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For a project at Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) we are building cheap, durable acoustic rain gauges, known as disdrometers. These devices "listen" to the rain and calculate the rain rate from the acoustic signal. But you can also listen to the signal: that way, you can hear the rain, even when inside a cubicle. A nice way to bring the outside environment into the office, without getting wet.
The disdrometer presented here is better for "listening", since this instructable competes in the "Art of Sound" contest. In a future instructable, a version that is optimized for measuring rain will be presented.
Acknowledgements: This instructable is based on the work of Coen Degen, student at Delft University of Technology, whom I had the privilege to supervise.
Example file: the example file is a recording of a rainstorm in Tanzania, made by Coen Degen.
The disdrometer presented here is better for "listening", since this instructable competes in the "Art of Sound" contest. In a future instructable, a version that is optimized for measuring rain will be presented.
Acknowledgements: This instructable is based on the work of Coen Degen, student at Delft University of Technology, whom I had the privilege to supervise.
Example file: the example file is a recording of a rainstorm in Tanzania, made by Coen Degen.
rain_signal.wav937 KB
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Signing UpStep 1The components
For this disdrometer you need:
-a piezo electric element. These can be bought at radioshack. They should cost you next to nothing. The one used in this setup is also used in alarm buzzers. When deformed, a small voltage difference forms between the poles of the element. This will be used to turn the rain into en electric signal.
-a vertical piece of glass (ceiling windows are great) or
-a smell piece of glass mounted on a picture frame (see first picture)
-an audio cable with a mini-jack connector. (old earphones form old i-pods will do the trick)
tools:
-soldering gear (carefull: HOT, only use when you know how to!)
-superglue (carefull: superglue is irritating to the skin. Be very carefull!)
-a computer with a microphone input, or a sound system with a mini jack input (or any input, but you'll have to use a different connector above, of course)
-a piezo electric element. These can be bought at radioshack. They should cost you next to nothing. The one used in this setup is also used in alarm buzzers. When deformed, a small voltage difference forms between the poles of the element. This will be used to turn the rain into en electric signal.
-a vertical piece of glass (ceiling windows are great) or
-a smell piece of glass mounted on a picture frame (see first picture)
-an audio cable with a mini-jack connector. (old earphones form old i-pods will do the trick)
tools:
-soldering gear (carefull: HOT, only use when you know how to!)
-superglue (carefull: superglue is irritating to the skin. Be very carefull!)
-a computer with a microphone input, or a sound system with a mini jack input (or any input, but you'll have to use a different connector above, of course)
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disdrometer and the one discribed at the Vortex Electrica site.
I like the vortex model beter because it tells me when it's raining and how strong the raifall is !
we are still not in the stage where we can publish about our final disdrometer, working on the details of how to reliably calculate rain rate from the signal, taking into account that we developed this disdrometer mainly for the african market, limiting the amount of power our product may use. The solution on the Vortex website is nice: I'm very happy people are watching this instructable and improving on it. Using their type of diode would not work well for very small drops cause of the high threshold, but in general it is a very nice approach!
The disdrometer is part of the tahmo project, more on this project in this youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/tudelft#p/u/45/Nh7GDD3Ssr8
Greetings,
Rolf
hmmm.......
This has me thinking about inserting a mike into a bottle and placing in flowing (shallow) river or rain runoff. Curious if it would pick up enough of 'babbling brook' sound.
Will test this hypothesis with experimentation.
(Hey . . . I'm getting an idea here - A bank of different membranes, each with a sensor, to give a disdromatic drum-kit! ;¬)