Any recommendations for a par meter

MrStickyScissors

MrStickyScissors

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
@bk78 .... @2com was telling me about the Photone app for newer phones, and it rated against the Apogee within the same parameters as you were saying.. like 10-30 par. I downloaded it, and was pretty impressed for free. Well, you gotta pay like $5.99 for the type of light your using, but what I really like about it is it gives you DLI (Daily Light Integral). So you just choose how many hours a day you're on (12/12 or 18/6 or 24/0) and it gives you a recommended level you should be at, and at what phase of the grow you're in (week). Pretty cool. iPhones require a diffuser that you make out of copy paper (very easy), but Android does not require a diffuser.


That's why I looked into this Photone app... its free, and pretty damn accurate. I paid like $100 for a HydroFarmer Par meter and didn't use it but a few times, but this app is pretty spot on, and it has more features... besides that, I observe the plants for light stress.
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10 to 30 par? It’s 400 to 700?
 
Horselover fat

Horselover fat

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
10-30 PAR difference between the app and an Apogee meter. They were very close on several tests, some were even spot on with each other. And the app will read 0 to like 9000 PAR if you stick it right next to a LED diode. Im setting right about 800 average right now in week 5 of flower, and 30-35 DLI.
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You can just as well use a free lux meter app and do the math yourself.
 
MrStickyScissors

MrStickyScissors

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
10-30 PAR difference between the app and an Apogee meter. They were very close on several tests, some were even spot on with each other. And the app will read 0 to like 9000 PAR if you stick it right next to a LED diode. Im setting right about 800 average right now in week 5 of flower, and 30-35 DLI.
Click to expand...
Ohhhh
 
MrStickyScissors

MrStickyScissors

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
@bk78 .... @2com was telling me about the Photone app for newer phones, and it rated against the Apogee within the same parameters as you were saying.. like 10-30 par. I downloaded it, and was pretty impressed for free. Well, you gotta pay like $5.99 for the type of light your using, but what I really like about it is it gives you DLI (Daily Light Integral). So you just choose how many hours a day you're on (12/12 or 18/6 or 24/0) and it gives you a recommended level you should be at, and at what phase of the grow you're in (week). Pretty cool. iPhones require a diffuser that you make out of copy paper (very easy), but Android does not require a diffuser.


That's why I looked into this Photone app... its free, and pretty damn accurate. I paid like $100 for a HydroFarmer Par meter and didn't use it but a few times, but this app is pretty spot on, and it has more features... besides that, I observe the plants for light stress.
Click to expand...
That app is dope thanks
 
calvin.m16

calvin.m16

Well-Known Member
MrStickyScissors said:
What phone would it be accurate on
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I don't know I have an iPhone 13 and it doesn't work on it. Way off. There was a "lumex" or something app I tried a year or two ago on my iPhone 10s Max, also same result, didn't come close to Apogee meters. Also those apps are going to make you pay a fee to test different spectrums etc. I would just buy a Phantom meter if you're on a budget. https://growgreenmi.com/photobio-advanced-quantum-par-meter $138.00

I use the Phantom 1000w Double Ended fixtures and love them, they are going 3 years strong.
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
calvin.m16 said:
The light meter apps that go off your phones camera are not accurate on most phones.
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Mine was way off too (iPhone 13) until I read the damn instructions for IPhone. You have to make a diffuser for it to be accurate… easy to make in 60 seconds. But for the money at $6, it was worth it. This was an in app purchase for what type of light you’re using. After that, you don’t pay anything. Android does not require a diffuser.
 
LeastExpectedGrower

LeastExpectedGrower

Well-Known Member
MrStickyScissors said:
What phone would it be accurate on
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Photone is known to be accurate on iPhones but not so much on Samsung phones. There's a number of other apps that people here recommend for Samsung, etc. For iPhone, it rates pretty darned good for anything that's X, XS or newer. I use it (properly, with paper diffuser) regularly.

The other thing to point out is that the Photone people have a really nice DLI calculator on their website that's easy to use to help dial in your lighting.

Photone - Grow Light Meter

growlightmeter.com growlightmeter.com
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
LeastExpectedGrower said:
Photone is known to be accurate on iPhones but not so much on Samsung phones. There's a number of other apps that people here recommend for Samsung, etc. For iPhone, it rates pretty darned good for anything that's X, XS or newer. I use it (properly, with paper diffuser) regularly.

The other thing to point out is that the Photone people have a really nice DLI calculator on their website that's easy to use to help dial in your lighting.

Photone - Grow Light Meter

growlightmeter.com growlightmeter.com
Click to expand...
I printed that chart out and taped it to my work bench wall.
 
LeastExpectedGrower

LeastExpectedGrower

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
I printed that chart out and taped it to my work bench wall.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I read the article that it originally came from and it was sort of an eye opener that someone could (theoretically) nail down the variance in optimal DLI across the grow and its stages.

In general though, I think obsessing about precise PAR readings is probably a bridge too far. There are way more other things one could be focusing their attention on. If you're say 50 plus or minus umol from where you desire to be, your plant probably doesn't care so much. If you under-light you leave productivity on the table. If you over light, you waste electricity and if you extreme-over light you damage your plant. There's probably more variance in user error in terms of holding the phone/sensor to correctly read the lighting than anything else.
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
LeastExpectedGrower said:
Yeah, I read the article that it originally came from and it was sort of an eye opener that someone could (theoretically) nail down the variance in optimal DLI across the grow and its stages.

In general though, I think obsessing about precise PAR readings is probably a bridge too far. There are way more other things one could be focusing their attention on. If you're say 50 plus or minus umol from where you desire to be, your plant probably doesn't care so much. If you under-light you leave productivity on the table. If you over light, you waste electricity and if you extreme-over light you damage your plant. There's probably more variance in user error in terms of holding the phone/sensor to correctly read the lighting than anything else.
Click to expand...
Exactly. It’s just a small tool that you’ll use every now and then. Otherwise, I read the plants for light stress.
 
calvin.m16

calvin.m16

Well-Known Member
Growers Choice ROI-720 placed roughly 1 foot away from the light at 100% power.
1643910215943.jpeg

T5 4' 6500k @ 1 foot away with 4 bulbs on
1643910288302.jpeg

T5 4' 6500k @ 1 foot away with 2 bulbs on
1643910321966.jpeg

It's a cool concept but the app is not going to be reliable for a huge majority of people. It's not accurate at all. After it told me my LED is putting off 131 PPFD I about dropped the phone on the plants.
 
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