A PROJECT REPORT

ON

Automatic Rain Sensor Alarm

By

K. Sai Charan
(18STUCHH010410)

Under the guidance of

Prof. Dr. Soumita Ghosh

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
In
ELECTRONICS AND C O M M U N I C A T I O N
ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING

THE ICFAI FOUNDATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successful

completion of any task would be incomplete without the mentioning
of the people whose constant guidance and encouragement made it
possible. We take pleasure in presenting before you, our project,
which is result of studied blend of both research and knowledge.
We express our earnest gratitude to our internal guide, Professor
DR. SOUMITA GHOSH, Department of ECE, our project guide, for
her constant support, encouragement and guidance. We are grateful
for her cooperation and her valuable suggestions.
Finally, we express our gratitude to all other members who are
involved either directly or indirectly for the completion of this project.
 ABSTRACT

Rain Alarm Project is a simple but very useful project

that detects Rain (Rain Water) and automatically
triggers an alarm or buzzer.
Water is a basic need in every one's life. Saving water and
proper usage of water is very important. Here is an easy
project which will give the alarm when there is rain, so
that we can make some actions for rain water harvesting
and also save the rain water for using it later.
With the help of saving this rain water through rain water
harvesting, we can increase the levels of underground
water by using underwater recharge technique.
Rain water detector will detect the rain and make an
alert; rain water detector is used in the irrigation field,
home automation, communication, automobiles etc.
Here is the simple and reliable circuit of rain water
detector which can be constructed at low cost.
Contents

List of Figures

1 INTRODUCTION

2 CIRCUIT DISCRIPTION
2.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM2
2.2 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM3

3 Component Description
3.1 RESISTOR5
3.2 CAPACITOR6
3.3 TRANSISTOR6
3.4 BUZZER7
3.5 RAIN SENSOR8

4 IMPLEMENTATION
4.1 Software Description

5 Advantages and Disadvantages

6 PCB MAKING PROCESS

7 CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE

List of Figures

2.1 Block Diagram

2.2 Block Diagram
2.3 RAIN ALARM CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
3.1
3.2 Capacitor
3.3 Buzzer
3.4 Rain sensor
4.1 PCB Layout On Software
6.1 PCB ....................................................................................................

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Mankind has always harnessed the elements of nature for

different purposes. Water for irrigation and Electricity generation
(Hydro Electric Power), wind for wind mill used for many
applications ranging from turning turbines that generate
electricity, to quarry for crushing stones, sun for drying, heating
and cooking especially when brought to focus.
From time immemorial humans used the sun to dry many
things, a process known as sun drying. Sun drying is carried out
in the farm, home, industry, laboratory, hospitals and other
institution for a number of reasons. These reasons range from
totally driving out water molecules from the things being dried,
outright drying, like clothes, some farm produce, during building
work, and in sculpture to exposing certain electronic
materials/components directly to the sun so that the ultra- violet
rays from the sun can cause some changes in the component,
and in pharmaceutical/chemical industries where certain plants
used for pharmaceutical purpose/chemicals are exposed to direct
sunlight for a little while to cause some chemical changes in them
and even at home sometimes when we open our windows to allow
the sun rays to fall into our rooms to eliminate dampness, and
allows for proper aeration.
When rain falls, it will cause a setback to all the reasons for
sun-drying enumerated above, especially when the materials
being sun dried are not retrieved quickly. Thus, designing and
constructing a device which gives one a heads-up the instant it
starts to rain hopefully giving you time to retrieve the materials
being sun dried, close your windows, and bring in possession is not
only apropos but also absolutely imperative. Also, since it can
rain at any time without any warning, clothes in a clothes line
outside the house that are almost dry may get wet if we do not
realize it is raining on time.

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Chapter 2

CIRCUIT DISCRIPTION

It is an Automatic Rain Sensing Alarm circuit. In this circuit

we use IC 555 timer,5 resistors,1 capacitor,1 NPN BC545
transistor,1 buzzer,9v battery and rain sensor which is connected to
point A and B as shown in fig (2)

2.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM

Figure 2.1: Block Diagram

Rain water sensor is the main component in the circuit. For

this rain sensor, no need to go and buy in the market or online. We
can do it ourselves just by taking the piece of Bakelite or mica
board and aluminum wire. Bakelite or mica board should be made
completely flat and aluminum wire should be pasted on the flat
board as shown in the figure below of rain water sensor. Care
should be taken that there should be no spaces between the wire
and board. When the rain water sensor is completed, it should get
connected to the circuit and voltage should be passed through the
wires. If there is no rain, the resistance between the wires will be
very high and there will be no conduction between the wires in
the sensor. If there is rain, the water drops will fall on the rain
sensor which will also decrease

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 Figure 2.2: Block Diagram

The resistance between the wires and wires on the sensor board
will conduct and trigger the NE555 timer through the transistor's
circuitry. Once NE555 is triggered, it will make the output pin
high and which will make the buzzer to make alarm.

RAIN ALARM CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Figure 2.3: RAIN ALARM CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

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It is a very simple rain alarm circuit which is designed using ainly a transistor,
water sensor and a 555 timer IC. Whenever there is a rain, rain drops falls on
the rain sensor, and as you can see in the diagram of rain sensor, water on rain
sensor would short the Point A and B. As soon as Point A and B become short,
a positive voltage would get applied on the base of Transistor Q1,
through the resistance R4. Because of the voltage at the base, transistor
becomes ON (initially it was in OFF state), and current started flowing
form collector to emitter. Now Reset PIN 4 of the 555 Timer, gets a
positive voltage and 555 timer IC becomes ON and Buzzer starts
beeping. Here we should note that initially there was no positive voltage
at Reset PIN 4 of 555 IC, as it was connected to the ground through
resistance R5 (4.7k) and 555 IC only works when Reset pin gets positive
voltage. Here we can see that 555 Timer IC has been configured in A
stable mode so that Buzzer generate an oscillating sound (means
periodically on and off). This oscillation frequency can be controlled by
changing the value of resistor R2 and/or capacitor C1. Pin 5 control Pin,
should be connected to ground through a .01uf capacitor. Resistor R3
and R4 has been used to control the transistors collector and base
current respectively. Rain sensor should be kept at 30-40 degree from
the ground, so that water cannot stay on it, for the long time, this will
prevent the alarm to going on for a long time.

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Chapter 3

Component Description

3.1 RESISTOR
A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that
implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic
circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal
levels, to divide voltages, bias active elements, and terminate
transmission lines, among other uses. High-power resistors that
can dissipate many watts of electrical power as heat may be used as
part of motor controls, in power distribution systems, or as test
loads for generators. Fixed resistors have resistances that only
change slightly with temperature, time or operating voltage.
Variable resistors can be used to adjust circuit elements (such as a
volume control or a lamp dimmer), or as sensing devices for heat,
light, humidity, force, or chemical activity.

Figure 3.1: Resistor

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 3.2 CAPACITOR
A capacitor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that
stores electrical energy in an electric field. The effect of a
capacitor is known as capacitance. While capacitance exists
between any two electrical conductors of a circuit in sufficiently
close proximity, a capacitor is specifically designed to provide
and enhance this effect for a variety of practical applications by
consideration of size, shape, and positioning of closely spaced
conductors, and the intervening dielectric material. A capacitor
was therefore historically first known as an electric condenser.

Figure 3.2: Capacitor

3.3 TRANSISTOR
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch
electronic signals and electrical power. It is composed of
semiconductor material usually with at least three terminals for
connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to
one pair of the transistor’s terminals controls the current through
an- other pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power
can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can
amplify a signal.

Figure 3.3: Transistor

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 3.4 BUZZER
A buzzer or beeper is an audio signaling device, which may be
mechanical, Electro mechanical, or piezoelectric. Typical uses of
buzzers and beepers include alarm devices, timers, and
confirmation of user input such as a mouse click or keystroke.
Types of buzzers:
Electromechanical: Early devices were based on an
electromechanical system identical to an electric bell without the
metal gong. Similarly, a relay may be connected to interrupt its own
actuating current, causing the contacts to buzz. Often these units were
anchored to a wall or ceiling to use it as a sounding board. The word
“buzzer” comes from the rasping noise that electromechanical buzzers
made.
Piezoelectric: A piezoelectric element may be driven by an
oscillating electronic circuit or other audio signal source, driven
with a piezoelectric audio amplifier. Sounds commonly used to
indicate that a button has been pressed are a click, a ring or a beep.
Battery 9v: An electric battery is a device consisting of one or more
electrochemical cells with external connections provided to power
electrical devices such as flashlights, smartphones, and electric
cars. When a battery is supplying electric power, its positive
terminal is the cathode and its negative terminal is the anode.
The terminal marked negative is the source of electrons that when
connected to an external circuit will flow and deliver energy to an
external device. When a battery is connected to an external
circuit, electrolytes are able to move as ions within, allowing the
chemical reactions to be completed at the separate terminals and so
deliver energy to the external circuit. It is the movement of those
ions within the battery which allows current to flow out of the
battery to perform work. Historically the term “battery” specifically
referred to a device composed of multiple cells; however, the usage
has evolved additionally to include devices composed of a single
cell.

Figure 3.4: Buzzer

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 3.5 RAIN SENSOR
A rain sensor or rain switch is a switching device activated by
rainfall. There are two main applications for rain sensors. The first
is a water conservation device connected to an automatic irrigation
system that causes the system to shut down in the event of
rainfall. The second is a device used to protect the interior of an
automobile from rain and to support the automatic mode of
windscreen wipers. An additional application in professional
satellite communications antennas is to trigger a rain blower on the
aperture of the antenna feed, to remove water droplets from the
mylar cover that keeps pressurized and dry air inside the wave-
guides. Rain sensors for irrigation systems are available in both
wireless and hard-wired versions, most employing hygroscopic
disks that swell in the presence of rain and shrink back down again
as they dry out an electrical switch is in turn depressed or released
by the hygroscopic disk stack, and the rate of drying is typically
adjusted by controlling the ventilation reaching the stack. However,
some electrical type sensors are also marketed that use tipping
bucket or conductance type probes to measure rainfall. Wireless
and wired versions both use similar mechanisms to temporarily
suspend watering by the irrigation controller specifically they are
connected to the irrigation controller’s sensor terminals, or are
installed in series with the solenoid valve common circuit such that
they prevent the opening of any valves when rain has been sensed.

Figure 3.5: Rain sensor

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Chapter 4

IMPLEMENTATION

4.1 Software Description

Eagle PCB design and software: - The name EAGLE is a short
form, which stands for Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor.
This software offers user friendly and powerful solutions for PCB
design, including Schematic Capture, Board Layout and Auto
router. This software is developed by Cad soft. EAGLE is
popular among hobbyists because of its freeware license and rich
availability of component libraries on the web. EAGLE has
following 2 sections:
Schematic capture: EAGLE contains a schematic editor, for
designing circuit di- a grams. Parts can be placed on many sheets
and connected together through ports.

PCB layout: The PCB layout editor allows back annotation to

the schematic and auto-routing to automatically connect traces
based on the connections defined in the schematic. How to use
EAGLE Software

1) Create new project Start up the Eagle control panel, and right-
click on” projects” to create a new project. You’ll get to name it
whatever you want
2) Create new schematic in the project.
Once you have created the new project, it will be” opened”
automatically (which doesn’t do much other than tell EAGLE that”
this is the current project”.) Right click on the new project and
follow the popup menus to create a new schematic.

3) Find and place (” add”) components are added to a schematic

from the ADD dialog, which you get to by clicking the ADD
button over on the GUI menu.

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 Figure 4.1: PCB Layout on Software

4) Neaten things up We can make things a bit neater by moving some of

the components, junctions, and wires around just a BIT using the Move button.
When you select an object after clicking the move button, the object gets
attached to your mouse pointer and behaves like when you were adding
objects with respect to the other mouse buttons.

5) Re-zoom the drawing Since we have all the components added, we can
use the zoom-to-fit button to fit things better in our window.

6) Wiring components Now it’s time to make wire between components, find”
Wire” to star When you finish making wire between two components, hit” Es-
cape” in the keyboard to move to the next one.

7) Do Rule Check
The button shown does an electrical rule check. It will check whether the pin's
designated outputs are connected to inputs, whether there are obvious missing
junctions, and stuff like that.

8) Fix Errors and Warnings.

When we run it on our schematics so far, we get a warning that the junction is
missing. We could fix that with the name command, or just leave it as is.

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 9) Apply component values When we plopped down the components during the”
add” phase, we didn’t assign specific values to any of them. Some of the components
have inherent values that don’t need to change. But the resistors, capacitors, and
diodes should all have their values filled in appropriately.
Values are assigned using the” Value” button. After selecting the button, click on each
component near its origin (little” +” sign), and you should be presented with an
opportunity to change the value.

10) Transform the schematic into board After finishing and saving your schematic,
now we can move to the next step which is to move to board drawing by using” Board”
as shown in the picture.

11) Rearrange your components Use” move” and the right-button of the mouse to
rearrange your circuit on the board After rearranging your circuit, just go to” Tools /
Auto” Then hit” OK”. The job is done Your circuit is ready, save your work as usual
and print it if you want.

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Chapter 5

Advantages and Disadvantages

ADVANTAGES:

1. Conserve Water There is a lot of water that you can save by

using a rain sensor. By automatically turning off your lawn
irrigation system every time it rains, the conserved water can be
used in other essential purposes such as fighting fire.

2. Prevent Disease Damage and Nutrient Loss Over-watering

prevent the roots of your plants from reaching deep into the ground
making your plants vulnerable to disease. Over-watering is also one
of the major causes of nutrient loss in plants as excessive watering
washes away the nutrients of the soil leaving your plants weak and
unhealthy.

3. Save Money on Fertilizer A rain sensor prevents you from

overwatering your plants and lawn. When a plant is overwatered, the
nutrients from the turf wash away into the drainage system. You have
to compensate by adding more fertilizers to your lawn and plants.
This means spending more money on fertilizers. With a rain sensor
that effectively prevents your lawn irrigation system from
overwatering your lawn and plants, your garden turf will remain to be
an ideal environment for your plants in accordance with the fertilizer
that you are using.

4. Increase the Life-span of your Irrigation System Using a rain

sensor prevents unnecessary wear and tear of your lawn irrigation
system since it minimizes the amount of time that your lawn
irrigation is in operation. This is especially useful during the rainy
season where rain unpredictably come and go.

5. Prevent Groundwater and Waterways Pollution A lawn

irrigation system equipped with a rain sensor minimizes wasteful
runoff such as pesticides, motor

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oil, fertilizer, pet waste and sediments from reaching your waterways. It
also minimizes garden pollutants such as herbicides and fertilizers from
getting into your groundwater system

DISADVANTAGES:

1. It doesn't talk about the speed of the rain which is fallen on the
roof.

2. It will send signal or the led will be glowing until the detector
becomes wet.

3. It something is over that then the detector will not work until it
gets wet.

4. There are so many problems that you will face when you will make
this circuit.

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Chapter 6

PCB MAKING PROCESS

1. While designing a layout, it must be noted that the size of

board should be as small as possible.

2. Before starting, all components should be placed properly so

that an accurate measurement of space can be made.

3. The component should not be mounted very close to each

other or far away from one another.

4. The layout is first printed on tracing paper then traced on copper

plate.

5. The copper plate is first dip in photo resistive solution.

6. Then it is heated and dry.

7. Then placing print on copper plate and that plate on ultra-

Light exposure box for 15 min.

8. Then plate is dipped in thinner where the tracks get visible.

9. Then this plate is kept in etching solution for 15 min.

10. Then drilling is done according to the components.

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Figure 6.1: PCB Layout

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Chapter 7

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE

SCOPE

• CONCLUSION

The rain water detector-alarm system will be useful in both

domestic and industrial applications. It alerts the users of
the presence of rain when it is just about to rain as even the
minutest droplets of water triggers it ON thereby giving the
user ample ime to retrieve possessions, shut windows, and
in some cases prepare to harvest rain water. The device when
properly placed to receive the first set of droplets of rain water
can save the user from damaging possessions that were being
sundried/prevent rain from entering homes, offices, and silos
etc.

• FUTURE SCOPE
Using more appropriate rain sensor we can make precise
automatic rain sensing system.by adding microcontroller-
based system we can implement some security features for
farmer.

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