Non-destructive download procedure for MataBase?
When I download data from MetaTracker it erases the entire MetaTracker FIFO, so then the next person to come by is unable to access the prior-data. Also, the MetaTracker seems to interrupt logging whenever someone downloads data from it and that creates a gap in data collection. Are there any known workarounds for this? I understand the source code to MetaBase is not available do is there anything at all I can do do for this? Other devices such as InkBird have no trouble with these things but also they also don't have the requires sensors, which MetaTracker has.
Comments
@snovotill,
The MetaBase App behaves this way on purpose (as intended and coded, the internal memory of the sensor is cleared once a download finishes).
What you need in terms of functionality is available in our example Apps and APIs. I recommend starting with those: www.mbientlab.com/developers
The logger always clears logged data that has been downloaded to a host device. MetaBase also treats the log/download cycle as one session so it is intentional there would be gaps in successive sessions.
You're best bet is to build a customized app for your specific use case. You can use cloud services to access the downloaded data from other devices and log downloads can be done while the sensors are still recording data.
Okay good news overall though a little more complicated than I had hoped. The hardware is certainly excellent for long-term environmental monitoring. I believe the following functionality tweaks would make MetaTracker immediately more useful for those sorts of use-cases:
(1) Option for non-destructive download and for partial(most recent) download.
(2) Option for synchronous logging of temperature+humidity+light+pressure and
(3) All on the same time scale: minutes through hours to conserve flash memory.
(4) Option to dump all sensors into a single CSV file for practicality/convenience.
Why? Because it already "almost does that" and the use-cases for the above features are clear. The device would become usable in place of eg the Omega™ iBTHX and iTHX.
This is already available using our APIs: www.mbientlab.com/developers (and also note they are open source so you can change whatever the code is, in the manner you please)
I'm glad that this is a future option for me, however my request is regarding the official MetaBase app. I did find a MetaWare app in the dev area but it doesn't seem to allow setting of sample rates. This product is advertised as ready to use "out of the box" via MetaBase and there is even an official YouTube video showing MetaTracker being used to log environmentals for grocery delivery. Given the aforementioned endorsements and the fact that other bluetooth loggers on the market address this sort of functionality in one way or another, it seems that MetaBase may have a gap in basic of functionality for such applications. I'm sure that I'll cobble together some headless python or java script for this when I find time, but in the meantime I'd like to suggest that you could beneficially adjust your app for improved usbility.