www.skyeinstruments.com
Iss. 1.2
@SkyeInstruments
Skye.Instruments
SkyeInstrumentsVideo
Have a Smartphone? Scan this QR code to access our website for more information about your
product:
Please be aware that the information in this manual was correct at time of issue, and should be 100% relevant to
the accompanying product. We take great pride in our ever-evolving range of products, which means that sometimes
the product may change slightly due to re-design.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact our technical team by any of the methods above.
CONTENTS
Page
1.
INTRODUCTION
2.
OPERATION
OUTPUTS
4.1 Voltage Output.............................5
4.2 Current Output..............................5
4.3 Sensitivity Control..........................6
4.4 Connecting to Skye DaaHog...........6
1. INTRODUCTION
The Skye Surface Wetness sensor SKLW 1900 is designed to be precise, easy to use and simple to
connect to recording devices and loggers. It is robust and corrosion free, incorporating a sensitive gold
plated grid, designed to detect free water on any similarly exposed surface, e.g. leaves, windows, paint
surface etc.
The sensing grid is excited by AC voltage and droplets of water on this area, however fine, will change
the impedance of the sensing grid. These measuring voltages on the sensor surface are very low, and when
the sensor is wet they approach zero, thus the sensor is close to being an inert surface. As the electrical
properties of natural water vary from place to place and even day to day, an exact calibration of wetness is
not possible.
As standard the sensor output is nominally 0-400 mV where 0mV = dry and 400 mV = wet. Other
outputs are available at time of ordering, or can be selected on board by the user. Please see later in this
manual for details.
A sensitivity control is also available, the default factory setting is medium sensitivity, but this can be
increased or decreased as preferred by the user. Please see later in this manual for details.
The surface wetness sensor is supplied in a weatherproof housing sealed to IP65, which has suitable
fixing points for mounting on a flat surface or at any desired angle. Alternatively, it can be used with a
mounting arm SKM 226 which enables the sensor to be supported from a mast or boom between 25 and 50
mm diameter. The sensor is stood off from the mast by 330mm with the arm to avoid shadowing effects.
2. OPERATION
2.1 Sensing Surface
The sensing surface attached to the top of the sensor housing is heavily gold plated and surrounded
by epoxy resin. If this is kept fairly clean, it will give good, reproducible results.
Some users feel that the surface should not be readily wetted by water and to this end a small
amount of silicone polish may be applied. Alternatively, to emulate other surfaces such as stone etc., a
layer of clean cloth may be used to give a similar wet delay.
If experimenting with different coatings on the grid, remember that a waterproof coating will stop the
sensor from working. In most applications the plain gold grid will give the best and most consistent results.
2.2 Cleaning
It should be noted that to give consistent results, the sensor surface should be consistent itself. Fallout
of ash, pollution and smoke particles etc., will affect the performance of the sensor. Depending on the
degree of the pollution the sensor must be cleaned with according frequency to prevent build up of such
contaminants.
Only water and a soft cloth should be used. In extreme cases a little alcohol may help remove some
oily deposits but no other solvents nor any abrasive cleaners should be used. Also avoid damage to the
silicone rubber cover on the central grid connection.
In general, cleaning every 2-4 weeks is all that should be needed in most cases.
FUNCTION
WIRE COLOUR
5V power supply to sensor
Red
0-400 mV analogue sensor output
Yellow
No connection
---No connection
---Ground
Blue & cable screen
Red
------Yellow
Blue & cable screen