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See
our weather station in action. Click here
for current weather conditions on the farm.
Both
our hardware and weather software were purchased from Ambient
LLC.
They
offer excellent pre and post sales support, as well as great prices.
The solution
that we chose is very automated and requires little maintenance once
installed and configured properly.
 Untreated,
organically grown or certified organic open-pollinated & heirloom
seeds
VWS
Support Forum
OS Troubleshooting Tips |
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Oregon Scientific WMR-112A Rain Gauge |
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The Rain Gauge measures rainfall in millimeter
increments reflecting current rainfall or accumulation
of up to nine (9) days’ history. The Rain Gauge
features a self-emptying collection unit. The rainfall
measurement range is 0" to 39.97" per hour
with a cumulative operating range of 0" to
393.7". The rainfall accuracy resolution is 1 mm
(0.04").
Data to the display unit is updated every 47 seconds.
The Rain Gauge is powered by a solar cell with battery
backup. |
Technical
Specifications
- Daily and Cumulative Measuring Range: 0 to 9999 mm (0 to
393.7 in)
-
 Rainfall
Rate Measuring Range: 0 to 999 mm/hr (0 to 39.37
in/hr)
- Daily
and Cumulative: 1 mm (0.04 inch)
-
Rainfall
Rate Resolution: 1mm/hr (0.04 in/h) typical
- Weight: 16.93 ounces
-
Dimension: 295 (L) x 116.5 (W) x 550 (H)
- Power: solar cell (STR918)
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2002 to 2004 |
Rain Gauge
Resolution Modification |
3/8/2004 |
By design, the four inch opening of the
gauge allows for a 1mm/hr (0.04in/hr). Thanks to several people
on the
Ambient Support Forum for the great information and help in
pulling off this project.
The goal of this modification is to
increase the diameter of the collector opening thus increasing the
number of "tips" of the internal measurement device.
The process is relatively simple and
limited to two parts.
Phase 1 - Hardware Modification
Purchase a large diameter funnel.
A funnel with a large opening with an inside diameter of exactly 8
inches would make the math (later step) easier but anything bigger
than the original 4 inch opening is an improvement. In my
case, I found a 7.125 inch funnel.
Cut off the tip of the funnel and any
amount required to allow it to seat in the opening of the rain
gauge. A hack saw works well. remove any rough edges
resulting from the sawing.
 After
test fitting, draw a line around the outside of the funnel where it
rests on the rain gauge. run a bead of silicone caulk /
adhesive on the bottom of this line, reseat onto the rain gauge, and
smooth the caulk with a dampened finger.
Phase 2 - VWS Software Settings
Since the modification increases the
number of times that the buckets will tip in a given period of time,
the calibration of the internal WMR-968 will be off. Within
the VWS software, this can be adjusted by changing the gain. This is
accomplished under the menu "Settings", "Calibration", "Total Rain".
To calculate the number to insert into
this "gain" field, use the following formula:
Gain =
(d / D)2
In my example above, the Gain was
0.3152 calculated by:
Gain = (4" / 7.125")2
After you enter and save this gain
modification, your totals will be askew. This is corrected by
the menu "Settings", "Rainfall" and then correcting your monthly and
annual totals. Note: You may experience some error messages at
this point. Closing VWR and restarting it worked for me.
At this point, go back into
"Settings", "Rainfall" and verify that the settings are correct to
date. To get the annual total to display the correct total
amount, you will likely need to enter an offset figure in the
appropriate field under the menu "Settings", "Calibration",
"Total Rain". Since the system resets the YTD total
annually, you will need to remember to reset this offset to zero on
January 1.
If you need additional help, first
search the
Ambient Support Forum and if you do not find the
appropriate message thread, ask a question. Someone will either
point you the the answer or help you out. |
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