AUTOMATIC RAIN DETECTOR

CONTENTS:
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) PROBLEM DEFINITION OBJECTIVES DEVELOPMENT PHASES CKT DIAGRAM HARDWARE USED REFERENCES

PROBLEM DEFINITION:
This rain detector will give you a heads-up the instant it starts to rain, hopefully giving you time to close windows and bring in possessions. The battery-powered circuit draws virtually no current when the sensor is dry and the current consumption is low when the buzzer is activated so a couple of AA cells will last a long time. Alternately, a molded power supply with a simple voltage regulator to drop the voltage to 3 volts could be used. A rain detector can come handy when you're distracted; it will save you the trouble of looking out the window every second when you want to catch the start of a rain storm, or cover some water sensitive stuff on your backyard. The following schematics are simple, but they can give design ideas or serve as a part of a more complex circuit like a computer weather data collection system. It all depends on your dedication, skill and expertise level.

OBJECTIVE:
To design an automatic rain detector that automatically generates a melodious/dripping sound whenever rain starts and automatically stops generating sound whenever rain stops.

DEVELOPMENT PHASES:
PHASE 1 : STUDY AND ANALYSIS
The circuit is basically a handy flasher circuit that operates well on only 3 volts using ordinary silicon transistors. When the circuit is triggered, the buzzer is pulsed about once per second for a very short time, giving it a "dripping water" sound which seems appropriate. A slower, longer beep may be had by increasing the 1 uF capacitor. The 10 k resistor may be increased for a longer beep time without decreasing the beep rate but at some point the circuit will cease to function properly, depending on the gain of the transistors.

Parts Considerations:

Just about any transistors will work but if you choose to use older, low gain transistors in metal cans just because they are so good looking (like I did), it might be best to try a 4.7 k and 2.2 uF in place of the 10 k and 1 uF. (I had no trouble with a 2N2222 and 2N2906 with the values shown but those are modern types.) The resistors are not critical at all and any type or size should work fine and reasonable close values are OK although the values shown are quite common. The 1uF capacitor may be just about any type, with a 16 volt aluminum electrolytic being the most likely choice. The capacitor will see about 1/2 volt reverse bias at times so a 10 volt or higher tantalum capacitor is a better choice; they can handle about 10% of their rating in reverse. A non-polar ceramic capacitor is also a good choice but don't hesitate to use a cheap electrolytic since there is a large resistor in series limiting the reverse current and this isn't exactly a deep space probe! The 0.1uF is not critical at all and my circuit works just fine without it. It is there in case the buzzer's noise tended to retrigger the circuit.

The switch is any single-pole, single-throw type. My switch, grabbed from the surplus bin, has an unnecessary spring-loaded momentary position, too. I wired it to supply power to the circuit in both positions with the idea that the "test" position is for determining if the sensor has dried sufficiently to turn the circuit back on. Just an excuse to use the switch! The batteries are just AA alkaline cells with wires directly soldered to the ends for connections. Directly soldering to a battery is a delicate process and I recommend a battery holder for the less experienced solderer. You must make the joint very quickly or the battery will be damaged! Don't dwell on it! The buzzer is a 1.5 to 3 volt, 15 mA "mini buzzer" purchased at Radio Shack. The copper-plated nails are available at most hardware stores. Mine are 1.4 mm x 19 mm (3/4").

PHASE 2 : CIRCUIT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

Water is a conductor of electricity. When water is in contact with the probe then there is a flow of current which reaches to the base of Q1. Transistor Q1 is a NPN transistor which conducts. With the conduction of Q1 electron reaches to Q2 which is a PNP transistor .Q2 also conducts and current flows through the speaker. In a speaker there is inductive coil which causes motion in one direction and also produce induce current which is in opposite direction to the flow of current this induce current in the form of pulse flows through a capacitor, resistance and switches off Q1 and relax .this process repeats again and again till probe is in contact with water or we can say there is a oscillation in the circuit thus speaker diaphragm vibrates and gives a tone. Frequency of the circuit depends on the value of Speaker Coil impendence, Capacitor and Resistance value.

Hardware used:
Our hardware will be consisting of: 1) Probe 2) Capacitor(1uF) 3) Transistor s(BC 548, BC 558) 4) Resistors(10K, 330K) 5) Speaker(8E, 2W) 6) Battery(3V)

REFERENCES:
1) 2) 3) 4) http://circuiteasy.com/rain-alarm/ http://www.techlib.com/electronics/raindetectors.htm http://www.hobby-hour.com/electronics/rain-detector-circuits.php http://mycircuits9.blogspot.com/2012/06/simple-rain-detector-and-alarmcircuit.html