Author Topic: Observation?  (Read 4021 times)

xairbusdriver

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 3126
    • EW7115 (E7115)
    • KTNGERMA20
    • Mid-South Weather
  • Station Details: Davis VP2 wireless + remote Anemometer/2014 Mac min - 10.15.7/WC 3.0.5
Observation?
« on: December 28, 2015, 09:18:08 PM »
Since I'm trying to "observe" the WU display of 'weather', I guess this fits here. [rolleyes2]

We had several very short power outages a few hours ago. During the longest one, I started losing contact with the min. First the Client app on my iMac lost input, the mini's 'Uptime' counter indicated 0:00:00, and URLMPro started saying the 'Internet connection appeared to be down'. The mini seemed to be running fine, but I Restarted it anyway. Probably had done that itself, but maybe not as orderly as it should.

While doing some whois/pinging/route tracing, things have returned to normal. The line that is bringing some cooler, but not authentic Winter weather, came through here like an express train early this morning and is now at the other end of Tennessee!Just short of Atlanta where the new WU owners work, I think. We've already had over 2 inches of rain by Noon Monday! If this rain doesn't clear out by Thursday night, I may have to edit the Yearly Rain Amount Custom Gauge! [rolleyes2] The Sun is doing its best to burn off the clouds...
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


Bull Winkus

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 782
    • EW0095
    • KARHORSE2
    • WU for Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas
  • Station Details: Davis Wireless Vantage Pro 2, iMac 24"
Re: Observation?
« Reply #1 on: December 29, 2015, 12:37:13 AM »
I'm showing 4.75" rain for this event so far. Most (3") fell yesterday, but it was all over Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Be glad you're up river from where all that water joins the big muddy!

 [cheers1]
Herb

elagache

  • Global Moderator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 6494
    • DW3835
    • KCAORIND10
    • Canebas Weather
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro-2, Mac mini (2018), macOS 10.14.3, WeatherCat 3
Auto reboot? (Re: Observation?)
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2015, 01:16:34 AM »
Dear X-Air, Herb, and WeatherCat troubleshooters, . . .

We had several very short power outages a few hours ago. During the longest one, I started losing contact with the min. First the Client app on my iMac lost input, the mini's 'Uptime' counter indicated 0:00:00, and URLMPro started saying the 'Internet connection appeared to be down'. The mini seemed to be running fine, but I Restarted it anyway. Probably had done that itself, but maybe not as orderly as it should.

A Mac really shouldn't reboot on its own.  The only time that could happen is if there is a kernel panic.  If there was one, you should find something in the Console crash logs.  Do you run something on that Mini that would cause it to reboot automatically under some conditions?

We've already had over 2 inches of rain by Noon Monday! If this rain doesn't clear out by Thursday night, I may have to edit the Yearly Rain Amount Custom Gauge! [rolleyes2] The Sun is doing its best to burn off the clouds...

 ;) . . . . You guys keep forgetting to share!! . . .

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 3126
    • EW7115 (E7115)
    • KTNGERMA20
    • Mid-South Weather
  • Station Details: Davis VP2 wireless + remote Anemometer/2014 Mac min - 10.15.7/WC 3.0.5
Re: Observation?
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2015, 06:10:48 PM »
Quote
Do you run something on that Mini that would cause it to reboot automatically under some conditions?
Yes, it's called "Start up automatically after a power failure" in the Energy Saver System Prefs. And it's also set to automagically login in the Users & Groups Pref. WC is in the Login items list. All should behave normally. Part of the problem yesterday was probably the ISP's modem needing to also re-strart, which means at least a minutes worth of communications back to the Mother Ship. The mini/WC had probably finished their steps sooner than the modem. Perhaps Stu could arrange some 'thumb-twiddling' routines to allow for cable modems to 'report for duty'!

The mini is 'headless', hidden under a similarly shaped/colored drive enclosure, between my iMac/desk and a wall. It runs 24/7, but is not connected to the UPS (that may change, as it's not that big a load). If some one breaks into the house, they will be taking the iMac and my wife's MBP, both in plain sight and require passwords to access, even if they are asleep. There's nothing on the mini except WC and I'm not worried about people connecting a monitor to it and changing or "borrowing" anything on it. :)
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

  • Global Moderator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 6494
    • DW3835
    • KCAORIND10
    • Canebas Weather
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro-2, Mac mini (2018), macOS 10.14.3, WeatherCat 3
California bliss . . .(Re: Observation?)
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2015, 11:29:39 PM »
Dear X-Air, and WeatherCat sys-admins, . . .

Yes, it's called "Start up automatically after a power failure" in the Energy Saver System Prefs.

Okay, I plead ignorance on that one.  We have every computer on UPS in our house and because the California weather is normally so mild, it is very unlikely that we would have to exhaust the UPS batteries.  In addition, during any protracted power outage, we try to shutdown all the computers and UPS setups to avoid any possible damage that might occur for surges as the power comes back on.  Since this hardly ever happens, we can afford the luxury.

Cheers, Edouard

Bull Winkus

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 782
    • EW0095
    • KARHORSE2
    • WU for Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas
  • Station Details: Davis Wireless Vantage Pro 2, iMac 24"
Re: Observation?
« Reply #5 on: December 30, 2015, 12:45:48 AM »
Actually, if you're on a UPS, the danger from power outages is during the chaotic disruption as voltages modulate with grounded lines, rapidly responding regulators, and line isolating relays. That is, unless it's just because someone sat on the wrong button. It is good to use the UPS's extra time given to go into orderly shutdown, though. They don't maintain power for long. Plus, most UPS batteries are simple lead/acid batteries like those in a car or on a motorcycle. They don't take kindly to being fully discharged. They will last  longer if you remove the load before they reach 70%.

One of these days in the imaginary future, I'd like to take the electrical components out of an off-the-shelf UPS and use it to make a custom UPS with a deep cycle marine battery, where the Amp hour rating is more like 100 Ah rather than 7 Ah. That still gives you 50 Ah before reaching 50% discharge, which is 7 times more than the standard UPS battery being fully discharged, or 14 times more time if you only use 50%. My rough calculation is for around 2 hours and 20 minutes of normal use during an outage, as long as you don't use the extra amperage capacity to load on more devices. They're both 12v. Power outage would be a breeze with 2 hours and 20 minutes of power left! In an extended outage, you could conservatively report weather conditions daily for over a week by only running as long as needed to get an upload done.

 [cheers1]
Herb

xairbusdriver

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 3126
    • EW7115 (E7115)
    • KTNGERMA20
    • Mid-South Weather
  • Station Details: Davis VP2 wireless + remote Anemometer/2014 Mac min - 10.15.7/WC 3.0.5
Re: Observation?
« Reply #6 on: December 30, 2015, 01:03:35 AM »
Absolutely true about shutting down orderly. That, in my humble opinion, is one of their main purposes. The worst thing that can happen with a power loss is that it happens during a write to disk event. And with the almost constant read/write disk actions, it's about a 49.4/49.4 chance one or the other is happening at any time! In this event, the shutdown was in progress when the power came back. We just waited a bit to see if it would stay on. There were not thunder bumpers in the area, it was simply wind-downed limbs/trees.

The other purpose, maybe even more important, purpose is the voltage regulation capabilities of a good UPS. Brown outs can be as bad as over voltages/surges.

Don't expect Wally-World's $39.99 "surge protector" to give you the safety you need. [rolleyes2]
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system