Issues with FTP and SteelSeriesGauges - SOLVED

[wurzelmac]

Hi, now it's up to me to ask: I was forced to move WeatherCat to another machine after my beloved Mac mini mid 2011 died away. Till a new Mac mini arrives, I moved over to a MacBookAir Early 2014. Now all things are working except the Main FTP and Aux FTP the error messages within the logfiles are:

Aux. FTP: FTP ERROR (666) - Unknown FTP Error
...
Aux. FTP: FTP Warning: --ssl is an insecure Option, consider --ssl-reqd instead

The same warning is given to me when testing my FTP preferences. All other uploads (Wunderground, WeatherCloud, CWOP) are working fine.

Any ideas what I can do? Or what I have overseen?
Thanks in advance, Reinhard

[xairbusdriver]

I've seen several posts here that claim installing Apple's Command Line Tools has often solved FTP errors/problems with newer Mac OS versions. Apparently, Apple is not installing the latest UNIX tools in the consumer OS updates. Those tools come with the massive Xcode installation (useful/needed by developers). However, you can install the much smaller Command Line Tools separately: Additional Tools (scroll down a bit to see this section of the page)
Note the text in that section of the page:

Get command line tools, older versions of Xcode and beta version of other software. To view downloads, simply sign in with your Apple ID. Apple Developer Program membership is not required.

Hope this helps!

Save the download, you may need to install these tools again when you get your replacement mini.

[wurzelmac]

It's a kind of magic...

but not for me. Thanks xair, but that did not work for me. By the way, I am on Big Sur in the moment. So any other suggestions?
(And a question apart from this thread: What Mac mini do you prefer - Intel, M1, M2 - it should only handle WeatherCat and FTP?)

Thx in the meantime,
Reinhard

[xairbusdriver]

Sorry for not fixing anything. Hopefully Stu will get this FTP thing figured out soon. He'll might be able to also fix that SQL thing, also! Could that be a hosting problem?

I'm using the 'old' Intel mini:

• 2.6 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5
• 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
• 1TB SSD for storage and OS
• WC 3.20 Build 364
• Catalina 10.15.7

My main problem is the mini restarting itself about every 35 days. WC restarts automatically, never lost any dada that I'm aware of.

[wurzelmac]

The mini restarting itself was my main problem, too. But not in weeks or months - it was in days or hours. And now - my good oll' Mac mini has done its job for severeal years without gripe about anything. Rest in peace, brave mini. Who's the one to follow you?

[wurzelmac]

Back to the main problem: How can I fix this FTP issue? 

[The Grand Poohbah]

It's a kind of magic...

but not for me. Thanks xair, but that did not work for me. By the way, I am on Big Sur in the moment. So any other suggestions?
(And a question apart from this thread: What Mac mini do you prefer - Intel, M1, M2 - it should only handle WeatherCat and FTP?)

Thx in the meantime,
Reinhard

I use a 8GB Mac mini M1 for WeatherCat and other monitoring software. Performance is excellent. It's quiet. It uses minimal energy (goes many hours on a UPS when we have power outages.) And it keeps working 24/7

[elagache]

Dear Reinhard, X-Air, Grand, and WeatherCat troubleshooters,

Hi, now it's up to me to ask: I was forced to move WeatherCat to another machine after my beloved Mac mini mid 2011 died away. Till a new Mac mini arrives, I moved over to a MacBookAir Early 2014. Now all things are working except the Main FTP and Aux FTP the error messages within the logfiles are:

Aux. FTP: FTP ERROR (666) - Unknown FTP Error
...
Aux. FTP: FTP Warning: --ssl is an insecure Option, consider --ssl-reqd instead

. . .

Could you have a corrupted preference file by chance?  Do you have an earlier version (say from a Time Machine backup.)  If so you could try replacing the current version using the instructions on the WeatherCat Wiki:

https://wiki.trixology.com/index.php?title=How_to_create_and_use_a_backup_of_your_WeatherCat_preferences_file

Something else to check is that your FTP addresses haven't changed.  There is small piece on the Wiki that might help:

https://wiki.trixology.com/index.php?title=Troubleshooting_FTP_connection_problems

Let us know if either of those suggestions help.

Edouard

[wurzelmac]

Edouard,
genius support manager - you nailed it: after replacing the existing plist with an older one ftp is working again! Thank you very much!

Grand,
I am seeing a cheap Mini M2 in the Apple refurb store (8GB / 256 GB) and will order it today - thank you, too, for sharing your knowledge. And though its a M2 I think WeatherCat will work on it, hopefully... 

To all others - thanks for reading and trying to help!
Reinhard

[Steve]

Reinhard,
In anticipation of replacing my 2017 iMac with a new MacBook Pro in the spring, I recently added a 2023 Mac mini M2 Pro with 32 GB RAM and 2T SSD.

I got this combination as a headless server that runs WeatherCat, Roon Core (music server), Plex Media Server, and Security Spy (security camera hub.) The only other applications running on that machine are Backblaze (for backups), Amphetamine, and MacUpdater.

It is currently running MacOS Sonoma and WeatherCat 3.2 Build 364. All I needed to add was Xcode, and I'm still running V14.3.1 of that. I'm not running the latest development version of WeatherCat, as it does not yet have the modules included for AWEKAS, PWS, or WeatherCloud.

[elagache]

Dear Reinhard and WeatherCat faithful,

genius support manager - you nailed it: after replacing the existing plist with an older one ftp is working again! Thank you very much!

Glad to hear it was that simple a fix and you are back in operation!

Edouard

[wurzelmac]

Thank you Steve, for confirming WeatherCat is able to run on an M2. So for only WeatherCat (and the System, indeed...  ) running my config (8/256) should be ok. I'll be back when I am on the new setup. AND: I'll be back if I run into problems. 

Reinhard

[wurzelmac]

(NOT)Final report: WeatherCat sits on an new refurbished Mac mini 2023 (8/256) an behaves well dressed. But I do have an issue that I cannot figure out: In System Preferences I can choose between the following three numbers formats: 1,234,567.00 or 1.234.567,00 or 1 234 567,00 - there is NO WAY to tell my system it should use 1234567,00 - really? So AWEKAS, WeatherCloud and Wundergraund can handle it, but not so do the SteelSeries Gauges. How can I get rid of this - any ideas? Thanks for any help, much appreciated.
Reinhard

[wurzelmac]

Thats what the Pressure gauge shows. 

[elagache]

Dear Reinhard and WeatherCat speakers of languages beyond US-English,

(NOT)Final report: WeatherCat sits on an new refurbished Mac mini 2023 (8/256) an behaves well dressed. But I do have an issue that I cannot figure out: In System Preferences I can choose between the following three numbers formats: 1,234,567.00 or 1.234.567,00 or 1 234 567,00 - there is NO WAY to tell my system it should use 1234567,00 - really? So AWEKAS, WeatherCloud and Wundergraund can handle it, but not so do the SteelSeries Gauges. How can I get rid of this - any ideas? Thanks for any help, much appreciated.
Reinhard

Unfortunately, I can't easily replicate your problem such that I could help.  Can anyone else running WeatherCat in something other than US-English offer some suggestions?

Edouard