Getting Newhaven NCI weather data

Newhaven NCI Weather machine

The old coastguard station at Newhaven, now run by the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) has a weather machine, producing reports to the internet. The current conditions can be viewed via the 'weather' menu on this web site. Any member equipped with a WAP-enabled mobile phone can also receive summarised data from the NCI station on their phone. To receive the reports, set up a bookmark on your mobile phone, in the form:
http://shgc.org.uk/php/newhaven.php?n=yourusername&p=yourpassword

replacing yourusername with the name that you use to sign on to the web site, and yourpassword with the exact password you use. The password is case-sensitive, the name is not. eg if you are 'John Smith', and you log in as 'JSmith', with a password of 'letMEin', then the bookmark should be set up as:
http://shgc.org.uk/php/newhaven.php?n=jsmith&p=letMEin

Go to your new bookmarked site, and you will see a display something like the following:

NEWHAVEN at 09:10 Fri Aug 1st
-90: 27-36mph,Gst39,SW(219-222°)
-75: 32-33mph,Gst40,SW(217-231°)
-60: 33-41mph,Gst42,SW(222-223°)
-45: 35-40mph,Gst46,SW(217-224°)
-30: 32-39mph,Gst44,SW(215-220°)
-15: 36-44mph,Gst46,SW(215-220°)
NOW: 41mph,Gst44,SW(221°) 1013Mb 17°C
Tides: 04:52(L), 11:00(H), 17:14(L), 23:16(H)

(You can see what it might look like on your phone, by entering the same URL in your web browser).

The title line indicates when the last data was received from the weather station. At the time of writing, the station oututs data every 5 minutes. The next lines show you the minimum and maximums in 15 minute periods, starting 90 minutes ago. Reports are in reverse order, ending up with the current conditions.

The first line of data above (-90: 27-36mph,Gst39,SW(219-222°)) shows that 90 minutes ago the wind varied from 27 to 36mph, and the maximum gust was 39mph. The direction at the end of the period was South West, and during that particular 15 minutes, the direction varied from 219 to 222 degrees. (NB The range does not indicate the trend, merely the minimum/maximum).

How much will it cost?

The only cost is your mobile phone company's rate for internet access. The data sent is very small, so it shouldn't cost you much at all, possibly less than a text message does.

Can I change the reporting periods?

Yes. To set the interval in minutes to 30, instead of 15, for example, add &i=30 to the URL in your bookmark, to produce the following:

NEWHAVEN at 09:20 Fri Aug 1st
-180: 26-34mph,Gst42,SW(215-225°)
-150: 32-42mph,Gst44,SW(213-223°)
-120: 27-39mph,Gst44,SW(213-222°)
-90: 28-41mph,Gst42,SW(217-231°)
-60: 35-40mph,Gst46,SW(215-224°)
-30: 32-44mph,Gst46,SSW(215-223°)
NOW: 24mph,Gst43,SSW(207°) 1013Mb 17°C
Tides: 04:52(L), 11:00(H), 17:14(L), 23:16(H)

You can also set the number of lines displayed. To set it to 10, for example, add &h=10, producing the following report:

NEWHAVEN at 09:20 Fri Aug 1st
-150: 32-39mph,Gst43,SW(219-223°)
-135: 35-42mph,Gst44,SW(213-219°)
-120: 31-39mph,Gst44,SSW(216-221°)
-105: 27-37mph,Gst40,SW(213-222°)
-90: 28-33mph,Gst40,SW(217-231°)
-75: 33-41mph,Gst42,SW(223-231°)
-60: 35-40mph,Gst43,SW(217-222°)
-45: 35-39mph,Gst46,SW(215-224°)
-30: 32-44mph,Gst46,SW(215-217°)
-15: 37-41mph,Gst44,SSW(220-223°)
NOW: 24mph,Gst43,SSW(207°) 1013Mb 17°C
Tides: 04:52(L), 11:00(H), 17:14(L), 23:16(H)