Author Topic: Anyone got any thoughts on rainsensors.com - Rain Gage - RG-11 (Read 13566 times)

iisfaq · « **on:** July 07, 2011, 05:36:51 AM »

I found this product today and decided to take a punt and buy their Rain Detector - $99 USD + Shipping.

See http://www.rainsensors.com/ for more info.

I guess I will find out how it works in a few weeks.

chris

wxtech · « **Reply #1 on:** July 07, 2011, 07:24:28 AM »

I have 7 rain gauges in my back yard but not this one. I read how it works and interesed to hear your experience and accuracy.

Ugly Duckling · « **Reply #2 on:** July 07, 2011, 09:31:30 AM »

Quote from: wxtech on July 07, 2011, 07:24:28 AM

I have 7 rain gauges in my back yard but not this one. I read how it works and interesed to hear your experience and accuracy.

You have 7 rain gauges? Oh my do you have it bad! Thought of getting help for this problem?

Hope you know I'm kidding! Me being new I just cant imagine that many of anything. Maybe in 30 year's I'll be saying I have 7 anemometers. I'm more interested in wind.

Seriously which of the 7 is your favorite? Kind of a teachers pet.

Many Happy Weather Changes,

Marci Anna

wxtech · « **Reply #3 on:** July 07, 2011, 10:09:49 AM »

I'm testing designs of more accurate rain gauges.
My favorite is the National Weather Service, standard rain gauge. It's a bucket with a ruler.

SLOweather · « **Reply #4 on:** July 07, 2011, 11:56:12 AM »

Dang, now I have to order one...

I have 3 gauges deployed right now: The VP2 gauge, a 4" Stratus on the opposite side of the 6x6 post for comparison, and an antique copper NWS 8" standard gauge.

I also have an 8" tipping bucket on the shelf that I haven't figured out what to do with. I think it's a Rainwise.

Bushman · « **Reply #5 on:** July 07, 2011, 01:52:21 PM »

Dunno about the rain guage thingy, but their $69 ultrasonic sensor might be my new snow measurement device!! http://www.hydreon.com/solo/

Ugly Duckling · « **Reply #6 on:** July 07, 2011, 04:06:22 PM »

Quote from: iisfaq on July 07, 2011, 05:36:51 AM

I found this product today and decided to take a punt and buy their Rain Detector - $99 USD + Shipping.

See http://www.rainsensors.com/ for more info.

I guess I will find out how it works in a few weeks.

chris

I would be interested in the rain sensor if it was wireless.

I try not to have wires outside except in the winter I have a cord running to the birdbath heater.

Birds need baths in the winter too!

Many Happy Weather Changes,

Marci Anna

Aardvark · « **Reply #7 on:** July 07, 2011, 04:32:07 PM »

how does it work with bird poo?

iisfaq · « **Reply #8 on:** July 08, 2011, 02:30:03 AM »

Quote from: Aardvark on July 07, 2011, 04:32:07 PM

how does it work with bird poo?

I guess a wipe every now and then will be required?

Also would a RainX type of product help with the Bird Poo problem? or would it still stick?

Chris

Heirphoto · « **Reply #9 on:** July 09, 2011, 10:04:00 AM »

It looks like an interesting device and I am always looking for something new to add to my system, but....how do you use the data it gathers? It seems to not be a complete system but requires something to analyze and chart/record the data it gathers so may not be as plug and play as other devices.

Anyone here have one yet and can comment on that?

One concern also was accuracy. I was looking at the "tipping bucket" page and they explain that a tipping bucket usually misses the first few hundreths of an inch, implying that this measures right away. But right next to this statement, under the photo it says it is less accurate and gives a +/- 30% or possibly a 2:1 reading specification.

So it may not be the best way to get a true measurment but may be great for a when does the rain start and stop recorder which would be of interest to me if I knew of a non-computer geek way of harnessing this information

.

Tony

iisfaq · « **Reply #10 on:** July 09, 2011, 03:44:19 PM »

Quote from: Heirphoto on July 09, 2011, 10:04:00 AM

It looks like an interesting device and I am always looking for something new to add to my system, but....how do you use the data it gathers? It seems to not be a complete system but requires something to analyze and chart/record the data it gathers so may not be as plug and play as other devices.

I have not received it yet so I need to wait to see what it supports when I recieve it. I may need to find a way to integrate it into a Serial port.

Also on your sig you say you have a home made fog detector - can you explain to me how it works? quite interested?

Chris

Heirphoto · « **Reply #11 on:** July 09, 2011, 08:11:55 PM »

Chris,
Thanks, I will be looking forward to more info.

The fog detector is nothing fancy and was based on another members design. It is just a Davis Leaf Wetness sensor mounted inverted under a cover with an open bottom (*" PVC pipe cap) so the only moisture it can detect has to be suspended in the air such as fog and not deposited moisture such as rain, dew or frost. The large cover and inverted mount allows air to circulate easily around it but prevents anything from above it falling on the sensor surface.

The other member reports his is working well. Here in July in Baltimore I won't be seeing fog anytime soon though to test mine

Tony

iisfaq · « **Reply #12 on:** July 10, 2011, 12:05:35 AM »

Here is NZ we are just coming into Winter so the fog will start to show up soon - we have had a few foggy mornings..

I am not sure at what level the fog would have to be to pick it up as a light fog is generally windless and quite misty.

I saw your photos from Flicker - intersting idea.

I like the Laser or IP idea but probably far too expensive for the avergage hobbiest.

chris

SLOweather · « **Reply #13 on:** July 11, 2011, 11:50:29 AM »

OK. Mine arrived over the weekend.

I haven't powered it up yet, but I can report that Hydreon RG-11 Optical Rain Gauge is far more than a substitute for a tipping bucket.

The unit runs on 9-30 VDC or 9-26 VAC, 15 MA nominal, 50 MA with the relay energized. 55 MA with internal heater on. It has a SPDT relay output, 24 VDC/AC 1 amp max. There is an internal 8 switch DIP to set the various modes. It's a well-made commercial quality unit.

It does, indeed, have a tipping bucket emulation mode (Mode 0). It will pulse the relay on every 0.01", or (settable) every 0.001" or 0.0001" (!) and has a similar metric mode down to 0.001mm.

The rain gauge correlation to a manual gauge or tipping bucket is not very close. From the web site:

Quote

Typically, most readings will be +/- about 30%, with some readings varying 2:1. This is not, however, a guaranteed limit.

and...

Quote

Not as accurate as a properly maintained Tipping Bucket, but a better choice for many applications.
We do not claim an accuracy specification for the RG-11. The RG-11 totalizes drops and drop size, and we have correlated that to tipping bucket data. A properly maintained tipping bucket, on the other hand, measures the water directly. Sometimes the RG-11 will read a bit high, sometimes a bit low. Over a long period of time we expect this to average out reasonably well, but this will depend on conditions.

It also has the following switch selectable modes:

Mode 1: It's raining. Just what it says, with various sensitivity settings, and a "dark detect" setting. An example of when you would use this is for automatic skylights (close when raining) or a retractable sunshade (retract when raining or dark).

Mode 2: Condensation Sensor. Senses condensation or frost on the surface. Adapts to the "clear" condition so that gradual buildup of dust is compensated for.

Mode 3: Wiper control. This is the genesis of the technology, building automatic windshield wiper controls for cars, trucks, boats.

Mode 4: Irrigation control. Wired to the Irrigation solenoids power, it stops irrigation during rain and up to 5 days afterward.

Mode 6: Drop detector. Pulses relay for every raindrop it detects, pulse width in multiples of 200 ms depending on drop size, or settable for multiple 100 ms pulses per drop depending on size.

All of the modes have various adjustments and enhancements that can be set to affect that mode's operation.

For the price, I could see having more than one of these installed, set to different modes.

iisfaq · « **Reply #14 on:** July 11, 2011, 03:23:53 PM »

Do you have any thoughts on how you are going to interface the relay outputs to your computer?

Chris

SLOweather · « **Reply #15 on:** July 11, 2011, 03:45:09 PM »

Quote from: iisfaq on July 11, 2011, 03:23:53 PM

Do you have any thoughts on how you are going to interface the relay outputs to your computer?

Chris

Considering that our precip season just started on July 1, and we don't generally get any real rain until September or October, I have a while to play with it and all its modes.

At this time, I'll probably use the "It's Raining" mode and connect the relay output to another, larger relay with more contacts. Then, I can connect one to an input on my ADI Home Automation System, and use another to light a light or something.

OTOH, it would be interesting to use it in rain gauge mode at high sensitivity (0.001" or 0.0001") and compare it to my other gauges. I'll have to check the click rates for a high rain rate and see if an electric counter can keep up.

Let's see. An inch an hour is 10,000 clicks in 0.0001" rain gauge mode. That's 166.67 clicks a minute, or 2.78 clicks a second. I've seen short term rates here (over a couple 3 minutes of 3-4"/hour. 4"/hour would be 11.11 clicks per second. I guess I'd better look for an LCD electronic counter.

iisfaq · « **Reply #16 on:** July 11, 2011, 03:50:37 PM »

I am not sure how long it will take to get to NZ but I guess another week.

My electronic knowledge is very limited but connecting the relay to some sort of counting circuit and then interfacing that with RS-232 sounds good to me.

But then actually doing that is not going to be easy for me.

Chris

Bushman · « **Reply #17 on:** July 11, 2011, 04:05:43 PM »

Here's oner idea to hook it up to PC. http://www.techlib.com/electronics/serialport.htm

SLOweather · « **Reply #18 on:** July 11, 2011, 06:04:54 PM »

Quote from: Bushman on July 11, 2011, 04:05:43 PM

Here's oner idea to hook it up to PC. http://www.techlib.com/electronics/serialport.htm

Well, that's interesting, but I'm not sure how it applies to this unit, since it's an Analog-Digital converter. The only output from the RG-11 is a set of relay contacts. It's already digital. Depending on the mode, they are either open or closed to operate something or indicate that it's raining, or that are pulsed (as short as 100 MS pulses to send to a counter, or pulses of varying size to roughly indicate the size of the drop.

Bushman · « **Reply #19 on:** July 11, 2011, 06:33:44 PM »

I assumed tipping bucket emulation would give you a pulse count that needed to be monitored by a serial pgm. Too bad the company did not give a 1-Wire alternative. Lots of HW and SW support that protocol.

iisfaq · « **Reply #20 on:** July 22, 2011, 10:20:51 PM »

Quote from: iisfaq on July 11, 2011, 03:50:37 PM

I am not sure how long it will take to get to NZ but I guess another week.

Nope - still waiting....

iisfaq · « **Reply #21 on:** July 22, 2011, 10:29:34 PM »

Quote from: SLOweather on July 11, 2011, 11:50:29 AM

OK. Mine arrived over the weekend.

I haven't powered it up yet, but I can report that Hydreon RG-11 Optical Rain Gauge is far more than a substitute for a tipping bucket.

Have you had a chance to look at it yet? I am still waiting...

I saw some interesting little devices online called XBee - http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8664

Features
• 3.3V @ 50mA
• 250kbps Max data rate
• 1mW output (+0dBm)
• 300ft (100m) range
• Built-in antenna
• Fully FCC certified
• 6 10-bit ADC input pins
• 8 digital IO pins
• 128-bit encryption
• Local or over-air configuration
• AT or API command set

Now to find somone who can make a circuit?

miraculon · « **Reply #22 on:** July 23, 2011, 09:27:55 AM »

It looks like interesting technology. I like the multiple modes and how sensitive it is.

I actually ordered one of their "Fake TV" units, having seen the link on the Hydreon page.

Please keep us posted on how well this unit works. I might be interested in replacing my ancient DalSemi rain gauge some day. One thing that I would wonder about is how long it takes the droplets to evaporate after a rain. It says there is a heater, so it probably works well.

As far at the rain detector mode goes, I installed a Kemo M152 sensor and tied it into a latching relay to lock out my lawn sprinkler system.

http://www.kemo-electronic.de/en/House/Garden/M152-Rain-Sensor-12-V-DC.php

I special ordered it from MCM Electronics, but I had to pay in advance and agree to a no-return policy. It might have been better to order it directly from Germany, I don't know.

I have pictures of the installed sensor in the Pictures area of the forum: http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=11528.0

If you need just the rain detection and not the rain gauge function, the Kemo sensor works well. The only trick was getting the angle of my mounting bracket just right. The rain drops ran off too quickly with my original angle (steeper) and it would take a pretty hard rain to register. The angle shown in the Pictures area works really well.

iisfaq · « **Reply #23 on:** August 04, 2011, 04:31:58 AM »

Still waiting......

New Zealand is not too far from Mars I assume for the US Postal service!

Sometimes you wonder why these companies even have tracking when it is worthless!

Processed through Sort Facility
July 11, 2011, 9:47 am
JAMAICA, NY 11430

Processed through Sort Facility
July 08, 2011, 8:26 pm
LEXINGTON, KY 40511

Thats it - Over 3 weeks since the last update, Has it ever left the USA?

CHRIS

DanS · « **Reply #24 on:** August 04, 2011, 06:09:43 AM »

I have the same issues between here in Thailand and the states. Postal tracking is pretty decent over here but once a package leaves to cross the big pond it's anyones guess where it is. Usually later when it arrives in the hands of the recipient I'll see a "parcel delivered and signed for" message. I've sent complaints like where's the "arrived/received in the U.S." tracking message but no answers.

News:

Author Topic: Anyone got any thoughts on rainsensors.com - Rain Gage - RG-11 (Read 13566 times)