How to correctly report precipitation?

[wingman1974]

Hi,
I need help with reporting precipitation from my weather station. Could someone please help me with the correct precipitation calculation? My weather station reports precipitation as a single number, which is the total precipitation measured since the beginning of the universe ;-) I understand that I need to somehow calculate the precipitation for the last hour, but how exactly? Do I report the amount of precipitation once in an hour (and then zero for the rest of the time) or do I always calculate the exact difference between now and -1 hour or what is the correct procedure, please? Thanks very much!