Rain and Snow Gauges

OSI rain and snow gauges use optical scintillation technology, where an infrared light beam detects precipitation particles passing through the sensing volume. Changes in light intensity identify precipitation type and rate. Advanced DSP-based algorithms, derived from over 800 million field hours of data, accurately quantify rain rates from 0.001 mm/hr and snow rates from 0.03 mm/hr without any moving parts.

OSI precipitation sensors detect and classify rain, snow, drizzle, freezing drizzle, freezing rain, hail, and ice pellets. The DSP-WIVIS and OWI-430-RH sensors report over 50–60 NWS and WMO present weather codes, while the APG-815-DS reports a minimum of 10 weather identification codes covering all major precipitation categories.

Yes. All OSI precipitation gauges operate on nominal 12 VDC and are compatible with solar panels and battery power. The APG-815-DS includes Adaptive Heater Technology (AHT) for cold climates, and the LP-WIVIS model is specifically designed for low-power remote deployments. Sensors clamp to standard 1.5–2 inch pipe with no concrete foundation required.

OSI rain and snow gauges achieve 5% accumulation accuracy with a measurement resolution of 0.001 mm. Rain measurement dynamic range spans 0.001 to 500 mm/hr, and snow measurement ranges from 0.03 to 500 mm/hr. An extended range option is available for applications requiring measurement above 500 mm/hr.

Most OSI sensors require no field calibration — DSP-based designs automatically compensate for dust, dirt, and environmental drift. The ORG Optical Rain Gauge requires calibration approximately every two years. All sensors are insensitive to dirt buildup on optics, require no scheduled cleaning, and include built-in continuous self-test and self-diagnostic systems.

OSI precipitation gauges support RS-232 as standard, with optional RS-485, Ethernet, MODBUS RTU, Limited Distance Modems (LDM), and cellular modem interfaces. Data updates occur once per minute with instantaneous intensity readings every 10 seconds, delivered as ASCII data strings in polled or unpolled formats compatible with standard data acquisition systems.