Trixology

General Category => General Computing/Macintosh => Topic started by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 17, 2022, 09:06:51 PM

Title: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 17, 2022, 09:06:51 PM

Hi All

I am looking for help fixing my  Weathercat software please.

All worked until I upgraded to Monterey (v. 12.1) a few days ago. The software sees the IP logger but will not import any data, all parameters are reported as 0 (Data is reported correctly on the  vantage vue console). The IP address is set correctly and the logger shows up normally on the network, at its assigned static IP address.

I do not get the usual ‘importing historical data’ event after I fire up the software.

 I tried resetting the logger (old, 6555 variety) as per Blic’s brilliant wiki page but this didn’t help.

I know that the 2015 MacBook, like me, is a bit too old I’m but hoping for a few more years usefulness.

Thanks in advance

Peter

Title: Pattern. (Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey )
Post by: elagache on January 17, 2022, 10:29:56 PM

Dear Peter and WeatherCat troubleshooters,

Quote from: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 17, 2022, 09:06:51 PM

. . . .
All worked until I upgraded to Monterey (v. 12.1) a few days ago. The software sees the IP logger but will not import any data, all parameters are reported as 0 (Data is reported correctly on the  vantage vue console). The IP address is set correctly and the logger shows up normally on the network, at its assigned static IP address.

. . . .

Unfortunately, I'm still back on macOS Mojave and using a Davis USB data logger, so I don't have any direct experience to help you with.  However, I just noticed a pattern reported by one WeatherCat user on Monterey.

Reviewing the active macOS Monterey thread, I see that PeggyD had some trouble getting WeatherCat to work with the Silicon Labs driver at first on Monterey.  Here is that first post:

https://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=3345.msg32116#msg32116 (https://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=3345.msg32116#msg32116)

She was forced to roll back to an earlier version of macOS.  She later upgraded a second time and finally was able to make everything work as reported in this posting:

https://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=3345.msg32143#msg32143 (https://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=3345.msg32143#msg32143)

Her problem is with the USB driver, but she also reports problems with historical downloads.  I agree that this could just be coincidence, but perhaps there is some sort of macOS installation issue that can cause WeatherCat to not work properly with some upgrades to Monterey even with the IP data logger.

Sorry, not much help I'll admit, but perhaps something to pursue.

Edouard

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 18, 2022, 05:36:21 PM

Thank you Edouard
I checked out those posts.
I have made some progress in that I am now getting the correct parameters displayed on the weathercat interface. However there is a blank rectangular box displayed at all times centrally in the display, with a horizontal black stripe at the top, not sure what this is. And it will not download historical data.
I am not sure what a silicon labs USB driver is…would it be relevant to my IP logger (Davis) which does not plug in to a USB port?
Also, 2217 comms errors are reported. Good data 18.
So I am still adrift!

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: xairbusdriver on January 18, 2022, 08:49:25 PM

Looks like you are making good progress! ThU32:-)

Quote

there is a blank rectangular box displayed at all times centrally in the display, with a horizontal black stripe at the top, not sure what this is.

Could you please upload an image (screen shot) for us to see?

Quote

[WC] will not download historical data

Double-check the "Delete Log After Historical Download" is UN-checked. Note also that changing the DataLogger Interval will "clear any historical data currently in your station". Have you changed that interval recently? That download can be extremely fast if there is a relatively small amount of data. Even on your 2015 MBP, it could be so fast you don't see the text displayed unless you are looking exactly at the spot on your monitor. :)

Quote

would [the SiLabs driver] be relevant to my IP logger (Davis) which does not plug in to a USB port?

I would doubt it. You did say the "IP address is set correctly". I assume that means in the "Station Communications" window. Plus, you said you are now getting "correct parameters displayed on the ... interface".

Quote

2217 comms errors are reported. Good data 18.

I assume that is on bottom portion (WeatherCat Core") of the "WeatherCat Status" Window?

Title: Glad for progress (Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey )
Post by: elagache on January 18, 2022, 10:58:46 PM

Dear Peter, X-Air, and WeatherCat troubleshooters,

X-Air, has given you some helpful advice.  If you could manage to take some screenshots that would be extremely helpful.  We might be able recognize what what this blank rectangular box should be.

Quote from: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 18, 2022, 05:36:21 PM

. . . .
I am not sure what a silicon labs USB driver is…would it be relevant to my IP logger (Davis) which does not plug in to a USB port?
. . . .

No you have absolutely no use for the USB driver.  Indeed you connect to your station via your local area network.  However, I was concerned that there some sort of a problem in macOS Monterey itself that was interfering with both your IP data logger and those WeatherCat users using the USB data logger.  I'm extremely puzzled that PeggyD would have tried once to upgrade to Monterey and had difficulty while the second upgrade worked.  That definitely suggests issues in the operating system itself.

Please do keep us posted on your continued troubleshooting.

Edouard

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 20, 2022, 09:48:06 AM

Thank you both for your very helpful replies.
I have added a screeenshot. Bizarrely the blank box has now vanished for the first time in days! I restarted for the screenshot, thinking that the box would return, but it didn’t. The comms errors are stacking up, over a few minutes they have just gone to 78.
As you will see all the parameters are zero at the moment, it seems that it takes a long while for them to display correctly.
I set the IP address in the ‘configure station comms ‘ menu.
I’m not sure which is the ‘Weathercat status window’. The comms errors are displayed on my weather station gauges window, is this the window you mean?
Where is the delete log after historical download option?
No, I havent changed the data logger interval recently, again, where is that option?
I have just heard back from a support request to Davis, who suggest I upload the IP logger firmware, I will tackle that next.
Thank you again.

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: xairbusdriver on January 20, 2022, 03:52:56 PM

Thanks for the followup! Please let us know how the firmware update goes. ThU32:-)

Quote

not sure which is the ‘Weathercat status window’.

It is titled "Status" in the "Tools" menu. The actual window is labeled "WeatherCat Status". There are three divisions in that window: "FTP", "On-Line Services" and "WeatherCat Core". The info in this window is described on pages 62 & 63 in The Manual. :)

Quote

Where is the delete log after historical download option?
 ... where is that option?

Select the "Station Hardware Options..." item in the "Tools" menu. The top section titled "Station Datalogger" has the DataLogger Interval setting choices, just below that is the checkbox for "Delete ... After ... Download".

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 20, 2022, 07:12:34 PM

Hi Again
The IP logger update was straightforward and I am now version 115, but no noticeable change in behaviour. The weather parameters are still very slow to load. I found those menus and checked them….all OK there…thanks.
The box reappeared….see attachment.
On the Davis site there is mention of an IP logger firmware update for IOS….is there a weather cat version for IOS, as opposed to Mac OS?
Peter

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 20, 2022, 07:36:22 PM

Further to my last post, if I fire up activity monitor, I see that Weathercat is using a whopping 77% of CPU time, but is still not providing the goods, because after 15 minutes there is still no display of weather parameters…
See screen grab.

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: xairbusdriver on January 20, 2022, 08:32:52 PM

Quote

The box reappeared

Couple of suggestions:
With that "black" box showing, open your System Prefs, "Accessibility".  Select "Display" in the left-hand column and check the "Invert colors" and see if the text becomes more readable. "Increase contrast" may also help.
Also in System Prefs, you might also try looking at the "Zoom" functions, check the "Enable Hover Text" checkbox and then move your cursor over the text in that "black" box. Now, press the command key and see if the text is enlarged.
Lastly, again in System Prefs, select the "Displays" icon in and select the "Night Shift" tab.

Back to WC "Tools", use the "Log" menu to see all the notes WC has done. If you can recognize any words text in that "black" window, you can look for them in the log. That log can also tell you how often WC is actually fetching data; just look for the "Fetching data from weather station...". Immediately after one of those entries will be any data: ie; 

Temperature: 27°F  Dewpoint: 17°F  Windchill: 21°F Pressure: 30 inHg 
Av. Windspeed: 5 MPH from 11.3°  Current Conditions: Light Clouds

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 21, 2022, 10:44:20 AM

Thanks….you may have cracked it…
I read the message using the increase contrast option….”WC has detected that the connection to your hardware has failed”
Then I checked out the log, which shows an ISS battery fail, so maybe that is it…I will venture on to the roof and change it…

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 21, 2022, 11:10:38 AM

Maybe spoke too soon, new battery now but the faults persist and log report is the same. And a check of the ISS status prior to battery change reported it as OK. And we are in bright sunshine at the moment…..Guess the replacement battery may be a dud but it is a Duracell dated until 2024.

Attachment is screen grab  prior to battery change.

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: Blicj11 on January 21, 2022, 06:25:23 PM

This is a LONG shot, and I do NOT think this is your issue, but I had the transmitter board in my ISS go bad and it took a LONG time to figure it out. If you don't have anything else to do, the saga is documented here.

https://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=1828.0

I suggest you go back to Davis to see if they can think of anything else you could check.

Title: Live data (?) (Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat )
Post by: elagache on January 21, 2022, 11:46:24 PM

Dear Peter, Blick, and WeatherCat troubleshooters,

Unfortunately, the symptoms that you are describing seem very ambiguous.  If the problem was only between your ISS and your console then the communications between the console and your computer shouldn't be showing errors.  They should appear as sensor errors.  That is what appears to be displayed in your log entries.

Can you bring up the Live Data? (under the WeatherCat Tools menu 4th from the bottom.)  The tool is described on page 85 of the current WeatherCat manual.  If you are seeing most of the sensor channels reporting data errors than your problem is most likely with either the ISS transmitter board or one or more of your sensors.

Please do keep up posted on your investigations

Cheers, Edouard

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 23, 2022, 09:53:08 PM

Well, the hardware options now report transmitter battery status all good, but the log shows repeated ‘DavisWLIPdriver-comms have stopped responding. I get intermittent erroneous parameters; at 10 pm here the temperature was reported as 9 degrees Centigrade on the weathercat log, when it was 1 degree.
The live data option does not mention sensor errors, but the figures are wrong from the ISS, but seem correct for the internal parameters, eg internal temperature. 7000 comms errors are reported.
Not really sure where to go now….
The console seems to be acccurate, ie external temperature reported correctly,  which I guess tends to clear the ISS of being faulty?

Title: Home network issues? (Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat)
Post by: elagache on January 23, 2022, 11:18:52 PM

Dear Peter and WeatherCat troubleshooters,

Quote from: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 23, 2022, 09:53:08 PM

Well, the hardware options now report transmitter battery status all good, but the log shows repeated ‘DavisWLIPdriver-comms have stopped responding.
. . . . .

That definitely defines where the problem is.  It is between your console and your Mac.  Try connecting to your console via your web browser as suggested in the configuration page of the WeatherCat Wiki:

https://wiki.trixology.com/index.php?title=How_to_setup_the_Davis_WeatherLinkIP%E2%84%A2_data_logger (https://wiki.trixology.com/index.php?title=How_to_setup_the_Davis_WeatherLinkIP%E2%84%A2_data_logger)

If you cannot reach your console using a browser, that suggests that you might have something out of whack with your home network.  Have you checked to make your your Ethernet hub or Ethernet router is working properly?  Perhaps the problem is literally in the hardware between your Davis IP DataLogger and your Mac.

Please do keep us posted on your continued investigations.

Edouard

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 24, 2022, 01:25:28 PM

The IP logger seems to be correctly located on the network, in that I can access it at its IP address on my iPad and I see the standard configuration page, with the IP address displayed correctly.

However when I tried to logon with my MacBook Pro I can’t see it even though the MacBook is on the same network
So I am wondering whether the fault lies within the MacBook Pro.

I have an old (2010) iMac, currently running El Capitan, which hasn’t been fired up for awhile. So I thought I would try installing Weathercat on this and see what happens. Do you think the current version of WeatherCat will be happy with El Capitan ( 10.11.6).

If Weathercat is okay on this then at least we will know the fault lies with MacBook Pro, although we will not have worked out whether it is a hardware or software fault. The iMac has also the advantage of a network socket so I can plug the datalogger directly into it; If this is a scenario that would work? Sorry to be so ignorant!!!

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 24, 2022, 01:34:22 PM

Slight correction to above, the MBP does find the data logger page, but takes about 10-15 minutes. The page is found instantaneously on the iMac running El Capitan.

Title: MBP network configuration settings? (Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat)
Post by: elagache on January 24, 2022, 10:24:19 PM

Dear Peter and WeatherCat troubleshooters,

Quote from: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 24, 2022, 01:34:22 PM

Slight correction to above, the MBP does find the data logger page, but takes about 10-15 minutes. The page is found instantaneously on the iMac running El Capitan.

I'm scratching my head here.  So all these problems started with the upgrade to macOS Monterey?  Your MBP had no problems connecting to your IP data-logger before - correct?

Are you experiencing any other sort of network issues with your MBP?  Can you retrieve email, surf the web, etc.?  Everything else on your home network is working as before?  What sort of home network "hub" do you have?  Is this an all-in-one Ethernet router or something more complex?

Perhaps you could take a screenshot of network pane of the macOS system preferences on your MBP.  For comparison, it would extremely helpful to take a screenshot of the iMac network pane as well.  I'm definitely groping in the dark, but I cannot imagine any scenario that would it to take 15 minutes to find your Davis data-logger unless you were experiencing all sorts of other network problems with that computer.

Do let us know what you uncover,

Edouard

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 25, 2022, 09:48:35 AM

Thanks, I think you’ve nailed it, and it looks like it was a network issue on the MBP,  I will wait to see how it runs for the next day or so and report back, but it seems at the moment  that the temporal connection with the Monterey upgrade was coincidental.

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 29, 2022, 09:10:38 PM

Hi All
Yes, weathercat has been running fine on my iMac now, for several days, and it seems that network problems on the MBP were the cause. It seems that it was just bad luck that they cropped up at the time of the Monterey upgrade, and I don’t think now that Monterey was the problem.

I am however having trouble finding the weathercat data files such as ~/Library/WeatherCatData/ in order to migrate historical data over to the iMac; I have looked at the wiki article about this but I cannot see these files, even after the suggested terminal commands, to reveal hidden files, are run. Any ideas? I know that the data is still on the MBP, as I can access it all on the old weather cat installation.

Thanks in advance!

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: Blicj11 on January 29, 2022, 09:32:09 PM

Open Finder
Click on Go
Select Go to Folder
Enter ~/Library/ and press enter
In alphabetical order, you will see the WeatherCatData folder

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: xairbusdriver on January 29, 2022, 09:32:27 PM

Can you see the WeatherCatBackups directory? Please check Tools->Backups... menu and show us what the Path to them is.

After using the method described by Blicj11, drag that directory/window into another open Finder Side Bar and it will be there for the rest of your machines life. Leave it to Apple can come up with ways to hide things from their users. [lol]

I can also highly recommend a little app called "Find Any File (https://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/)". You can try it out for free, but it's only 6 bucks and well worth it.

By the way. you can tell Finder to always show file name extensions. Finder Prefs->Advanced, check the "Show all filename extensions. I think the default is un-checked because Apple doesn't think we should be trusted with knowing that kind of information. [banghead]

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: peterjenningsmd@gmail.com on January 30, 2022, 08:20:00 AM

Thanks very much both, folders now located :-). And great tips re apple OS, why does apple hide stuff…?

Title: Re: WeatherLink IP logger/Weathercat vs. Mac OS Monterey
Post by: xairbusdriver on January 30, 2022, 03:06:47 PM

 "It's a feature, not a bug!" cmu:-)