Photone PAR App

[bsgospel]

While looking over some LED videos this morning, I came across a video extolling the utility of the Photone App (formerly called Korona but rebranded for obvious reasons.) Seems decent but I don't have a quantum sensor to measure it against. It purports to be a PAR meter on your phone.

It's free and the Android version does not require a diffuser component (see video or website), the Apple iOS does. If you don't have a PVC bit or a PVC cutter (again, see video), I found the screw-off cap of a handheld flashlight replaces that very easily. You can also calibrate the app if it seems to not match within reason. Also measures DLI, Kelvin, and lumens.

Anyone who has a quantum sensor and a minute to download the app and try it out want to give us another source for reference?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0umUgrS_UE
https://growlightmeter.com/

At best, I was 17" below from the center of my flower 240w Viparspectra QB, running at 40%, and read 180 ppfd. DLI of 4.1. It read 3900K no matter which light I put it under.
So if this is to be believed, I'm not putting out a whole lot of energy but my gut and eyes are telling me I'm obliterating my plants currently. Obviously other factors play into this (veg time, container size, nute balance, and environment)

Interested to see if anyone can confirm how accurate this is.

 

[exploziv]

I don't think you can get par data out of a cheap light sensor without very much extrapolation and guess work. I mean I don't know exact specs of the most used light sensors on phones to be sure about it.. but they probably just made an app that translates light intensity to ppfd based on some kind of calibration data they entered by testing some phones against par meters, at best. As about those things reading light spectrum or colour temp in K.. I doubt there is a reason for a phone to have that function, unless they recently made some fancy hi end phones that have a lot of useless gadgets.
I wonder how repetable are results. Have u checked it on 2 different phones? If they will measure more than let's say 5-10% off then it's crap.. Have u checked 2 diferent wattage light sources with it? Like a 9w screw in led vs a 13w screw in led. From same distance. If you see no relation between the results and wattage then for sure its crap..
There's an app for everything these days.. but man, you need te hardware to be there to do the job, too. You can't just code new functions into sensors. You can just make something that sometimes is right, but most of the times it isn't. A lie, basically.

 

[Hiddenjems]

The android version isn't as accurate. I have the iPhone version and it reads within a couple percent of a real meter at a commercial grow.

 

[Corpselover Fat]

The android version isn't as accurate. I have the iPhone version and it reads within a couple percent of a real meter at a commercial grow.

I'm pretty sure the operating system has little to with the accuracy. Lux measurement should be good enough for most growers anyway.

 

[exploziv]

I think lux measurement will vary with spectrum, sensor and software. I don't mean app software, but the phone software that interprets the results before providing them to the app.

 

[Hiddenjems]

I'm pretty sure the operating system has little to with the accuracy. Lux measurement should be good enough for most growers anyway.

It's actually the processing Apple does with the camera images, and the range of the camera.


You can compare all 3 and the Apple version follows a quantum meter almost exactly, the android version has a range its accurate in and some zones it's around 5% off.

Ive tested these in a warehouse grow with 1000w de's.

 

[Three Berries]

My android Motorola phone tops out at 32k lux. Use a real light meter if you really want to know. Or find out the upper limit on your phone and use that as a comparison when under the light.

 

[Hiddenjems]

Someone else did the legwork on this and made a graph.

 

[exploziv]

nice to see top of the line phones represented there. What about an average phone?

 

[DARKSIDER]

Someone else did the legwork on this and made a graph.

Do you have a link for that seems interesting

 

[Three Berries]

nice to see top of the line phones represented there. What about an average phone?

I got a new Motorola g power an it reads within 10% without calibration to my Lux meter.

 

[exploziv]

I have no problem with that, since all phones have a lux meter in them nowdays. the ppfd measurement I fear its just some kind of gimmick measurement that extrapolates some things from the lux measurement. Actually, your lux meter on phone should be spot on, couple of percents off at most, not 10%, to be considered accurate. Anyway, in the future I will look into getting a reliable ppfd meter to have some way or repeating measurements with a certaing degree of accuracy.
I would also love to see 2 diferent phones one next to the other measuring ppfd in that app.. if that is more than 5% off from one to another i think we will know its not a real measurement. does anyone has 2 phones to test this app under same light and same conditions? I don't have 2 "smartphones" to do it.

 

[Three Berries]

I have two Motorola G powers. The older one is limited on max LUX quite a bit, by about of only showing 1/3 of actual daylight LUX, ~39k.

 

[ChemDogLover]

Do you have a link for that seems interesting

This may be it @DARKSIDER