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Old 25-03-2018, 02:20 AM   #2
Ozric Jonathan
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: West of Scotland
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Yep I've got one! There is more than one type and it's worth getting to grips with what the different ones do but I've got that one in your photo Matt and I think that's the one to get.

It's a heap of cash and no mistake. But, apart from using it to see exactly what uvb your gadgets are producing you can use it to see what's happening outside. At some times of year after 4pm there is hardly any uvb even when it's very sunny which seems surprising. And up here in the north west of scotland we get really high uvb in May around noon if the sky is clear. More uv than in the Med countries and with a lot less heat. That explains the pink lobsters in my local park after a day of decent weather.

Another use of a solarmeter is to see what uvb is getting through any material. So you can quickly see that ZERO uvb is getting through that greenhouse glass no matter how sunny it is. Unless it's specialised material e.g. Lumisol or Alltop there isn't uvb in a coldframe either.

So my opinion is yes it's worth it, if you're interested in these things and want to know for sure what your gadgets are producing. Instead of guessing. The reason it's so expensive is that it's a proper scientific instrument. But it's very easy to use.
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