Help improve my setup/growing practices

[Delps8]

From another experiment I ran yesterday I have no faith in these apps on my phone. I took it out in the sun and set the phone on the ground so it was always at the same angle etc. Set the light source for sunlight and the numbers were low so tried covering the sensor then exposing again and got totally different numbers every time. Same thing with the PPFD Meter app. I'm thinking my older Android 7.0 LG phone's sensor is not so good. I tried looking up which model of sensor it has but could not get any tech info which is what PPFD Meter wants to calibrate to my phone.

Just the fact the numbers bounce around so much it makes both apps useless to me. Pisses me off as I like free stuff.

Hadn't thought about that for a while but, now that you mention it, I think I remember the measurements changing with just a small change in the location of the phone. Regardless what happened to me, that's a pisser.

One think that comes to mind. The app is "free" if you don't need to get the settings for a specific type of light. If you do that, it's just a lux meter and that's a different set of numbers. I think that you get one light type in the trial but I can't be sure — make sure to check what is says in the app.

Sorry if you can't get it to work out. It is a good value but if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

I didn't bother ordering a light meter on amazon. Just got my milligram scale and some syringe filters.

Just checked Amazon and there are a couple of PAR meters that were "iffy" to me when I was shopping around but no longer. Back then, they were "unavailable" and the companies behind them were…not what I wanted to see. They were $300+ back then, too.
Now they're $150±. That's a steal. Just the wand for the Apogee is $60. I saw a posting on another thread/site that said that those light meters (they're the same sensor) were within 30 PPFD of an Apogee. In terms of accuracy, that's a huge value.
It's certainly not free but it can help put together the pieces of the puzzle.

 

[LabRat]

Hadn't thought about that for a while but, now that you mention it, I think I remember the measurements changing with just a small change in the location of the phone. Regardless what happened to me, that's a pisser.

One think that comes to mind. The app is "free" if you don't need to get the settings for a specific type of light. If you do that, it's just a lux meter and that's a different set of numbers. I think that you get one light type in the trial but I can't be sure — make sure to check what is says in the app.

Sorry if you can't get it to work out. It is a good value but if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.



Just checked Amazon and there are a couple of PAR meters that were "iffy" to me when I was shopping around but no longer. Back then, they were "unavailable" and the companies behind them were…not what I wanted to see. They were $300+ back then, too.
Now they're $150±. That's a steal. Just the wand for the Apogee is $60. I saw a posting on another thread/site that said that those light meters (they're the same sensor) were within 30 PPFD of an Apogee. In terms of accuracy, that's a huge value.
It's certainly not free but it can help put together the pieces of the puzzle.

I don't really need to know the actual numbers so a meter is low on my list of priorities. Cheaper plywood and other lumber would be nice to build my extra grow space. Think I may just buy a roll of panda film and use it to cover in the 2x4 framing inside and out. $100 gets me 1000sqft of it or one sheet of 3/16 ply when I need 5. A heated magnetic stirrer that can handle a couple litres and has digital heat control would be an asset as would a 2L boiling ball for my lab still and a few bits and bobs to set up for vac and fractional distillation. Years back my dog knocked over a box of glassware and busted my last 2L and a few other things like my 2nd condensor and some glass fittings. Then there's the dual hose portable A/C unit to run a sealed room with CO2.

Haven't checked my lotto tickets for last night yet so might not have to worry. Won $100 last week.

 

[Mara Cachafa]

I was using my Galaxy S7 lux sensor with the PPFD Meter app, but the glare off the screen made it hard to read and hard on the eyes. I got a LUX sensor, UNI-T UT383BT, that connects to the phone app by Bluetooth. Now I don't have to hold the phone under the lights, and I can adjust the angle of the sensor without blinding myself. The app has presets for it. Loving it.