@Timbones does you script handle missing data? Does recover missing data when it appears?
If so, can we see a copy?
Do you mean that a whole day can be missing from the data, and turn up later after other days have been received? Iāve not seen that happen yet, so havenāt accommodated for it. Is this a common issue with smart meters?
The naive approach is to always download a weekās worth of data, and rebuild the cumulative feed from a week ago. Any missing days will get slotted in when they (hopefully) appear.
Iām currently writing directly to MySQL tables, so I need to rewrite my script to use more conventional bulk feed updates. Iāll be happy to share it once thatās doneā¦
Not that often, but it does happen. I lost a couple of days worth of data a month or so back.
Judging by the moaning on the Octopus forum, Iād say it happen a lot more than people think, but itās only people like us who notice.
If you add the data to EmonCMS with the timestamp, and you pull in all (or at least covering your gap) the data not just the new data, it will simply overwrite the data that is there (with the same timestamp) so filling in the gaps.
Are you aware of @TrystanLea Agile App that does this?
I have only just got my smart meters up and running properly, but I still need to leave the garage door open sometimes for the WAN to connect properly I really need to get the data scripts working again as my meter numbers have changed.
What HAN arrangements do you have? Just standard, or have you had any contact with Alt HAN people? I gather theyāre supposed to be operating now to fix problems?
Dual Band meters now fitted, and these seem to be fine now on HAN (as Octopus IHD works fine). Initial issue was the Gas Meter would not talk to the CH.
Overall the issue is that I live in a Faraday cage (to all intents and purposes). The house has a ātea cosyā of thick foil backed PIR insulation. The meters are in the garage, and the doors (although thick insulated aluminium panels) do probably provide the path of least resistance for the RF signals.
The CH was moved such that it is at 90Ā° to the doors (is was round a corner facing away - they have short flying leads to do this) and reception is much better. But having not had the garage open for a few days, the CH lost WAN comms (no data). This has now caught up.
I also have a Hildenbrand Glow IHD, but the installer failed to remove it from the CH before installing the new set of meters and CH, so it is bricked. Iām waiting on a new one.
If there was a means to fit a remote aerial to the CH, things would easily be solved!
Not heard of them.
There was a thread on the Octopus forum a while back -
Using coax cable -
So 17 cm of copper core exposed and tied to the security tab on the comm hub, then directing it over the left hand side of the hub (where the hub antenna is), and up into the loft (in its full protected sheath) and exposing 17 cm of core again pointing upwards in the loft has improved the reliability of the signal.
seemed to fix the issue?
First hit in google. https://althanco.com/
First hit in google.
But I had no reason to. I simply stated I hadnāt heard of them, not that I didnāt know how to find out if I wanted to.
That sounds interesting. Missed that. I have a load of Coax cable around so may try it
So 17 cm of copper core exposed and tied to the security tab on the comm hubā¦
Lee,
Would it be possible to get a picture of that?
Having been a Radio Amateur since 1968, antennas of all types are of interest to me.
THANKS!
@Bill.Thomson it wasnāt me who did it, but I can ask on the other forum?
I thought you might
Is the theory sound?
On the basis that antennas are bi-directional - yes.
Whatās been created is in effect a pair of antennas linked by the cable. Something picked up by one end and not by the other will travel along the cable and out the other end. How efficient the transfer is, I wouldnāt like to say.
Is the theory sound?
Antennas can be as simple as a dipole or as complex as someting like an aperture radiator
or an active array made from hundreds of elements.
Hereās an example of an active array:
This is Pave PAWS (Phased Array Warning System) in California. Operating at 450 MHz,
the beam is steered electrically, vice the old method of a rotating parabolic dish.
It was developed in 1980 to detect sea-launched ballistic missiles.
Antennas are black magic to many folks. Iāve seen some of my fellow radio amateurs load up things like a steel bridge, or a section of railroad track and operate quite sucessfully. The āsecretā to making something like that work is a good impedance match. Thatās where an antenna tuner comes into play.
But, I digressā¦ Yes! The principle is indeed sound.
but I can ask on the other forum?
Thatād be great!
On the basis that antennas are bi-directional
If Iām reading it correctly, it sounds as if youāre speaking of antenna reciprocity.
i.e what works for an antenna connected to a transmitter also works unchanged
for the same antenna connected to a receiver.
Bi-directional refers to the radiation pattern, which because of said reciprocity,
will be the same whether the antenna is connected to a transmitter or a receiver.
Not all antennas are bi-directional. Some are omni-directional, and some are uni-directional.
Whatās been created is in effect a pair of antennas linked by the cable.
It sounds as if the antenna Lee descibed is a coaxial dipole.
A bit of a different animal than a dipole made from wire.
Something picked up by one end and not by the other will travel along the cable and out the other end.
Depends on the length of the cable. e.g an unterminated quarter-wave section of transmission line,
(and from the description, it sounds as if thatās the case here) acts like an open. The high impedance will cause the signal to be reflected back to its source, causing a mismatch between the transmitter/receiver and the feedline. The result is reduced radiated signal strength for a transmitter and a receiver will see a lower signal level at its antenna port.
youāre speaking of antenna reciprocity.
Yep, youāre right. The word escaped me at the time. It was late here.
Whatās been created is in effect a pair of antennas linked by the cable.
After remembering your āloftā is essentially our āattic,ā Iād say yes, it does indeed sound like two monopoles connected via a length of feedline.
It was late here.
Been there and done that.
There was a thread on the Octopus forum a while back -
That link is only visible to octopus agile customers and thatās not a competitive tariff just now. What did it say?