I recently upgraded to v.4 from v.3.4 and I can't find the SMS module.
I'm using both SM4M and CSM1 to expand/backup old dataloggers (21x and CR10) memory.
Could it be that SMS is not part of the software package anymore?
You are correct Umalik, SMS is no longer in LoggerNet starting with v4. SMS is a stand alone utility and you can get the latest version from here:
http://www.campbellsci.com/19_1_9999_65
Regards,
Janet
Okay. I experienced that same problem, though I am running loggernet Admin4.1. I was able to determine you can add a storage module through setup and collect via the status screen.
However, I recently downloaded the SMS software and have been running it on a Windows 7 laptop to collect from storage modules in the field. However it seems to crash before collecting all of the data sometimes. I saved screen shots of the errors but will post the text here. Please let me know where to send the screen shots for diagnosis.
During collection:
" error Cannot connect to Storage Module (Address:1)
Modules available: 1 in file;56000bytes retrieved to C:*\*\*.dat"
This seems to happen before all data is collected, and happened at all 6 sites I visited.
After clicking OK on the error window:
"Cannot connect to Storage Module (Address: 1)
Modules Available: 1. "
After clicking OK in this window I try to disconnect (I was assuming I had all the data). After clicking on disconnect:
"Error disconnecting from datalogger. Datalogger may not be shut down properly"
Any clues on what might be causing this and what fix will cause it not to happen any more.
Thanks
The storage modules and SMS are old technology/software and unfortunately, do not run reliably on newer computers. Make sure you have the most recent download of SMS from our web site. If you are using a USB to serial cable, you may want to try using a different cable or a different computer.
SMS and the modules are very timing sensitive, and the USB to serial cables seem to disrupt this timing. In the SMS version that is on the web site, we tried to "tweak" the timing as best as possible, to be optimal with different hardware and software configurations, but still we have seen problems. In-house when we were doing testing, we had several laptops of the same model. We could use a USB to serial cable reliably on one computer and take that same cable to a different computer (but same model) and not be able to connect to the storage module.
The other option is to see if you have an older laptop that has a "real" serial port. (Though those are hard to come by these days).
Dana W.
Hi Dana,
It's interesting that I didn't have this problem with Loggernet 4 via status monitor. I guess I will stick with that technique.
I am using a USB to serial which we purchased from CSI. And the older laptops we have used have given up their lives due to extreme cold and rigorous conditions. The main problem is more likely the age and size of the logger storage. With more storage on the loggers we wouldn't need storage modules I suppose.
Thanks for your quick response.
Hi Dana,
It's interesting that I didn't have this problem with Loggernet 4 via status monitor. I guess I will stick with that technique.
I am using a USB to serial which we purchased from CSI. And the older laptops we have used have given up their lives due to extreme cold and rigorous conditions. The main problem is more likely the age and size of the logger storage. With more storage on the loggers we wouldn't need storage modules I suppose.
Thanks for your quick response.
I believe that Dana is saying that communications between SMs and the storage modules is very different than what we've become accustomed to with newer software and products. Timing is critical and the USB to serial conversion can skew or slew that timing. Comparing SMS with Status or Connect is not apples to apples.
Agreed.
The point is that I need to be able to reliably connect to storage modules in the field and SMS can not be relied upon for this.
Within LoggerNet Admin you can use setup to add a storage module to a station. By clicking on the storage module in the status screen and then clicking on the "collect" button at the top I am able to reliably retrieve the data from the storage module.
It's just a new, non-standard, method to describe to other technicians who sometimes collect data for me in the field.
Thanks
When you are using Loggernet you are then collecting data from the storage module which is connected to a datalogger?
When you say SMS does not work are you using the same option (which it supports) or are you using a directly connection to the storage module via a different interface?
I am connecting to the modules using the connect through logger option in SMS. I us a USB to serial cable that goes through a SC32B. The module is connected to the logger by a SC12 cable into which I plug the SC32B.
With regards to using a newer laptop for serial comms, I use a Startech EC1S232U adapter (It plugs into your express port) and it's been very reliable for me.