Cumulus.ini (Cumulus 1)
This page applies to Cumulus 1 only.
Introduction
- Cumulus.ini is a text file containing initialization parameters used by the Cumulus 1.x.x software application.
- It is only read when Cumulus starts up. When Cumulus is run for very first time, the file does not exist, as it is not included in the download (of legacy Cumulus).
- Cumulus creates a new version of this file when it shuts down, if this is the first run of the software this will create the file for first time.
- The file shows as 'modified date' the last time that Cumulus was shut down, the file will contain the contents of the application's configuration screens and also any parameters that were in any previous copy of the file that cannot be configured within Cumulus.
- Note this Cumulus save action may change the order, or add lines, compared to any file that you manually edited.
- If you do need to edit the file, close Cumulus first to ensure you are working on latest contents, and your edit cannot conflict with any edit Cumulus may be making. When Cumulus restarts it will read the file again and see any edits you have made.
The parameters listed can change the look of Cumulus, can hold basic information about your location, can amend the way Cumulus interfaces with your weather station, can hold the settings used to interface with your website, and with various external websites.
You will find that the table listing parameters available is divided in multiple ways:
- Cumulus.ini uses sections, thus the first way that the list is divided is by the relevant section where the parameter must be placed
- Some sections can take a lot of parameters, and for these sub-sections may be added, that allow you to navigate directly to them from the table of contents
- A parameter may be defined in multiple sub-sections, if its definition needs to be explained differently according to weather station types
- As explained later, some parameters are read-only, and some are read-write
- To make it easier to navigate larger tables, read-only and read-write parameters may be grouped under relevant sub-heading within the table
- There are no references to which parameters apply to Cumulus 2, as that flavour of the software is not available now
Completeness for original Cumulus software
This page was originally created when only Cumulus 1 was available. It can be assumed that all parameters included here, do apply to the final formal release. When Steve Loft wrote his software in 2008, it seemed reasonable to only specify the choice of years up to 2020 in various selection drop-downs. Mark Crossley has supplied a patch that does not change any of the code, but does change the selection drop downs, and they now expire in 2030. Since 2020s have now been reached, it is to your benefit to upgrade to final legacy release and apply the patch to the GUI. Both final version and patch can be downloaded here.
There is no guarantee that all configuration parameters that can be used (if you are running the original software) are in this list. Some of this Wiki page was written by Steve Loft, although his entries will be correct, they might not cover all parameters, and they might have been edited by other contributors who might have made errors.
The read-write parameters are correctly specified, as they have been checked against Configuration screens. Please note, there may be typing errors in the explanations of these parameters, where possible text not supplied by Steve Loft directly in this page, has been lifted from text he specified in the Cumulus help, or the Cumulus Support Forum, but even cut and paste can be done wrongly!
There is no source available for Cumulus 1, so nobody can check what read-only parameters are available against what is documented below. For read-only parameters there may be errors in both the actual parameter and the explanation!
If you spot a parameter that is missing from this list (check you are looking in the right section, and under the correct sub-heading where a section is sub-divided for ease of using this article), or wrongly described, then please let administrators of this Wiki know via the Cumulus support sub-forum for Wiki corrections. None of the authors who have contributed so far can claim completeness. Sometimes a search on the forum for something else reveals a mention of an additional parameter that can be added to the file but has not been previously added to this list.
The problem is that Steve Loft lost some of his documentation and admitted he could not remember all parameters his code could process.
- There have been over a thousand builds of Cumulus version 1
- Steve Loft (as developer) did make some entries that are retained on this page (those should be correct)
- Steve Loft also described in his posts on the forum a number of parameters and how they are used (hopefully all those have been copied into this page, but on 2 June 2008, Steve Loft swapped to new forum software and did not retain any posts prior to then, so there is no way to check the relevant posts between 2003 when the software was first released and May 2008)
- Please note, this page can only be edited by an administrator, to prevent a MX user changing the wrong page. However, there may still be errors in this Wiki page, as mentioned above, please report any errors you find in the Cumulus support sub-forum for Wiki corrections.
If you are still using an earlier version of Cumulus 1, it cannot be assumed that all parameters that do not apply to your version are identified. This Wiki page was updated each time there was a major release, and where possible updates mention the release that introduced that parameter, so the documentation can be used for those not running final legacy release. The final version of Cumulus 1 appears to have successfully cleared most of the bugs present in earlier releases (not quite all, it is known that final release still contained a bug relating to reading pressure from Fine Offset stations from wrong pair of memory locations, so the reported pressure may be wrong).
Beta builds
When beta builds of Cumulus 1 were made by Steve Loft, they could be downloaded by anybody, and if there were any differences for the configuration file in that beta they would be listed in the Cumulus.ini Beta article, because some people might decide to use last stable release. When that beta ended, and only the stable release was available, any details from the beta page would be transferred into this article.
Now that Cumulus 1 is no longer under development, it will not have any beta builds.
File Structure
The main file consists of a number of sections, each with a heading delimited by '[ ]', (although the order in the file may be different to that in this article). Parameter lines are in the form 'attribute=value' and grouped by those sections. Those attributes can be listed in any order, Cumulus software will always add new attributes to the end of the section.
If you are manually adding attributes, it may be best if you sort the attributes so they appear in alphabetical order. The biggest advantage of that order is to ensure you do not duplicate attribute names with different values.
Some sections relate to the external websites that Cumulus can optionally supply with updates. These are set by configuration screens and the whole sections will always be present. If you do not use those external services their parameters will be set to the defaults.
Each new version of Cumulus tended to add additional parameters. These were either set by revised configuration screens (those parameters initially appear at the end of the relevant section), and/or a new version permitted additional parameters to be added manually (these could be inserted anywhere within the section).
- If you start Cumulus 1, without a configuration file, then it will open at the station settings screen. Follow the link to see what the screen looks like for both old builds and newer builds (as 2 different screens are illustrated).
- At the very minimum, you must select a station type in the top left frame, and units in the middle of the screen.
- Most other entries on the screen have defaults, but you might want to change some of these. Click the Help button at bottom right of the screen for guidance on what each choice means.
- Optionally, move to other settings screens, accessed from the main screen using the Configuration menu. Again click Help on each screen for more information.
- Optionally create a Strings.ini file (look up the cross reference if you want to do this now, but you can leave it to later) where you can tailor a number of texts that Cumulus produces.
- Back on the main screen, in the File menu click Exit. This is the action that creates the configuration file, the first part of the name is taken from the name of the executable, but the extension is .ini (instead of .exe).
- Restart Cumulus 1, it will read the configuration file, and connect to your weather station. Note that on this run, it does not read any archive data, it just reads what the weather station holds from now on. See this FAQ for a way to change this behaviour.
Editing the file
See Setup for detailed advice, on how to choose the settings when you first run Cumulus.
When Cumulus 1.x.y is run for the very first time, the Station settings screen within the Configuration menu is displayed, so that the basic minimum settings can be entered into a 'cumulus.ini' that it will then create. Should you accidentally delete Cumulus.ini this would happen again, so it is always best to take a backup of the complete Cumulus directory and sub-directories so nothing is lost in such a situation.
Note in particular, that some settings (such as units, date/time formats) must be got right first time. If you do change those later, it is a lot of work because you will need to edit all the other files that Cumulus creates to reflect those changes.
Configuration File names
As downloaded at most versions, the Cumulus 1 installer will create a single executable called cumulus.exe with all letters in lowercase (there were a few releases where the created executable started with a capital letter). Also the installer for various beta versions behaved slightly differently. The configuration file that Cumulus 1 creates on first use will take the name of the executable file (keeping to the same case for each character) and replace the extension (.ini instead of .exe) and will be stored in same folder as the executable, it will contain all sections.
Cumulus 1 does not actually care what its executable is called, so some people have renamed it to reflect the version number. If when you installed Cumulus 1, you had renamed that executable file to say Cumulus1.exe before you tried to run it, then Cumulus will still start, but it will create a new main configuration file based on that name (i.e. Cumulus1.ini) in the same folder. It will also create another configuration file called Cumulus.ini in that folder. You will see all but one section in the first file, and the final section in the second file. But if you were running Cumulus 1 before this, you may be missing some of your settings because of the configuration now being split.
An additional configuration file, also called Cumulus.ini, can be created by Cumulus 1 to store the position of the NOAA parameter editing screen, this will be created the first time you edit NOAA parameters and will be stored in the "Reports" folder this only contains a single section and relates to the screen used for NOAA reports.
Read-write Settings controlled by application
Many configuration parameter lines are changed from the various application edit, view, or configuration screens, and so making any amendments using those screens should ensure your replacement values are acceptable. You should never edit these parameter lines directly in the file while Cumulus is running, as when Cumulus shuts down it will replace your amendments to these parameters with the contents of the relevant application Edit/View/Configuration screens.
You can edit them in the file with Cumulus stopped, but beware of selecting invalid values for these parameters, generally it is safer to use the application to edit them (unless you are importing values from another setup), and Cumulus will read the new values when it is next restarted.
Read-only Settings independent of application
Some configuration settings can only be applied by editing this file to insert a new parameter line; they do not appear anywhere in the configuration screens. When Cumulus is creating a configuration file it does not write any parameters that are not in its settings screens, so they do not appear with default values - in other words, you need to add them if you want to set them. Make sure you place these additional parameters in the correct section as listed below.
Editing outside Cumulus
- If you are using Cumulus 1, it is best to take a copy of the existing cumulus.ini file before you make any changes (either by using application screens or by editing the file), so you can return to the original if necessary.
- If your system is configured to use a comma for a decimal separator, then you should use a comma in any decimal values that you set in this file.
- You should use a simple text editor (not a rich text editor nor word processor) to edit this file as only letters, numerical digits, decimal separators and the equals symbol are allowed in any parameter. If you use a spreadsheet program to make use of the manipulation it offers, ensure it is set to output in pure text.
- The parameter lines (attribute=value) can be in any order, but must be in the correct section. You might find it helpful to sort the attributes within a section into alphabetical order, to ensure you have no duplicates (that would stop Cumulus working), and to make it easier to find the particular parameter line you may wish to edit in the future.
- When Cumulus is closed, it appears to recreate the file, but it preserves the order in the file it read when it was started, as all the parameters are held internally in the sequence they are read.
File Contents
The section called "[FTP site]" should obey that use of capitals and lower-case. Other sections should be named as shown in relevant sections below.
Minimum Content of "Cumulus.ini"
The minimum content of the main configuration file is an entry for every setting that can be defined in the software (that depends on flavour you are using, and it also depends on the version you are running).
Default and Example Values
The entries shown in the 'parameter line entry' column include the default value from the configuration screen where applicable, a typical example value where appropriate, or just the attribute and an equals sign where there is no default nor typical value.
Section by Section
Section: MainForm
There are two actions that will create this section in a file that is always called Cumulus.ini stored in different locations according to the creating action:
- If you edit NOAA parameters then
- One file with this section is stored in the reports sub-directory and it stores the position of your last saved NOAA screen.
- If you have set 'Save main window position' on Display settings screen,
- This section appears in the cumulus.ini file found in same directory as cumulus.exe, and it stores the position of the main Cumulus screen on your monitor.
- Note if you renamed your "cumulus.exe" to say "Cumulus1.exe", then the main form section is still in cumulus.ini file, but all other settings will be in a "Cumulus1.ini" file.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
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[MainForm] | Section name - the following parameters relate to the Cumulus or NOAA screen position. |
Left=100 | The last saved Cumulus main, or NOAA screen position, in pixels from the left-hand edge of the screen. |
Top=50 | The last saved Cumulus main, or NOAA screen position, in pixels from the top edge of the screen |
Section: Station
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
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[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to all weather stations. |
StartDate=13/08/2009 | This parameter is different to all the others. It is not read-write as you cannot edit it in Cumulus. Unlike other read-only parameters it is automatically inserted into Cumulus.ini and given a value when Cumulus is first run. By default this will be set to the date of initial installation of the Cumulus application.
This date can be included in a template file, using the tag <#recordsbegandate>. The tag appears twice in the recordT.htm template that is provided with Cumulus and there is a suggestion about changing that at FAQ#I_have_inserted_pre-Cumulus_data_making_.27Records_began_on.27_date_wrong |
LastLoggerDownload=13/08/2008 12:48:52 | The date/time of the last down load from your weather station
This parameter is different to all the others. It is not read-write as you cannot edit it, nor is it read-only as Cumulus 1 (early builds) inserts it into Cumulus.ini. (Note: no longer used, so only present if you used an early Cumulus 1 version); If you know which builds this parameter applies to, please update this entry. Later Cumulus 1 builds use [[today.ini] to track date/time. This date/time (regardless of whether the tracking parameter is present in Cumulus.ini or today.ini) is available on your website by using <#LastDataReadT> |
UseDataLogger=1 | Selected in the Station Configuration Screen.
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Logging=0 | In early builds, this parameter is read-only in the sense that it has to be manually added to the file and cannot be amended within Configuration individual setting screens, it is read-write in the sense that when you exit Cumulus it is reset to its default.
From build 1003 onwards it becomes a read-write parameter as you can also turn it on/off using the Configuration menu (debug option in menu).
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Read-only parameters in the Station section
The read-only parameters must be entered directly into the configuration file. Stop Cumulus before editing this file using any plain text editor.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
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[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to all weather stations. |
Read-only parameters - The parameters listed below must be entered directly into file with Cumulus stopped. | |
AvgBearingMinutes=N | This line can be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini, with this parameter N is the number of minutes over which Cumulus calculates (by treating the wind as a vector and taking into account the speed as well as direction) its average bearing. Without it, the default sampling time = 10 minutes. Note the max number of wind samples stored by Cumulus is 720, so the maximum effective value for N for Fine Offset stations that are read every 10 seconds is 120 (2 hours) while for Davis stations that are sampled every 2 to 3 seconds the maximum effective value is only about 30 (minutes). |
UseWindChillCutOff=1 | If you have not asked Cumulus to calculate wind chill, this parameter is irrelevant as it cannot affect how your weather station calculates wind chill.
If you have asked Cumulus to calculate wind chill (CalculatedWC=1), regardless of whether you have a weather station that can supply it, then Cumulus will by default only modify the outside temperature if both wind speed and temperature criteria are met. This parameter must be added to the file if you want to disable 'calculate Wind chill only if temperature less than 10°C rule'.
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The default value for this parameter can be one of two values, as shown below:
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The temperature threshold for the calculation of Chill Hours is specified in the units that you use in Cumulus.
If the parameter is not included in the file, the default varies depending on the units you use.
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ChillHourSeasonStart=10 | The season start figure is the calendar month number (1=January to 12= December). The default if this parameter is not specified is October (month 10). On the first day of the month specified here, Cumulus resets the cumulative chill hours that it reports to zero. |
SnowDepthHour=9 | If this parameter is not included in the file, then any snow entries in the Weather Diary for a particular date will continue to be used, in output, until 9am the next morning, when entries for the current date will apply.
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CreateWxnowTxt=0 | If the parameter is not included in the file, the default value is assumed.
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ListWebTags=0 | If the parameter is not included in the file, the default value is assumed.
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RainDayThreshold=-1 | If this parameter is not included in the file, the default is -1 and that represents 0.2 mm or 0.01 inches.
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NoFlashWetDryDayRecords=1 | * When set to 1 (default) stops new Longest Wet/Dry Period records being 'flashed' in Cumulus 1
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FCPressureThreshold=0.1 | It specifies the threshold (in mb per hour averaged over 3-hour period) for a pressure change to count as rising or falling rather than steady when determining the Zambretti forecast. The default is 0.1 mb/hr averaged over the previous three hours. If the parameter is not included in the file, the default value is assumed. |
RTdisconnectcount=infinite | By default, the 'realtime' ftp connection stays connected. But you can add RTdisconnectcount=N to force a disconnection after N realtime ftp uploads. For example, if you set RealtimeInterval=60 there will be 60 seconds between each update and RTdisconnectcount=60 would force a disconnection each hour. |
ErrorLogSpikeRemoval=0 | This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen on C1.
??It appears that C1 limits the number of messages in the error log window to a maximum of 256, so that limit may affect reporting of spike removal, but hopefully it does not restrict the functionality of spike removal ?? Could someone verify that, and update this entry |
UVdecimals=0 | (added 1.9.3 build 1038)
UV values are now displayed and logged as whole numbers by default. You can change this by adding this entry specifying the number of decimal places:
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NoSensorCheck=0 | By default, Cumulus will stop working if after 6 attempts it cannot read all the standard readings from a weather station:
This parameter allows disabling of that sensor check:
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PeakGustMinutes=N | This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. This line can be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini.
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AvgSpeedMinutes=N | This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. This line can be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini, if you have set the next parameter so that Cumulus does its own calculation of average wind speed.
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Read-Write parameters in the Station section
The read-write parameters are set using Station Configuration Screen. The defaults (that apply unless you use that screen to change settings) are shown in left hand column.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
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[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to all weather stations. |
Type= -1 | Station Type as set by the checked radio box in the Station Configuration Screen, Station Type block. For details of Supported_Devices click that link, as it explains which weather station types are equivalent to the ones available as options on the screen.
Following added from version 1.7.0:
For Oregon Scientific stations and similar re-badged stations (Huger, Radio Shack etc) which have a serial port connection, if your model is not listed, try WM-918 if your station has wired connections, and WMR-928 if it is wireless. Added in version 1.7.12:
NOTE: You can also use Type=4 if you want to run Cumulus with reduced functionality without a weather station attached, to view historical observations. A full set of (historic) files in the data subfolder copied from a system with a weather station attached is needed, but in this case, the EWFile= attribute should be at its default of not having any filename value. Added in version 1.8.0:
Added in version 1.8.3:
Added in version 1.9.1:
Added in version 1.9.2: |
Model="your Model description" | The weather station model description that you want output by the web tag <#stationtype> - you choose what text appears for this on (from version 1.9.x) 'Display' settings screen within Configuration menu - the field is at the bottom left of that screen). |
Latitude=0 | You are advised not to directly edit this parameter in the file, but to enter the settings via the screen provide in software where you type Latitude (unsigned) Degrees, Minutes, Seconds and select 'N' or 'S'. Do this in the Station Configuration Screen Location block.
Value in this parameter is Latitude in Decimal Degrees based on what you have entered, Positive for North, Negative for South |
Longitude=0 | You are advised not to directly edit this parameter in the file, but to type Longitude (unsigned) Degrees, Minutes, Seconds and select 'E' or 'W'.
The place to do this is as described for Latitude. Value in this parameter is Longitude in Decimal Degrees based on what you have entered, Positive for East, Negative for West |
LatTxt= | You are advised not to directly edit this parameter in the file, it contains Latitude in text string format of hemisphere D, M and S. HTML ampersand codes are used for spaces and unit characters. |
LonTxt= | You are advised not to directly edit this parameter in the file, it contains Longitude in text string format of hemisphere degrees, minutes and seconds. HTML ampersand codes are used for spaces and DMS characters. |
Altitude=0 | your station altitude (default is zero) as entered in same place as other parameters. See Cumulus Help for that screen. See next parameter to choose unit. |
AltitudeInFeet=1 | Altitude measurement unit for value in previous parameter.
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CalculatedDP=0 | Selected on same screen as other parameters. Simple tick or not, available from version 1.1 onwards, not implemented correctly for Fine Offset until 1.8.5:
Note that Cumulus also calculates wet bulb temperature, irrespective of this setting; extremes for dew point were added in version 1.9.1 |
CalculatedWC=0 | Selected on same screen as other parameters. Available only from version 1.8.3 beta builds. Simple tick or not:
Note that some stations (Fine Offset, for example), do not make a wind chill value available to Cumulus. For these, Cumulus always calculates it. |
PeakGustMinutes=10 | Selected on same screen as other parameters.
Select the number of minutes, 'N', over which wind speeds are averaged, default is 10, see FAQ#Cumulus_is_showing_a_different_wind_speed_compared_to_my_console, next two parameters determine how this parameter is used. |
Wind10MinAverage=0 | Selected on same screen as other parameters.
The average wind speed supplied by a Davis station is calculated by considering all wind speed measurements over a ten minute period, the international standard duration used to calculate average wind speeds. Other weather station types output an average over a shorter period (e.g. Oregon Scientific and Fine Offset stations).
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UseSpeedForAvgCalc=0 | Selected on same screen as other parameters.
Determines how Cumulus does the average speed and wind run calculations (the preceding 'Wind10MinAverage' option must be enabled for this parameter to have any effect):
Note that enabling this option makes a Fine Offset station give much better agreement with a Davis station; there isn't really any point enabling this option for Davis stations, as their 'longer-term speed' is a 10 minute average anyway; it is not useful for La Crosse stations, as they only supply one wind speed anyway. |
RoundWindSpeed=0 | Selected on same screen as other parameters.
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UseZeroBearing=0 | Selected on same screen as other parameters. Intended for weather stations that do not supply a wind bearing, so Cumulus has to calculate it from reported compass direction.
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RolloverHour=0 | Log roll over time as selected on the same screen as other parameters
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Use10amInSummer=1 | Daylight saving correction for 9am roll over, Selected on same screen as other parameters.
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WarnMultiple=0 | Controls behaviour for Multiple Instances of Cumulus running on PC. Requires a Cumulus restart if value toggled, before new behaviour will take effect.
Set as 'Stop 2nd instance' in the Station Configuration Screen Program Settings block. Not available in earliest builds of Cumulus 1 flavour.
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DataLogInterval=2 | Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Data log interval block on the right hand side and defines frequency for Cumulus to log weather readings and derived figures in the Standard_log_files and, when applicable, in Extra_Sensor_Files.
Notes:
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WindUnit=0 | Wind speed measurement unit used by Cumulus (as selected in the Units block of Station settings screen within Configuration menu)
These are the labels that Cumulus applies on its screens and web pages, most weather stations can only output in one unit (e.g. dm/s for Fine Offset). If that is not the unit selected here, Cumulus will ensure the values are converted to that selected from the 4 listed during processing. |
PressureUnit=0 | Pressure_Measurement unit used by Cumulus (as selected in the Units block of Station settings screen within Configuration menu)
These are the labels that Cumulus applies on its screens and web pages, most weather stations can only output in one unit (e.g. hPa for Fine Offset). If that is not the unit selected here, Cumulus will ensure the values are converted to that selected from the 3 listed during processing |
RainUnit=0 | Rain_measurement unit used by Cumulus (as selected in the Units block of Station settings screen within Configuration menu)
These are the labels that Cumulus applies on its screens and web pages, most weather stations can only output in one unit (e.g. dm for Fine Offset). If that is not the unit selected here, Cumulus will ensure the values are converted to either of the 2 listed during processing |
TempUnit=0 | Temperature measurement unit used by Cumulus (as selected in the Units block of Station settings screen within Configuration menu)
These are the labels that Cumulus applies on its screens and web pages, most weather stations work in one unit (e.g. for Fine Offset a positive integer (a 12 bit value) that uses 0 at -40 degrees Celsius/Fahrenheit and 500 at 10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit; i.e. you get the actual temperature in Celsius by subtracting 400 and dividing by 10). If that is not the unit selected here, Cumulus will ensure the values are converted to either of the 2 listed during processing |
LocName= | A Name for the location (as entered on the same screen as other parameters) - used for title of tab in browser and main heading on each standard web page |
LocDesc= | A Description for the location (as entered on the same screen as other parameters) - inserted after 'Welcome to ' on 'Now' web page. |
RainSeasonStart=1 | Selected in the same settings page as other parameters. The month (1 to 12) of the year that is used as the start of the annual 'rain season'. Default = 1 meaning January. |
YTDrain=0 | Selected in the same settings page as other parameters. Year to date correction if starting part way through rainfall year (see previous parameter). Value is entered in your current Rain_measurement units. Default is 0. |
YTDrainyear=0 | Selected in the same settings page as other parameters. The year for which the previous parameter (YTDrain) is to be applied. Default is 0 meaning not applied to any year. Note if you selected a month other than January in "RainSeasonStart" parameter, you will need to change this "YTDrainyear" when the calendar year changes during your first 'rain season' and change it to 0 when you reach the same "RainSeasonStart" month and start your second 'rain season'. |
UseCumulusForecast=0 | Selected in the same settings page as other parameters, if selected Cumulus will generate a simple weather Zambretti forecast, if your station does not supply a forecast, or as an alternative to the one supplied by your station. See the Forecast webtag for more information. See next parameter for interval between forecast updates.
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HourlyForecast=0 | Selected in the same settings page as other parameters, applies only if Cumulus is set (see previous parameter) to generate a forecast (see FAQ#My_forecast_says_.22Not_available.22),
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UseCumulusPresstrendstr=0 | Selected in the same settings page as other parameters. If selected Cumulus will generate the name for the current pressure trend, e.g. "Falling", "Rising quickly" etc, instead of the one supplied by your station. The names used are those in the UK Shipping Forecast. Note that some stations do not supply this anyway, so setting this has no effect (Cumulus always generates the names for those stations).
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FCpressinMB=1 | Selected in the same settings page as other parameters. The units you use here are not related to the units you use for pressure (PressureUnit=x parameter earlier) in Cumulus; the option is given here simply as a convenience for the next two parameters.
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FClowpress=950 | Low Pressure extreme limit (in units specified by previous parameter). Selected in the same settings page as other parameters in the Forecast area, using either millibars or inches of mercury. Default is 950mb |
FChighpress=1050 | High Pressure extreme limit as entered in the same Forecast area as last 2 parameters. Default is 1050mb |
CloudBaseInFeet=1 | Cloud base measurement unit as selected in same screen (here from version_1.8.8) as other parameters. In MX you cannot change the default without adding this directly into file with MX stopped.
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DataLogging=0 | This parameter (attribute=value) determines if when you next start Cumulus it will send enhanced information to the debug file. It appears on a configuration screen in Cumulus 1 (available in all Cumulus 1 builds).
With Cumulus stopped, you can edit the setting in the file and the new setting will apply when Cumulus is next started and it sets a local value by reading the configuration file. Debugging can also be switched on while you are running Cumulus of any flavour, the new setting of enhanced debugging will stop when you exit Cumulus as you only edit the value held locally (you don't edit the configuration file).
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Port=0 | Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block. Com port in your computer which is connected to your weather station if connected via a serial port. Defaults to port 0. |
SpecialLog=0 | There is an option of whether to record temperature and humidity (both indoor and outside values) in a single continuous log:
See forum |
ConfirmClose=0 | Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Program Settings block. Toggles Confirmation you wish to close Cumulus application after telling it to close
You should not select the next parameter 'CloseOnSuspend' if you use this option. |
CloseOnSuspend=1 | If this is selected, in the Station Configuration Screen Program Settings block, Cumulus will close whenever you suspend/standby/hibernate your computer.
You should not select the previous parameter 'ConfirmClose' if you use this option. |
Spike Removal
The Cumulus help file says - "The "Spike removal" section allows you to specify the maximum differences between successive readings that you wish to allow, for Fine Offset and La Crosse stations. If a reading differs from the previous reading by the value you specify, or more, then it will be ignored. Be careful in your choice of values; if the difference is genuine, (i.e. not a 'spike') and exceeds your supplied value, then that reading will be 'stuck' at the previous value until a new reading returns to within your supplied difference.
Note that the spike removal values must be supplied in the 'native' units of the station, as shown on the screen. The gust value has no effect on La Crosse stations, as it only supplies one wind value - 'spike removal' is applied at the station level, unlike offsets and multipliers which are applied at a 'common' level; just use the 'wind speed' value."
- This section has the parameters are listed with defaults applicable up to Cumulus 1.9.4.
- 7 of the 10 spike removal parameters listed below are adjusted in the frame at the bottom of the Calibration screen, off Configuration menu, they have a prefix of EW because they were introduced for dealing with problems seen in the Fine Offset family; the corrections are only applied when Cumulus 1 is reading directly from the station at a very frequent interval, spike removal does not apply when Cumulus is re-started and is transferring observations from the station logger to the Cumulus monthly log.
- The other 3 spike removal parameters have to be entered directly in cumulus.ini, none of these ones can be set on the 'calibration' screen.
- As Cumulus 1 does not check station type before applying any of these settings, ensure for Davis stations (these do not have spike problems) the spike removal filters are set to the defaults shown below.
- However, spike removal correction may be implemented for La Crosse stations, they can have problems with their PC interface, using the same EW filter settings listed below.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration. |
EWMaxRainTipDiff=30 | Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section
Cumulus has a configurable threshold for the maximum feasible amount of rain between updates (i.e. within 48-seconds on Fine Offset stations without solar, 60 seconds on those measuring solar), set in units of count of tips. Default=30 tips in Cumulus 1 For standard Fine Offset rain gauges, each tip represents 0.3mm, so 30 tips are equivalent to 9 mm, or just over a third of an inch in 48 seconds. This setting affects rain rate, rain last hour, rain so far today (and what is recorded in today.ini/dayfile.txt), but does not affect the web tag <#r24hour>. |
EWmaxHourlyRain=999 | This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu.
An hourly rain count 'spike removal' filter for weather stations that do not supply this figure so Cumulus has to calculate it. Any changes in calculated value, between one calculation and the next, greater than the value specified here will be ignored by Cumulus when it calculates the hourly rain total. Cumulus ignores this parameter if the weather station directly supplies this figure to Cumulus. 999 is the default indicating no spike removal required. |
EWmaxRainRate=999 | This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu.
A rain rate 'spike removal' filter, changes in calculated value, between one calculation and the next, greater than the value specified here (set in calibration screen of configuration menu) will be ignored by Cumulus when it calculates the rain rate. Cumulus ignores this parameter for other makes of weather station (they supply a rain rate to Cumulus). The default value of 999 also effectively makes Cumulus ignore spike removal. |
EWgustdiff=999.0 | This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu.
A wind gust 'spike removal' filter, changes in calculated value between one calculation and the next, greater than the value (always metres per second) specified here (with a default of 999.0) will be ignored by Cumulus. |
EWwinddiff=999.0 | This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu.
A wind speed 'spike removal' filter, changes in calculated value between one calculation and the next greater than the value (always metres per second) specified here (with a default of 999.0) will be ignored by Cumulus |
EWpressurediff=999.0 | This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu. A pressure change 'spike removal' filter, changes in read value, from one reading to the next, off any station greater than the value (always mb) specified here (with a default of 999.0) will be ignored by Cumulus |
EWminpressureMB=900 | Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section
Cumulus will ignore all pressure readings from the station that are less than this value (units are always hPa/millibars) |
EWmaxpressureMB=1200 | Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section
Cumulus will ignore all pressure readings from the station that are greater than this value (units are always hPa/millibars). |
EWTempdiff=999.0 | This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu. A temperature change 'spike removal' filter.
Replace default of 999.0 with the maximum difference in degrees Celsius (the units Cumulus uses for all calculations regardless of what you select for display) you are prepared to accept between successive data readings. |
EWhumiditydiff=999.0 | This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu.
A humidity change 'spike removal' filter, changes in read value from any station greater than the value (as %) specified here (with a default of 999.0) will be ignored by Cumulus. |
ErrorLogSpikeRemoval=0 | This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen on C1.
??It appears that Cumulus software limits the number of messages in the error log window to a maximum of 256, so that limit may affect reporting of spike removal, but hopefully it does not restrict the functionality of spike removal ?? Could someone verify that, and update this entry |
Davis family specific:
Support for Davis Vantage pro 2 was introduced at Cumulus version 1.6.0. Prior to 1.9.x, not all parameter settings listed were available, check with release notes for your version and previous versions to see all settings applicable to any earlier version you use. "The DLL" is a Windows Dynamic Link Library supplied by Davis for third parties to use when writing software for Davis stations. It handles fetching data from the console, and does all kinds of useful things like converting the data into the units you require.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration. |
Read-only parameters - The parameters listed below must be entered directly into file with Cumulus stopped. | |
VP2SleepInterval=500 | This read-only parameter is the period which Cumulus waits between reads of the data from Davis stations, the value is in milliseconds. The default if the parameter has not been added manually to the file is 500 ms; if you suspect that data is being missed, you could add this parameter, manually reducing this figure. For VirtualVP users, tests revealed that VP2SleepInterval = 1100 seems to work the best. It updates every two seconds with few exceptions. See note in readme.txt (file provided with the Cumulus software) about VP2SleepInterval - in Cumulus v1.9.3 release find the note around line 50. Related FAQ: FAQ#My_Davis_station_shows_a_higher_maximum_wind_speed_than_Cumulus |
VPClosedownTime=x | This read-only parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. x is the number of seconds after the start of the re-connect attempts that you want the program to close itself (added v.1.8.5 b.726). |
DavisCalcAltPress=1 | This read-only parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. Davis stations calculate Sea Level Pressure from Station Pressure using a formula based on several parameters such as temperature, humidity, etc, rather than just using altitude as most other stations. CWOP require 'Altimeter Pressure' to be uploaded, i.e. a value calculated simply using altitude.
The station does not provide this value directly, nor the station pressure, so Cumulus 1.x.x has to read some extra data once a minute in order to do the calculation. This can take several seconds, so it means that a 'normal' data reading may be missed. If you don't use CWOP, or you are happy for Cumulus to send Sea-Level pressure to CWOP (the difference is small unless you are at high altitude), set this value to 0. Cumulus will then use the Sea-Level Pressure value instead of the Cumulus calculated Altimeter Pressure.
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Read-write parameters: for Cumulus 1 edit in Station Configuration Screen | |
ForceVPBarUpdate=0 | Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block. Select to force the Vantage Pro (and Pro2) barometer to update once a minute instead of the default 15 minutes. Note that you may not need this, more recent stations already update every minute
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SyncDavisClock=0 | Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block where called Synchronize station clock.
When set, at Cumulus start-up and at a fixed time (default 04:00, see next parameter) each day, Cumulus will set the Davis VP/VP2 clock to within a minute of the same time as the PC. (From build 3015 for MX).
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ClockSettingHour=4 | Configuration file read-only setting, controls what hour of the day the SyncDavisClock activity will take place if it is enabled.
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VP2ConnectionType=1 | Weather station connection type that is selected in the Station Configuration Screen Davis type block
Default is type 1, i.e. neither option on screen selected, so if you use a Davis you must select either serial or TCP/IP. |
VP2TCPPort=22222 | Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Davis TCP/IP Settings block.
Comunications port used if VP type has TCP/IP selected. Default is 2222 |
VP2IPAddr=0.0.0.0 | Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Davis TCP/IP Settings block.
Weather station IP address if VP type has TCP/IP selected. Default is 0.0.0.0 |
VP2PeriodicDisconnectInterval=0 | Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block with the Discon period value.
When the clock minute changes, Cumulus stops the current stream of data from the console, disconnects, waits for the specified number of milliseconds, to allow the Weatherlink IP to briefly connect to the Davis Weatherlink site. Cumulus then attempts to reconnect. Set it to zero to disable, if you are not using the Weatherlink site. |
LogExtraSensors=0 | This is set in the Settings block on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu. Set this to 1 if you have additional sensors (e.g. a Davis Leaf Wetness probe) to make Cumulus read, display, and log the readings from the sensors. You don't select this for Solar/UV sensors. |
DavisRainCollectorModel=X | This read-only parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. (Available from Build 1096 of version 1.9.4)
Option to specify rain collector model for Davis stations for situations where the Davis DLL is unable to read it from station (what it reads from station is default if this parameter is not present), and your rain figures in Cumulus are incorrect as a result (can happen when using Virtual VP, for example). Value X is an integer from 0 to 5 with the following meanings:
Davis have not documented what calculations the DLL does for options 4 and 5. If this line is not included in cumulus.ini the DLL will use whatever type the station tells it to use |
Port=0 | Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Serial Port block.
Identifies COM Port used if Davis type is serial. Default is 0. |
RestartIfDataStops=0 | This read-only parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen.
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Port=0 | Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Serial Port block.
Identifies COM Port used if Davis type is serial. Default is 0. |
Introduced for problems with Fine Offset family:
- These parameters were introduced to cope with Fine Offset stations and their clones, but a few of the parameters below may be found to be useful more widely.
- The read-write parameters are set on screens, the read-only attributes do not appear in the cumulus.ini file unless they are added using an external editor, but the values still have a recommended default value as explained below.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration. |
Read-only parameters - The parameters listed below must be entered directly into file with Cumulus stopped. | |
FOReadAvoidPeriod=3 | Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section if you wish to change the default, this parameter used to fine-tune the previous parameter.
Sets the interval (in seconds) during each 48 (or 60 for some models in Cumulus 1) second of station logging period when Cumulus will avoid reading the station data to try and minimise lock ups. If the clock drifts more than this value in 24 hours, then Cumulus may cause the station to lock up when reading the data. The actual station clock drift gets logged to the diags file when the re-synchronise (see last parameter) takes place, this will give an idea of whether it would be useful to adjust this setting. |
ReportLostSensorContact=0 | Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section
Option to turn off reporting of 'lost sensor contact' for Fine Offset stations. (added Cumulus 1.9.4 b.1070) |
EWdisablecheckinit=0 | Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section if application gets stuck when Cumulus starts up connected to a Fine Offset (clone) station (added Cumulus version 1.9.2, build 1011).
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EWduplicatecheck=0 | Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section if application gets stuck in the download stage.
Introduced in version 1.8.5 (b.630) to deal with certain bytes being given the same value in first and second line.
For example one problem is that "55 AA" repeats at the start of the second line of data. Those bytes are only supposed to appear at the start of the first line (or so Steve Loft was told). |
EWpressureoffset=x.y | Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section
Got a pressure problem with a Fine Offset station when the pressure 'offset' that Cumulus reads is garbage, so Cumulus just uses zero? Tell Cumulus what offset to use, by using an external text editor to insert this parameter where x.y is your pressure offset in in mb or hPa [i.e. your station (absolute) pressure subtracted from the sea-level (relative) pressure]. There is a bug in the legacy software, when reading pressure, it reads a byte that is not actually reporting pressure as well as byte that is reporting pressure |
RestartIfUnplugged=0 | This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu.
Note: Unless the station has been manually plugged in again, a Cumulus restart has no benefit; normally the station should be checked to be plugged in before Cumulus is ever started and the station then left plugged in. |
SyncFOReads=0 | Default is disabled
Cumulus software as far as possible uses routines that are not specific to a particular weather station. A Fine Offset station will be writing to its memory every 48 (standard for models without solar sensors) or 60 (standard for models with radio controlled clock or solar sensors) seconds. Cumulus attempts to read the memory once a minute, and (if the memory updates every 48 seconds) might read the same memory update twice. Cumulus can attempt once a day to identify when this update of memory occurs, and thereafter try not to read the memory at update time, by using what is called a synchronisation mode of operation (avoiding the particular second when the 48 or 60 second update happens). |
Reading File instead of weather station
Functionality added from version 1.7.12 (when Fine Offset could not be interrogated via USB):
Requiring Cumulus to read Easyweather.dat instead of a station directly perhaps for Stations not recognised by Cumulus
- Stations not recognised by Cumulus may be set to create an EasyWeather_Format file. For these the first two (or three) parameters below are mandatory.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration. |
EWInterval=0 | This parameter is entered in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
Note: If you have not set Station Type to 4, then Cumulus ignores this parameter, i.e. it only applies if Cumulus needs to know how often to read a new record from the easyweather.dat file. |
EWFile= | This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu.
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LogExtraSensors=0 | This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu.
Note: Cumulus uses this parameter to determine where to find each observation (e.g. outside temperature, wind speed, humidity etc.) in the latest file record. If you set this parameter wrong, Cumulus will assign what it finds in various field locations wrongly and therefore it is highly likely that temperatures, wind speeds and everything else will appear to have many rogue values in Cumulus but look okay on the weather station console display. This parameter is also used for other makes of weather station, see the relevant section for your make as the parameter is used differently. |
Oregon Scientific specific:
Support for Oregon stations was included in early versions of Cumulus software, removed in version 1.6.0, missing from all subsequent 1.6.x versions, and restored from version 1.7.0.
Read-write parameters are set on a configuration screen (as identified in individual entries), Read-only parameters have to be entered directly in this file.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration. |
Read-Write parameters - The parameters listed below can be edited on the screens noted. | |
Humidity98Fix=0 | Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
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LogExtraSensors=0 | This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu by the Extra Sensors selection.
(Note this attribute appears in Davis family and Fine Offset family tables above and in Instromet station specific: table below with different usage explanations). |
Read-only parameters - The parameters listed below must be entered directly into file with Cumulus stopped. | |
WMR928TempChannel=N | This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini file for WMR-928 stations (and other serial stations using the same protocol, eg WMR-968) to use an 'extra' channel (see previous parameter) as your main temperature sensor, set N to the required channel |
WMR200TempChannel=N | This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini file for WMR200 stations (and any other Oregon Scientific USB stations which work with Cumulus, e.g. WMR100) to use an 'extra' channel as your main temperature sensor, set N to the required channel |
La Crosse specific:
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration. |
Read-only parameters - The parameters listed below must be entered directly into file with Cumulus stopped. | |
WS2300Sync=1 | This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini. This makes Cumulus check the time that the station is going to communicate with the sensors, and synchronises all of its reads to be 2.5 seconds after that. Experiments have shown that this does not help the bad data situation. |
LCMaxWind=X | This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini. It is setting for the La Crosse max wind speed, where X is the maximum (before calibrated by any definitions in Offsets) wind speed in m/s that you want to allow. The value you supply should be in metres/second, regardless of what wind unit you are using in Cumulus.(available from Version 1.8.8 Build 874 onwards) |
WS2300IgnoreStationClock=0 | This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini. Option to ignore the La Crosse station clock on logger download.
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RestartIfDataStops=0 | This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini, it attempts to restart itself if it has had no data from a La Crosse station for 60 seconds i.e. if data from station stops. This may fix whatever the problem is; it may not. But it should at least stop the same data being repeatedly logged.
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ReportDataStoppedErrors=0 | This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini.
Option to turn off reporting of 'data stopped' errors to the Cumulus error log (may be needed with La Crosse stations)
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The spike removal parameter listed in the Fine Offset section above, may also be used with La Crosse stations.
Hydreon specific:
All 6 of these parameters are set on RG11 screen within configuration menu, use the Help buttonon that screen for more information.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration. |
RG11port=1 | Specifies the COM port to use for Hydreon RG-11 rain detection devices. 1 = COM1. |
RG11TBRmode=1 | Specifies the Hydreon RG-11 rain device mode of operation.
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RG11tipsize=0.01 | Specifies the tipping bucket size for Hydreon RG-11 rain detection devices. The 'tip size' must be specified in the units that you have configured Cumulus to use for rain. |
RG11port2=
RG11TBRmode2= RG11tipsize2= |
Settings to connect a second Hydreon RG-11 rain detection device.
Note that you must have one RG-11 set to "It's raining" mode and the other to "tipping bucket" mode. Cumulus does not validate this. |
Instromet station specific:
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Station] | Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration. |
Read-only parameters - The parameter listed below must be entered directly into file with Cumulus stopped. | |
ImetWaitTime=200 | This parameter (attribute=value) if you need to change it from its default of 200 ms is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen.
Specifies the time in milliseconds that Cumulus allows for a response from an Instromet station. If you are having problems with reading from an Instromet station, try inserting this line into the Station section using a value of 500. According to the specification, 500 ms is the absolute maximum time that the station should take to respond to any command. |
Read-only parameters - The parameter listed below must be entered directly into file with Cumulus MX stopped. Only Cumulus MX. | |
ImetBaudRate=19200 | This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen.
The default value is 19200. Some ?older? Instromet loggers operate at 115200, if you have one of these older loggers you will need to manually set this value in Cumulus.ini before running the program. |
SyncDavisClock=0 | Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block where called Synchronize station clock. Note despite the name of the parameter within 'Cumulus.ini', this does apply to Instromet stations.
When set, at Cumulus start-up and at 04:00 each day, Cumulus will set the Instromet clock to within a minute of the same time as the PC
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LogExtraSensors=0 | This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu by the Extra Sensors selection. If you have 'extra sensors' selected, the wet bulb reading will be used as an extra temperature sensor. Otherwise it is used as 'wet bulb' and the humidity will be calculated from that and the dry bulb sensor.
(Note this attribute appears in Davis family, Oregon Scientific specific and Fine Offset family tables above with different usage explanations). |
Section: Offsets
Set most of these parameters in Cumulus 1 (available from version 1.8.1 onwards) using the Configuration menu and Calibration screen, the exception is 'TempMult2'.
Parameter Line Entry | Function | |
---|---|---|
[Offsets] | Section Name - the following 'attribute=value' parameters are the adjustment factors for your specific sensors | |
Read-only parameters - The parameter listed below must be entered directly into file with Cumulus stopped. | ||
TempMult2=0.0 | This line needs to be added in the [Offsets] section of the Cumulus.ini, if it is omitted default second order multiplier is 0.0 to ensure no second order effect.
"Second order" multiplier by which measured outdoor Temperature is to be corrected, this means that the logged reading can be (TempMult2 X measured-temp X measured_temp) + (TempMult X measured_temp) + TempOffset | |
Read-write parameters - Set using the Configuration menu and Calibration screen | ||
TempOffset=Offset_Value | Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter, used for quadratic formula shown for read-only parameter | |
TempMult=1 | First order multiplier by which measured outdoor Temperature is to be corrected (default=1).
For formula see read-only item. | |
HumMult=1 | Multiplier by which measured Humidity is to be corrected (default=1). See formula in read-only parameter | |
HumOffset=Offset_Value | Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter used for formula in MX read-only parameter above | |
WetBulbMult=1 | First order multiplier by which measured Wet Bulb Temperature is to be corrected (default=1). See formula in next row | |
WetBulbOffset=0 | Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter, used for formula: Cumulus wet bulb temperature = measured_wet_bulb X wet_bulb_multiplier + 'Offset_Value' | |
WindDirOffset=Offset_Value | Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter used for formula: Cumulus Wind Bearing = Measured Wind Bearing + 'Offset_Value' | |
InTempOffset=Offset_Value | Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter used for formula: Cumulus Indoor Temperature = Measured Indoor Temperature + 'Offset_Value' | |
WindSpeedMult=1 | Multiplier by which measured Average Wind Speed is to be corrected (default=1).
e.g. Officially in UK the wind speed is measured with sensors at 10m above ground level. If your sensor is not at 10m AGL then a correction multiplier should be applied using the following formula V10/Vh = 1/(0.233 + 0.656*log10(h+4.75)) where "h" is your sensor height in meters so if your anemometer is 5m off the ground, V10/Vh comes out at 1.134 | |
WindGustMult=1 | Multiplier by which measured Wind Gust Speed is to be corrected (default=1). | |
PressOffset=Offset_Value | Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter, used for formula: Cumulus pressure = Measured Pressure + 'Offset_Value' | |
RainMult=1 | Multiplier by which measured Rainfall (and therefore rainfall rate too) is to be corrected (default=1). | |
UVMult=1 | Multiplier by which measured UV to be corrected (default=1). see formula in next row | |
UVOffset=Offset_Value | Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter used for formula: Cumulus UV level = Measured_UV_level X UV_multiplier + 'Offset_Value' | |
DavisCalcAltPressOffset=Offset_Value | Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this Davis Altitude parameter, used for formula: Cumulus altimeter pressure = Calculated Altimeter Pressure + 'Offset_Value'
The calculated altimeter pressure (from build 792) uses k1 := 0.190284; // discrepency with calculated k1 probably because Smithsonian used less precise gas constant and gravity values k2 := 8.4184960528E-5; // (standardLapseRate / standardTempK) * (Power(standardSLP, k1) Result := Power(Power(absolute_pressureHPa - 0.3, k1) + (k2 * elevationM), 1/k1); Sea level pressure is strictly calculated from actual pressure making compensation for temperature and humidity variation with height and most stations supply a SLP, but in Cumulus terms where a station supplies absolute pressure only, a standard offset is used to correct that to sea level pressure. Altimeter pressure as used for reporting to APRS/CWOP, does not make this compensation for temperature and humidity, it assumes standard atmosphere, purely a compensation for altitude, so the above calculation is used, then this offset is used by Cumulus to re-calculate altimeter pressure. |
Section: Web Site
These parameters edited in Cumulus 1 using the Internet Configuration screen Sites/Options tab Web Site block.
The defaults set by the software are to Universal Resource Locators that no longer exist!
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Web Site] | Section Name - the following parameters relate to your website |
ForumURL=https://cumulus.hosiene.co.uk/ | A website forum URL |
WebcamURL=http://www.sanday.org.uk/webcam/webcam.php | URL for your Webcam |
Section: FTP site
See individual entries for how to modify these parameters (either select on a screen, or edit file directly). Where the modification can be done on a screen, the Cumulus Help screens (e.g. Configuration: Internet) will explain the selection.
This Wiki discusses the most basic of these settings on simple web site set up page and discusses the more complex ones in this section of Customised templates.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[FTP site] | Section Name - the following parameters relate to your website FTP parameters |
DailyProgram= | set in the Daily box of Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in External Programs block. The name (including path) of a command-line program to be run once a day, after the daily 'rollover' has been performed.
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DailyParams= | set in the Params box alongside the Daily box of Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in External Programs block.
The corresponding 'parameters' for 'DailyProgram' used to specify any parameters to be passed to that command. |
Host= | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in web site block. This is either the name, or the IP address, of the ftp server to which you connect when you upload pages to your web site. You probably used it with an external FTP program when you followed the instructions in the Cumulus Help, Readme.txt, or Simple_Website_setup.
If you host your web site yourself, then "Host=localhost" might be appropriate. Leave blank, "Host=", if you are not using ftp, but simply creating the output files on your pc with a Copy instruction. |
Port=21 | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in web site block. Port used for FTP upload, default as shown is the normal port, so don't change default unless your set-up is non-standard. |
Username= | In Cumulus 1, set your web site FTP log-in Username in the Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in web site block |
Password= | Shows your web site FTP login password as entered in the Internet option of Configuration menu (note: this is not encrypted) |
Directory= | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in web site block. Directory (including path) on your server to which FTP will upload the files.
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IncludeSTD=1 | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by the Include Standard Files at the top of Files Tab screen
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AutoUpdate=0 | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web Settings block of Sites/Options tab as Auto Update.
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FTPlogging=0 | Set by selecting FTP Logging in Configuration menu, or by adding this line to 'FTP site' section of Cumulus.ini.
Cumulus 1 stores this output in ftplog.txt. |
MaxFTPconnectRetries=3 | Read-only - set manually by editing config file only.
Allow configurable max FTP connect retries (default is retry up to 3 times). |
ActiveFTP=0 | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web Settings block of Sites/Options tab as Use active FTP mode.
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FTPRename=0 | (available from version 1.8.1), set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web Settings block of Sites/Options tab as Use FTP rename.
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DeleteBeforeUpload=0 | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web Settings block of Sites/Options tab as Delete before upload.
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UpdateInterval=15 | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web Settings block of Sites/Options tab in Interval box. The interval in minutes at which you wish Standard (not real-time) updates (either FTP to your website, or copy to a local directory on your pc) to automatically occur. Default 15 minutes. |
ExternalProgram= | set in the Program box of Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in External Programs block. The name (including path) of a command-line program to be run at the 'normal' web update interval, after all of the other processing has been performed. |
ExternalParams= | Selected in the Params box alongside the Program box of Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in External Programs block. The corresponding 'parameters' for 'ExternalProgram' used to specify any parameters to be passed to that command. |
EnableRealtime=0 | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web Settings block of Sites/Options tab as Enable Realtime.
The realtime.txt file contains various weather parameters and was used by the CumulusRealtime.swf (shock wave flash) real time wind gauges (as on the supplied 'gauges' web page for early versions of Cumulus 1.x.x). Shockwave flash software was withdrawn some years ago, so this usage ceased. This parameter controls whether the file is created, the next 2 parameters control how and whether it is uploaded. |
RealtimeFTPEnabled=0 | In Cumulus 1, set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web Settings block of Sites/Options tab as Enable Realtime FTP.
The 'EnableRealtime' setting must be set to 1 for this setting to have any effect.
|
RealtimeTxtFTP=0 | set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web Settings block of Sites/Options tab as Realtime.txt FTP.
When set to 1 Cumulus will upload the realtime.txt to your web site during realtime processing. The 'EnableRealtime' and 'RealtimeFTPEnabled' settings must both be set to 1 for this setting to have any effect. |
RealtimeInterval=15 | Set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web Settings block of Sites/Options tab as Realtime Interval. The time between uploads of the realtime.txt file, and any other files associated with real-time interval, (i.e. a new upload of files will begin this number of seconds after the last upload has ended).
|
RealtimeProgram= | set in the Realtime Program box of Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in External Programs block. The name (including path) of a command-line program to be run at the 'realtime' web update interval, after all of the processing has been performed. |
RealtimeParams= | set in the Params box alongside the Realtime Program box of Internet option of Configuration menu, Sites/Options tab in External Programs block. The corresponding 'parameters' for 'RealtimeProgram' used to specify any parameters to be passed to that command. |
IncludeSTDImages=1 | Set in the Internet option of Configuration menu of Cumulus 1 by the Include Standard Images at the top of Files Tab screen.
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ResizeGraphs=0 | Set in the Internet option of Configuration menu in Web graphs block.
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GraphHeight=300 | Graph height, default is 300 (pixels) - see previous parameter |
GraphWidth=750 | Graph width, default is 750 (pixels) - see ResizeGraphs parameter |
ImageFolder= | Set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by the Copy Images to folder at the bottom of Files Tab screen.
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ImageCopyRealtime=0 | Set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by the Realtime? at the bottom of Files Tab screen.
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IncludeSolarChart=0 | Set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by the Solar at the top of Files Tab screen.
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IncludeUVChart=0 | Set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by the UV at the top of Files Tab screen.
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IncludeSunshineChart=0 | Set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by the Sunshine at the top of Files Tab screen.
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ExtraLocalxx= | Where 'xx' varies between 0 and 99; used to specify path to local file that is to be optionally processed by Cumulus, then to be copied or FTPed to another location at interval indicated
You can use "<currentlogfile>" on its own to represent the name of the standard log file that is currently being used. For Cumulus 1, only 0 to 9 are set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by an entry in the Local column of the table on the Files Tab screen, 10 to 99 have to be inserted manually by adding parameter lines to the configuration file, they cannot be entered on any Configuration screen. |
ExtraRemotexx= | Where 'xx' varies between 0 and 99; used to specify path to remote file that is created by Cumulus, by being copied or FTPed from local location set above at interval indicated below.
You can use "<currentlogfile>" on its own to represent the name of the standard log file that is currently being used, or as part of another file specifier if you want a different destination file to be used each month (so those for previous months are not overwritten). For Cumulus 1, only 0 to 9 are set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by an entry in the Local column of the table on the Files Tab screen, 10 to 99 have to be inserted manually by adding parameter lines to the configuration file, they cannot be entered on any Configuration screen. |
ExtraProcessxx=0 | Where 'xx' varies between 0 and 99; used to specify if file named in ExtraLocal parameter is a template containing web tags and needs to be processed by Cumulus before it is copied or FTPed to remote location
For Cumulus 1, only 0 to 9 are set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by an entry in the Local column of the table on the Files Tab screen, 10 to 99 have to be inserted manually by adding parameter lines to the configuration file, they cannot be entered on any Configuration screen. |
ExtraBinaryxx=0 | Where 'xx' varies between 0 and 99; The format of the file named in Extra Local
For Cumulus 1, only 0 to 9 are set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by an entry in the Local column of the table on the Files Tab screen, 10 to 99 have to be inserted manually by adding parameter lines to the configuration file, they cannot be entered on any Configuration screen. |
ExtraFTPxx=1 | Where 'xx' varies between 0 and 99; whether the file upload is to use File Transfer process
For Cumulus 1, only 0 to 9 are set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by an entry in the Local column of the table on the Files Tab screen, 10 to 99 have to be inserted manually by adding parameter lines to the configuration file, they cannot be entered on any Configuration screen. |
ExtraUTFxx= 0 | Where 'xx' varies between 0 and 99; whether the file is to treated as in UTF-8 (a format that supports a wider range of characters and therefore more languages than alternative). Note that the "binary" option mentioned earlier overrides this setting if that is set to 1.
For Cumulus 1, only 0 to 9 are set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by an entry in the Local column of the table on the Files Tab screen, 10 to 99 have to be inserted manually by adding parameter lines to the configuration file, they cannot be entered on any Configuration screen. |
ExtraRealtimexx=0 | Where 'xx' varies between 0 and 99; if the file named in ExtraLocal is to be uploaded at realtime interval (requires that interval to be enabled, and if FTP is to be used required FTP to be enabled at that interval (see earlier for those options in Cumulus 1 and MX section).
For Cumulus 1, only 0 to 9 are set in the Internet option of Configuration menu by an entry in the Local column of the table on the Files Tab screen, 10 to 99 have to be inserted manually by adding parameter lines to the configuration file, they cannot be entered on any Configuration screen. |
Section: Display
Set the majority of these parameters using Configuration menu and either Display or Colours screens as seen on link and indicated below. The exception is "TwelveHourClock", that parameter is set by clicking on the displayed time.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Display] | Section heading - the following parameters affect how the main screen looks. |
Heading=My Weather | Title Heading on the Main Screen. Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block |
SavePosition=0 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
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StartMinimised=0 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
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MinimizeToTray=0 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
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ForecastCentred=0 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
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FontColour=4227327 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the screen font color |
BackColour=12632256 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the application background color |
HeadingColour=10485760 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the screen heading color |
ClockDigitColour=4227327 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the figures on clock in top right corner of main screen |
ClockColour=16777201 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the main screen clock background color |
TwelveHourClock=0 | Set by left click on clock on main screen
|
WMR928Channel1Caption=Extra channel 1 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen WMR928 extra channel captions block. Note that the extra channel data for WMR928 stations is only displayed on the main screen if Display solar/extra data is Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block (see previous parameter). This parameter defines the caption to be used when Cumulus reads observations from the extra sensor. |
WMR928Channel2Caption=Extra channel 2 | See previous parameter. |
WMR928Channel3Caption=Extra channel 3 | See 'WMR928Channel1Caption=Extra channel 1' parameter |
SnowUnitText=cm | Set in Snow units box in the Display Configuration Screen General block. Default is cm.
This allows you to set the text that appears with the snow depth in the weather diary. Note that there is no significance attached to this and the effect is purely cosmetic; the snow depth is effectively unitless and you can supply any text you wish, remember all snow depth observations must be entered as an integer (without any decimal part)! |
DisplayCloudBase=0 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
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DisplayHumidex=0 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
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DisplaySolarData=0 | Set by Display solar/extra data item in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
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DisplayStormRain=0 | Set by Display 'Storm Rain' item in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
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ShowCurrentConditions=0 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
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LegendSymbolWidth=3 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen Graph block. The width of the plot lines in graph legends |
ChartLineWidth=2 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen Graph block. The width of the plot lines in the graph body |
WindGaugeRange=50 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block. Value represents the default full scale deflection of the top of the 3 wind plots in the wind speed units you have selected. Default value is 50 in that unit. |
WindGaugeArcColour=16773091 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeAnimated=1 | Set by Wind gauge animated item in the Display Configuration Screen General block. Animate the Wind Gauge pointer movement
|
WindGaugeAnimationFactor=2
Set in the Display Configuration Screen. This sets the speed of the wind gauge animation. Lower values correspond to a faster animation speed. Be careful not to set the animation too slow, particularly with stations which update frequently (e.g. Davis) as the animation will never catch up, and will use significant CPU time. | |
WindGaugeTickColour=9841920 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeFontColour=9841920 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeInnerCircleColour=16765615 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeNeedleColour=128 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeInnerCentreColourFrom=16765615 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeInnerCentreColourTo=16765615 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeOuterCentreColourFrom=16765357 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeOuterCentreColourTo=16711680 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeOuterCircleColour=16765615 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeOuterRimColour=9470064 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeAverageSectorColour=32768 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugePeakSectorColour=33023
Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots | |
WindGaugeNeedleShineColourFrom=1049273 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
WindGaugeNeedleShineColourTo=328090 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots |
CompassColour=12632256 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots |
CompassTickColour=16711680 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots |
CompassLabelColour=16777215 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots |
CompassBearingColour=0 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots |
CompassCurrentPointerColour=255 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots |
CompassAveragePointerColour=16711680 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots |
WindRoseColour=8388608 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the wind rose shading that represents duration and intensity of wind in different directions |
WindRoseLabelColour=0 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the wind rose compass points |
WindRoseAxesColour=8388608 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the circle and radii of lower of the 3 wind plots |
WindRoseTransparency=50 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. |
NumWindRosePoints=16 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen Graphs block
The number of points to plot on the Wind Rose diagram (choose 8 for Fine Offset stations) |
TransparentGauges=0
Set by Transparent gauge backgrounds item in the Display Configuration Screen General block. The square backgrounds of the three wind gauges on the Cumulus main screen
| |
TransparentGraphs=0 | Set by Transparent graph backgrounds item in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
This only works if the graphs are defined to have a solid colour as background (gradient is not selected on colours configuration screen).
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LogFTPErrors=1 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
|
DigitBackground=0 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the colour to be used for background to displayed observations on main screen |
LabelColour=0 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the Parameter labels on main screen - default black. Note alarm conditions can change label colour (see next 2 parameters). |
AlarmColour=255 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the Parameter labels on main screen - default red - when an alarm is set for that parameter |
PastAlarmColour=16711680 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the Parameter labels on main screen - default blue - when an alarm is cleared for that parameter |
PanelHeadingFontColour=0 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the heading at the top of each panel with observations |
PanelLineColour=0 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the heading at the top of each panel with observations |
PanelBorderColour=8421504 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the edging of each panel with observations |
PanelGradientColourFrom=16777215 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the panel background |
PanelGradientColourTo=13226453 | Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the panel background |
DisplayBeaufortDesc=1 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
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DisplayBarometerTrendText=1 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
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UpdateAtStartup=1 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
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IndependentGraphsWindow=0 | Set in the Display Configuration Screen Graphs block
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Section: Solar
Set mostly in solar block at foot of Station Settings screen in Configuration menu.
Section: Graphs
In Cumulus 1, in Configuration menu, select either Display (Graphs block) or Colours screens for most options. Set the colours of the data lines on graphs/charts. Select whether to plot particular data by using View menu and Graphs option, then right click over the relevant graph. Set the SAG colours and axis position by using View menu and Select-A-Graph option, the settings for different observations are at the foot of the screen.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Graphs] | Section Name - the following parameters relate to your graph settings |
GraphHours=12 | The number of hours data to be displayed in temperature (outdoor, heat index, wind chill, dewpoint and apparent temperature), humidity, rainfall rate, rainfall, pressure, solar radiation, UV index, wind speed and wind direction graphs.
You can enter any multiple of 12 from the Display Settings Screen, and you can also edit cumulus.ini and set this item to any other value. But note that setting it to a non-standard value is unsupported (i.e. if it causes problems, I probably won't fix them) and if you change any display settings, the value will get reset to a supported value (so you'll need to edit cumulus.ini again). |
ChartMaxDays=7 | How many days of values to plot on the daily min/average/max temperature, daily sunshine, and daily rain charts (default=7) |
TempVisible=1 | Select whether to plot the outside air temperature on the temperature graph. MX from v3.7.0
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HIVisible=0 | Select whether to plot the heat index on the temperature graph. MX from v3.7.0
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DPVisible=1 | Select whether to plot the dewpoint values on the temperature graph. MX from v3.7.0
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WCVisible=1 | Select whether to plot the wind chill values on the temperature graph. MX from v3.7.0
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AppTempVisible=1 | Select whether to plot the apparent temperature values on the temperature graph. MX from v3.7.0
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InHumVisible=1 | Select whether to plot the indoor humidity values on the humidity graph. MX from v3.7.0
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OutHumVisible=1 | Select whether to plot the outdoor humidity values on the humidity graph. MX from v3.7.0
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Background=12632256 | Decimal value for the Graph and Chart background colour. |
WindColour=65535 | Decimal value for the 10 minute average wind speed plot colour |
GustColour=8421376 | Decimal value for the Wind Gust plot colour |
RainColour=9527753 | Decimal value for the Rain plot colour |
RainTodayColour=9527753 | Decimal value for the Rain Today plot colour |
TempColour=9527753 | Decimal value for the Outside Temperature plot colour |
HeatIndexColour=16711680 | Decimal value for the Heat Index plot colour |
AppTempColour=8388736 | Decimal value for the Apparent Temperature plot colour |
PressColour=9527753 | Decimal value for the Pressure plot colour |
WindDirColour=255 | Decimal value for the Wind Direction plot colour |
DewPointColour=255 | Decimal value for the Dew Point plot colour |
WindChillColour=32768 | Decimal value for the Wind Chill plot colour |
MinTempColour=16711680 | Decimal value for the Minimum Temperature chart plot colour |
MaxTempColour=255 | Decimal value for the Maximum Temperature chart plot colour |
AvgTempColour=32768 | Decimal value for the Average Temperature chart plot colour |
DailyRainColour=32768 | Decimal value for the Daily Rain chart plot colour |
InsideTempColour=0 | Decimal value for the Inside Temperature plot colour |
InsideHumColour=255 | Decimal value for the Inside Humidity plot colour |
OutsideHumColour=16711680 | Decimal value for the Outside Humidity plot colour |
Graph3D=0 | 3D or normal graph selection as selected in the Display Configuration Graphs block
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PlotLatestGust=0 | Plot Latest Gust selection as selected in the Display Configuration Graphs block
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OriginIsSouth=0 | Wind Direction Graph Y Axis origin
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ShowFreezingLine=0 | Draw a horizontal line on the temperature graph at 0°C/32°F |
GraphGradientEnabled=0 | Use gradient shading on the graph background
The next two parameters are used to determine how the shading is applied |
GradientStart=12632256 | |
GradientMiddle=16777215 | |
GradientEnd=8421504 | |
SAGintempcolour=32768 | (Select-A-Graph) This parameter and all those below control colours for plots in this functionality |
SAGouttempcolour=255 | |
SAGpressurecolour=16711680 | |
SAGraintotalcolour=8388608 | |
SAGrainratecolour=16776960 | |
SAGgustcolour=16711935 | |
SAGpeakgustcolour=65280 | |
SAGspeedcolour=8388736 | |
SAGinhumcolour=32896 | |
SAGouthumcolour=8388608 | |
SAGheatindexcolour=128 | |
SAGwindchillcolour=8421504 | |
SAGwinddircolour=0 | |
SAGdewpointcolour=8421376 | |
SAGsolarradcolour=65535 | |
SAGmaxsolarradcolour=16711935 | |
SAGapptempcolour=0 | |
SAGuvindexcolour=65280 | |
SAGintempaxis=L | (Select-A-Graph) |
SAGouttempaxis=L | |
SAGpressureaxis=L | |
SAGraintotalaxis=L | |
SAGrainrateaxis=L | |
SAGgustaxis=L | |
SAGpeakgustaxis=L | |
SAGspeedaxis=L | |
SAGinhumaxis=L | |
SAGouthumaxis=L | |
SAGheatindexaxis=L | |
SAGwindchillaxis=L | |
SAGwinddiraxis=L | |
SAGdewpointaxis=L | |
SAGsolarradaxis=L | |
SAGmaxsolarradaxis=L | |
SAGapptempaxis=L | |
SAGuvindexaxis=L | |
SAG3D=0 | |
SAGgradientback=0 | |
SAGleftgrid=1 | |
SAGrightgrid=1 |
Section: Alarms
Set these using the Edit menu, Alarms screen. The default path and file is \Cumulus\alert.wav for all the file parameters. (Previously this article incorrectly showed "C:\Program Files\Cumulus\alert.wav" for some, but that was wrong as Cumulus should not be installed there)
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Alarms] | Section Name - the following parameters relate to your alarm settings |
alarmlowtemp=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
|
LowTempAlarmSet=0 | Setting for low temperature alarm point (degrees) |
LowTempAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
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LowTempAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name of sound file for Low Temperature alarm |
alarmhightemp=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
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HighTempAlarmSet=0 | Degrees above which alarm will occur. |
HighTempAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
|
HighTempAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name of sound file for High Temperature alarm |
alarmlowpress=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen |
LowPressAlarmSet=0 | Pressure below which you wish Low Pressure alarm to occur |
LowPressAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
|
LowPressAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name for sound file to play for Low Pressure Alarm |
alarmhighpress=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
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HighPressAlarmSet=0 | Pressure above which you wish High Pressure alarm to occur |
HighPressAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
|
HighPressAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Pressure Alarm |
alarmhighraintoday=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
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HighRainTodayAlarmSet=0 | Rain level above which alarm to occur |
HighRainTodayAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
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HighRainTodayAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Rain Today Alarm |
alarmhighrainrate=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
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HighRainRateAlarmSet=0 | Rain rate above which you wish alarm to occur |
HighRainRateAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
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HighRainRateAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Rain Rate Alarm |
alarmhighgust=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
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HighGustAlarmSet=0 | Gust speed above which you wish alarm to occur |
HighGustAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
|
HighGustAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Gust Alarm |
alarmhighwind=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
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HighWindAlarmSet=0 | Average Wind speed above which alarm to occur |
HighWindAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
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HighWindAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Wind Alarm |
SensorAlarmSet=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
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SensorAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
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SensorAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name for the sound file used for the Sensor Contact lost Alarm |
alarmtempchange=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
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TempChangeAlarmSet=0 | Temperature change value to trigger the alarm |
TempChangeAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
|
TempChangeAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name for the sound file used for the Temperature Change Alarm |
alarmpresschange=0 | Select in Edit Alarms Screen
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PressChangeAlarmSet=0 | Pressure change value to trigger the alarm |
PressChangeAlarmSound=0 | Alarm Action
|
PressChangeAlarmSoundFile= | Path and file name for the sound file used for the Pressure Change Alarm |
Sections dealing with interfaces to external sites
Section: WUnderground
Available from version 1.1 (17 Feb 2004)
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Wunderground] | Section Name - Parameters for your Weather Underground site |
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab | |
ID= | Your Weather Underground station identifier (note: not your user name). |
Password= | Your Weather Underground password. (note: not encrypted) |
Enabled=0 | Set if you wish to upload to your Weather Underground site
|
RapidFire=0 | 'rapid fire' mode.
|
Interval=15 | Time in minutes between uploads to Weather Underground. (default = 15) |
SendUV=0 | Current UV value
|
SendSR=0 | Solar Radiation
|
SendAverage=0 | Causes average wind speed and directon to be sent rather than instantaneous/gust speed and direction.
|
CatchUp=1 | If possible send missing historic data to the server on startup
|
Set by editing this section of cumulus.ini with Cumulus stopped (from build 1095) | |
SendSoilTemp1=0 | Soil Temperature 1
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SendSoilTemp2=0 | Soil Temperature 2
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SendSoilTemp3=0 | Soil Temperature 3
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SendSoilTemp4=0 | Soil Temperature 4
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SendSoilMoisture1=0 | Soil Moisture 1
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SendSoilMoisture2=0 | Soil Moisture 2
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SendSoilMoisture3=0 | Soil Moisture 3
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SendSoilMoisture4=0 | Soil Moisture 4
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SendLeafWetness1=0 | Leaf Wetness 1
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SendLeafWetness2=0 | Leaf Wetness 2
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Section: Twitter
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Twitter] | Section Name - the following parameters relate to your Twitter site parameters |
User= | your Twitter login username |
Password= | your Twitter login password (note: this is not encrypted) |
Enabled=0 | Set in Internet Configuration Screen Twitter block
|
Interval=60 | interval in minutes that Tweats will be sent. |
OauthToken= | Twitter inserted authentication token parameter - you can delete this line with Cumulus stopped |
OauthTokenSecret= | Twitter inserted authentication token parameter - you can delete this line with Cumulus stopped |
Section: PWSweather
Support for PWS Weather/WeatherForYou/HAMweather was added in version 1.7.16 1st September 2008; set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[PWSweather] | Section Name - the following parameters relate to your PWS weather site parameters |
ID= | Your PWS Weather station identifier (note: not your user name) |
Password= | your PWS weather site login password (note: this is not encrypted) |
Enabled=0 | Select in Internet Configuration Screen PWS Weather block
|
Interval=15 | Interval in minutes that updates will be sent to your PWS weather site |
SendUV=0 | Current Ultra Violet level
|
SendSR=0 | Solar Radiation level
|
CatchUp=1 | If possible send missing historic data to the server on startup
|
Section: APRS
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[APRS] | Section Name - the following parameters relate to your APRS weather site parameters |
ID= | Your APRS identifier |
pass=-1 | your APRS password (Note: not encrypted) |
server=cwop.aprs.net | The APRS server to use |
port=14580 | The port number to use on the APRS server. |
Enabled=0 | Select in Internet Configuration Screen APRS Settings block |
Interval=9 | Time in minutes between uploads to the APRS server |
APRSHumidityCutoff=1 | For Oregon Scientific, so it doesn't report humidity to APRS when the temperature is below -10°C |
SendSR=0 | Solar Radiation level
|
Section: WOW
Added in version 1.9.2. All set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[WOW] | Section Name - the following parameters relate to your WOW weather site parameters |
ID= | Your WOW station ID |
Password= | your WOW password (Note: not encrypted) |
Enabled=1 | Updates enabled/disabled |
Interval=15 | Time in minutes between uploads to the WOW server |
SendUV=0 | Current Ultra Violet level
|
SendSR=0 | Solar Radiation level
|
CatchUp=1 | If possible send missing historic data to the WOW server on startup
|
Section: Weatherbug
The weatherbug upload service ceased in 2017.
This functionality was added in version 1.9.2. For cumulus 1 these parameters were set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab.
The notes below are therefore only included for historical reasons to help people understand entries in old Cumulus.ini files but these settings are ignored.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[Weatherbug] | Section Name - the following parameters relate to your Weatherbug weather site parameters |
ID= | Your Weatherbug station ID |
Password= | your Weatherbug password (Note: not encrypted) |
Enabled=1 | Updates enabled/disabled |
Interval=15 | Time in minutes between uploads to the Weatherbug server |
SendUV=0 | Current Ultra Violet level
|
SendSR=0 | Solar Radiation level
|
CatchUp=1 | If possible send missing historic data to the server on startup
|
Section: xAP
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
---|---|
[xAP] | Section Name |
Enabled=0 | When set, Cumulus will periodically send out xAP weather reports. See http://www.xapautomation.org/ for more details
|
UID=4375 | Sets the UID for xAP messages. You should only need to change this if you have more than one instance of Cumulus running on a network. |
Port=3639 | IP port your computer uses to send data to xAP |
Section: NOAA
All these can be set in the NOAA Setup Screen in Configuration menu.
You might select to close Cumulus, and edit the 'NOAATempNorm[Jan-Dec]' and 'NOAARainNorm[Jan-Dec]' parameters by using a external editor to manipulate into required format, copy, and paste, the values from another source (as there are a lot of figures to type in).
Please note: because this section of Cumulus.ini uses date formatting parameters, you are advised to read Reports_folder#NOAA_style_Report_Naming.
Parameter Line Entry | Function |
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[NOAA] | Section Name - the following parameters are set from the NOAA Setup dialog in Cumulus |
Name= | Your NOAA Station name |
City= | NOAA location city |
State= | NOAA location state/county/province or the equivalent in your nation |
12hourformat=0 | Use 12 or 24 hour time format in the reports
|
HeatingThreshold=65 | The base temperature which is to be used to calculate heating demand as heating degree days. The default is 65 degrees if you use Fahrenheit scale or 18.3 degrees if you use Celsius. The value you type on the NOAA Setup Screen is entered in the units that you have selected for temperature. Degree days are calculated on a minute-by-minute basis and the totals for each day are stored in dayfile.txt. Changes to the threshold values cannot therefore apply retrospectively. But, if the dayfile.txt entry doesn't have the degree days in it, then it uses the day's average temperature to produce a 'simplified' heating or cooling degree days figure (but obviously never both at the same time) and in that case it does use the current threshold settings. |
CoolingThreshold=65 | The base temperature which is to be used to calculate chilling demand as cooling degree days. The default is 65 degrees if you use Fahrenheit scale or 18.3 degrees if you use Celsius. The value you type on the NOAA Setup Screen is entered in the units that you have selected for temperature. Degree days are calculated on a minute-by-minute basis and the totals for each day are stored in dayfile.txt. Changes to the threshold values cannot therefore apply retrospectively. But, if the dayfile.txt entry doesn't have the degree days in it, then it uses the day's average temperature to produce a 'simplified' heating or cooling degree days figure (but obviously never both at the same time) and in that case it does use the current threshold settings. |
MaxTempComp1=27 | The value used in the reports for the counts of days with max temperatures above the specified temperature. |
MaxTempComp2=27 | The value used in the reports for the counts of days with max temperatures below the specified temperature. |
MinTempComp1=0 | The value used in the reports for the counts of days with min temperatures below the specified temperature. |
MinTempComp2=-18 | The value used in the reports for the counts of days with min temperatures below the specified temperature. |
RainComp1=0.2 | The value used in the reports for the counts of days with rain totals greater than (or equal to) the specified amount. |
RainComp2=2 | The value used in the reports for the counts of days with rain totals greater than (or equal to) the specified amount. |
RainComp3=20 | The value used in the reports for the counts of days with rain totals greater than (or equal to) the specified amount. |
AutoSave=0 | If set, when Cumulus does the end of day reset, it will auto create NOAA-style reports for the month and year corresponding to the day which has just ended. |
NOAAUseUTF8=0 | (Added in Cumulus 1.9.4 beta build 1078) Specifies the 'Character set' in which NOAA reports are generated whether automatically (by Cumulus just after rollover) or manually (by selecting Save in NOAA Monthly/Annual Reports screen within Edit menu).
|
AutoFTP=0 | If set, when Cumulus does the first FTP upload after the daily reset, it will also upload the latest auto-created monthly and yearly NOAA-style reports. Note that you must already have regular (non-realtime) FTP configured. |
MonthFileFormat="NOAAMO"MMyy".txt" | Defines the format of the filename used for the monthly reports, using date formatting characters (see Webtags#Time.2FDate_.27format.27_Parameter). For Cumulus 1, the two digit month can be represented by 'mm', but as 'mm' represents minutes in MX, MX (recent versions) changes any 'mm' it finds into 'MM'. The default uses a 2 digit number for the month, but you may prefer the full month name or an abbreviation in your language. Note that any characters which are not date formatting characters should be in double quotes. |
YearFileFormat="NOAAYR"yyyy".txt" | Defines the format of the filename used for the yearly reports, using date formatting characters (see Webtags#Time.2FDate_.27format.27_Parameter). Note that any characters which are not date formatting characters should be in double quotes. |
FTPDirectory= | The FTP directory into which Cumulus will attempt to upload the latest NOAA-style reports. You must give the full path from the point of login, and do not supply a trailing 'slash'. Note that the directory must actually exist on the server. |
These 'climatic normal' values are set from the NOAA Setup dialog in Cumulus, but could be set up by processing information in a spreadsheet | |
NOAATempNorm[Jan-Dec]=-1000 | Long term temperature averages for each month, used for 'departure from the norm' calculations. '-1000' is used to represent Null, a parameter that has not yet been set |
NOAARainNorm[Jan-Dec]=-1000 | Long term rainfall averages for each month, used for 'departure from the norm' calculations. '-1000' is used to represent Null, a parameter that has not yet been set |
Proxies
Cumulus 1.9.4 beta build 1061 introduces these. Currently, see this forum topic for initial request and for further discussion.
It was planned for these parameters to be described here when 1.9.4 becomes a full release, however it appears this HTTP proxy feature was never tested, and apparently stayed in beta when the rest of 1.9.4 was formally released.
HTTPProxyName=
HTTPProxyPort=
HTTPProxyUser=
HTTPProxyPassword=