Time Change and Data Collection - PDT to PST

  • Sonarflash
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8 years 5 months ago #1527 by Sonarflash
Feedback please?
My computers are logging on a 24 hour clock base, but PDT or PST. This morning, we changed time from Pacific Daylight Saving to Pacific Standard. My computer changed automatically at 2:00 AM. But, my logging program doesn't show any change. Here's the problem-
My Excel file normally shows each minute of 1440 minutes after I download stored data from the Aware USB-MSP module. What to do with the extra hour of data that I have today?
Just to confuse the issue, I don't remember considering this problem last autumn, but this past spring, cheated by adding in an hour of random data from the previous days . to fill up the 1 hour gap the "spring ahead" created.

Tried Googling this with no success. What do scientists do with their data gaps during this time change? I'm guessing they stick to UTC and just ignore regional time changes?

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8 years 5 months ago - 8 years 5 months ago #1528 by W8HF
I once worked for a process automation company that served a steel mill. They insisted on setting their computers to local time so we had to add flags in the database to separate the overlapped data once a year. What a pain. That is why I just keep my machines set to UTC.

Of course being a ham radio operator I am accustomed to using UTC as you are often communicating across time zones.
Last edit: 8 years 5 months ago by W8HF.

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8 years 5 months ago #1530 by Juzzie
" What to do with the extra hour of data that I have today?" - save it 'till summer :lol:

Owner and operator of "southofhobart" monitoring stations.

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8 years 5 months ago #1535 by Bert490
One method used in video recorders in the fall is to keep the 'new' data under the 'old'. That is, reading the data going forward in time misses the 'additional' hour, but going backward (rewinding so to speak) shows the missing hour of data. That is I believe a flag-based system that depends on the viewing context.

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  • Sonarflash
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8 years 5 months ago #1536 by Sonarflash
Appreciate the feedback. I'm thinking the best suggestion thus far is to save the autumn hour and paste it into the following spring.
May not be scientific, but it works for me...
Grin

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