i now have a solar sensor with my Davis VP

General Chatter
1

it finally arrived
from http://www.bluewaveltd.co.uk/

at first the reading was too high, so I cleaned the contacts,then bent a pin…dont do that at home
got that straightened out
i have now added a solar adjust for use with this sensor, as its readiung 60% to high I have found (see in the solar sensor, right down the bottom, in vers 10.15L)
i have also fixed up and improved some other things to do with the use of a solar sensor

its great to see the solar data being plotted on the solar graph again!

2

is this the vp solar sensor or another type?

Also if IT is the davis then the placement is so that the sensor isn’t tilted but straight up.

and is the change in version L also included in the Beta?

3

it fits just like the davis one.
Julian also noticed the way too high reading.
but otherwise works great, and is much cheaper :slight_smile:
they are also going to make a better radiation shield too i understand

4

I have the Davis version. I was wondering, how do you determine what the actual reading should be, vs what the station is showing?

5
I have now added a solar adjust for use with this sensor, as its readiung 60% to high I have found
How can that be? It's supposed to be "self calibrating".
6
I have the Davis version. I was wondering, how do you determine what the actual reading should be, vs what the station is showing?
The Davis is calibrated and the result should be correct, over time I would expect the white diffuser to yellow and maybe reduce the reading, but the electronics should be pretty stable. To see if your values are reasonable you can calculate a clear sky estimate from the information in this [http://education.gsfc.nasa.gov/experimental/July61999siteupdate/inv99Project.Site/Pages/solar.insolation.html](http://education.gsfc.nasa.gov/experimental/July61999siteupdate/inv99Project.Site/Pages/solar.insolation.html) or the Cliff's Notes version [quote]"The solar constant is the average amount of energy striking one square meter (perpendicular to the suns
7

hi
just to clarify
its not a davis sensor, its made by a UK company
I know its over reading, becuase a) other solar readings from stations near me (at my mums and at the farm), and b) becuase WD calculates the max solar reading for the time of day for your lat/long…so I fine tuned the adjust to get it down to that reading in bright sunlight

8
WD calculates the max solar reading for the time of day for your lat/long
Brian, is this calculated value displayed anywhere, or can it be?
9
WD calculates the max solar reading for the time of day for your lat/long
Brian, is this calculated value displayed anywhere, or can it be? Maybe a custom tag?

Hmm, how did I post that twice :oops: :oops:

10

sure is
in the solar setup
if you have ticked, use the max solar reading for the time of day for your lat/long
then just under the raw value it shows that value
works great
i recommend people have that ticked, then wd compares the value with that to come up with a solar %, which then is used to set the icon (from the thresholds) and the solar description, and sun shine hours
the new help file has a big section on the solar
http://www.weather-display.com/WDHELP.doc

i have to head out now.,…doing some relief milking of cows for someone this weekend!

11

That’s great, I’ll try that.

Be a good thing for rpreuss to check his readings too :slight_smile: