Thanks for the insights Tom! The thought of corrupted data on the logger has also crossed my mind, but weewx builds a new database right past the problematic timestamp.
However, the old database file stops at 1772604000, which is March 4, 2026 at 12:00:00 AM CST, rather than March 8, 2026 03:00:00 AM CDT. The new database goes back to February 27, 2026 at 3:20:00 PM CST. As far as the logs are concerned, setting debug = 1, doesn't print any information on startup. I have restarted 5.3.1 several times w/o any output. The only thing in the /var/log/messages file are comm errors: Mar 8 23:48:18 mars weewxd[23459]: CRITICAL weewxd: Caught WeeWxIOError: LOOP max batch errors (3) exceeded. Mar 8 23:48:18 mars weewxd[23459]: CRITICAL weewxd: **** Waiting 60.0 seconds then retrying... Mar 9 00:00:04 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 00:05:03 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 27 instead Mar 9 00:05:23 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 00:38:47 mars syslogd: last message repeated 1 times Mar 9 00:39:05 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #2; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 00:56:51 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 01:13:05 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 62 instead Mar 9 01:29:04 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 01:47:53 mars syslogd: last message repeated 1 times Mar 9 02:03:13 mars syslogd: last message repeated 1 times Mar 9 02:03:59 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #2; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 02:37:24 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 02:38:00 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #2; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 03:28:44 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 03:29:38 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #2; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 03:29:48 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #3; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 03:29:48 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP max batch errors (3) exceeded. Mar 9 03:29:48 mars weewxd[23459]: CRITICAL weewxd: Caught WeeWxIOError: LOOP max batch errors (3) exceeded. Mar 9 03:29:48 mars weewxd[23459]: CRITICAL weewxd: **** Waiting 60.0 seconds then retrying... Mar 9 03:45:44 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 04:02:08 mars syslogd: last message repeated 1 times Mar 9 04:03:30 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #2; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 04:19:54 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 04:37:04 mars syslogd: last message repeated 1 times Mar 9 04:54:04 mars syslogd: last message repeated 1 times Mar 9 04:54:14 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #2; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 04:54:50 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #3; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 04:54:50 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP max batch errors (3) exceeded. Mar 9 04:54:50 mars weewxd[23459]: CRITICAL weewxd: Caught WeeWxIOError: LOOP max batch errors (3) exceeded. Mar 9 04:54:50 mars weewxd[23459]: CRITICAL weewxd: **** Waiting 60.0 seconds then retrying... Mar 9 05:27:20 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 05:27:38 mars weewxd[23459]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #2; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead Mar 9 05:45:06 mars weewxd[55633]: ERROR weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; got 0 instead I restarted weewxd toward the end of this timeframe. Nothing here. On Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 8:38:45 PM UTC-5 Tom Keffer wrote: > Your symptoms smell like corrupted data in your logger, but without the > logs, we cannot be sure. Humor me, set debug=1, restart weewxd, let it run > through the first reporting cycle, then post the logs. > > The database is not your problem. If it's working for you, there is no > reason to "upgrade" from the old schema to the new schema. It just offers > more types. > > On Sun, Mar 8, 2026 at 2:10 PM Marius Schamschula <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> I'm not sure what the log would tell you in this case. In the weewx.conf >> file for 4.10.1 had debug = 1 set. I have now also set that for the new >> install. I see nothing useful in the log file since I did that, i.e. no >> errors other than the ones I always see (e.g. ERROR >> weewx.drivers.vantage: LOOP batch try #1; error: Expected to read 99 chars; >> got 46 instead). It did show that an old cron job that was used to track >> the active tty caused multiple instances of weewx to run (FreeBSD changes >> the port from /dev/ttyU0 to /dev/ttyU1 or in reverse at random times). I >> commented that out in crontab to make sure only one instance is active. I >> tried one more time with the old .sdb file. Monitoring the /var/log/message >> file, I see no errors in the log. As before, the database doesn't update >> and a web page for 3:00 AM is rendered. >> >> As the same thing happens with both weewx 4.10.1 and 5.3.1, but a clean >> database file works correctly with 5.3.1, so there is no problem with the >> basic functionality of both FreeBSD packages and weewx. >> >> P.S. I'm leaving the root based install in place, as that is no different >> than what I was using for 4.10.1. No warnings of the sort: >> >> Installing collected packages: pyserial, ephem, pyusb, PyMySQL, CT3, weewx >> >> WARNING: The scripts pyserial-miniterm and pyserial-ports are installed >> in '/home/marius/.local/bin' which is not on PATH. >> >> Consider adding this directory to PATH or, if you prefer to suppress >> this warning, use --no-warn-script-location. >> >> WARNING: The scripts weectl and weewxd are installed in >> '/home/marius/.local/bin' which is not on PATH. >> >> Consider adding this directory to PATH or, if you prefer to suppress >> this warning, use --no-warn-script-location. >> >> when I installed as root. Of course, I've moved everything onto the ZFS >> array, rather than leaving it on the boot drive. >> >> BTW: What happened to $HOME/bin? That's already in the $PATH. >> >> In my experience some of the python version requirements are out of date >> or too strict, i.e. often you can ignore them and everything works >> correctly. >> >> And yes, the venv install installed a newer version of py311-pillow than >> the current one provided by FreeBSD ports. So much for the install >> instructions for FreeBSD! >> >> I now have to redo all the customization of the skin for both the private >> and public versions of the web site. It's been a while since I first did >> that so I have to rediscover what all needs to be edited. >> >> I still need to get my all old data back! >> >> I see that 5.3.1 uses an extended schema by default, while 4.10.1 was >> still using the old wview schema (yes, I did start out with wview). Could >> there be a problem with the database using the old schema? >> On Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 2:56:06 PM UTC-5 Vince Skahan wrote: >> >>> Sure. The other os have python libs they install at the system level >>> too. Run 'pip3 list --verbose' to see what's where. >>> >>> I'm personally ok with things installing as root. I just like not >>> 'running' as root whenever it can be avoided. >>> >>> FWIW - I have run into the problems venv solve quite a lot. Things >>> needing certain versions of a library (or minimum versions thereof) and the >>> os freezing to something lesser. Any RHEL-like system or LTS debian is a >>> good example. They go for many year stability and freeze to old versions. >>> The venv thing is a good way to not be limited by the os vendor's choices. >>> >>> On Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 12:45:33 PM UTC-7 Greg Troxel wrote: >>> >>>> Vince Skahan <[email protected]> writes: >>>> >>>> > You generally can't avoid venvs on a modern python on a current os. >>>> Nobody >>>> > here did that. The python project forced that on everybody. >>>> >>>> That's not strictly true. pkgsrc has packages for a vast number of >>>> py-foo all installed in the system site-packages, and it works fine. I >>>> am actually running weewx that way, with the weewx code in >>>> /usr/pkg/lib/python3.13/site-packages/weewx and so on. >>>> >>>> In my case, the weewx progarm files are owned by root and live in the >>>> system. I am running it in a data directory (with config file and >>>> database) that is owned by a non-root user. Stepping back from weewx >>>> and python, this is totally normal, to use installed programs with your >>>> own data. >>>> >>>> <rant> >>>> >>>> I find that venvs are required because python culture says it is ok to >>>> have requirements as foo==x.y.z, rather than foo>=x.y. Thus, there is >>>> no way to have everything needed installed, and python packages with >>>> unreasonably specific dependencies (Home Assistant) have to be in a >>>> venv >>>> for isolation. >>>> >>>> The root cause of pinned deps, besides people thinking it is ok, is API >>>> instability within modules. >>>> >>>> </rant> >>>> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "weewx-user" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/weewx-user/1e3e0173-f581-45cd-a954-d8ec514b558dn%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/weewx-user/1e3e0173-f581-45cd-a954-d8ec514b558dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "weewx-user" group. 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