Incorrect Rainfall Numbers on WeatherLink Bulletin Web Page

[cdarney]

I use a Davis VP2 Serial with a serial->USB cable to a Meteobridge on a TPLInk router device. This pushes data to various weather networks including WeatherLink.com. I do not use WeatherLink hardware or software and access Bulletin via my browser.

I've only used WeatherLink for a few months and never noticed that the Day, Storm and Monthly Rainfall numbers are different from my console. For example, my console shows Daily rainfall at .09 inches, Storm rainfall as .75 inches and Monthly rainfall as 6.4 inches. Bulletin shows the Daily at .07 inches, Storm at .59 inches and Monthly at 5.04 inches. I suspect the Annual rainfall is incorrect as well but I only started using WeatherLink in March or April so I expect that number to be "wrong".

I report the same data from my VP2 console to various other weather networks via Meteobridge. All of the other sites (WeatherUnderground, Awekas, CWOP, PWS, etc.) show the correct numbers. Additionally, I have an Ambient Weather WS-5000 that validates my VP2 console and other weather reporting sites.

The only site I have a problem with is WeatherLink.com and the reporting via the web-based Bulletin. I spent an hour or so with Davis support who had no idea why the numbers from Bulletin differed from my VP2 console. He pretty much said that wasn't possible. Well...I know that's not true. He was interested in why my data archive records updated every 1 minute when he said it should be 5 or 10 minutes.

Any suggestions what could be causing the reporting problem?

...Chuck

[Mattk]

That has all the hallmarks and consistency to be a metric/imperial configuration issue, using an imperial tipper (I would assume) and applying a metric tipper value along the configuration line somewhere?

[cdarney]

That could be a possibility but, except for the VP2 console, I have no place to change to/from imperial/metric. I know that's set up properly. The station has been in operation since 2007 and I've never had any issue with the scale used.

Additionally, the same station reports to multiple other weather networks any all of them read the same as the VP2 console. It's only WeatherLink.com Bulletin that has an issue.

Also additionally, I don't know of any imperial/metric conversion that would equate 5.04 units to 6.4 units.

Somehow the data is being sent to WeatherLink.com improperly. I would suspect the weather network selected (WeatherLink Cloud) in Metrobridge is doing something wrong. I don't know how to check if that selected network name is doing its work properly.

[Mattk]

There is something not setup properly somewhere?

In regard imperial/metric conversion understanding, a Davis rain gauge accumulates the tips in the ISS before passing the total number onto the console/logger etc at which point the conversion is applied to readout the appropriate rainfall be it inches or mm and since I believe you have an imperial tipper? then the maths/conversion is as such. Imperial tipper tips 1" @ 100 tips or 0.254 mm = 0.01", metric tipper is 0.2 mm hence applying a metric conversion factor to a imperial calibrated tipper
0.09" / 0.254 => 0.35 tips * 0.2mm => 0.07"
0.75" / 0.254 => 2.95 tips * 0.2mm => 0.59"
6.40" / 0.254 => 25.20 tips * 0.2mm => 5.04"

Now that clearly shows the imperial tipper is somewhere using an metric conversion factor and that somewhere will be in the system configuration variables?

I no longer run a TPlink version but you could start by looking under the MB [Station] tab and Sensor Configuration, check the Rain Resolution 0.2mm/0.01"?
Under [Station] [Settings] check the rain0total unit value mm/in?
Under [System] [Administration] Localization check the Units: Box (Use imperial units)?
On WeatherLink.com check the Unit Measurements Rain & ET: in or mm?

[cdarney]

On the TPLink, there were, indeed, some sensor settings in metric, one of which was RainRate. I don't know if that would cause the isse but they are all Imperial now.

In the Administration/Localization, the Use Imperial was NOT checked. It is now.

I'll see if these changes make a difference. I'm curious why it doesn't seem to affect any other sites I send data to.

I'll respond back when we get rainfall again

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Mattk]

Also you could check the MB [Live/Data] MIn/Max Data value comparisons with as expected.

What was WeatherLink.com Unit Measurements set to?

[cdarney]

These are the settings for my station on WeatherLink.com


As for the Monthly readings, my console shows .87 inches. WeatherLink.com Bulletin shows .69 inches for the month.

Latest rainfall at the station shows I still have this problem.

[Mattk]

Ok this "problem" is a imperial v metric issue somewhere. Lets try and eliminate some things?

Your rain gauge is a Tipper or Spoon? The Spoon should clearly have a metric or imperial tag, the Tipper will either have a round (imperial) counter weight or an oval (metric) shaped counter weight mounted under the tipping buckets above the reed switch.

Can the rain gauge then be confirmed as being imperial (0.01")?

....That could be a possibility but, except for the VP2 console, I have no place to change to/from imperial/metric....

Well yes you do. The obvious one shows on the VP2 display for all rain variables, yours is display " then for all rain variables? Note that the display can be togged to display/convert all rainfall variables to metric (mm).

Pressing the [DONE] & Down Arrow(-) together will drop the screen into a configuration page. With RECEIVING FROM showing along the bottom of the screen press DONE and the next option will display, press DONE again then again ... until RAIN COLLECTOR appears and confirm the value is 0.01"

Pressing and holding DONE for a couple of seconds will take you back to the display screen.

One further query for now, do you have a third independent rain gauge means to verify the rainfall?

[Gyvate]

the original post says that MB reports properly to other weather networks - only not to weatherlink.com
So the assumption that the inbuilt posting string to weatherlink.com is incorrect in some way is likely and would need to be verified (maybe also weatherlink.com changed something and the string wasn't updated).
That wouldn't be the first time .... I have a still open case with postings to Meteotemplate which I only solved by the below mentioned approach.

I suggest the following workaround as a first step to a solution:
(also from the experience - never change a running system i.e. the console setup, especially if everything else works and the changes in the console are likely to be applied to all "automated" postings - so the below suggestion won't touch the console but can still provide a solution)

What you could do is figure out what posting string is used by MB to post to Weatherlink (or what weatherlink.com expects), deactivate the posting in the weather network section of MB and create a posting string of your own and send it via Service/events as a http request to weatherlink.com - and in this string you can apply the needed correction via a formula (see MB template language) for the rainfall.
Once it works properly in your opinion, post your string here and ask the developer (@admin) to correct his string.

And, if for any good (or in your opinion not so good) reason, the developer doesn't want to change the string, you have your personal working solution.

[Mattk]

This needs to be worked through from the bottom up without making assumptions.

The problem I have with assumptions is that many uses don't have this particular issue (for some strange reason) and I have around seven (7) MB uploading to WeatherLink.com that also don't have any rainfall discrepancies between raw data, Consoles/Envoys and WeatherLink.com. There are known issues with the archive upload when downloading back to WeatherLinkPC but this is totally unrelated to this issue.

Lets not over rule or rule out any possibility and lets eliminate all possibilities in a sequential way without any assumptions

[Mattk]

Could the OP post screen shots of the following MB tabs/pages

Station - Primary Station
Station - Settings
Systems - Administration
Live Data - Min/Max Data

[admin]

Just released update does try to fix this reported issue by applying rain bucket size corrections in data sets uploaded to Davis Weatherlink Cloud. Corrections are only applied when rain bucket size is 0.01 inch or 0.1 mm. On 0.2 mm setups nothing has changed. This adaption is still rather experimental, so please give it a try.

[staze]

Hi @Admin,

Things still seem off to me. Rain info on WL is different than all other systems. Is there somewhere a setting needs to be changed? Uploading to WL Cloud, Nano SD with a vantage vue. Running "Nov 30 2022, build 4341), FW 1.3".

Thanks!

[admin]

How much is it off per day? I added a conversion, when rain bucket tip is not set to 0.2 mm. Which is your setting?

[staze]

It's off by a lot. =/ MB says I've had 1.55" of rain this month. WLL says I've had 0.83". For Nov, I have 4.84" from MB, and 2.57" for WLL. For Oct, MB says 1.56", WLL says 0.83".

Do I need to adjust somewhere else? Or re-set the spoon size?

Looking back, my post here: viewtopic.php?p=42246#p42246 doesn't seem to make sense anymore. Doing that math, it's extremely off now vs what it used to be.

Does the packet to Davis just want tips of the spoon rather than an actual accumulation amount? Is a conversion even needed, or is MB internally storing values in metric? Could the conversion be going the wrong way?