bk78
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BK’s shit show
glad to see you back at it mate cheers JZ Thanks budd. Hope all is well with you and yours
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Any recommendations for a par meter
- Thread starter MrStickyScissors
- Start date
They are talking about a diffuser as called for in the instructions.
Week4@inCharge
Well-Known Member
They all max out around 32,000 lux on my cheap Samsung A01 and about 10% higher than my TASI TA8130 lux meter. I find it interesting as @Randomblame said cheap lux meters seem to read 10% low. I sure miss that guy.
Maybe I'll buy the suggested UNI-T UT383-BT lux meter with Bluetooth to try with PPFD reader.
I'm using only 3000k and 3500k LED so I don't need to be concerned with lux meters not reading far red etc.
Week4@inCharge
Well-Known Member
Red And blue.. ,mostly green is what lux meters read.. (not an expert here, just a weekend grower) but.. I'm currently using that right now too. I also have the yellow version of that Lux meter on hand (The red ver. is at another grow location), the math on both is only off into the 100ths. (UNI-T Lux at .017 yellow version at .0165 for the conversion, multiply lux to the fraction = PAR) But I have a different Kelvin lighting you ask/say.. and yes that's the monkey wrench in the whole equation it seems like. I can't remember what lighting Migro was using to factor in those numbers. ..oh now I remember.. 3500K, we're in luck. But..If you did have a different source of lighting... there's this--> https://www.waveformlighting.com/horticulture/convert-lux-to-ppfd-online-calculator
First: I re-watched Migro's video and realized/remembered(?) that though he mentions using a samsung s20, he says the Photone app was being tested for iPhone - because at that time it wasn't out for Android yet. I knew this, because I was eagerly waiting for the Android release back then. I Just forgot, I guess. Also evident by the copy of his graph you posted (@LeastExpectedGrower ). So, my mistake there. If I could edit the post a page or two back where I linked the two vids and said "tested with samsung s20", I would.
Second: @MrStickyScissors, regarding your thread's question; "Any recommendations for a par meter", I assume you've got enough to go on now? You good? Everything from a $5-10 app, a $140 par meter, to $600-1000 "pro" par meters.
Edit: Geniune question, by the way. I'm not being sarcastic.
This was me being sarcastic:
Second: @MrStickyScissors, regarding your thread's question; "Any recommendations for a par meter", I assume you've got enough to go on now? You good? Everything from a $5-10 app, a $140 par meter, to $600-1000 "pro" par meters.
Edit: Geniune question, by the way. I'm not being sarcastic.
This was me being sarcastic:
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MrStickyScissors
Well-Known Member
Yes sir plenty of options thanks
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
I looked for someone locally who has a rental on an apogee, but there's nothing in the area. I'll eventually grab a Photobio Phantom, but it's not in the cards for the immediate future.
Not just because I'm interested in see what it says my lights read but also to be able to compare. I'm also going to try a modified diffuser to see what that does since at least one of the more in-depth reviews claiming accuracy as the paper raised up off the lens/sensor by what looks to be about 1/8th of an inch, so I'll play with that.
I've also reached out for a PAR map from HLG for my 225's since they don't have one online, so that I can do some 'baseline' testing at different heights against what they think the lights are doing. One or two of the more in-depth 225 reviews have Apogee readings at a few different heights so I can certainly work with those though probably not as on point as a published map.
In terms of my current light schedule, is the app is fairly on, then I'm not leaving much photo-productivity on the table, since I'm hitting at or above DLI with 15h. But then of course accuracy is the question.
lusidghost
Well-Known Member
I've never had a meter, but all of this recent chatter has me wanting to play with one.
I screwed up. The diffuser is for iPhone, not Android.
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
So I ended up getting a long-promised check from the US Treasury today, and it was a little bigger than I was expecting (hey, they pay interest on their back debts) and figured what with all this talk, I'd order up a PhotoBio Phantom, so once that shows up I'll also do a quick comparison and see how things sit.
Week4@inCharge
Well-Known Member
Playing with the Photone app yesterday... remembered why I deleted it last year .. not consistent. got three different readings off my android phone (Pixel 4a) in the same spot within 5 minutes off reading. So... your mileage may vary with this app.
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
Part of my decision also came from HLG...I emailed them on Monday asking for a PAR map of the 225. They replied in 24 hours but didn't have one for that light. Though they did point me towards a video where it was tested with an Apogee and said it was accurate, I'm not sure that I'd care to compare to a rando YouTube review with PAR readings to try and calibrate the app to match...because rando. The other piece of the puzzle is since I use 3 of them in close proximity, they're all 'fortifying' each other's PAR readings, meaning a reading on a single lamp isn't the same as what I'd get, and while I could test by shutting 2 of them down, still just comparing to what a rando YouTuber reports.
Week4@inCharge
Well-Known Member
Doesn't matter, you'd want the PAR readings as is, meaning what you got going with your setup. I have two different lighting kits right next to each other. Checking PAR independently isn't gonna help, I'd have to test what's going on with both lights on and adjust accordingly,
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
No, that's not the point. If I had an accurate map for one light, I could check the accuracy of the Photone App against it and calibrate accordingly.
In this case I'm getting a new meter, but the reviews you can find online show that people also report a variety of accuracy levels.
Week4@inCharge
Well-Known Member
got it .. well shit... might just have to do the same. I never dug into the calibration part of the app. I'll play with that for fun but not holding high hopes. Looking forward to your results.No, that's not the point. If I had an accurate map for one light, I could check the accuracy of the Photone App against it and calibrate accordingly.
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
I also just built a new phone-diffuser. One of the two more substantive reviews had an ad-hoc diffuser that was more than just a piece of paper taped across the lens, but lifted the diffuser off the lens by about half an inch and found better accuracy that way. So I built one with a couple layers of 1/4" foam core and 20# paper (plenty of that, since it the standard at the office).got it .. well shit... might just have to do the same. I never dug into the calibration part of the app. I'll play with that for fun but not holding high hopes. Looking forward to your results.
bk78
Well-Known Member
What’s the shipping time on the apogee mq 500?got it .. well shit... might just have to do the same. I never dug into the calibration part of the app. I'll play with that for fun but not holding high hopes. Looking forward to your results.
Week4@inCharge
Well-Known Member
Week4@inCharge
Well-Known Member
Daddy's Home...
Got dinner and the ladies will be tucked in bed before I can do some serious playing with the inspector gadget ...but ...
EDIT: my lux calculations...we're not off at all..wow. I'm surprised.
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