Realtime.txt

Although not technically a 'log file' is is automatically produced by Cumulus and follows a similar format to the other Log files.

realtime.txt is a text file with a single line of space separated values. It contains a list of key values of the sensors and is updated frequently.

Using cumulus you decide how often to update the file -- for example every 15 seconds. This is then uploaded to your website and used to produce near instant readings.

To set how often the file is produced by Cumulus, click on the 'Configuration' menu then 'Internet' (Click the thumbnail opposite)

Notes:

• The realtime.txt file is NOT a log file and is constantly replaced. It does not therefore contain any historic data.
• The 'interval' sets how often Cumulus produces and uploads to the website

Bandwidth Considerations

In order to provide near real-time updates, Cumulus uploads a very small file at regular intervals. Typically this is 15 seconds buy depends on your setting above.

Most internet providers now place a limit on the amount of Bandwidth you can consume each month. Bandwidth is a figure representing the data you can upload and download. Doing such a regular upload will impact on your allowance.

The file Cumulus uploads is less than 1024 bytes in size, but for the calculation we will assume 1024 bytes

During a month (31 days) the upload process will consume roughly 175 Mbytes of bandwidth -- this is a tiny consideration as usually bandwidth restrictions from your provider start in the Gigabytes (Gb) range, not Megabytes (Mb).

On top of your internet connection bandwidth restrictions, you may also have bandwidth caps on your web server so this same figure should be considered for your webserver.

Where is the files used

The realtime.txt is used by:

• the 'gauges' page on the website produced by Cumulus
• CumulusRealtime -- the new application developed in SilverLight
• The WeatherConsole and Sidebar gadget addons

Format of the file

Field #	Example	Description
1	19/08/09	date (always dd/mm/yy)
2	16:03:45	time(always hh:mm:ss)
3	8.4	outside temperature
4	84	relative humidity
5	5.8	dewpoint
6	24.2	wind speed (average)
7	33.0	latest wind speed reading
8	261	wind bearing (degrees)
9	0.0	current rain rate (per hour)
10	1.0	rain today
11	999.7	barometer
12	W	wind direction
13	6	wind speed (beaufort)
14	km/h	wind units - m/s, mph, km/h, kts
15	C	temperature units - degree C, degree F
16	hPa	pressure units - MB, hPa, in
17	mm	rain units - mm, in
18	146.6	wind run (today)
19	+0.1	pressure trend value
20	85.2	monthly rainfall
21	588.4	yearly rainfall
22	11.6	yesterday's rainfall
23	20.3	inside temperature
24	57	inside humidity
25	3.6	wind chill
26	-0.7	temperature trend value
27	10.9	today's high temp
28	12:00	time of today's high temp (hh:mm)
29	7.8	today's low temp
30	14:41	time of today's low temp (hh:mm)
31	37.4	today's high wind speed (average)
32	14:38	time of today's high wind speed (average) (hh:mm)
33	44.0	today's high wind gust
34	14:28	time of today's high wind gust (hh:mm)
35	999.8	today's high pressure
36	16:01	time of today's high pressure (hh:mm)
37	998.4	today's low pressure
38	12:06	time of today's low pressure (hh:mm)
39	1.8.7	Cumulus version
40	819	Cumulus build number
41	36.0	10-minute high gust
42	10.3	heat index
43	10.5	humidex
44	13	UV Index
45	0.2	evapotranspiration today
46	14	solar radiation W/m2
47	260	10-minute average wind bearing (degrees)
48	2.3	rainfall last hour
49	3	The number of the current forecast as per strings.ini. If the forecast is not being provided by the station and not being generated by Cumulus a value of 0 (zero) is returned
50	1	Flag to indicate that the location of the station is currently in daylight (1 = yes, 0 = No)
51	1	If the station has lost contact with its remote sensors "Fine Offset only", a Flag number is given (1 = Yes, 0 = No)

Example of the file

(this is one complete line, although it may appear on this page as two or more due to screen width restrictions)

18/10/08 16:03:45 8.4 84 5.8 24.2 33.0 261 0.0 1.0 999.7 W 6 mph C mb mm 146.6 +0.1 85.2 588.4 11.6 20.3 57 3.6 -0.7 10.9 12:00 7.8 14:41 37.4 14:38 44.0 14:28 999.8 16:01 998.4 12:06 1.8.2 448 36.0 10.3 10.5 13 0.2 14 260 2.3 3 1 1