Solarmeter

[jrath]

SOLARMETER Model 5.0 Digital UV Meter UVA+B

Does any one know if these older model solar meters work, just curious been thinking of investing in one and saw these for much cheaper.

Thanks

 

[sharp229]

No, it won't really be useful. It combines UVA and UVB and only has milliwatt accuracy and not microwatt (1 milliwatt = 1000 microwatts). You need to know how much UVB since this is what is used to synthesize vitamin D3, and it should usually be around 35-100 microwatts, not milliwatts. Even 1 milliwatt would be way too high.

Solarmeter 6.2 is the best option because it only measures UVB and has microwatt resolution.

 

[jrath]

Thanks for the explanation, I never really understood that and this helps.

 

[sharp229]

No problem, this was one of the most useful articles on chameleon UVB lighting for me:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/10JulWeldon.html