About to buy an Apogee MQ500. Anything to consider first?

[randorson]

Seems like the Apogee MQ500 is the meter I need. I just thought it would be a good idea to post here first and make sure it is the meter I want/need to really know what my LED's are outputting.

Any other meters I should consider?
Any problems/short comings of the MQ500?

Thanks!

[TEKNIK]

Seems like the Apogee MQ500 is the meter I need. I just thought it would be a good idea to post here first and make sure it is the meter I want/need to really know what my LED's are outputting.

Any other meters I should consider?
Any problems/short comings of the MQ500?

Thanks!

I am not all that familiar with Apogee products but from what I have read they only measure between 400-700nm. Depending on what you are growing under you may want something that measures under a broader spectrum. They seem to be good value for money though

[randorson]

What brands or models are better?

[TEKNIK]

It depends on your price range, if you can spend $3000 You will get a great product, I do not know of anything in the $500 range that measures from 350nm to 840nm

[TEKNIK]

https://www.uprtek.com/en/product/PG200 ... Meter.html

I will be distributing this product world wide as of July

It's a serious product though, a bit high in price for the DIY market

[randorson]

I need one a lot sooner than that. Price? What range of wavelength does it detect?

[randorson]

It depends on your price range, if you can spend $3000 You will get a great product, I do not know of anything in the $500 range that measures from 350nm to 840nm

I don't need it to measure much past 700nm if at all. Lower than 400mn would be nice but not really necessary. After reviewing the peer-reviewed, published litature on the benefits of light outside that range, I'm convinced it is beneficial but will not significantly enough in terms of yeild or quality to be worth worrying about.

So prices go from $500 to six times that at $3000? I have built 5 of these lights and am probably going to be building about 40 more but yeah I guess I'm still in the small time compared to whoever your target market is.

[TEKNIK]

If you don't want a spectrometer and just a par meter then the apogee is fine

[randorson]

If you don't want a spectrometer and just a par meter then the apogee is fine

I see. You're saying the apogee MQ-500 isn't a spectrometer because it doesn't measure individual spectra within the spectrum? Also sucks that it could never be used to do something cool like generate a visual representation (spectrogram) of the spectrum being measured.

I suppose technically par meters are spectrometers because they measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. It isn't a spectroradiometer though https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectroradiometer like this one,
https://www.apogeeinstruments.com/ss-11 ... to-820-nm/
But I believe I understand your point.

Thank you for your help! I really wish I could justify a spectroradiometer, or at least if someone made meters with simple numerical readouts of micromols/m^2/sec that detected from 340 to 820, but all I really NEED is a reliable PAR meter. It really is bullshit that PAR hasn't been redefined as a broader range as we've learned that light outside of 400-700nm is photosynthetically active.

[TEKNIK]

The assentek maybe an option for you, they are cheap and connect to your phone, not all that accurate but good enough for DIY.