Encore Pro download frequency

[michaelho]

I have just got my card reader and downloaded several months (3) of data to encore pro. How often do most people download? Once a week? daily? monthly?

[Sleepdeprived]

[quote="michaelho"]I have just got my card reader and downloaded several months (3) of data to encore pro. How often do most people download? Once a week? daily? monthly?

[Nodzy]

Michael,

It varies. Many download daily and closely monitor their stats. Some download once a week and closely monitor their stats. Others do it less frequently. The card is claimed to hold about six (6) months of data, and then FIFO... first in... first out -- oldest data day bumped to make room for the newest data day. Currently, my card contains cumulative data from 2007-09-28.

Be aware, as spoken about in many threads here, Encore Pro and Encore Viewer occasionally show a day or two of some level of "no therapy data" or "an incomplete array of therapy data" for a day or two. I have experienced the problem in several versions, as others have.

The problem appears to be firmware related, but could be a combination of things. Respironics has chosen to remain silent about the issue(s). Or, they deny a bug exists.

Many people download the data weekly (or more often) and erase the card to thwart the problem of a day or two of missing data every so often. To me, that is unacceptable, erasing the card after just a few days of data input onto it. It defeats the claimed purpose and parameters of the design of the data acquisition system on the machines.

Hint: Backup your card data by using a free app from http://mycpap.org called Card Utility. It's simple - saves the data to a .bin file you can rename - allows reformatting the card - and allows rewriting a saved .bin file of data back onto a card.

Good luck

Nodzy

[mindy]

Please note that there are 2 different types of data and how much data the card can hold is different for the 2 types.

"Compliance" data shows how many hours you used the machine on each date (and when you skipped) and it stays on the card along with a summary of your stats since you started.

The Smartcard can only hold a limited number of "sessions" of "Detail" data which shows up in the EncorePro report as a one-page set of graphs for each session (a day can have more than 1 session). I believe it's around 7 sessions. If you don't download at least every N sessions, you will have lost detailed data forever.

The summary data is, IMHO, insufficient to use to monitor therapy.

I try to download once or preferably twice a week to minimize the risk of losing data. It boils down to whether or not you want the detailed stuff.

Mindy

[Nodzy]

Mindy and SleepDeprived,

Good points.

Summary Data, though, is very useful to hand to a doctor or RT, because that's all they appear to ever care about anyway.

I save from each daily download a .pdf of Summary Data and one of Full Details. Should I need or want to hand a doc or RT a particular single day of Full Details, Encore Pro allows me to select that day from anywhere in the SQL database Interactions List and print the older therapy day of full details.

Too, I download daily because of multiple chronic health issues, and seeking patterns in how and why I react well to PAP therapy on most nights and not on others.

As for the number of sessions per day -- if memory serves me, it's three (3) sessions per day, according to Respironics literature.

Nodzy

[mindy]

Hi Nodzy,

Yes, your system makes sense. I thought that Michaelho's question indicated that perhaps he wasn't aware of the difference between the summary data and detail data. If, as he asked, he were to download less than weekly, he would lose much valuable data, IMHO.

Mindy

[Nodzy]

Ahhhhhhh... IMHO... I overstated. But caffeine gets the blame today.

Nodzy

[mindy]

Nothing to blame, Nodzy .... I thought you made some excellent points and provided good ideas for managing the data!

Sorry if it came across otherwise.

m

[GumbyCT]

I have just got my card reader and downloaded several months (3) of data to encore pro. How often do most people download? Once a week? daily? monthly?

For a different approach - what fits YOUR schedule? What is it YOU would like to do?

[mindy]

Hi Gumby .... if he downloads less than once a week, he will miss lots of detail data. We can certainly choose to do that ... IMHO it's best if we know all the implications.

m

[Nodzy]

Right-ON, Mindy.... cheers to knowledge and using it wisely.

Hmmm.... I was in no way offended. <G>... Factually, I'm here learning and churning info like most others.

Nodzy

[deerslayer]

i seem to be downloading every day lately, but thats only because i'm obsessed & pleased w/ the data,lol.

• Nodzy, thanks for that utility link! but now i have a ? the utility asks would you like to format the card now -ARE YOU SURE ? what does it do? ...don't want to click the wrong thing,lol

[Wulfman]

i seem to be downloading every day lately, but thats only because i'm obsessed & pleased w/ the data,lol.

• Nodzy, thanks for that utility link! but now i have a ? the utility asks would you like to format the card now -ARE YOU SURE ? what does it do? ...don't want to click the wrong thing,lol

It zaps ALL of the data off of your card. If you have the 2 missing nights glitch, you would probably want to do that......your data has already been downloaded to the database (if you have Encore Pro) and is already "stored".

Den (downloads daily)

[RipVW]

I download daily as well, just because my "inquiring mind wants to know."

[Regie]

I download daily as well, just because my "inquiring mind wants to know."

I do too. I have Encore Viewer and when I try to get data for the night just finished I don't get anything or if I get anything at all it is for the first part of the night until I turn it off the first time - for instance at 2:30AM to go to the bathroom. If I start it up again at 2:39AM then I don't get from that time on. So, it seems that I won't be able to get last nights until tomorrow?

This stuff can get very confusing.

Regie