CWOP - Sensor Error

[andy0902]

I have not really been paying attention to my CWOP uploads, but I just got an email saying that my Station (Vantage Pro 2 Wireless) had gone silent.
When I checked, I see "Current Status - Sensor Error - Will retry.
When I check my CWOP page, it looks like it has not seen any data for 11 days. I am having no problem uploading to WU and my sensor data looks fine to me. I checked the string that is getting sent to CWOP and it looks like this:
FW4207>APRS,TCPIP*:@280125z4013.12N/08322.67W/000g000t077r000p001P001h62b10136WeatherCatV305B27H31

To my uneducated eyes that looks good. Currently the data is being sent to cwop.aprs.net

I can't tell if it is a communication error, or a problem with the data string.

Thanks for looking, and I will be grateful for any suggestions.
AndyH

[xairbusdriver]

My WXNOW file looks much the same as yours except for a few letters after the longitude value. Yours has "08322.67W/000g000" Mine has "08944.11W_246/005g020"

I'll look up the info at the CWOP site as I don't know off the top of my head what that value may be. In the mean time, you might take a look at the WC log in Console. The "WeatherCat" folder in Console is in the ~/Library/Logs Reports list. Since the daily WC logs only have the last seven days, any of them may have the same info about failures. Pick one of the daily text files, type cwop in the search field and look for " ***FAILED*** " in the log output. I have several failed reports all stating that "DNS lookup failed. Host cwop.aprs.net is not known." What was actually happening is that our ISP was down for about an hour. Hopefully your report(s) will be more explicit.

EDIT: That "_246" in my file is Wind Direction. Since your file indicated no wind ("000g000"), I would assume (dangerous as that is!) that piece would be blank or missing. Long story short, I think your data is correct.

[andy0902]

Thanks, I don't see any errors like that, but I will keep digging. I will post back when I get more information.

[andy0902]

So your answer is leading to a solution. I turned off sending wind speed to CWOP and it resumed sending proper data. There is some corruption in my wind speed data. I may have a loose connection to my anemometer or some other fault in that sensor. Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction!

[xairbusdriver]

Resumption is a good sign!! Frankly, I've been worrying about my anemometer, but the remnants of Laura are giving it a good workout!

[andy0902]

I cannot thank you enough. If you hadn't noticed the wind speed issue I would not have looked for it. I found that inside the pipe that my station is mounted on some small animal (I'm looking at you chipmunk!) partially gnawed through the cable. It was intermittently making and breaking contact. Wires repaired and holes blocked off. We are back in business!

Thanks again!

[xairbusdriver]

Great news for you! Not so much for the chipmunk. Reminds me of the mice who ate through the very small wires below the tone arm of a very expensive turntable! ** I installed some window screen material to block all the holes in the bottom of the box. I had no idea that mammals actually ate metal wrapped with plastic.

** Although making a comeback among audiophiles, a turntable is used to 'read' data molded into plastic surfaces of a 'record'. Additional equipment will be needed to translate the data into a human usable form. Info on a 'record' is left as an exercise for the reader.

[elagache]

Dear Andy, X-Air, and WeatherCat faithful,

Glad to this that is conversation has resulted in another Person Weather Station getting repaired and being put back into normal operation! 

That's the kind of happy ending we like to see on this forum! 

Cheers, Edouard