Hydreon RG-15 Optical Rain Gauge
Features
- Features nominal accuracy of within 10% compared with tipping bucket
- Low power consumption makes it well-suited for solar charged applications
- RS-232 serial communications for configuration and data collection
- Expedited repair and warranty service
- Lifetime technical support
- More
Overview
The Hydreon RG-15 Solid State Tipping Bucket is a rainfall-measuring device intended to replace conventional tipping buckets. The RG-15 is rugged, reliable, maintenance-free and features a nominal accuracy of within 10%. The RG-15 is designed to replace tipping bucket rain gauges in many applications where their maintenance requirements make them impractical.
Design
The RG-15 uses beams of infrared light within a plastic lens about the size of a tennis ball. The round surface of the lens discourages the collection of debris, and the RG-15 has no moving parts to stick to, and no water-pathways to clog. The device features an open-collector output that emulates a conventional tipping bucket, as well as serial communications that provide more detailed data and allow for configuration of the device.
Mechanics
The RG-15 may be configured through the serial port, or optionally via DIP switches. Power consumption of the RG-15 is very low, and the device is well-suited to solar-power applications. Dip Switches can control the units (inches or millimeters) and resolution (0.01″/0.2mm or 0.001″/0.02mm) of the device. Commands can also be sent via the RS232 serial port to override them.
| Nominal Accuracy | ±10%1 |
| Input Voltage | Range 5-15 VDC 50V surge on J1 Reverse polarity protected to 50V Alternative 3.3VDC through pin 8 on J2 |
| Current Drain | 110 μA nominal. (No outputs on, dry not raining) 2-4 mA when raining |
| Output | NPN Open Collector Output 500 mA / 80V / 300mW Max |
| Operating Temperature | -40°C to +60°C (Will not detect rain when freezing) |
| Output Resolution | 0.01in / 0.2mm Alternative 0.001in / 0.02mm |
| RS232 Port | 3.3V |
| Supported Baud Rates | 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600 |
1Field accuracy will vary
Select Options
In The News
Climate Change and Microplastics: Monitoring Lake Champlain
Most people go to Lake Champlain for its exceptional views and thrilling boating, but it’s also home to a wide variety of interesting aquatic research projects. From studying microplastics to thermal dynamics of the lake, Timothy Mihuc, director of the Lake Champlain Research Institute (LCRI) at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh (SUNY Plattsburgh), has spent his career studying aquatic ecosystems. As an aquatic biologist, he’s the main investigator on Lake Champlain’s research studies while also managing their grants, employees, and their hands-on buoy work. Over the years, LCRI has received a number of environmental grants that aid in its monitoring research.
Read More
Current Monitoring after the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse
On March 26th, according to The Baltimore Sun , a 984-foot, 112,000-ton Dali lost propulsion and collided with a support column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing the structure. Soon after the event, search and rescue, salvage crews, and other emergency responders were mobilized after the collision. As salvage efforts progressed in early April, NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) responded to a request for real-time tidal currents data and deployed a current monitoring buoy—CURBY (Currents Real-time BuoY)—into the Patapsco River north of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Read More
Soundscapes of the Solar Eclipse: Citizen Science Supporting National Research
On April 8, 2024, millions of people around the world had their eyes glued to the sky to witness a historic cosmic event. The total solar eclipse captured the headlines and the minds of many who became eager to gaze at the heavens as the sky went dark for a few minutes. However, not everyone used their sense of sight during the eclipse, some were listening to the sounds of the natural world around them as the light faded from above. The Eclipse Soundscape Project is a NASA-funded citizen science project that focuses on studying how the annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, and the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse impacted life on Earth. The project revisits an initiative from the 1930s that showed animals and insects are affected by solar eclipses.
Read More
