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SQM-LU-DL-V

Operator’s Manual

Version: 20211013

Summary of Contents for SQM-LU-DL-V

Page 1: ...LU DL V Operator s Manual Copyright 2005 2021 Version 20211013 Company information Mailing address Unihedron 4 Lawrence Avenue Grimsby Ontario L3M 2L9 Canada Telephone 905 945 1197 Website unihedron...

Page 2: ......

Page 3: ...ution 15 2 1 3 Other luminance scales 16 3 Theory of operation 19 3 1 Light measurement 19 3 2 Altitude inclination measurement 20 3 3 Azimuth heading measurement 20 3 4 Communication to the PC 20 4 S...

Page 4: ...s 61 8 2 Response details 63 8 2 1 Reading request 63 8 2 2 Unaveraged reading request 63 8 2 3 Linear reading request 64 8 2 4 Inline linear reading request 65 8 2 5 Unit information 66 8 3 Calibrati...

Page 5: ...ibration values 84 8 6 5 Vibration 85 8 6 6 Vibration threshold 85 8 7 Continuous reporting commands 86 8 8 Setting Interval reporting parameters 88 8 8 1 Interval reporting period setting 88 8 8 2 Th...

Page 6: ...7 11 Tool dat to Moon csv 36 7 12 Tool Comm terminal 37 7 13 Tool dat to kml 37 7 14 Tool dat to kml GoogleEarth result 38 7 15 Tool dat time correction 38 7 16 Tool dat local time reconstruction 39...

Page 7: ...3 simin csv field description 58 7 4 Log continuous command line parameters 60 7 5 Select device command line parameters 60 7 6 Select device command line parameters 60 8 1 Summary of standard comman...

Page 8: ...ponse of requesting the vector module magnetic values 83 8 38 Response of requesting the vector module accelerations 83 8 39 Response of getting or setting the acceleration calibration values 84 8 40...

Page 9: ...f Equations List of Equations 2 1 MPSAS to cd m2 16 2 2 NELM to MPSAS 17 2 3 MPSAS to NELM 17 8 1 Raw Temperature to degC 90 8 2 degC to Raw Temperature 90 Unihedron SQM LU DL V Operator s Manual 2021...

Page 10: ...offers adapters to attach such filters onto the meter The SQM LU DL V has the same features as the SQM LU with the addition of data logging and vector measurement capabilities The SQM LU DL V appears...

Page 11: ...undone 1 1 3 Getting the data from the data log into MS Excel 1 Find the log data It will be in a dat file where the will give you the date and time 2 In the Tools pulldown in the UDM program use the...

Page 12: ...9 Note Moving the meter around slightly while connected to the computer will prevent readings from being taken Use this technique if you do not want to edit out those useless readings from the log fi...

Page 13: ...he meter 1 1 6 FITS integration Some programs listed below gather information from the Unihedron Sky Quality meter products and insert that data into the Flexible Image Transport System FITS header Ma...

Page 14: ...ects have a higher magnitude value For example a star that is 6th magnitude is brighter than a star that is 11th magnitude The star Vega is used a the reference point of 0 magnitude Table 2 1 shows th...

Page 15: ...r buildings that may block the sensor A reading of greater than 22 0 is unlikely to be recorded however there are reasons for extra dark readings Cloud or ash covered sky in a remote area where little...

Page 16: ...in very isolated areas like mountain tops the ocean or the desert You will have to be aware of this special situation when analyzing readings Volcanic eruptions Dust released into the atmosphere by v...

Page 17: ...imation exists for the conversion between NELM and MPSAS You can use an NELM converter 5 created by SQM user K Fisher to do that conversion or the chart shown in Figure 2 2 and Equations 2 2 and 2 3 F...

Page 18: ...range was 0 22 2200 NSU Before the introduction of anthropogenic light the radiance of a patch of sky near zenith on moon free nights is likely to have been nearly always within the range 21 galactic...

Page 19: ...where the frequency is high The sensor signal is fed into a counter that is gated at one second intervals to report a frequency measured in Hz Period mode The period mode is for dark readings where th...

Page 20: ...imuth The best way to check if the meter is affected is to use the Vector tab and observe the live azimuth reading while the meter is located close to various objects like a metal tripod or the batter...

Page 21: ...ep and woken up for battery operated data logging 3 42V minimum under battery operation The included battery adapter can handle up to 30VDC Operating temperature range 40 C to 85 C Temperature sensor...

Page 22: ...the SQM LU DL V to perform data logging while disconnected from the computer This battery connection replaces the USB connection from the computer as shown in Figure 5 2 Figure 5 2 Battery connection...

Page 23: ...ampling every 5 minutes TBatt AHRating IAverage 5 9 AHRating IQ tQ tW IW tM IM 5 10 3AH 209uA 0 93 3s 60s 10mA 5s 5 60s 55mA 5 11 1861 hrs or 78 days or 2 5 months 5 12 Note that measuring is still pe...

Page 24: ...es one LED blink after taking the reading C Shutdown One quick flash for normal battery voltage above 4 9V more quick flashes if the battery voltage is too low 2 4 8V 3 4 6V 4 4 4V 5 4 2V 6 4 0V Batte...

Page 25: ...e required 1 A serial 115200 baud connection must be made to the serial port assigned to the SQM LU DL V 2 Data commands are sent to the SQM LU DL V and it responds with a string of characters 3 Close...

Page 26: ...result like this r 09 42m 0000005915Hz 0000000000c 0000000 000s 027 0C 6 2 Pascal The UDM program contains many examples of finding the SQM devices and reading data from them It is open source and wr...

Page 27: ...ram which should run sufficiently on any present day computer under the Windows Mac or Linux operating systems The Windows version of UDM can also be run in a virtualization mode using VMware Fusion A...

Page 28: ...st This step is fairly quick a few seconds 2 UDM then searches for attached Ethernet devices within the reach of the Ethernet network but not outside a firewall This step may take about 30 seconds If...

Page 29: ...s of the items File View Tools Help as defined below 7 3 4 File menu The file menu is used for opening files finding newly attached devices and quitting the program as shown in Figure 7 2 Figure 7 2 F...

Page 30: ...n also be used instead of the mouse File Quit The File Quit menu item is used to close the UDM program The program can also be closed from the window panel X 7 3 5 View menu The view menu allows you t...

Page 31: ...nuously features Also log files from data logging meters will be stored here from the Retrieve All function The Logs Directory Path path can be changed from its default by pressing the folder button t...

Page 32: ...Configfile path is the place where UDM stores its configuration about the program and attached SQM devices This path is not changeable View DL Header shows the Data logger header editing page See the...

Page 33: ...rdinates 3 The Elevation entry is optional as it is not used for anything yet 4 Press the Apply button when you are satisfied with the desired values Note The Apply button will only be enabled if ther...

Page 34: ...plot can be saved in vector graphics SVG or bitmap PNG modes using the Save buttons in the Settings tab View Plotter Time offset To assist in correcting timing problems when the datalogger real time...

Page 35: ...h Edit the file with a text editor and place settings under the Plotter section for example MPSASColor clRed The following names can be used to define plot line colors MPSASColor MPSAS2Color MPSAS3Col...

Page 36: ...rithm library from Andreas Ho rstemeier 6 This tool prepares the file for importation into a spreadsheet like Excel OpenOffice or LibreOffice For importing into a spreadsheet The value for Moon phase...

Page 37: ...ve The DL retrieve tool is used for datalogging and Vector model to pull in data files that were stored on disk previously Tools dat to kml Creates a kml file from a dat file This is used when the SQM...

Page 38: ...ords Listing 7 1 dat minimum field example UTC Date Time MSAS Latitude Longitude 2018 02 07T04 27 57 642 19 0 33 2208 116 3387 2018 02 07T04 28 17 089 18 3 33 2208 116 3422 2018 02 07T04 28 37 105 18...

Page 39: ...red dat file to reconstruct Select the proper region and time zone Press the Reconstruct dat local times button The reconstructed file will be written to disk at the location specified in the bottom F...

Page 40: ...may select the desired device by clicking in the found devices box on the SQM that you want to know more about Once you select the device then the connection details are displayed Clicking on the Ver...

Page 41: ...7 23 RS232 connection details 7 4 Information tab The information tab is used to show information about the version and the reading of the selected SQM Press the Version button for an updated list of...

Page 42: ...be accessed later from the File Open menu 7 5 Log Continuous The Log continuous function allows data from the connected SQM device to be logged repetitively as shown in Figure 7 25 Figure 7 25 Log Con...

Page 43: ...reading greater or equal to this threshold value will be recorded in the log file Figure 7 27 Log Continuously Threshold A threshold of 0 will allow all readings to be recorded The threshold indicato...

Page 44: ...ommand In Windows you may have to install a program called pscp and rename it to scp Annotation settings While the Log Continuous mode is recording data annotations can be made to the log file records...

Page 45: ...software GPS Connection Settings GlobalSat BU 353 USB 4800 baud GlobalSat BU 353 S4 5Hz USB 115200 baud Dual XGPS160 Bluetooth See GPS owners manual Enter the communications port name see below into t...

Page 46: ...cators fade to black The signal strength group shows the signal to noise ratio SNR for all visible satellites The satellite number is displayed below each signal strength meter The location speed time...

Page 47: ...ated by UDM can be imported into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for calculations and graphing purposes as follows 1 Start excel 2 File Open 3 Select All files 4 Select your dat file previously recorded...

Page 48: ...w Figure 7 34 Calibration tab populated Use the following steps to change the calibration values 1 Enter the new calibration data on the left side entry box Desired values column 2 Press the associate...

Page 49: ...will be used instantly and also after power up Report interval is measured in seconds i e 300 5 minutes Report threshold is measured in Magnitudes per square arcsecond mpsas a larger positive value is...

Page 50: ...shown in Figure 7 37 Figure 7 37 Firmware selection 2 Select the desired firmware file then press Open 3 The Load firmware button will be enabled and you can press it now to start loading the firmware...

Page 51: ...ctions on the right side of the screen The calibration report can be logged to a data file and also printed out from this screen Figure 7 38 Configuration tab Warning confirmations as shown in Figure...

Page 52: ...value Threshold vibration Readings will only be recorded when the meter is vibrating less than the threshold setting The SQM LU DL V still has to turn on to determine the vibration level Battery Life...

Page 53: ...ividual records Figure 7 44 Storage navigation Table 7 2 Storage navigation button descriptions Button Description Move the current record pointer to the first record stored in the SQM LU DL V and dis...

Page 54: ...so continued presses of this button may result in the display of new records Retrieve Press the Retrieve button to call up the Retrieve dialog shown in Figure 7 45 Figure 7 45 DL Retrieve dialog wind...

Page 55: ...the last record An ending range beyond the max will pull in data records that have not yet been written to odd values will be displayed When the retrieval is complete the file location will be shown...

Page 56: ...e Data Logging tab then the Retrieve All button Select the Plot tab Click the Show data button and select the previously retrieved log file The contour plot will appear after all the points have been...

Page 57: ...The minimum requirements for the dat file to be read by the contour plotting function are One comment line describing the field of UTC Date Time Altitude Azimuth One line defining the ending of the h...

Page 58: ...directory to the SQM LU DL V in simulation mode and puts the output into simout csv The format of the csv is shown in Table 7 3 Table 7 3 simin csv field description Position Example value Description...

Page 59: ...ly used for troubleshooting to identify either when readings are created or requested The LED draws current and it may not be desireable to enable it when operating from the battery pack The LED blink...

Page 60: ...If x 0 then all readings are get recorded LCGRS Run GoTo script then shut down when done Table 7 5 Select device command line parameters Parameter Description SEI x Select Ethernet device where x IP a...

Page 61: ...set zcal6 Manually Set Light Calibration Temperature zcal7 Manually Set Dark Calibration Time Period zcal8 Manually Set Dark Calibration Temperature 0x19 Reset micro controller Hexadecimal value 19 Se...

Page 62: ...Logging trigger mode LIx Logging Interval settings requested LPS x Logging Interval period set in seconds LPM x Logging Interval period set in minutes LT x Logging Threshold for interval reports set L...

Page 63: ...the unit 10 21 0000022921Hz Frequency of sensor in Hz 23 33 0000000020c Period of sensor in counts Counts occur at a rate of 460 8 kHz 14 7456MHz 32 35 46 0000000 000s Period of sensor in seconds wit...

Page 64: ...55 56 Carriage return 0x0d Line feed 0x0a An example of the response is u 06 70m 0000022921Hz 0000000020c 0000000 000s 039 4C 0123456789 123456789 123456789 123456789 123456789 123456 Future versions...

Page 65: ...equency fout flight fdark To allow for long period measurements the output integer value is scaled up by a factor of 45 000 nout fout 45000 The format of the response is similar to the rx response and...

Page 66: ...o controller The format of the response is Table 8 8 Unit information request response Column Example value Description 0 i Indicates that the unit information response is being returned 2 9 00000002...

Page 67: ...in this case so that the meter reads 8 71 also 49 55 039 4C Temperature in degrees C measured during dark calibration Leading space for positive value Leading negative sign for negative value 56 57 C...

Page 68: ...of the response is shown in table 8 11 Table 8 11 Dark calibration response Column Example value Description 0 z Calibration response is being returned 1 B Dark Calibration 2 a Armed 3 L L Locked Wai...

Page 69: ...ibration offset Column Example value Description 0 z Calibration response is being returned 2 5 Manual Set Light Calibration Offset 4 15 00000017 60m Value that was set into EEPROM 16 17 Carriage retu...

Page 70: ...at of the response is shown in table 8 15 Table 8 15 Response of manually setting dark calibration time period Column Example value Description 0 z Calibration response is being returned 2 7 Manual Se...

Page 71: ...using cap The light meter reading will be unchanged with no snow present and about 1 6 mag arcsec2 brighter with snow cover present Table 8 17 LED accessory command summary Command Description A50x Tu...

Page 72: ...is L0 000 000 0123456789 1 8 5 2 Logging pointer report To get a report on current logging pointer position use the L1x command This pointer is the record address of where the next record will be stor...

Page 73: ...the L2x command There is no response 8 5 5 Log one record To force the unit to record one complete record into the FLASH memory use the L3x command The record will not be logged if the threshold is se...

Page 74: ...4char 234 Battery voltage ADC value 41 02790 Ax Acceleration in the X dimension Signed five digit comma separated variable 01013 Ay Acceleration in the Y dimension Signed five digit comma separated va...

Page 75: ...with a switchover point at determined by the crossover selection mode on the report interval page 7 8char 9 72 Available on models with snow LED Snow reading in mpsas which was taken when the snow LE...

Page 76: ...ed This action is a software flow control method The subsequent record requests are made with the x command Each record contains binary values not ASCII Each record is defined below Table 8 26 Binary...

Page 77: ...al snow accessory Snow reading Big endian raw 32 bit binary value for magnitudes The decimal reading value is determined as ReadingMP SAS xxxx 6553600 0 24 27 xxxx Optional snow accessory Snow frequen...

Page 78: ...e status register busy bit bit 0 using the L6x command The response is shown in table 8 28 Table 8 28 Response of requesting EEPROM Status regoster 1 Column Example value Description 0 2 L6 Confirmati...

Page 79: ...1 4 hour 6 Every 30 minutes on the 1 2 hour 7 Every hour on the hour 4 5 Carriage return 0x0d Line feed 0x0a An example response is LM 0 012345 8 5 11 Logging Interval setting response Either making t...

Page 80: ...se The units are magnitudes arcsecond2 For example LT00000016 00x limits reporting to values only over 16 00 magnitudes arcsecond2 8 5 13 Set and read logging Real Time Clock The SQM LU DL model conta...

Page 81: ...be awakened by re applying power cold start 8 5 16 Gather alarm 0 data from RTC For tests purposes the SQM LU DL RTC Alarm 0 data can be retrieved with the Lax command The response is shown in table 8...

Page 82: ...ode is set with the LDnx command where n is 0 or 1 The Mutual access mode is read with the Ldx command The response of both setting and getting the mutual access value is shown in table 8 36 Table 8 3...

Page 83: ...MY magnetic value of Y axis 5 digits with trailing comma and possible leading negative sign 3 00045 MZ magnetic value of Z axis 5 digits with possible leading negative sign Carriage return 0x0d Line...

Page 84: ...ssible 1 6 1 12345 ACX acceleration calibration value of X axis at position p 6 digits with trailing comma First digit space indicates positive value 2 12345 ACY acceleration calibration value of Y ax...

Page 85: ...digit space indicates positive value Carriage return 0x0d Line feed 0x0a An example response to v4x or v4 03102 03226 02937 03502 03556 03246x is v4 03102 03226 02937 03502 03556 03246 8 6 5 Vibration...

Page 86: ...un averaged accumulator Normally the averaged reading is sent Table 8 42 Continuous reporting command summary Command Description Yx Get status of the continuous reporting features YRx Enable continuo...

Page 87: ...8 7 Continuous reporting commands An example response is YrCpu 01234 Unihedron SQM LU DL V Operator s Manual 20211013 87...

Page 88: ...ght sensor in degrees C Leading space for positive value Leading negative sign for negative value 55 63 00000413 Serial number 8 digits Each unit has its own unique serial num ber 64 65 Carriage retur...

Page 89: ...iption 0 I Interval settings from EEPROM and RAM are being returned 2 12 0000000360s Interval period that was set into EEPROM 14 24 0000300360s Interval period that was set into RAM 26 37 00000017 60m...

Page 90: ...haracter 26 37 0000000244t Temperature ADC value as seen by the CPU See Equation 8 1 38 39 Carriage return 0x0d Line feed 0x0a An example response is s 0000000360c 0000000360f 0000000360t 0123456789 1...

Page 91: ...8 1 38 39 r Beginning of calculated readings 40 47 18 04m Calculated mag arcsec2 48 60 0000000000Hz Frequency used for calculation 61 72 0000094000c Counts used for calculation 73 85 0000000 204s Cal...

Page 92: ...main consideration would be to keep the domes clean every so often and to make sure that the mounting plane is painted black to that it doesn t reflect light back to the inside of the dome and then ba...

Page 93: ...1 Mechanical installation Figure 9 2 Example cover calibration 9 1 3 Cover maintenance Keep the covering clean of dust water ice and bird droppings Unihedron SQM LU DL V Operator s Manual 20211013 93...

Page 94: ...n FTDI USB interface module The FTDI interface has not been altered from its default There should be no reason to alter the FTDI chip settings The baud rate is defined by the VCP driver side when a te...

Page 95: ...contains a thorough description of the Intel Hex format http en wikipedia org wiki hex The basic requirements for firmware uploading are 1 Reset micro controller by sending the hex character 0x19 2 W...

Page 96: ...ust the light reading to 13 5 fc at the place of the SQM LU DL V The light calibration routine inside the SQM LU DL V expects to see this value The light that the SQM LU DL V and light meter see must...

Page 97: ...itude and Azimuth calibration 12 5 Altitude and Azimuth calibration See section 8 6 3 on page 84 for details on calibrating the Altitude and Azimuth module Unihedron SQM LU DL V Operator s Manual 2021...

Page 98: ...ble 13 3 Cannot Find UDM software Problem Microsoft Edge cannot find UDM software on the CD Error Can t reach this page Cause Microsoft Edge has protections in place to hide file lists on remote drive...

Page 99: ...ks something like this 5 dc4a97 Cause Non FTDI device driver installed on Windows Solution Visit the FTDI website to download and install the latest FTDI VCP USB device driver https ftdichip com drive...

Page 100: ...not much that can be done to correct this aside from replacement However the following test usually reliably proves the issue While connected to the computer using UDM run the unit in Log continuous m...

Page 101: ...been cleared out Solution The following steps can be used to clean up the FTDI entries in Windows 1 Install this FTDI CDM Uninstaller utility at www ftdichip com Support Utilities CDMUninstaller v1 4...

Page 102: ...f the unit The above will identify which COM port the SQM LU DL V has been assigned If the SQM LU DL V is plugged in the active COM port will show up in this list HK LOCAL MACHINE HARDWARE DEVICEMAP S...

Page 103: ...rement reported by the SQM NMEA National Marine Electronics Association data format that the GPS receiver produces RAM Random Access Memory Temporary memory that only retains data while power is appli...

Page 104: ...14 Glossary 104 Unihedron SQM LU DL V Operator s Manual 20211013...

Page 105: ...iting Magnitudes Web page discussion of brightness in Schaefer 1990 and Clark 1994 http w1 411 telia com u41105032 visual Schaefer htm accessed7 2003 5 NELM Converter K Fisher fisherka csolutions net...

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