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             •Prevented the sprinkler system from cycling on/off•Had the ability to stand up to a five-year warranty in an outdoor environment

Approach

The previous Wind-Clik made by Hunter was a purely mechanical system. With no electrical components, it was inexpensive, but it had its disadvantages especially in calibration and maintenance. In this project, electrical components were incorporated by using a circuit board with a microcontroller to allow for more accurate calibrations and ease of maintenance via the software. A magnet was mounted onto the shaft of the wind cup assembly with a nearby copper coil, and upon rotation of the wind cups, an alternating current directly related to the wind speed was produced.  The microcontroller then processed the input signal from the rotating wind cups, and from two potentiometers which served as dials for the user defined shut off and reset speeds. Based on the inputs, the device responded accordingly by using a latching relay to open or close the circuit to the sprinkler system.

Final Testing of the Prototype in UCSD's Wind Tunnel