Ranching technology post 3 - $12.50 "digital" rain gauge


My new "digital" rain gauge just after installation.  The bison have gathered around to see what I was up to.
Since becoming a rancher my interest in the weather has increased greatly and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't check the National Weather Service website for the local forecast.  However, when it comes to summer rainfall in southern Virginia, the local forecast and records aren't local enough.  Cloudbursts are relatively common during hot weather with several inches being dumped in the period of an hour.  Such storms can often be only a few miles in width and, therefore, will often not be recorded by the nearest official weather station.  For me, as someone dependent on plant growth, knowing how much rain has fallen on my pasture is useful for grazing management. 
Taking measurements prior to installation.
Thus far, the rather lofty price of fully electronic rain gauges outweighed the desire for rain data, but I was recently paging through a forestry supply catalog I had received in the mail when I got an idea for creating a low-cost "digital" rain gauge.  Featured in the catalog for $12.50 was a "Far View" rain gauge with large graduation markings and a red floating plastic disk.  "This could," I thought, "probably be visible from a security camera even with low resolution settings."  I ordered it and installed it yesterday. 
The gauge positioned in front of the camera.  In the future, when I install additional less elevated cameras, I'll reduce the gauge height for easier access. 
Based upon the current view from the security camera, this setup should be sufficient, but I can always increase the resolution settings on the camera if I want greater detail. If, in the future, I decide that I want to convert the rain gauge information in each picture directly into numerical data it would be a fairly easy thing to do in any number of programming languages.  For instance, in Python, I could see using an extension such as PIL to select out pixels in certain x,y locations in the image and testing for red colored pixels (the floating plastic disc) and, based on the x,y location of the red pixels assigning a value.  Later on I could add other weather sampling instruments to the camera's field of view and write similar programs to translate the pixel information into numerical data.
The squeeze chute scale indicator.
On a separate note, I got the chance to test out the scale system that came with the bison squeeze chute.  Four individual scale sensors are integrated into the base of the chute, so you can weigh an animal while they are in the chute.  Cables from each sensor extend out of the bottom of the chute and are plugged into the scale indicator (pictured above), which calculates the animal's weight.  I tested it on myself while standing in the chute and found the reading was very accurate.  The four separate inputs make the scale reading very stable even when I moved around some in the chute.  Paying extra for the scale was definitely worth it.

Update: 07/27/2016
 I looks like the rain gauge is working.  I noticed in today's surveillance photos that it must have rained about an inch last night based on the amount of water in the rain gauge.  I am currently at my home in northern Virginia and wouldn't have known it rained down there without the this rain gauge.  

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