Author Topic: Lost Rainfall  (Read 609 times)

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Offline dow

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Lost Rainfall
« on: October 16, 2018, 12:03:38 PM »
I've got a WS-1600-IP (observerIP running a ws-2902 array and an internal sensor).  All has been well since placing the outdoor array last fall, when my previous array failed.  Then yesterday evening, October 15th, I "lost" the daily accumulation of rain for the day.  At 1059 PM, the accumulation was at 1.88", at 11:04, it showed 0.0"  I know that makes it look like it's on the wrong timezone, but it has been working correctly for years.  I'm not at home at present, so I can't log into the observerIP to verify the timezone, but I don't recall this happening before, and I've had the weather station in operation (with one array or another, but with the same observerIP unit) for over three years.  At any rate, that doesn't seem to be the issue, as WU and AW both show the accumulation at 0.07" for the day instead of 1.95" (1.88 + .07).  Going through the previous several days' reports, it seems obvious to me that SOMETHING is resetting at 11:00 Central, but I can't figure out what.  Could something be messed up with the ObserverIP firmware and timezones?  I know that the time used to change earlier in the year than it does now.

Thanks,
dow
https://www.pwsweather.com/station/pws/ktxboern48
Dow Mathis ∴
Boerne, TX
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently motivated fool.

Offline galfert

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Re: Lost Rainfall
« Reply #1 on: October 17, 2018, 09:17:33 PM »
What version firmware are you running?

Whatever rainfall you lost can be entered back in at the bottom of the Live Data tab.

Is is possible that someone on your network go onto the ObserverIP, since it has no login security, and they inadvertently clicked the "Rain Reset" button on the Live Data page? Or they pressed the factory reset button on the back of the ObserverIP.

Regarding the resetting at 11PM, just double check the setting. The Time Zone may not be configured correctly and the device may have been reset. Check the Station Settings tab to be sure. Don't forget to turn on the Daylight Saving Time mode ON. Since you are on Central Time Zone that would be -6.0. Since the default is -5.0 then it would make sense that you are experiencing a reset at 11PM. Someone may have pressed the reset button on the back of the ObserverIP to default it to be -5.0 for Time Zone.

I also recommend anyone using an ObserverIP to set the IP address manually and put in a static address directly on the device. Don't forget to then either do an IP reservation on the DHCP server (router), or make sure that the address you put in as a static is not in the DHCP range of addresses (reduce the scope if needed), so that you don't end up with an IP conflict. The reason for this is that there currently is a bug in the ObserverIP where it does not renew a DHCP IP address lease correctly when it expires. I've reported this to Ambient and I'm working with Fine Offset to hopefully get a firmware update released soon.

« Last Edit: October 17, 2018, 09:21:17 PM by galfert »
Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
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Offline dow

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Re: Lost Rainfall
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2018, 05:35:14 PM »
Hey Galfert,

I'm running 4.4.7.

I did a firmware update recently, so maybe that reset it, but the timezone was set to -5.0 with DST checked.  Central is -6, so I reset the timezone and adjusted the weekly and monthly totals.  Didn't mess with the annual total.  If it's been an hour off for the whole year, then it's pretty much a lost cause.  What I was seeing was the daily total going up until 10:59 pm, and then resetting to 0.0.  What a mess.

Thanks for reminding me of the static ip.  Originally I had it on static, but after replacing my wifi router last year, I had set it to dhcp to get it up and going, and had never set it back to static.  That's taken care of now, too.

All looks to be working well again.

Thanks!
dow
https://www.pwsweather.com/station/pws/ktxboern48
Dow Mathis ∴
Boerne, TX
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently motivated fool.

Offline galfert

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Re: Lost Rainfall
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2018, 05:44:27 PM »
Yep, unfortunately sometimes firmware updates reset things. Before I update firmware on any device (router for example) I always backup my configuration (data backup), and take manual notes of my settings. In the case of the ObserverIP I would have taken note of the settings like time zone, calibration offsets and the rainfall totals. Then do the firmware update. Then double check things didn't get changed and fix if needed. I bet it was a tough lesson to learn. But you can still somewhat correct it if you have the missing totals from online reporting like from Weather Underground.

Ecowitt GW1000 | Meteobridge on Raspberry Pi
WU: KFLWINTE111  |  PWSweather: KFLWINTE111
CWOP: FW3708  |  AWEKAS: 14814
Windy: pws-f075acbe
Weather Underground Issue Tracking
Tele-Pole

Offline dow

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Re: Lost Rainfall
« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2018, 05:50:50 PM »
Yeah, I know better than to update without a backup.  Just goes to show that no matter how much you try, things still get missed sometimes. :D
https://www.pwsweather.com/station/pws/ktxboern48
Dow Mathis ∴
Boerne, TX
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently motivated fool.