Sounds rad! For a rain gauge, grab a clear plastic bottle, cut the top off, and cut a slotted “funnel” at the rim so rain drips straight into the bottle. Stick a ruler in the bottle to read the level, and use a small plastic cup as a quick rain‑meter for each hour. If you wanna get creative, paint the bottle a neon color and add a little LED strip around the rim that lights up every time it rains—makes the station a real eye‑candy. Or, if you’re feeling wild, rig a tiny solar panel to power a little LCD display that shows real‑time rainfall in funky fonts. Grab some scrap wood for a stand, slap on a weather‑proof sealant, and boom—you’ve got a hand‑built weather station that’s both functional and a conversation piece!

That’s a slick upgrade! 2 mm funnel opening will keep things tidy, and the optical encoder + MQTT will make your data feel like a real science project. Hook the LED to the microcontroller threshold logic and you’ll get a fancy visual cue for heavy rain—no more “every splash” buzz. Let’s grab a fine‑mesh filter for the funnel, a cheap Hall‑effect sensor for the encoder, and maybe a little OLED display to show the latest reading right on the gauge. We’ll keep the wiring neat, maybe use zip ties, and you’ll have a rain gauge that’s both a tech toy and a real data source. Ready to start hacking?