15
TROUBLESHOOTING AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Verify Functionality
Pressing the power button should activate the LCD and provide a real-time PPFD reading. Direct the sensor head toward a
light source and verify the PPFD reading responds. Increase and decrease the distance from the sensor to the light source to
verify that the reading changes proportionally (decreasing PPFD with increasing distance and increasing PPFD with
decreasing distance). Blocking all radiation from the sensor should force the PPFD reading to zero.
Battery Life
When the meter is maintained properly the coin cell battery (CR2320) should last for many months, even after continuous
use. The low battery indicator will appear in the upper left hand corner of the LCD display when the battery voltage drops
below 2.8 V DC. The meter will still function correctly for some time, but once the battery is drained the pushbuttons will no
longer respond and any logged measurements will be lost.
Pressing the power button to turn off the meter will actually put it in sleep mode, where there 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 master reset does
not remove the low battery indicator, please double check that the voltage of your new batter is above 2.8 V, this is the
threshold for the indicator to turn on.
Master Reset
If a meter ever becomes non-responsive or experiences anomalies, such as a low battery indicator even after replacing the
old battery, a master reset can be performed that may correct the problem. Note that a master reset will erase all logged
measurements from memory.
First press the power button so that the LCD display is activated. While still powered, slide the battery out of the holder,
which will cause the LCD display to fade out. After a few seconds, slide the battery back into the holder. The LCD display will
flash all segments and then show a revision number (e.g. “R1.0”). This indicates the master reset was performed and the
display should return to normal.
Error Codes and Fixes
Error codes will appear in place of the real-time reading on the LCD display and will continue to flash until the problem is
corrected. Contact Apogee if the following fixes do not rectify the problem.
Err 1:
battery voltage out of range.
Fix:
replace CR2320 battery and perform master reset.
Err 2:
sensor voltage out of range.
Fix:
perform master reset.
Err 3:
not calibrated.
Fix:
perform master reset.
Err 4:
CPU voltage below minimum.
Fix:
replace CR2320 battery and perform master reset.
Modifying Cable Length
Although it is possible to splice additional cable to the separate sensor of the appropriate MQ model, note that the cable
wires are soldered directly into the circuit board of the meter. Care should be taken to remove the back panel of the meter in
order to access the board and splice on the additional cable, otherwise two splices would need to be made between the
