Rain gauge collector 400 cm²
The sensor is made up of a funnel collector and a couple of calibrated collecting containers (tipping buckets). The calibrated collector area and the geo- metry of the collector prevents the rain from splashing in and out, according to WMO recommendations.
Every time a bucket is filled, the instrument outputs an electrical signal that can be sent to an automatic data acquisition system. If precipitation is in a solid form, snow or hail, the instrument can measure the amount of water obtained from their melting.
The body is made up of an anodized aluminium cylin- der and it is painted of white to obtain the maximum reflection of incoming solar radiation. The electromechanical system that reads the collected rain is placed inside. The collecting funnel is made up of anodized aluminium with a calibrated circular area of 400 cm² .
The bucket assembly is calibrated in the way that when a container is filled with an equivalent precipitation of 0.2mm, the equilibrium changes, this causes the tipping.
The shape of each container allows its fast and com- plete emptying when it's in its lowest position: thus, while the bucket that is receiving water starts filling, the other is empty and ready to be filled to the following tipping.
In the lower part of the collecting funnel a filter is placed to prevent that debris enter in to rain gauge.
The optional heating system is designed to have a fast melting of solid precipitation, avoiding anyway the production of too much heat that can cause the evaporation of a part of the liquid.
