Fusion USB I/O Board - What type of sensors would you like to see?

**Sonicxtacy02** · 03-27-2008, 04:38 PM

any chance we will see rain sensors for a rain-sensing wiper setup?

**greenman100** · 03-27-2008, 04:47 PM

make your own.

put two bare wires real close to each other, one to input, one to +5vDC

when it rains, the input will increase

when it's not raining, the input will go to zero

**Sonicxtacy02** · 03-27-2008, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by greenman100

make your own.

put two bare wires real close to each other, one to input, one to +5vDC

when it rains, the input will increase

when it's not raining, the input will go to zero

you know ur gonna burn my house down talking like its that simple right! lol

**greenman100** · 03-27-2008, 05:08 PM

it really is that simple

**dyne** · 03-28-2008, 10:17 AM

does rainwater have enough ions in it to be conductive?

**Sonicxtacy02** · 03-28-2008, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by greenman100

it really is that simple

ok so i run two small gauge wires up under my wiper cowl that are bare. Run one wire to the +5v and one to input leaving the switched ground disconnected. test the input voltage without rain and thats my floor. Then when it rains both the 5v line and the input line get wet, and this causes the input line's voltage to increase to a pre-defined point at which the output trigger hits a relay and turns the wipers on? Its that simple? The 5v line being hit with water wont cause an electrical short? if its that easy i'm amazed! lol

**turbocad6** · 03-28-2008, 12:30 PM

that will kinda work maybe in a crude way, but oe rain sesors don't work by detecting the water in that way, they use a transmit & recieve eye in the windshield & it actually detects the distortion or prizm effect of rain drops on the windshield... in that way it can vary the wipers from a slow delayed stroke to a high fast speed in a heavy rain...

if you have wires that detect water I could see it not functioning anything like an oe rain sensor really...

**greenman100** · 03-28-2008, 12:33 PM

I was half joking, but that's how moisture sensors in the ground work

turbocad's method is a bit more complicated but perhaps more reliable

also, no chance of short, for two reasons:
water isn't conductive enough to short 5 volts
the brain has built in overload protection