Devices and channels¶
How to look at one device's readings and history, change device and channel settings, and add new hubs and devices to a location.
Note
Changing devices, channels and hubs needs the location's modify role (see Roles and permissions). Without it you'll see, for example, "You do not have the appropriate role to edit devices."
A device's page¶
To open a device's page:
- on the location's Tables view, click the device's name, or
- click a status icon, then View Device Details in the Complete List of Issues.
The page has these sections:
| Section | Contents |
|---|---|
| Whisker.Block™ Alerts | Whether the device's alerts are Active, Snoozed or Active/Scheduled to Snooze; the Snooze Alerts button; and two tabs: Triggered Alerts (alerts active now, with Time Set and Value Set) and Alerts History (past alerts, with Time Cleared and Value Cleared) |
| Last Values | The latest reading of each channel. The gear on a channel opens Edit Channel |
| Consumption Historical | Usage by Year, Month or Day, for channels that measure consumption |
| Historic Values | Graphs of each channel for Today, This Month or Three Months, or from Interval Start to Interval End. Click Set to load |
Times marked (*) are in the device's local time.
The alerts section isn't shown for Modbus equipment. For snoozing, see Snoozing alerts; for alerts, see Creating and editing alerts.
Edit a device¶
Open Edit Device with the gear next to the device's name, at the top of its page or in the Configured Products tree.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name: | Must start with a letter and be at least 4 characters long |
| Serial Number: | The 8-character code on the device |
| Notes: | Anything worth knowing about the equipment. Drag the corner to make the box bigger |
| Include In Health Report? | Yes or No. Only shown if your account has the health report |
For smart controllers with attached Modbus equipment, the dialog also lists each Attached Equip with its Slave Id:, and Add/Remove Modbus Equipment changes the list.
Warning
Removing or replacing attached Modbus equipment loses that equipment's history.
Click Save. You'll see "Device settings changed!"
Edit a channel¶
Click the gear on a channel under Last Values on the device's page, or on the channel in the Configured Products tree. The Edit Channel dialog shows only the fields that apply to that channel:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name | The channel's name everywhere in the portal |
| Channel Active? / Slot Active? | Turns the channel on or off, on devices that allow it |
| Data Interval (Seconds): | How often the channel records, on pump history channels |
| Reading Low / Reading High | For on/off channels: the Label: and Color: shown for each state |
| Bit table | For register channels: each bit's Active, Mask, Invert, Name, High text, Low text, High color and Low color |
| Sensor Type / Calibration Type | What is connected, and how its signal becomes a reading |
| Gain: / Offset: | Scale and shift the raw reading: reading = raw × gain + offset |
| Gauge Min: / Gauge Max: | The range used for gauges |
| Units: | Shown after every reading, for example °F or PSI |
| Transform Values | Replace each raw value with another (X maps to:) |
| Chemical Name, Specific Gravity, Injection/Usage Target | For tank channels (see Tanks and flow meters) |
Click Save Changes. You'll see "Channel Successfully Edited!!!"
Tip
Changing Gain, Offset or a table changes readings from now on. Past readings are not recalculated.
Edit a hub¶
Click the gear on a Whisker.Hub™ in the Configured Products tree. The Edit Gateway dialog has:
- Name:
- Modbus: turns on the hub's Modbus functions. This costs extra: the dialog says "(Enabling SmartHub™ Modbus functionality will incur extra charges)". When it's on, Timeout: sets how many seconds (1 to 300) the hub keeps trying to carry out a command.
- The Gateway IP Config tab: Ethernet IP:, Name Server 1 IP:, Name Server 2 IP: and Gateway IP:.
- The Modbus Client tab: the Modbus points the hub reads.
Click Save Changes. You'll see "Gateway Successfully Edited!!!"
Add new equipment¶
New products are added in two steps: you tell Whisker.io what you have, then you set up each item.
1. Add the products¶
- On the location's page, click Add Product. (It's shown only if you can modify the location.)
- In Provision new Products:
- For a Starter Kit™, type the kit's serial number in Enter Kit Serial Number and click Add. Add as many kits as you have.
- For individual products, open the product's tab and set the quantity.
- Click Continue.
- For a kit, choose who receives the kit's first alerts: tick Use existing alert contact? and pick one, or enter a Name:, Email: and Phone:.
- Finish. You'll see "Your products are ready to be configured!"
The new products appear under Staged in the left panel.
2. Set up each item¶
Click an item under Staged.
The Configure New Whisker.Hub™ dialog asks for:
- Name:
- Serial Number: (8 characters)
- Security Key: (16 letters and numbers)
- SIM Number: (20 digits), for cellular hubs only. A cellular hub typically takes up to 24 hours to be activated.
The serial number and security key are on the hub's label. Click Save.
The Configure New Device dialog asks for the Name:, Serial Number: and Equipment Type:, then walks through each channel, then offers Initial Alerts you can turn on with a value, period and contacts. Click Next through each step, confirm, and Save.
To remove an item you added by mistake, click the × beside it under Staged and confirm.
Once a hub or device is set up, it moves into the Configured Products tree. Drag it onto the Map tab to show where it is (see Locations and HMIs).