HD2013.2 – Rain Detector

How it works

The HD2013.2 relies on the capacity principle: the sensitive element, mounted on an alumina rest, changes its capacity value with the area wetted by raindrops. A built-in heater keeps the element dry, evaporates water and stops fog or dew from causing false signals. At low temperatures the heater also switches on to melt snow, so snowfall is detected as well. The external circular dome shields the sensor like a windshield, preventing false indications.

Three outputs

• “Rain ON/OFF”: shows whether it is raining/snowing (ON) or not (OFF) and can also drive a relay coil or similar devices
• 0…1V analog voltage output (calibrated)
• 1.5…6KHz frequency output (not calibrated)

The analog and frequency outputs give an accurate picture of the current precipitation intensity. The ON/OFF output includes a delay circuit that flags the “rain over” condition after a 2 minute delay, so it is not confused with “light rain”.

Heater and options

Where power consumption is critical, the heater can be disabled by setting the Heater OFF input to 0V. On request at the time of ordering, a bird spike can be fitted: a 6-spike ring (spike height: 60mm, diameter: 3 mm).