Local Logging Coherency

[chadm]

I would like to have the ability to reduce the messages in the local log to contain only:

• watering events
• discrete rain events (METAR, NOAA, local sensor)
• failure activities

Watering events seem well handled.
Discrete rain events:
After upgrading to the most recent software, and taking advantage of NOAA forecast triggering coupled with METAR and a local sensor, I am no longer able to determine what input is causing the current rain delay.

• I have rain delay set at 4 hours, METAR set at 5, NOAA set at 2 days 60%, rain sensor is a RainBird WR2 rain/freeze
  
• A previous rain event is cleared shortly after 11:00pm
  
• Rain started shortly after 12:00am.
  
• HF picked up METAR precipitation of 0.00"

Mon 05-12-2014 23:00:01 - Rain Delay Time Expired - Watering Schedules Resumed
Mon 05-12-2014 23:20:02 - METAR Data updated.
Mon 05-12-2014 23:20:03 - NOAA Forecast Data updated.
Tue 05-13-2014 00:00:00 - Run Time was Increase by 14% due to NOAA Temperature option for the following scheduled stations.
Tue 05-13-2014 00:00:02 - Program 1 Start Time A - Station 6 Added to scheduler with a run time of 00:11:24 (11 minutes 24 seconds)
Tue 05-13-2014 00:00:02 - Program 1 Start Time A - Station 7 Added to scheduler with a run time of 00:11:24 (11 minutes 24 seconds)
Tue 05-13-2014 00:00:02 - Program 1 Start Time A - Station 8 Added to scheduler with a run time of 00:11:24 (11 minutes 24 seconds)
Tue 05-13-2014 00:00:02 - Program 1 Start Time A - Station 9 Added to scheduler with a run time of 00:11:24 (11 minutes 24 seconds)
Tue 05-13-2014 00:00:02 - Turned Station 6 ON (Back - North 40)
Tue 05-13-2014 00:00:02 - Insteon Device 'Front Yard Landscape Lighting' Commanded to OFF state
Tue 05-13-2014 00:00:02 - Email task failed with a 0.0.0.0 POP3 Address and a Not Assigned SMTP Address - Aborting.
Tue 05-13-2014 00:11:26 - Turned Station 6 OFF (Back - North 40)
Tue 05-13-2014 00:11:27 - Turned Station 7 ON (Back - North 20)
Tue 05-13-2014 00:20:02 - Detected Precipitation of 0.00 inches in Last Hour in METAR Data (24 Hr Running Total is 0.46 inches).
Tue 05-13-2014 00:20:02 - Rain Delay Time Active - All running programs canceled
Tue 05-13-2014 00:20:02 - Turned Station 7 OFF (Back - North 20)
Tue 05-13-2014 00:20:02 - Program 1 completed execution

I never see the local rain sensor event being logged after the rain delay kicked in for the METAR detection (the WR2 has not dried out and still shows the event). I never see the NOAA event logged (it was 70% chance of rain over the evening).

Failure Activites:
I would like the ability to squelch the local logging (and syslog when implemented); excluding non-negative admin/software events would be very helpful. Examples of events that don't need to be logged:
Tue 05-13-2014 00:20:03 - METAR Data updated.
Tue 05-13-2014 00:20:04 - NOAA Forecast Data updated.
Tue 05-13-2014 03:42:15 - RTC before Update - 05-13-114 08:42:15, RTC after Update - 05-13-114 08:42:15
Tue 05-13-2014 03:42:15 - SNTP Server Callback - Updated System Time Successfully
Wed 05-14-2014 08:00:00 - Email task failed with a 0.0.0.0 POP3 Address and a Not Assigned SMTP Address - Aborting.

The first four entries above aren't needed; if any of them failed, definitely log it. The final entry is a failed email send when email has not been setup; if it hasn't been setup, the user doesn't appear to want to receive email. Of course, logging the event of a failed email send when email has been setup does make sense.

Positive watering and insteon events should not be included in the non-negative list.

[Support]

Thanks for the concise inputs for the logging. I agree we need to adjust the logging a bit to optimize and reduce non relative entries. We will look at doing that in a minor update to be released very soon.

As far as using syslog, this is something we can also implement for those advanced users who understand what that is and how to use it.

Thanks for all the good inputs!

[chadm]

Thank you for cleaning up the 'positive' logging in the last firmware drop. I see two items that are still in need of a scrub:

"Email task failed with a 0.0.0.0 POP3 Address and a Not Assigned SMTP Address - Aborting."
"Set up Local Time Zone Offset"

[chadm]

I had an additional rain event logging snafu in the last 24h. HF picked up the NOAA based forecast correctly at 8:00a on Sunday:

"Sun 05-25-2014 08:09:03 - NOAA Forecast Initiated Rain Delay Time Active based on POP threshold for Monday - All running programs canceled"

It began raining at 3:30p on Sunday, and continued to do so most of the evening and into Monday morning. At 3:55p on Sunday, enough rain had accumulated in the WR2 sensor to trip. HF reported the following when the rain sensor tripped:
"crickets chirping"

The HF was already in the rain delay cycle (set to 4h), so it appears to ignore the additional data provided by the local rain sensor. I believe a log entry is warranted when additional influential data (local rain sensor, METAR, wunderground future support) is presented, whether this influences the current running HF state or not.

[Support]

Thanks for the inputs. Yes the current logging does not log other rain delay events if the Rain Delay is already active. It should however reset the rain delay value to the value on the settings page if it is less than that value.

We will implement better logging of the rain delay triggers in the next release. Since there are a number of or'd rain delay events I agree it would be nice to know which one triggered and when.

Thanks again for your great inputs and helping make HydroFLASH a better product!