Chapter 1004: New Outlook in the Southern Seas
"Then please allow Chief Engineer Gao to introduce the tipping bucket rain gauge to us." Director Hou said with a smile.

To explain this thing clearly, one has to draw it. Gao Zhendong feels that his simple drawing skills have improved rapidly in the past two years. When the twins grow up a little, he will be able to teach them.

He drew the structure of the tipping bucket rain gauge in just a few strokes and then introduced it to his comrades without showing any impatience.

I put so much effort into these things, in addition to the need for water conservancy informationization and the use of computer technology to contribute to water conservancy, I also want to reduce some losses as much as possible, including human and material losses. After the comrades in hydrology have enough data, many things can be roughly calculated, at least with guiding significance.

This thing has a simple principle and is a little troublesome to manufacture, but not that troublesome. It is a typical example of high quality and low price.

In fact, it is very simple. It is just a standard rain collector with a diameter of 200mm connected to a funnel. Below the funnel are two tipping buckets. The two tipping buckets always keep one up and the other down. In this state, the water leaking from the rain collector will flow into one of the tipping buckets.

The clever design of the center of gravity allows the two buckets to receive water in turn, so that each time the bucket is tipped, a pulse can be emitted through the magnet and reed switch. As for its resolution, it depends on the size of the bucket. Common ones are 0.1mm, 0.5mm, and 1mm.

The most amazing thing about this thing is that it has no circuits other than a few contacts and reed switches, making it extremely simple.

It was so simple that as soon as Gao Zhendong finished his introduction, the comrades understood it all. There was no need for Gao Zhendong to explain it again. They even felt that the truth was simple.

"This is good. It's much simpler than the self-counting rain gauge we use in hydrology."

Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "Indeed, for you, if you don't have the conditions to use a data logger, you can use two wires to connect the rain gauge to a pulse counter with a display, and it will work. At least when observing rainfall, you don't have to run into the rain. Moreover, this thing consumes very little power. If you use a TN LCD screen, two No. 1 batteries can last for a long time."

Compared with data loggers, pulse counters with displays are much cheaper.

There is a characteristic for comrades observing rainfall: the heavier the rain, the more they need to observe the rainfall in a timely manner, just like reading a water meter. Moreover, the rain gauge must be placed in a place with good sky clearance conditions, which makes the work of the comrades responsible for observation more difficult.

"Oh, yes, this thing can really be used as a simple automatic rain gauge, which can greatly improve the working environment of comrades during the rainy season." Director Hou was very happy. Just this thing could be regarded as a high-tech innovation. Maybe the meteorological department would come to him to ask for this thing.

Director Hou happily split the gains of this trip into one project. After all, the functions, difficulty levels and scopes of application were different, so they could be split into many projects.

"For you, I suggest you use 0.5mm. Only those in the meteorological department should consider using 0.1mm or 0.2mm. The latter requires higher manufacturing precision, while the former is sufficient for you." Gao Zhendong did not give a reason. Anyway, that was what was stipulated in the design report he saw. It would be a waste to make full use of the experience of future generations.

Xue Chongli was a little puzzled: "Does this mean that short-term rainfall below 0.5 mm will be lost?"

To put it simply, only 0.4mm of water was deposited, but there was no water at the back, so the bucket could not turn over, and then this little bit of water evaporated in the bucket, and this part of the data was completely lost.

Before Gao Zhendong could speak, Director Hou laughed and said, "Don't worry, Chongli. For hydrology, short-term rainfall below 0.5mm is meaningless. It will not cause flood disasters, and it is useless for dispatching. It is too little. General Gao said that the meteorological department wants 0.1mm because they have higher requirements for the integrity of rainfall data."

It’s no wonder that Director Hou is finding it more and more comfortable to call “Chongli” now.

Gao Zhendong was amused. He didn't continue the story any more. "Well, that's it. As for the other item of water and rainfall conditions, the water level, I think you already know that I once made a pressure level gauge."

"Yes, I heard about it. It is very easy to install. In an emergency, you can just find a suitable location and throw it into the water." The pressure water level gauge is indeed one of the easiest water level gauges to install.

"I'll give you the circuit diagram later. Please modify it, especially the structural design. It was a bit makeshift and had a strong sense of being a makeshift product. You need to modify it to make it more adaptable and protective."

Gao Zhendong's words were not out of modesty, but the truth. That's why Director Hou didn't say anything like "it's already good enough, no need to change it". Top technical experts like Chief Engineer Gao have their own pride, and blindly flattering him would only expose his faults.

"Okay, okay, we'll modify it as soon as possible and try to replace the equipment currently used on the reservoir as soon as possible. By the way, we can also do actual installation tests. We want to collect this batch of old equipment." Director Hou took a different approach with a tricky and unique angle.

Blind student, you discovered Hua Dian.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said nothing. This thing is indeed a part of the history of water conservancy informatization. It is not surprising that they want to collect it.

"There is also a similar soil moisture sensor. I will give you the circuit later. But what I want to talk about now is another water level meter." There are many types of water level meters, but in Gao Zhendong's opinion, considering the cost, technical conditions, installation difficulty, maintenance difficulty and other aspects, there are only two types of water level meters worth using now, and the pressure water level meter mentioned just now is one of them.

"What else? Haha, that's great, great." This is Xue Chongli. The water level and soil moisture content mentioned just now had already been taken care of by Gao Zhendong. He felt very unsatisfied.

"Yes, let's get a float water level gauge..."

The structure of the float water level gauge is also simple. A set of mechanical encoding wheels is connected to the drive shaft, and the drive shaft is connected to a fixed pulley. There are floats and balance weights at both ends of the fixed pulley. The float is placed in the water and sinks and floats up and down with the water level, driving the drive shaft to drive the encoding wheel. The water level can be read directly according to the numbers on the encoding wheel, or the water level can be converted into a digital signal and sent out.

This thing is actually not difficult. Strictly speaking, it has a history of thousands of years and finished products are now available. However, what Xue Chongli and his team have to accomplish is to read the data on the encoding wheel and transmit it according to the SDI-12 protocol.

"Mr. Gao is also very familiar with float water level gauges." Director Hou smiled. This was not flattery, but sincere admiration, because Gao Zhendong specifically proposed to develop a digital float water level gauge, which showed that he had a lot of ideas about the difference and application scope of float water level gauges and pressure water level gauges, so he suggested developing the two together.

Xue Chongli was puzzled: "Why do we need a float when there is pressure? This thing is much more troublesome to install than pressure."

Director Hou smiled and said, "Chongli, the float water level gauge is naturally equipped with water level oscillation damping, which has a wave-breaking effect. This is something that the pressure water level gauge has to use other means to achieve."

Gao Zhendong nodded, worthy of being a comrade from the Institute of Water Conservancy Science and Technology.

"Yes, and although the resolution of the pressure water level gauge exceeds that of the float, its accuracy is not as good. At the same time, its reliability and lifespan are not as good as those of the float, and it is easily struck by induced lightning, even with lightning protection measures. My suggestion is that in the current environment, if you can install a float water level gauge when measuring the water level, install a float, and use pressure only when it is inconvenient to install a float. Of course, the pressure water level gauge is more suitable for seepage pressure and uplift pressure."

Mr. Gao's considerations are indeed thorough, and he knows our hydrological characteristics very well, Director Hou thought to himself.

"Okay, I understand. Hey, you know what, this trip is quite a lot."

Xue Chongli flipped through his notebook and was very happy. He would be busy next.
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Although it is still January and the Spring Festival is coming soon, the north is freezing cold, but in the Key West Islands in the south, it is warm like spring? Summer?

There is now a small harbor and supporting dock on Jiuxing Island in the Xijiao Islands.

The comrades stationed on Jiuxing Island looked happily at the two mighty ships docked at the shore, with four torpedo boats and two gunboats beside them. Compared with the "big ships", these boats of around 4 tons seemed very petite.

Although they are called big ships, they are actually just large frigates weighing less than 500 tons. It’s just that our comrades have fewer opportunities to come into contact with large ships, so they think these two frigates are already very large.

As for the torpedo boats, there is no other way. Once the torpedo boats are built, they cannot be used. With the 12 anti-ship missiles on the two escort boats, this kind of boat used for chores and defense around the base does not necessarily have to be a missile boat. Torpedo boats and gunboats are just right.

At the loading and unloading area of ​​the dock, three landing craft were opening their gangplanks, and comrades were unloading cement, steel, food, small construction machinery and other supplies from the craft.

In a barracks not far from the dock, several comrades were watching everything happening on the dock.

"With these things, the construction of the airport may even be completed ahead of schedule."

"Well, now we have firmly controlled Xijiao, which is the first springboard. The construction of the airport is very important, and we must complete it as planned, and we can only advance it, not postpone it."

Thanks to the Russians' MiG-19 and Il-28, both of which are front-line combat aircraft, their improved Zhan-7 multi-purpose fighter and Gong-5 attack aircraft do not have very high requirements for airports. Even with the addition of flying tractors for emergency commuting, the requirements for airport runways are extremely low, so the construction progress of this airport on the island is very optimistic.

"Two more gunboats are heading to Tianya Island to escort the next batch of transport fleets?"

"Yes, although there are air patrols in this area, and the distance is very close, it is still more convenient to have two gunboats to protect us."

At the speed of a transport ship, it would take more than 10 hours to travel several hundred kilometers, so it would be better to have an escort.

(End of this chapter)