Apogee MQ-100X, Owner'S Manual

Page 1: ...NTS INC 721 WEST 1800 NORTH LOGAN UTAH 84321 USA TEL 435 792 4700 FAX 435 787 8268 WEB APOGEEINSTRUMENTS COM Copyright 2021 Apogee Instruments Inc OWNER S MANUAL QUANTUM METER Models MQ 100X and MQ 200X Rev 1 Jun 2021 ...

Page 2: ...oduction 4 Sensor Models 5 Specifications 6 Deployment and Installation 9 Battery Installation and Replacement 10 Operation and Measurement 11 Apogee AMS Software 15 Maintenance and Recalibration 17 Troubleshooting and Customer Support 19 Return and Warranty Policy 21 ...

Page 3: ...of electrical and electronic products with respect to the restriction of hazardous substances Please be advised that based on the information available to us from our raw material suppliers the products manufactured by us do not contain as intentional additives any of the restricted materials including lead see note below mercury cadmium hexavalent chromium polybrominated biphenyls PBB polybromina...

Page 4: ...alled quantum sensors due to the quantized nature of radiation A quantum refers to the minimum quantity of radiation one photon involved in physical interactions e g absorption by photosynthetic pigments In other words one photon is a single quantum of radiation Typical applications of quantum sensors include incoming PPFD measurement over plant canopies in outdoor environments or in greenhouses a...

Page 5: ...vered in this manual are self contained and come complete with handheld meter and sensor Sensor model number and serial number are located on a label on the backside of the handheld meter MQ 100X Meter w integral sensor MQ 200X Meter w separate sensor ...

Page 6: ...e Less than 1 ms Field of View 180 Spectral Range 370 to 650 nm wavelengths where response is greater than 50 of maximum see Spectral Response below Directional Cosine Response 5 at 75 zenith angle see Cosine Response below Temperature Response 0 04 per C see Temperature Response below Operating Environment 0 to 50 C less than 90 non condensing relative humidity up to 30 C less than 70 non condens...

Page 7: ... measurements were made at 10 nm increments across a wavelength range of 350 to 800 nm in a monochromator with an attached electric light source Measured spectral data from each quantum sensor were normalized by the measured spectral response of the monochromator electric light combination which was measured with a spectroradiometer ...

Page 8: ...y direct side by side comparison to the mean of seven reference SQ 500 quantum sensors Directional or cosine response is defined as the measurement error at a specific angle of radiation incidence Error for Apogee MQ 100X series quantum sensors is approximately 2 and 5 at solar zenith angles of 45 and 75 respectively ...

Page 9: ...sory incorporates a mounting fixture at the end of an extendable telescopic wand up to 33 inches 84 cm The wand is not suited for wet environments however it is excellent for greenhouses and growth chambers Its ability to retract to a smaller size also makes it ideal for travel use The AM 320 Saltwater Submersible Sensor Wand accessory incorporates a mounting fixture at the end of a 40 inch segmen...

Page 10: ...om the meter circuit board NOTE The battery cradle can be damaged by using an incorrectly sized battery If the battery cradle is damaged the circuit board will need to be replaced To avoid this costly problem use only a CR2320 battery Battery Removal Press down on the battery with a screwdriver or similar object Slide battery out If the battery is difficult to move turn the meter on its side so th...

Page 11: ...o used to view and scroll through the logged measurements on the LCD display Logging To choose between manual or automatic logging push the mode button once and use the up down buttons to make the appropriate selection SMPL or LOG Once the desired mode is blinking press the mode button two more times to exit the menu When in SMPL mode press the sample button to record up to 99 manual measurements ...

Page 12: ...ents in either SMPL or LOG mode can be reviewed on the LCD display by pressing the up down buttons To exit and return to the real time readings press the sample button Note that the integrated daily total values are not accessible through the LCD and can only be viewed by downloading to a computer Downloading the stored measurements will require the AC 100 communication cable and software sold sep...

Page 13: ... Federer C A and C B Tanner 1966 Sensors for measuring light available for photosynthesis Ecology 47 654 657 McCree K J 1972 The action spectrum absorptance and quantum yield of photosynthesis in crop plants Agricultural Meteorology 9 191 216 Spectral Errors for PPFD Measurements with Apogee SQ 100x and SQ 500 Series Quantum Sensors Radiation Source Error Calculated Relative to Sun Clear Sky SQ 10...

Page 14: ...air Smith 1969 Tyler and Smith 1970 As more light is reflected less light is transmitted through the diffuser to the detector which causes the sensor to read low Without correcting for this effect underwater measurements are only relative which makes it difficult to compare light in different environments The SQ 100X series sensors have an immersion effect correction factor of 1 15 This correction...

Page 15: ...ds When the ApogeeAMS software is first opened it will show a blank screen until communication with the meter is established If you click Open Port it will say connection failed To establish communication make sure the meter is plugged into your computer using the AC 100 communication cable To connect click the dropdown menu button and COM options will appear For more details on how to figure out ...

Page 16: ...als per day Click 30 Min Avg to see the meter s 99 30 minute averages To analyze the data click on File and Save As to save the data as a csv file Or you can highlight the numbers copy and paste them into a blank Excel spreadsheet Data will need to be comma delimited ...

Page 17: ...ee the Apogee webpage for details regarding return of sensors for recalibration http www apogeeinstruments com tech support recalibration repairs To determine if your sensor needs recalibration the Clear Sky Calculator www clearskycalculator com website and or smartphone app can be used to indicate the PPFD incident on a horizontal surface at any time of day at any location in the world It is most...

Page 18: ...rs are available one for quantum sensors PPFD and one for pyranometers total shortwave radiation Clear Sky Calculator for quantum sensors Site data are input in blue cells in middle of page and an estimate of PPFD is returned on right hand side of page ...

Page 19: ... is still a slight amount of current draw This is necessary to maintain the logged measurements in memory Therefore it is recommended to remove the battery when storing the meter for many months at a time in order to preserve battery life Low Battery Error after Battery Replacement A master reset will usually correct this error please see the master reset section for details and cautions If a mast...

Page 20: ...onal cable otherwise two splices would need to be made between the meter and sensor head See Apogee webpage for further details on how to extend sensor cable length http www apogeeinstruments com how to make a weatherproof cable splice Unit Conversion Charts Apogee MQX series quantum sensors are calibrated to measure PPFD in units of µmol m 2 s 1 Units other than photon flux density e g energy flu...

Page 21: ...r factory The warranty does not cover equipment that has been damaged due to the following conditions 1 Improper installation or abuse 2 Operation of the instrument outside of its specified operating range 3 Natural occurrences such as lightning fire etc 4 Unauthorized modification 5 Improper or unauthorized repair Please note that nominal accuracy drift is normal over time Routine recalibration o...

Page 22: ...anship Apogee Instruments will repair or replace the items free of charge If it is determined that your product is not covered under warranty you will be informed and given an estimated repair replacement cost PRODUCTS BEYOND THE WARRANTY PERIOD For issues with sensors beyond the warranty period please contact Apogee at techsupport apogeeinstruments com to discuss repair or replacement options OTH...