I’m wanting to try to build an integrating sphere, but I need a meter to use with it. I’d like to stay under $100, but that’s not a set in stone budget. Can you guys recommend a good one?
The sphere I had in mind was one Match posted awhile back using a rubber ball and paper mache. I don’t know if there is a cap to the amount if lumens it can measure but I’d like to be able to measure 5,000 or more lumens fairly accurately. If there is another better alternative I’m all ears!
If you are not going to want to measure the accurate output in lumen of colour leds or extreme tinted white leds (very cool white or very warm white), an average cheap chinese luxmeter will do the job fine. You are doing your own calibration anyway, and I found these luxmeters consistent performing and they have a good linearity.
Btw, I had a bad experience with making an integrating sphere the ‘match way’, and found using polystyrene balls much easier to start with.
Hey zoom zoom, I was at my sister’s house the other day, and she and my nephew had created a BB-8 robot from the new Star Wars as a Valentine’s Day box. Thought you might like to know that. Ok, bye.
Actually, my point is that they made it out of 2 big hollowed out Styrofoam balls. Actually, they come in half-spheres, and they are already hollowed out. My first thought was integrating sphere. I asked where she got them and she said Michael’s. If I recall, they were about as big as the rubber ball in the mentioned post.
After doing some research, I found this particular meter: “[link]”:http://www.ebay.com/itm/LX1330B-Digital-Lux-Light-Illuminance-Meter-Luxmeter-0-200-000-Lux-NEW-/281940957815?
The 1330B is owned by several BLF members, who reported that it’s consistent and repeatable.
(Accuracy unknown, I haven’t seen any documented tests to compare it against higher end luxmeters.)
I’ve only been using it for the last two weeks. I can say that it seems to be a well-made, quality product. It measures up to 200K lux. The four brightness ranges are easily selectable, but it’s not particularly intuitive. (You need to keep track of what you’re doing. You don’t want to be measuring 10 lux when you’re on the 200-2000 setting.) But the learning curve is fast. Self-zeroing callibration, just turn it on with the cap on and let it zero out before using - it only takes a second or two. It has a “hold” feature for holding the reading, I use that a lot. It also has a “peak” value reading that I don’t use at all, readings tend to jump all over the place and the peak reading tends to record too high a value (IMHO).
I purchased it from eBay seller sft-inc, whose price of $29.95 was competitive. I placed the order on a Monday night and received the shipment on Wednesday afternoon! One of the fastest shipping times that I’ve ever gotten here in Hawaii.
BTW, it comes with a sealed 9V battery tucked into the battery compartment.
I just bought one of these and it works incredibly well. So a plus one from me.
Yea, the peak setting. I have no idea what’s up with that. It records a value for only a short time. Seems like it resets every second which really makes that part of it useless. The rest seems good though.