Kathy, I know you are one of the originals here so maybe you recall that
someone
posted a method of getting fc's using a camera?
I remember a chart showing f-stop #'s converted to foot candles? Or
something to
that effect? Naturally I didn't save it as I did not have access to a camera
& not
a photographer.
How does one find the archives? I would gladly search.
--
Cheers Wendy
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"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:4EBKb.758639$Tr4.2156191@attbi_s03...
They all look like the same meter, don't they? The one from Dan's Garden
Shop seems to have a brand name of 'rapitest' I wonder what a google
search
on that name would bring up?

Well I ran this search: rapitest "light meter", and it looks like they are
all from Hydrofarm. So why not buy it from Hydrofarm?? Unless the
manufacturer won't discount the price...

I suppose you could check at eBay for other prices.

Nevertheless, I have no opinion on the product. When I bought a meter I
bought a Sperry (~$100). In my short perusal of the Rapitest meter's info
it says it measures up to 5000 ft candles in 3 ranges... I have no idea
what that means. I'm used to reading full sunlight and taking a reading
of
anything else in terms of full sun. (ie full sun is ~10,000 ft-cans and my
benchtop is ~2500.) But I'm sure the person who wrote the blurb just
didn't
write it well. Its got to measure up to full sun.

That said the item in question seems to be ubiquitous, so I'd bet if you
looked around you could find a store near you where you could actually see
and handle the thing.

Or maybe a club member has one you can see.

Personally, I wouldn't grow under lights without a meter. IMHO there's no
other way to be sure, and I'm the kind of person who likes to know what's
going on, not just guess.

K Barrett

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...
"J. Del Col" wrote in message
The best way is to use a light meter calibrated in footcandles.
Good ones aren't cheap.

Are these too cheap to be good?
http://dansgardenshop.com/liginmet.html $27.95
http://greenhousestuff.com/instruments/lightmeter.htm $29.95
http://www.greenfire.net/hot/E611.html $24.95

But even if they are not very accurate, could they be "accurate enough"
for
the purpose of establishing whether the light is good enough?

I am also thinking of getting a light meter. I grow my Phals in only
northern windows with some supplementary grow lights. I know that the
window
without the light is not enough because the first year that I had two
Phals,
they did not rebloom and one of them keiki'ed, and the new leaves were
too
dark. So then I got the lights. The main thing I keep wondering is, how
far
from the grow light can I put my Phals -- being an orchid addict I keep
buying more, of course, and not all of them can be equally close to the
lights and windows -- I can get more lights, but I would like to know if
it
is needed. I would rather not wait too long -- I don't want to risk the
next
blooming season for those orchids that currently might be too far from
the
lights.

Joanna