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OBJECTIVE: A device that floats on the water's surface and measures the depth. If any changes occur in the depth, it sends a report to a remote receiver.

MY RESEARCH: I have considered the following sensors but they don't seem to be effective:

  1. IR won't work because water absorbs red light.
  2. Ultrasonic: I can't find one that works underwater.
  3. I also read a thread: Underwater distance measurement/Sensing however, I don't know if I can implement that.

QUESTION:

What sensor can I use for this purpose?

Voltage Spike
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AB4595
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    Fish finders also make good rock finders for boat hulls – Tony Stewart EE75 Apr 13 '21 at 13:21
  • Only ultrasonic can work in water. Check fish finder, it is same principals. But you may consider stationary positioned ultrasonic sensor, like HC-04, measure distance to water surface. It is easy and cheap. – user263983 Apr 13 '21 at 13:22
  • Searching for "ultrasonic depth sensor" brings up many results. In addition to that, ultrasonic sensors like those used in boats (either for fish finding or as a simple depth gauge) would also work. Look for AirMar transducers for example. – StarCat Apr 13 '21 at 13:25
  • Water absorption of red light is negligible over the depth of a pool, so you could use optical sensors. 850nm and below are good choices. – user1850479 Apr 13 '21 at 14:06
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    *Ultrasonic: I can't find one that works underwater.* - virtually every submarine and boat use sonar so you can't have researched this very well. – Andy aka Apr 13 '21 at 15:24
  • @Andyaka So far, I have looked at the following easily available ultrasonic options: JSN-SR04T-2.0 and HC-SR04. Here's a link to the video that experimentally proves that these won't be effective under water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiVjCRc9-60 I was also very hopeful of finding an easy solution, but here I am. I can't use too expensive sensors, like the ones submarine manufacturers can afford. – AB4595 Apr 13 '21 at 16:56
  • @user263983 I wanted to use it, but the device must float on the water surface. It can be tethered to the pool wall, but not fixed. – AB4595 Apr 13 '21 at 16:59
  • If tethered to the pool wall, that is usually sufficient to keep it in range of sensing the pool wall. Sensing that can be easier than sensing the bottom. – Abel Apr 13 '21 at 22:13
  • With the proper analysis, you should be able to detect depth of a liquid in a tank with something as simple as a PC mic (or waterproof one rather) and a single click sound. – Voltage Spike Apr 14 '21 at 04:27
  • @Abel That's a really good point, didn't think about it. However, I'll do now! – AB4595 Apr 15 '21 at 18:51
  • @VoltageSpike That'll require some pretty good knowledge of electronics. I'm a mechanical guy, I'm not that good at electronics and programming. – AB4595 Apr 15 '21 at 18:53
  • @AB4595 Well this is a site for electrical engineers just as stack overflow is a site for programmers. We will come up with answers with electronics in them and it won't be easy to make this kind of measurement in the way you want to. Usually tank floats are what is used. – Voltage Spike Apr 15 '21 at 18:58
  • I still think you should look into ultrasonic. There are off-the-shelf complete solutions or components (ultrasonic depth transducers) available that do exactly what you say you’re looking for. – StarCat Apr 15 '21 at 19:45

2 Answers2

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A pretty standard fluid level sensor (optical, capacitive, ultrasonic, IR) will mount to a fixed point and look down at the fluid.

If you must have the sensor float, consider measuring distance to some fixed point above the water (since your floating platform will be on the water, it is at water level).

Laser rangefinders should work, although depending on the range and precision you need the result may end up large. You can also make up for it by slower sampling and a proper filter.

The real simple solution however would be to drop an anchor. If the tension slacks or angle of the anchor line goes beyond some point, your level has dropped. If you used a torsion spring to maintain tension you could even count it as how much this spring has turned.

Abel
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  • @user263983 Apparently it depends a lot on the laser, especially (but not only) the wavelength: https://blog.rpmclasers.com/bathymetry – jcaron Apr 13 '21 at 16:01
  • It must float, that is the main obstacle. I'm looking into laser rangefinders, as many people have suggested it. – AB4595 Apr 13 '21 at 17:11
  • @AB4595 Is it safe to sine a laser down into a pool people will be swimming in? Water reflects, scatters and lenses – DKNguyen Apr 15 '21 at 19:20
  • @DKNguyen It will be used in empty pools only. – AB4595 Apr 15 '21 at 22:18
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Does it have to float? A pressure sensor on the bottom would do the job and be simpler and more reliable, even if you need to run a tether to a surface antenna, whether that antenna is fixed or floats on a buoy.

DKNguyen
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