A new piezoelectric Vaisala RAINCAP® precipitation sensor and measurement method are described. Unlike traditional precipitation instruments the Vaisala RAINCAP® precipitation sensor is a maintenance free without any moving parts or components needing emptying and cleaning.

Empirical results from various test fields are presented and compared to the traditional tipping-bucket and weighing gauges. It is shown that the RAINCAP® precipitation sensor performs especially well in moderate to heavy precipitation events and due to the measurement method is free from typical sources of error in precipitation measurements.