Topic: Ready and waiting for Dorian (with newly installed Atlas extender)

[HalifaxWeatherStation]

I've had the Atlas extender and 100' of outdoor CAT6 cable sitting in my office for 9 months, so now that Dorian is ready to hit tomorrow (Nova Scotia), I finally got to work and installed it today.

My Atlas is in my backyard with a clear view of the sky, but surrounded by buildings and trees... so not great for the anemometer. I always knew I'd need to mount that somewhere else, which is what sold me on the Atlas. But alas, the stock Atlas extender does not have a long enough cable for my needs. So I had to improvise.

I got 100' of CAT6 network cable (outdoor rated), and spliced the USB plugs on the end. Tested and worked great, as expected. The cable is a whole lot more durable than the Atlas one. I mounted it on a 6' pole on the top of my chimney. I tried to make it as subtle as possible by painting the pole and the mount blank, and the chimney straps brown. Attached is the end result.  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

The storm is expected to hit as low category 2, or a strong category 1 in about 12hrs, with the eye passing nearby/overhead. You can follow my station for as long as I have power here: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/IHALIFAX46

[HalifaxWeatherStation]

Well our power and internet is back, and the Access seems to have not saved anything. I installed fresh batteries in it on the day of the storm, but the data recordings in MyAcurite stop as soon as the power went out - we have two random data points yesterday, and then nothing again until power was restored today. WTF. What a total disappointment.

[CW2274]

What a total disappointment.

So the Atlas itself did fine outside, but you have no idea what it did fine at? If so, that thoroughly sucks, what good is it without retrievable data just because you lost power? Hurricanes tend to cause that condition...

[AWL]

What a total disappointment.

Understatement of the year..knowing myself, I would have thrown the whole thing in the garbage can....


Doug

[HalifaxWeatherStation]

What a total disappointment.

So the Atlas itself did fine outside, but you have no idea what it did fine at? If so, that thoroughly sucks, what good is it without retrievable data just because you lost power? Hurricanes tend to cause that condition...

Yes, that's exactly what happened. Equipment held up fine. While trees fell, waterfronts were destroyed, and a tower crane collapsed, the anemometer stood tall and kept doing it's thing - but the Access apparently did not save any data. The eye even passed directly overhead and I had blue skies in the middle of it - would have been so fascinating to see. And yet, nothing.

Also, I did have a UPS connected to the Access, router, and modem. That kept everything running and recording for an extra hour, but we were without power for 48hrs, so running on the AA batteries was inevitable.

Edit: As I mentioned, MyAcurite shows two random data points yesterday - the day after the storm, and a day that we had no power. But I'm pretty sure it's messed up and those data points were actually from the storm, as it shows 15mm of rain and we had no rain yesterday. It also shows strong winds (more than we had yesterday) and nearly the same pressure reading as we had in the storm. So yeah, failed massively at it's only job.

[CW2274]

3 important words for devices performing data collection & storage: Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).

I have a UPS, but it's merely to stay online, not store data, that's what the console (or whatever one has) is for, just for this very reason. I know the VP2 console by itself, no logger, will store all it's parameters for 3 weeks before being overwritten. That's what a PWS should do.

[vreihen]

Welcome to the future, where everything is stored in the cloud..... 

[CW2274]

With a DAVIS WL-IP dongle data buffer, which draws LOT's more current than 3×C-cells can provide very long, I use a 350VA UPS to power both VUE console and router...so, *IF* the internet is alive, data continues to be sent, but if it's NOT, the logger retains the last roll-over data in the logger. But, of course, I have to manually retrieve it, but at least I have the data.

Yes, I understand the power draws of loggers, my console is also hooked to my PWS, but my point is even after all else fails, UPS, console batts die, the console itself still has 3 weeks worth of data (or until full power loss) on what I certainly assume is non-volatile memory. You can still see your storm.

[nincehelser]

Well our power and internet is back, and the Access seems to have not saved anything. I installed fresh batteries in it on the day of the storm, but the data recordings in MyAcurite stop as soon as the power went out - we have two random data points yesterday, and then nothing again until power was restored today. WTF. What a total disappointment.

How long was it down?

12 hours is as long as it is advertised to last for restoring to myAcurite.

If you have an SD card in the display, that will hold lots of 10-second data on the SD card, but you'd have to have that on a UPS.

[HalifaxWeatherStation]

Down 48hrs - I knew the AA batteries would not last the entire time I was without power, but instead of recording 12hrs it didn't record anything.

[CW2274]

Twelve hours would be fine 90+% of the time, but for situations like yours, it might as well be twelve seconds. The design is obviously not meant for any kind of prolonged outage. Too bad, as if I have to tell you, it'd been nice to see what you had going on out the door.

[HalifaxWeatherStation]

The only thing I can think of is that it does not write the data to any sort of storage, and just keeps it in memory - which would explain why losing batteries means losing everything. Though that is clearly a flawed design.

[CW2274]

The only thing I can think of is that it does not write the data to any sort of storage, and just keeps it in memory - which would explain why losing batteries means losing everything. Though that is clearly a flawed design.

I'm certainly no electrical guru, but isn't that what a capacitor does, keep power to save things? Jeez, I can unplug my TV for weeks and bring it back up and all the savings are still set. Should not a PWS be the same way?

[HalifaxWeatherStation]

One would certainly hope so....

I emailed Acurite and will update with what they say. Hoping it's not truly lost, but expecting it probably is.

[nincehelser]

The only thing I can think of is that it does not write the data to any sort of storage, and just keeps it in memory - which would explain why losing batteries means losing everything. Though that is clearly a flawed design.

12-hour outages are rare for most people.  Adding a non-volatile memory sub-system for user data would be an additional development cost for something most would never use.

The primary objective of the Access is to get data to the internet, not provide long-term storage.

[HalifaxWeatherStation]

you're right that the primary purpose is to upload the data online. But the 2nd feature they list on the product page is:

"Protect your data even during a power or internet outage, with backup batteries that allow AcuRite Access to continue receiving and storing up to 12 hours of readings; once power or internet is restored, it will upload these readings to My AcuRite. "

If your 2nd advertised feature is "protecting" your data and "storing up to 12hrs of readings", it seems logical it should at the very minimum save those readings when running on battery.

[nincehelser]

The only thing I can think of is that it does not write the data to any sort of storage, and just keeps it in memory - which would explain why losing batteries means losing everything. Though that is clearly a flawed design.

I'm certainly no electrical guru, but isn't that what a capacitor does, keep power to save things? Jeez, I can unplug my TV for weeks and bring it back up and all the savings are still set. Should not a PWS be the same way?

You can put an Access on the shelf for months and it will retain its settings and firmware.  For example, your station's wunderground credentials will keep indefinitely.

That sort of memory, however, is relatively expensive.  Your TV doesn't retain received shows in long-term memory unless you have DVR functionality.

[nincehelser]

you're right that the primary purpose is to upload the data online. But the 2nd feature they list on the product page is:

"Protect your data even during a power or internet outage, with backup batteries that allow AcuRite Access to continue receiving and storing up to 12 hours of readings; once power or internet is restored, it will upload these readings to My AcuRite. "

If your 2nd advertised feature is "protecting" your data and "storing up to 12hrs of readings", it seems logical it should at the very minimum save those readings when running on battery.

And when the battery runs out... it's gone.

It can only receive and hold data for up to 12 hours as stated. 

It wasn't designed to go 48 hours, or to hold on to the data indefinitely.

If you want indefinite backup storage, you could go with the SD card in the display.  However, you'll need to keep that powered with a UPS to keep receiving.  Otherwise your data is stored indefinitely on the SD card.

[HalifaxWeatherStation]

It can only receive and hold data for up to 12 hours as stated. 

Not to split hairs, but that's not what it says.

It says "to continue receiving and storing up to 12 hours of readings" NOT "to continue receiving and storing readings for up to 12 hours".

The first sentence is referring to the length of readings, not the length of retention.

[nincehelser]

Splitting hairs is exactly what you are doing.

I suspect they are using available SRAM embedded on the micro-controller. 

Once the micro-controller loses power, that memory is lost.

[aspexin91]

https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KININDIA411/graph/2019-08-20/2019-08-20/daily

We lost power for about 4 hours on Aug 20th. The Atlas and Access stopped recording and when the power came back on it continued but did not update any history during the 4 hour outage. The batteries in the Access were fairly new and the blue light was flashing the entire time. But it is pretty clear here that there does seem to be some kind of a problem with even relatively short power outages where we lose all our data during the outage. So I would like to find out what exactly are we to expect from the Atlas/Access combination when it comes to power outages. Does it actually try to upload the data collected when the Internet is restored or not? Because if it is then it isn't working for some reason for me.

[nincehelser]

https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KININDIA411/graph/2019-08-20/2019-08-20/daily

We lost power for about 4 hours on Aug 20th. The Atlas and Access stopped recording and when the power came back on it continued but did not update any history during the 4 hour outage. The batteries in the Access were fairly new and the blue light was flashing the entire time. But it is pretty clear here that there does seem to be some kind of a problem with even relatively short power outages where we lose all our data during the outage. So I would like to find out what exactly are we to expect from the Atlas/Access combination when it comes to power outages. Does it actually try to upload the data collected when the Internet is restored or not? Because if it is then it isn't working for some reason for me.

You should expect it to work.  There's no reason it shouldn't handle a 4 hour outage.  48 hours is a different matter.

Contact Acurite.

However, do be aware that wunderground will not update.  Only myAcurite.

[galfert]

Well sounds to me like it needs to be tested by a few individuals. Just pull the power and leave running on batteries for 30 minutes or 1 hour or 2 hours. Start small at first. No need to test 12 hours.

Then report back your findings.

[HalifaxWeatherStation]

Heard back from Acurite and they said it should have worked - but clarified it will only record most recent 12 hour period. But agreed there is a problem and suggested I send the Access in for servicing, though I suspect it's software related.

I actually just realized today my batteries are still good, and if I pull the plug now it blinks blue and seems to keep working. The batteries never died.

If anyone has an Access, could you try disconnecting the ethernet and power cords for 20 minutes and see if it uploads to MyAcurite upon plugging back in? Very curious if i got a defective unit, or if there is a software bug.