Rain sensor
- KathyNS Online
- Co-Administrator
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2636
- Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
- 5
- Location: Nova Scotia
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Photo of the Day
TSS Awards Badges
Rain sensor
I have had recommendations of the RG11 from Hydreon, and the M152 from Kemo. The simple solution of putting a heater under the wet leaf sensor turns out not to be competitive with these units. The Kemo unit is basically that, pre-assembled.
The down side of the Kemo unit is that it comes from Germany, and covid-19 has totally messed up transatlantic shipping. It could take months to get here. On the other hand, its performance is what I want. The Hydreon unit is high-tech. I have seen its sensitivity and response time questioned.
So, any other recommendations? Any opinions about the options I have mentioned? Thanks.
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
- turboscrew
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 3233
- Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2020 9:22 am
- 3
- Location: Nokia, Finland
- Status:
Offline
-
TSS Awards Badges
Re: Rain sensor
Octopart, Inc.
29 West 38th St.
14th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Senior Embedded SW Designer
Telescope: OrionOptics XV12, Mount: CEM120, Tri-pier 360 and alternative dobson mount.
Grab 'n go: Omegon AC 102/660 on AZ-3 mount
Eyepieces: 26 mm Omegon SWAN 70°, 15 mm TV Plössl, 12.5 mm Baader Morpheus, 10 mm TV Delos, 6 mm Baader Classic Ortho, 5 mm TV DeLite, 4 mm and 3 mm TV Radians
Cameras: ZWO ASI 294MM Pro, Omegon veLOX 178C
OAG: TS-Optics TSOAG09, ZWO EFW 7 x 36 mm, ZWO filter sets: LRGB and Ha/OIII/SII
Explore Scientific HR 2" coma corrector, Meade x3 1.25" Barlow, TV PowerMate 4x 2"
Some filters (#80A, ND-96, ND-09, Astronomik UHC)
Laptop: Acer Enduro Urban N3 semi-rugged, Windows 11
LAT 61° 28' 10.9" N, Bortle 5
I don't suffer from insanity. I'm enjoying every minute of it.
- KathyNS Online
- Co-Administrator
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2636
- Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
- 5
- Location: Nova Scotia
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Photo of the Day
TSS Awards Badges
Re: Rain sensor
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
- ic_1101
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 968
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:19 pm
- 5
- Location: Canada
- Status:
Offline
-
TSS Photo of the Day
Re: Rain sensor
As I said in my other post I know nothing about Arduino so this may be way off base.
Scope: SW Esprit 120ED, Askar FRA300
Mount: ZWO AM5
Cameras: QHY268M/C, QHY183M/C, ASI290MM
Software: Pixinsight, AstroPixelProcessor, SGP
Observatory: Exploradome with Nexdome rotator
https://www.astrobin.com/users/ic_1101/
- KathyNS Online
- Co-Administrator
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2636
- Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
- 5
- Location: Nova Scotia
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Photo of the Day
TSS Awards Badges
Re: Rain sensor
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
- ic_1101
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 968
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:19 pm
- 5
- Location: Canada
- Status:
Offline
-
TSS Photo of the Day
Re: Rain sensor
Scope: SW Esprit 120ED, Askar FRA300
Mount: ZWO AM5
Cameras: QHY268M/C, QHY183M/C, ASI290MM
Software: Pixinsight, AstroPixelProcessor, SGP
Observatory: Exploradome with Nexdome rotator
https://www.astrobin.com/users/ic_1101/
- KathyNS Online
- Co-Administrator
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2636
- Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
- 5
- Location: Nova Scotia
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Photo of the Day
TSS Awards Badges
Re: Rain sensor
Interesting idea, and it would probably work. However, I am not set up for dew heaters; I don't really need them with a solid-tube Newt in a dome. Getting set up with the straps and power controller would cost more than a good rain detector. I think I will order the Kemo unit.
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
- UlteriorModem
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2112
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:32 am
- 5
- Location: Florida
- Status:
Offline
-
TSS Photo of the Day
Re: Rain sensor
https://cheapsprinklers.com/products/ra ... 20%2422.98
Current Equipment:
Mount: Celestron CGX-L
Scope: 130mm f7 APO
Cam: ASI071mc-pro
- KathyNS Online
- Co-Administrator
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2636
- Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
- 5
- Location: Nova Scotia
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Photo of the Day
TSS Awards Badges
Re: Rain sensor
We had a little sprinkle overnight, just enough that you could see individual drops of rain on the otherwise dry deck. I checked, and the RG-11 was reporting rain. Yay!
Just to be safe ("She who laughs last made a backup."), I kept the wet-leaf sensor. I have a switch now that selects between rain sensing (RG-11) and dew sensing (wet leaf), as well as a power switch to disable both sensors if I am getting nuisance detections.
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
- UlteriorModem
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2112
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:32 am
- 5
- Location: Florida
- Status:
Offline
-
TSS Photo of the Day
Re: Rain sensor
Probably real important to keep it clean though.
Current Equipment:
Mount: Celestron CGX-L
Scope: 130mm f7 APO
Cam: ASI071mc-pro
- KathyNS Online
- Co-Administrator
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2636
- Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
- 5
- Location: Nova Scotia
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Photo of the Day
TSS Awards Badges
Re: Rain sensor
If it's dirty enough to need cleaning, it probably hasn't rained in a while. Conversely, if it is raining, it is self-cleaning.UlteriorModem wrote: ↑Fri Mar 12, 2021 4:17 pm Ah that is cool. I did not even know an 'optical' rain sensor existed!
Probably real important to keep it clean though.
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
- UlteriorModem
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2112
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:32 am
- 5
- Location: Florida
- Status:
Offline
-
TSS Photo of the Day
Re: Rain sensor
Current Equipment:
Mount: Celestron CGX-L
Scope: 130mm f7 APO
Cam: ASI071mc-pro
- Gulf Coast Guy
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 192
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2019 2:00 am
- 4
- Location: East Shore, Mobile Bay AL, USA
- Status:
Offline
Re: Rain sensor
Mount/tripod's: Meade LXD-75 EQ; Orion Starseeker IV ALT/AZ; Celestron Heavy Duty ALT/AZ Farpoint UBM (Universal Binocular Mount)
Eyepieces:Meade - 26mm plossl, 12mm Astrometric; GSO (OPT badge) 2" Superview 50mm & 30mm 1.25" 15mm; TMB Planetary Series 9mm, 6mm, & 4mm: 10mm & 23mm 60° that came with the 80mm f11.2
Barlows: Orion 2x Shorty; Meade 4000 Series 3x
Binoculars:Brunton 10x50 Celestron Skymaster 15x70 Oberwerk 25x100 IF delux
- Lenny
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:18 pm
- 2
- Location: America/Maryland
- Status:
Offline
Re: Rain sensor
- KathyNS Online
- Co-Administrator
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2636
- Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
- 5
- Location: Nova Scotia
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Photo of the Day
TSS Awards Badges
Re: Rain sensor
I haven't yet had mine operational through a winter, so I don't know how it reacts to frost. It might or might not detect it. And it might depend on the device settings. It includes a built-in dew heater, so that might prevent some frost.
If I record unexpected "rain" closures on frosty nights, I'll know it is detecting frost.
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
- KathyNS Online
- Co-Administrator
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2636
- Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
- 5
- Location: Nova Scotia
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Photo of the Day
TSS Awards Badges
Re: Rain sensor
I initially had it set to "first drop" detection. The built-in dew heater was supposed to prevent dew, and for the most part, it did. However, the dew heater is only about 0.25 watts, and is not up to the challenge of heavy dew. I got a couple of nuisance dew detections that prematurely closed the dome on nights of heavy dew. To be fair, on those nights where it detected dew as rain, even my sky cam, with 2.5 watts of dew heat, got dewed over, while confirming that it was not in fact rain.
I have switched the RG-11's sensitivity to "light rain". That has prevented further nuisance detections, and it seems to respond well to actual rain.
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
- UlteriorModem
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2112
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:32 am
- 5
- Location: Florida
- Status:
Offline
-
TSS Photo of the Day
Re: Rain sensor
Current Equipment:
Mount: Celestron CGX-L
Scope: 130mm f7 APO
Cam: ASI071mc-pro
- KathyNS Online
- Co-Administrator
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 2636
- Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:47 am
- 5
- Location: Nova Scotia
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Photo of the Day
TSS Awards Badges
Re: Rain sensor
With a solid-tube Newt in a dome, dew is not really a factor inside the observatory. On the heavy dew nights, stuff outdoors was soaking, but the scope stayed dry.UlteriorModem wrote: ↑Mon Oct 25, 2021 2:38 pm Would it not be such a bad idea to button things up when the dewpoint is so high ?
DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
- OzEclipse Online
- Moderator
- Articles: 2
- Posts: 2435
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 8:11 am
- 5
- Location: Young, NSW, Australia, 34S, 148E
- Status:
Online
-
TSS Awards Badges
TSS Photo of the Day
Re: Rain sensor
Even a Cassegrain open at the top doesn't have any problem. I've had my Vixen VC200L outside on nights with water dripping off everything, finder completely dewed over but the VC200L optics are bone dry. I have never bought any sort of dew strap for it, and never will by the looks of it.KathyNS wrote: ↑Mon Oct 25, 2021 2:57 pmWith a solid-tube Newt in a dome, dew is not really a factor inside the observatory. On the heavy dew nights, stuff outdoors was soaking, but the scope stayed dry.UlteriorModem wrote: ↑Mon Oct 25, 2021 2:38 pm Would it not be such a bad idea to button things up when the dewpoint is so high ?
Joe
Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
Memberships Astronomical Association of Queensland; RASNZ Occultations Section; Single Exposure Milky Way Facebook Group (Moderator) (12k members), The Sky Searchers (moderator)
- SparWeb
- Articles: 0
- Posts: 305
- Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2019 3:16 am
- 4
- Location: Irricana, Alberta, Canada
- Status:
Offline
-
TSS Photo of the Day
Re: Rain sensor
I read this one originally, but never thought of following up on last winter's experience with the sensor until stumbling across this thread again.
How well did the Hydreon work in winter?
51.248N, 113.53W, 995m ASL
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/IALBERTA147
Canon 6D (unmodified) + Lunt 4" (102mm) achromat refractor (7.1 focal ratio) + Celestron AVX mount
Create an account or sign in to join the discussion
You need to be a member in order to post a reply
Create an account
Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute