Rain Gauge w/ Hall Effect Sensor

thingiverse

Note: Work in progress. Will change significantly over the next few weeks. Note that all STLs are in random orientations, not the suggested print orientation. When I have finalized design, I will orient them properly in the final revision. Experimental rain gauge for my Arduino based weather station. https://www.thingiverse.com/SeanTheITGuy/collections/arduino-weather-station This is a simple tipper based rain gauge design. It is a work in progress and may need a little tweaking. <a href="https://www.banggood.com/Hall-Sensor-Brushless-Motor-A3144-A3144E-OH3144E-Capteur-effet-TO-92UA-Interrupteur-3Pin-SIP-p-1007581.html">Hall Effect Sensor</a> <a href="https://www.banggood.com/100pcs-5mmx2mm-N52-Strong-Round-Magnets-Rare-Earth-NdFeB-Neodymium-Magnets-p-988439.html">5x2 Magnets</a> It gathers data by collecting rain in the funnel which has a collection surface area of 78.54 cm^2. I have not yet calibrated the tipper to find out how much water it takes to cause it to tip, thus enabling me to know how much rain each tip will indicate, but that information will be coming as I gather more components and include programming for these items. The tipper should be attached to the base with M3 screws, which should fit snugly into the tipper, while still being loose in the base. They are to act as pivot points, and should cause as little friction as possible on the tipper body. The signal for the tip is caused by a 5x2mm neodymium magnet glued into the tipper (to make the weight balance, glue one into each side where the holes are) which, upon tip, will move past a naked (no ardino board) Hall effect sensor, which is to be glued into place in the appropriate slot (pictures to come). The three wires for the sensor can be soldered to the sensor, or pressed on with Dupont wires, and the wires pased through the cylinder wall, into the hollow mount bracket, and into the main control box. A gasket or some sort of waterproofing material should be used between the bracket flange and the main control box. When threading the bracket into the cylinder, be sure to get it snugged down with the cylinder as close to vertical as possible to ensure accuracy. If the threads don't line up nicely in such a way, you can apply some CA glue to the threads, get it as snug as possible in the right configuration, and let the glue cure to ensure strength. The funnel should be glued into the cylinder, as should the base. I may add screw fasteners in the future, but glue such as CA (crazy glue) should work well.