OSi’s APG-815-DS (All Precipitation Gauge) uses proven optical scintillation technology and  offers many performance and maintenance advantages over traditional tipping bucket and weighing type rain gauges. 

In addition to rain and snow water equivalent rate and accumulation the APG-815-DS report present weather codes in NWS and WMO formats.  Traditional rain and precipitation gauges cannot report present weather codes.

Adaptive Heater Technology (AHT) is used to conserved power.  The lens heaters are only energized when needed.  This mean the APG-815-DS is appropriate for solar powered installations.    Solar power combined with OSi cellular phone makes the APG-815-DS ideal for remote installations and networks.

Advantages include:

• Measurement of instantaneous precipitation rate; rainfall as light as 0.1 mm/hr. easily measured; no evaporation errors; can handle extremely high rain rates > 500mm/hr.; no overflow or mechanical limits to worry about
• No moving parts; operates 24/7 under harsh field conditions. No antifreeze chemicals
• Dust / dirt on lenses does not affect measurement;  ultra-low maintenance
• Wind does not create sampling problems.  Slant path rain errors are negligible.
• RS- 232 digital output allows instant / detailed analysis of event
• Functions in all weather; our sensors are operating on every continent year-round (including Antarctica)
• Intelligent sensor; automatic correction and continuous internal monitoring; operates unattended
• Pays for itself in maintenance & replacement costs alone; no on-site monitoring needed; lasts for years
• Flexible mounting, even on moving platforms (buoys / shipboard); nominal 12VDC power

OSi’s sensors have more than 600 million hours of proven field operation in all climates. MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) for OSi instruments is greater than 80,000 hours. The APG® operates unattended 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The instrument uses proprietary algorithms that eliminate the need for frequent calibration. Field calibration every two years is typical. The APG® has AGC (Automatic Gain Control) to compensate for signal loss. The sensor also employs a comprehensive self-test that updates once per minute and reports any potential problems in the output message.