RAIN ALARM CIRCUIT

GUIDED BY: PRESENTED BY :

MR.BIKASH SWAIN M.ADI NARAYANA REDDY
SR.ASST.PROFESSOR (17761A1024)
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS RAIN ALARM
COMPONENTS REQUIRED
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
CIRCUIT EXPLAINATION
WORKING
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
APPLICATIONS & CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION
Here is a simple and interesting hobby circuit that can be
made using the popular 555 timer IC. As you might
already know, a 555 Timer can be easily wired as Astable,
Monostable or Bistable multivibrator. This circuit can be
used as rain sensor, water overflow sensor or as a water
level sensor. This circuit make use the principle that
normal water can conduct some amount of electricity
(PURE water is not a good conductor of electricity but
water seen in nature is not pure).
 WHAT IS RAIN ALARM
 Rain Alarm Project is a simple but very useful
project that detects Rain (Rain Water) and
automatically triggers an alarm or buzzer. ... 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.
COMPONENTS REQUIRED
555 Timer IC – 1
Buzzer – 1
BC547 Transistor – 1
Resistor 100KΩ – 2
Resistor 10KΩ – 1
Resistor 1KΩ – 1
Capacitor 10μF – 1
Capacitor 0.01μF – 1
Battery 9V – 1
 RAIN WATER SENSOR
 The Rain Water Sensor used in this project is shown in the image below. It is a
simple sensor and it is an easy to use tool for detecting rain. It can act as a
simple switch, where the switch is normally open and when there is rain, the
switch closes.
 Even though Rain Water sensor is the main component in the circuit. We need
not 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 aluminium wire.
 Bakelite or Mica board should be made completely flat and aluminium wire
should be pasted on the flat board as shown in the figure below. 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.
 Rain Water Sensor DIYIf there is no rain, the resistance between the contacts
will be very high as 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 form a
conductive path between the wires and it also decreases the resistance between
the contacts.
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
CIRCUIT EXPLAINATION
The heart of this circuit is a 555 Timer wired as an astable
multivibrator. As you can see above 8th pin (VCC) of 555
is connected to positive of the supply and 1st pin (GND) is
connected to the negative. A buzzer is connected to the 3rd
pin (output) of 555 timer, so it will produce sound
depending on the output of 555. Resistors R3, R4 and the
capacitor C1 will set the time period of oscillations
produced by 555. Capacitor C2 is connected to the 5th pin
to avoid high frequency noises. BC547 transistor is wired
as a switch whose collector is directly connected to the
VCC. R2 is the emitter resistor and R1 is the base resistor
of the transistor Q1.
 WORKING
As explained above, the 555 timer is wired as an astable multivibrator. The output frequency 555 is given
by the following equation.

Output Frequency = 1.44/((R3 + 2xR4) * C1) = 1.44/((1K + 2x100K)x10μF) = 0.72Hz

Since the buzzer is connected to the output of 555 timer, it turns ON when the output of 555 is HIGH and
will be OFF when the output of 555 is LOW. So when the 555 astable operates, buzzer connected to it will
produce beep sounds in 0.72Hz interval. Operation of 555 is controlled by the status of RESET pin (4th
pin) which is connected the transistor BC547. 555 Timer will produce output only when RESET pin is
HIGH.

The BC547 transistor Q1 is wired as a switch. Please read the article Transistor as a Switch for more
explanation about it. When the transistor is ON, it will conduct current from collector to emitter, so the
voltage across R2 will be HIGH. But when the transistor is OFF, it won’t conduct current from collector to
emitter, thus the voltage across R2 will be LOW. When water is touched with both rain sensor terminals,
current will flow into the base of the transistor via the current limiting base resistor R1. This turns the
transistor ON and it conducts. This will make the RESET pin of 555 HIGH and it will start oscillations.

Note 1 : You can adjust the sensitivity of this circuit by varying the transistor base resistor R1.

Note 2 : You can change the buzzer beep frequency by changing R3, R4 or C1 as per the above equation.
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES
 It is very cheap.
 The battery last very much.
 Not risky.
 No harmful effect.

DISADVANTAGES
 It doesn’t tell about the speed of the rain which is fallen on
the roof
 It will send signal or the led will be glowing until detector
becomes wet
APPLICATIONS
1.In the irrigation, it will detect the rain and immediately alert
the farmer.
2.In automobiles, when the rain detector detects the rain it will
immediately active the wipers and inform the driver.

CONCLUSION
 The rain alarm circuit produces an audible alarm
whenever the rain falls. the rain detector circuit is
based on simple idea.