Overview

The RG15 Arduino Library (RG15-Arduino) provides robust communication with the RG15 Rain Gauge Sensor over a serial interface.

It was designed for use with the senseBox microcontroller and fixes problems with the standard library provided by hydreon and our old version. This library is designed for accurate and reliable retrieval of rainfall data, supporting polling mode and essential sensor functionalities.

Features

• Retrieves real-time rainfall data, including:
  • Accumulated rainfall since the last poll.
  • Accumulated rainfall for the current event.
  • Total accumulated rainfall since last reset.ist
  • Rainfall intensity.
• Supports metric (mm) and imperial (inches) units.
• Allows change of valid baud rates (1200 to 57600).
• Allows sensor reinitialization and polling mode.
• Provides error handling and debugging capabilities.
• Compatible with Arduino-based microcontrollers, including the senseBox.

Installation

1. Download or clone the repository.
2. Copy the rg15-arduino-lib folder into your Arduino libraries directory:

   Documents/Arduino/libraries/
   

3. Restart the Arduino IDE and include the library:

   #include <RG15.h>

Dependencies

This library requires the Arduino core and a hardware serial interface.

Wiring Guide

RG15 Pin on J2	Arduino Pin (Example)
VCC (Pin 2 for 5V+, 8 for 3.3V)	5V
GND (Pin 1)	GND
OUT (Pin 3)	RX (e.g., Serial1 RX)
IN (Pin 5)	TX (e.g., Serial1 TX)

Usage

Initialize the Sensor

#include <RG15.h>

// Define serial port for sensor
// TODO

// Create RG15 object
RG15 rg51(Serial1);

void setup() {
    Serial.begin(9600); // Debug output

    // Initialize RG15 sensor with default settings
    if (rg15.begin()) {
        Serial.println("RG15 initialized successfully!");
    } else {
        Serial.println("Failed to initialize RG15!");
    }
}

void loop() {
    // Poll for rainfall data
    if (rg15.poll()) {
        Serial.print("Accumulated Rain: ");
        Serial.println(rg15.getAccumulation());
    } else {
        Serial.println("Failed to read RG15 data.");
    }
    delay(5000);
}

Available Methods

RG15 Arduino Library - Function Overview

Class: RG15

Function	Return Type	Description
RG15(HardwareSerial& serial, unsigned long cleanTime, unsigned long responseTime, unsigned int maxAttempts)	Constructor	Creates an RG15 sensor instance with custom communication settings.
RG15(HardwareSerial& serial)	Constructor	Creates an RG15 sensor instance with default settings (cleanTime = 200 ms, responseTime = 1000 ms, maxAttempts = 5).
bool begin(int baudRate, bool highResolution, char unit)	bool	Initializes the sensor with a given baud rate, resolution, and unit ('m' for metric, 'i' for imperial). Returns true if successful.
bool begin()	bool	Initializes the sensor with default settings (9600 baud, high resolution, metric). Returns true if successful.
bool poll()	bool	Retrieves the latest rain gauge data. Returns true if successful.
bool restart()	bool	Restarts the sensor. Returns true if successful.
bool changeBaudRate(unsigned int baudRate)	bool	Changes the baud rate to one of the supported values (1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600). Returns true if successful.
bool setPollingMode()	bool	Sets the sensor to polling mode. Returns true if successful.
bool setHighResolution()	bool	Enables high-resolution mode. Returns true if successful.
bool setLowResolution()	bool	Enables low-resolution mode. Returns true if successful.
bool setUnit(char unit)	bool	Sets the sensor’s unit to metric ('m') or imperial ('i'). Returns true if successful.
char getUnit()	char	Gets the current measurement unit ('m' for metric, 'i' for imperial).
bool resetAccumulation()	bool	Resets accumulated rainfall (until next restart). Returns true if successful.
float getAccumulation()	float	Retrieves the accumulated rainfall since the last poll.
float getEventAccumulation()	float	Retrieves the accumulated rainfall for the current event.
float getTotalAccumulation()	float	Retrieves the total accumulated rainfall since the last reset.
float getRainfallIntensity()	float	Retrieves the current rainfall intensity.
int getErrorCode()	int	Gets the latest error code (0-7) for debugging.
int getAttempts()	int	Retrieves the number of attempted communications.
char* getResponseBuffer()	char*	Retrieves the response buffer for debugging.

Error Codes

Code	Meaning
0	No error
1	Serial connection not established
2	Serial connection failed to write
3	Invalid response received
4	Response timeout
5	Unsupported baud rate
6	Data parsing failed
7	Unit mismatch

Notes & Limitations## Notes:

• The library currently only supports polling mode.
• Continuous mode, hardware switches, and tipping bucket features are not yet implemented.

References

• RG15 Sensor Documentation: RG15 Manual

License

This library is open-source and licensed under the MIT License.

Authors

• Paul Reichmuth (@PaulReichmuth)
• Björn Luig (@BjoernLuig)
• Inspiration from: Jan-Patrick Bollow (@JBollow)