Author Topic: Quick Question  (Read 5376 times)

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Offline Mattk

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #25 on: September 28, 2017, 11:41:20 PM »
Then you are very much expecting beyond the realm of reality.
Ummm, what??? You think me wanting to be able to automatically set my console from the PC to be accurate to the second is "beyond the realm of reality?" :lol:

To 1 second with the current hardware, Yes it is beyond reality, automatic, manual or otherwise. I think you are conflicting 2 separate issues here, 1 is the possible resolution and the other is the sync'ing

Offline Old Tele man

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #26 on: September 29, 2017, 02:21:35 PM »
FWIW, the "time keeping" of my original VP2 Console was lousy, losing something like 2, almost 3, minutes per month. I was constantly having to update the Console time. Why? Because I also concurrently operate an Envoy8X that's simultaneously collecting the SAME ISS data (plus 5 other temp inputs)...it sorta works BETTER if the two different data streams are somewhat synchronized when trying to compare them!

The GOOD (excellent?) news is that switching to a VUE Console seemed to solve 99.9% of the problem; the VUE seems to have MUCH better time-keeping accuracy, as I now only have to check/synchronize it about every 6 months or so.

I have an older LaCrosse "Atomic" digital clock that I use for synchronization, it displays 'seconds' enabling me to accurately synchronize my consoles to within a second of the correct NIST WWVB Fort Collins, Colorado, time-ticks.
« Last Edit: September 29, 2017, 07:43:26 PM by Old Tele man »
• SYS: Davis VP2 Vue/WL-IP & Envoy8X/WL-USB;
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• CWOP: DW6988 - 2 miles NNE of Cortaro, AZ
• WU - KAZTUCSO202, Countryside

Offline Bushman

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #27 on: September 29, 2017, 02:38:17 PM »
I have not touched the time setting on my Davis console in literally years and years - and it is within one minute of the NIST-syhchronized time on my PC (not connected to the console, BTW).  Go figure.
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Offline dalecoy

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #28 on: September 29, 2017, 03:32:38 PM »
I have not touched the time setting on my Davis console in literally years and years - and it is within one minute of the NIST-syhchronized time on my PC (not connected to the console, BTW).  Go figure.

Why would it be a surprise that some crystal-controlled consoles would be "right on frequency", when others are slow and others are fast?

Offline CW2274

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #29 on: September 29, 2017, 03:44:52 PM »
I have not touched the time setting on my Davis console in literally years and years - and it is within one minute of the NIST-syhchronized time on my PC (not connected to the console, BTW).  Go figure.

Why would it be a surprise that some crystal-controlled consoles would be "right on frequency", when others are slow and others are fast?
It's not. The part that is, is how ridiculously inaccurate they can be. There was a thread on exactly this a while back. My VP2 is like Old Tele, it constantly needs resetting. I haven't check my Vue, but it's probably better, can't really be much worse. :roll:

Offline Bushman

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #30 on: September 29, 2017, 07:40:56 PM »
I have not touched the time setting on my Davis console in literally years and years - and it is within one minute of the NIST-syhchronized time on my PC (not connected to the console, BTW).  Go figure.

Why would it be a surprise that some crystal-controlled consoles would be "right on frequency", when others are slow and others are fast?

It is surprising that it is that accurate.  My other crystal-controlled devices are nowhere near as good.  And yet some folks claim their Davis console can't keep time.  Go figure.
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Offline ocala

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #31 on: September 30, 2017, 06:52:15 AM »
When I used to use Weatherlink exclusively the time was always off. About every 2 months it would be around 7-8 minutes behind actual time. Since I switched to Cumulus it sync's with the computer and that problem was solved.
By the way this is a VP2
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Offline benay ra'am

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #32 on: September 30, 2017, 09:06:12 AM »
When I used to use Weatherlink exclusively the time was always off. About every 2 months it would be around 7-8 minutes behind actual time. Since I switched to Cumulus it sync's with the computer and that problem was solved.
By the way this is a VP2

How do you sync Cumulus with the Computer? On my Laptop, when I sync the computer to internet Time, Cumulus auto syncs with the computer. After an hour or so, I get a  microsoft error, the error says D/T stopped working and the Laptop time reverts back 1 minute. That coincides with the console. I think that is because I did check the " Set The PC Time" Box in WL Setup. I had a Brain fart thinking the PC will set the WL time.

What I did now was I resert the time on the Laptop and Main Computer, went into setup on the console and as soon as the Minute Hand went to 0 on the Main Computer, I set the Minute on the console and immediately went into Current Weather Mode. We'll see were it goes from here. Now I can check if the Console drifts or not. I don't think it will drift as the Console was consistently one Minute behind.

I'm a Electronics Technician and currently work as a Avionics Technician and for me Time is Important whether it's Video, Transmitters, Receivers, GPS. If I had access to the schematics, block Diagrams, theory of operation on my Weather Stations I wouldn't be asking these questions ( maybe :lol: ). 1/f=T 1/T=f is as important as Ohms Law and Kirchhoff's Laws for Current and Voltage.




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Offline ocala

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #33 on: September 30, 2017, 09:20:46 AM »
As long as you are using Cumulus what ever settings you had in WL aren't relevant because the software is not running.
Why you get that error after an hour is puzzling though.
As for syncing in Cumulus,
Configuration
Station
Synchronize Station Clock
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Offline benay ra'am

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #34 on: September 30, 2017, 09:26:17 AM »
Yes, I have that checked. I'll report back with the exact message if I get the microsoft error again.




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Offline PaulMy

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #35 on: September 30, 2017, 09:30:39 AM »
Quote
As for syncing in Cumulus,
Configuration
Station
Synchronize Station Clock
From the Cumulus 1 Help
Quote
Time Sync

Synchronise station clock
When set, at start-up and at 0400, Cumulus will set the clock on some stations to the same time as the PC (recommended). This setting only applies to Davis and Instromet stations. Note: it appears that Weatherlink IP does not support this feature.



Enjoy,
Paul

Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #36 on: September 30, 2017, 11:28:28 AM »
Thanks for the INFO. I'm surprised that the Console Time cannot be slaved to the WLSW and the WLSW slaved to the Computer when Time is Important. It is what it is, not going to bemoan the fact you cannot sync anything up. Will say I'm quite pleased that the WLSW, Cumulus and the 6510 installation went pretty smooth on my old Dell Studio Laptop running Vista SP1 \:D/. I almost sold that Laptop, glad I held on to that thing............
<chuckle>  My Cumulus station has been up and running practically trouble-free (except for maybe hardware issues), for the last four years on an old Dell D610 running Windows XP.  Solid as a rock, I think I gave $75 for the laptop.  I've ran it undisturbed for longer than six months at a time.  Once you get Cumulus up and running it's simply a plow-mule...just keeps doing the job day in and day out.

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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #37 on: September 30, 2017, 11:32:00 AM »
When I used to use Weatherlink exclusively the time was always off. About every 2 months it would be around 7-8 minutes behind actual time. Since I switched to Cumulus it sync's with the computer and that problem was solved.
By the way this is a VP2
Hmm, I never knew there was an issue with the time keeping ability of the VP2 console...of course I've been running Cumulus from the git-go.  ;)

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Offline benay ra'am

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #38 on: September 30, 2017, 12:44:50 PM »
Well it looks like it's not a Davis or Cumulus fault. Me thinks it's a vista problem. I just got the "DT Stop Working Application" again, reset Date and Time and the error went away ( For now ). I can either do a low level format on the Computer and reload Vista or just buy win7 from newegg and be done with it.

It's only going to run the Weather Station, no games or any other junk, just Weather.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2017, 12:47:59 PM by benay ra'am »




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Offline Old Tele man

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #39 on: September 30, 2017, 01:26:19 PM »
I preferred XP for my weather station; Vista wasn't an improvement. Win7 seems OK. Win10 is a nightmare.
• SYS: Davis VP2 Vue/WL-IP & Envoy8X/WL-USB;
• DBX2 & DBX1 Precision Digital Barographs
• CWOP: DW6988 - 2 miles NNE of Cortaro, AZ
• WU - KAZTUCSO202, Countryside

Offline benay ra'am

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #40 on: September 30, 2017, 01:28:51 PM »
I preferred XP for my weather station; Vista wasn't an improvement. Win7 seems OK. Win10 is a nightmare.

If I can load XP, I would. I still have the Drivers for the DELL Studio.




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Offline ocala

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #41 on: September 30, 2017, 04:37:39 PM »
I preferred XP for my weather station; Vista wasn't an improvement. Win7 seems OK. Win10 is a nightmare.
Never had any issues with Vista or 10 for that matter.
 :?
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Offline Old Tele man

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #42 on: September 30, 2017, 04:57:58 PM »
Some people are comfortable with "changes" for no useful reason (and "new & improved" bugs) -- I'm not -- so I stick with bugs I know about and software I'm familiar with.
• SYS: Davis VP2 Vue/WL-IP & Envoy8X/WL-USB;
• DBX2 & DBX1 Precision Digital Barographs
• CWOP: DW6988 - 2 miles NNE of Cortaro, AZ
• WU - KAZTUCSO202, Countryside

Offline benay ra'am

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #43 on: October 01, 2017, 09:32:57 AM »
After 24hrs, I lost 60 seconds on the Console, that's not good. Me thinks Davis is using Line Freq as a Clock reference, that's not a good Idea and it's lazy. I'll let it go a week and see what happens. I'll post a new thread in the Davis WS section on my findings.




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Offline dalecoy

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #44 on: October 01, 2017, 10:20:48 AM »
After 24hrs, I lost 60 seconds on the Console, that's not good. Me thinks Davis is using Line Freq as a Clock reference, that's not a good Idea and it's lazy. I'll let it go a week and see what happens. I'll post a new thread in the Davis WS section on my findings.

How did you read seconds on the console?

And line frequency is a lot better than that, even in North Carolina.

Besides which, how would Davis sense line frequency?  [And of course there's the obvious 50 Hz issue]

Offline benay ra'am

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #45 on: October 01, 2017, 11:41:38 AM »
After 24hrs, I lost 60 seconds on the Console, that's not good. Me thinks Davis is using Line Freq as a Clock reference, that's not a good Idea and it's lazy. I'll let it go a week and see what happens. I'll post a new thread in the Davis WS section on my findings.

How did you read seconds on the console?

And line frequency is a lot better than that, even in North Carolina.


Besides which, how would Davis sense line frequency?  [And of course there's the obvious 50 Hz issue]


I checked both computers time with the Naval Observatory and they were spot on. How I checked the console is I located the console next to my Main Computer. I watched the Minute Flip on the console and checked the computer, off by 60 seconds. Yesterday, I managed to set the Davis at the top of the minute. Was not hard for me to do. To be fair I just checked the Line Voltage and it's 129vac and the Line Freq is 60.00Hz.

How to sense Freq? Hall Effect Sensor or a tuned tank circuit that will resonate at a set freq. Is Canada and/or Mexico/ South America Freq 50Hz? Are the Consoles the same for all Countries ( Except the Receiver of course )?




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Offline Old Tele man

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #46 on: October 01, 2017, 11:59:48 AM »
Uh, sorry to upset any 'apple carts' but both the VP2 and VUE consoles are 'designed' to operate from 3ŚC-cell batteries, with the AC-adapter being "optional" unless the WL-IP dongle is installed. Hence, the "time-piece" clock chip cannot be using 60Hz prower line frequency...as mentioned above, it's a crystal-based oscillator and countdown device.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2017, 12:02:00 PM by Old Tele man »
• SYS: Davis VP2 Vue/WL-IP & Envoy8X/WL-USB;
• DBX2 & DBX1 Precision Digital Barographs
• CWOP: DW6988 - 2 miles NNE of Cortaro, AZ
• WU - KAZTUCSO202, Countryside

Offline dalecoy

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #47 on: October 01, 2017, 12:22:00 PM »
How I checked the console is I located the console next to my Main Computer. I watched the Minute Flip on the console and checked the computer, off by 60 seconds. Yesterday, I managed to set the Davis at the top of the minute.

For completeness, did you do the same check just after setting the console time?  [And then a day later, of course]

How to sense Freq? Hall Effect Sensor or a tuned tank circuit that will resonate at a set freq.

Why would Davis do that, when the console requires a crystal-controlled oscillator for the receiver?  [And, by the way, clocks that are plugged in and use line frequency are quite accurate.  In North America, whenever the error exceeds 10 seconds for the east, 3 seconds for Texas, or 2 seconds for the west, a correction of ±0.02 Hz (0.033%) is applied]

Is Canada and/or Mexico/ South America Freq 50Hz? Are the Consoles the same for all Countries ( Except the Receiver of course )?

Broad generalization:  The Americas are 60Hz.  Australia, Asia, and Europe are 50Hz.
Yes, consoles are the same.  And it's known that lots of people in Australia and Europe "import" Davis equipment from the US.

Offline dalecoy

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #48 on: October 01, 2017, 12:27:39 PM »
Uh, sorry to upset any 'apple carts' but both the VP2 and VUE consoles are 'designed' to operate from 3ŚC-cell batteries, with the AC-adapter being "optional" unless the WL-IP dongle is installed. Hence, the "time-piece" clock chip cannot be using 60Hz prower line frequency...as mentioned above, it's a crystal-based oscillator and countdown device.

I suspect that benay ra'am is trying to make the case that, in most locations, it is possible to "sense" the power line frequency, because the field is pervasive. 

But, as you said, a crystal-oscillator works anywhere, regardless of power line frequency, or power source.

Offline benay ra'am

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Re: Quick Question
« Reply #49 on: October 01, 2017, 12:45:01 PM »
Uh, sorry to upset any 'apple carts' but both the VP2 and VUE consoles are 'designed' to operate from 3ŚC-cell batteries, with the AC-adapter being "optional" unless the WL-IP dongle is installed. Hence, the "time-piece" clock chip cannot be using 60Hz prower line frequency...as mentioned above, it's a crystal-based oscillator and countdown device.

I do realize that, just reaching for straws but I should not have lost that Minute in 24Hrs. Maybe I should just let it go and just live with it?

I should have mentioned that when I was running Weather Link ( Before I D/L Cumulus ), I set the Auto Data recording at 5 minute intervals, at random times ( between 5-7 hours to a couple of Days ), the recording would stop and I would have to reset the Auto in the Strip Chart Drop Down Menu. That was a week ago and I just thought of it.




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