[Q] Rain Gauge Software

[lightmaster]

Does anyone know of any Android app or Windows 8 program for tracking a rain gauge? I've got a cheap rain gauge outside and I'd like to have some software to record the rain amount so I can keep track of how much its rained here. I'd like some features like charts, year to date, weekly, and daily totals, and highest and lowest days. I've searched on here and also on Google, but haven't found anything that lets you chart your own data. Any software would be great. Thanks.

[soybean]

Do you have a spreadsheet program (Excel, LiberOffice Calc, etc.) installed on your computer?  Such an app could be created with a spreadsheet if you know enough about spreadsheet software.

[Geek-9pm]

Just curious. Does the OP mean that the gauge has a sensor and remote control link?
From Amazon.  Price: $25.99
Wireless Rain Center with Self-Emptying Rain Bucket
Never has one myself. Would like to know if the OP has success with his project.

[soybean]

Just curious. Does the OP mean that the gauge has a sensor and remote control link?

That's an interesting question but I very much doubt he has that since he said " I've got a cheap rain gauge outside ...".  I presume he will manually read the gauge and then enter data into his app.  Curious to see his reply.

[lightmaster]

Yea, it is a "manual" $5 one I got from tractor supply. I empty it every morning. I do currently use Excel to record it, but I was hoping for something a little more advanced and "prettier". Excel charts just don't look that good to me. Really wish I had some programming experience so I could do this myself.

[soybean]

Well, Excel provides a wide range of formatting options for charts.  So, frankly, I suspect you are not very knowledgeable about charting in Excel.  Many references and tutorials are available online.  A Google search on charting with excel will yield plenty of them.

[Geek-9pm]

Right. Look on line and find lots of stuff for Spreadsheets free.
One of so many:
http://chandoo.org/wp/2009/11/06/fancy-gauge-chart/
Yet anther:
http://www.excelforum.com/excel-charting-and-pivots/332106-excel-rainfall-chart-template.html

I think thee is a way to put background images in Excel.  If not, you can print a nice photo in very light pastel and then print a chart over on top of it. Would make a nice hard bound workbook project for a science fair.

[lightmaster]

I was hoping for some sort of software or android app similar to Libra that would track rain instead of weight.

[Geek-9pm]

The specific gravity of water is one. 

[lightmaster]

The specific gravity of water is one. 

Lol

[patio]

Personally this is a task i would go old school on and use a pencil and paper...that's just me.

[camerongray]

It does a lot more than you need but you may want to look at this: http://www.tableausoftware.com/products/public

I've never used the public version myself but I have used the full desktop version at work and it's really good.  You would still record your data in a format such as Excel and then insert this file into Tableau.  From there you can play about with different visualisations of the data, the resulting dashboard can be interactive too (e.g. adjustable date range) which is pretty cool.

Only catch with the free public version is that the data that you add is visible to the general public but for something like rainfall this shouldn't be a big deal!

[lightmaster]

Personally this is a task i would go old school on and use a pencil and paper...that's just me.

I'm not even sure if I have any plain paper at my house, lol.

It does a lot more than you need but you may want to look at this: http://www.tableausoftware.com/products/public

I've never used the public version myself but I have used the full desktop version at work and it's really good.  You would still record your data in a format such as Excel and then insert this file into Tableau.  From there you can play about with different visualisations of the data, the resulting dashboard can be interactive too (e.g. adjustable date range) which is pretty cool.

Only catch with the free public version is that the data that you add is visible to the general public but for something like rainfall this shouldn't be a big deal!

I'm actually already sharing my rain fall data at CoCoRaHS.org, so I don't mind the data being public, lol. Just from a quick glance, that does kinda look like what I was imagining in a desktop software. Definitely checking it out.