Cumulus Support

hi has any one made there own solar radiation sensor?

like Davis VP2 with solar radiation sensor,

if so how?

Hi,

Not really an MX topic, but the Davis sensors are often considered as "reference" products which use specialised components such as a Teflon (PTFE) "Lens" in both, and a very expensive optical filter in the UVIndex sensor. Also, they are all individually calibrated, so not normally suited to a DIY project.

There was the very long Sunshine Recorder thread which resulted in a small-scale "production" version, but you might do better to investigate the Weatherduino Solar Sensor thread on their forum. It's significant that the designer/developer will only supply the PCB to "advanced" (experienced) users because of the very real complications of calibration and weatherproofing, etc.

Cheers, Alan.

I made a serviceable one using a photo diode, and a UV sensor with a Reyax UVI-01.

Unfortunately I lost the final cct diagrams, but a friend has replicated them successfully. Best to have some electronics experience before attempting this.

As Alan says, the electronics is half of it, the other challenge is mounting to get a cosine response and sealing it etc. I used a white perspex filter.

The housing now needs realigning as it is tilted to the north, but it's a faff to realign up above the roof.

thank guys ive beed reading about getting the raspberry pi solar sensor kit or will that not help

Hi,

You need to post a link to the "Pi solar sensor kit". I could only find some generic "sensors" kits (IMHO not much more than "toys") and a solar charging kit, neither of which are likely to be of much use for serious measurements. The Davis solar sensors cost hundreds of £££s, mainly for good reasons.

Cheers, Alan.