticals on VHF/UHF
Weather doesnt seem to be an issue, likewise non home RF interference. Down times appear random over 24 hours often happening in the small hours.
I use good quality alkaline batteries which seem to last 18 + months. I am currently awaiting the second set to drain after ops since May 2008 !
So, Gremlins, bad hardware, whu. Who knows. Any input appreciated.
I have been running a FOSH unit and Cumulus for over 3 years now and regularly get 'lost connection' reports so decided to have a review of operations.
The set-up is an old, dedicated Toshiba laptop running 24/7, ethernet connected to a cable router, also running 24/7.
I get lock ups when i run the main desktop PC also connected to the router. The PC triggers a USB connection to a ham radio station whether its on or not. This usually stops the Laptop USB and consequently stops Cumulus reading the FOSH console. This is repeatable and i live with it.
I also get 'lost contact' at random, usually once a week. This is a pain but often corrects itself and no data is lost BUT sometimes it flatlines and must be corrected by a laptop reboot. This can be done remotely over the network . I usually run Easyweather and dump the last months data for 'touching up' Cumulus.
I never seem to get issues when running the radio station, even with up to 100 W to a dipole mounted within 5 m of the sender on HF and verticals on VHF/UHF
Weather doesnt seem to be an issue, likewise non home RF interference. Down times appear random over 24 hours often happening in the small hours.
I use good quality alkaline batteries which seem to last 18 + months. I am currently awaiting the second set to drain after ops since May 2008 !
So, Gremlins, bad hardware, whu. Who knows. Any input appreciated.
Phil - G0DOR
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- Posts: 207
- Joined: Sat 24 Sep 2011 2:46 pm
- Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
- Operating System: Raspbian
Re: Problems with station communication
One thing I get almost everyday is one or two messages about the sensor contact lost on Cumulus but the station doesn't actually lose signal