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Operational TSP-700 Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ Legend:All Products
Product Class (Broadband Pyranometers)
This Product (TSP-700)

3. Operational

1. How do I calibrate a UVB/A-1 or TSP-700 broadband instrument? Can't I just use some sort of lamp rather than the sun?

No. The spectral distribution of a lamp is very different than the spectral distribution of the sun, especially in the UV portion of the spectrum. The sun is essential in calibrating the absolute response of broadband instruments as a source of stable spectral irradiance.

You should first know that three different responses of broadband instruments are measured during calibration: the cosine response, spectral response, and the absolute response. This questions refers only to the absolute response. For more in-depth information on calibrating the other responses, and on calibration in general, please click on Services, and then Optical Calibration.

UVB pyranometers are calibrated against both the sun and against specially calibrated UVB pyranometers known as transfer detectors. These instruments have been carefully calibrated against co-located narrowband spectroradiometers, which in turn are calibrated with NIST-traceable quartz halogen tungsten filament lamps in our Optical Calibration Facility. The transfer detectors can be used to calibrate instruments off-site, hence their name. Broadband visible Total Solar Pyranometers are calibrated against the sun and other co-located pyranometers which are ultimately traceable back to WMO standards located at the World Radiation Center in Davos, Switzerland.

2. Can a UVB-1/UVA-1 be used underwater?

Yes. Although mainly used above water, the UVA-1/UVB-1 can handle shallow depths (1 m) for periods of hours to days. The instruments are sealed and have on-board desiccants. You will find that the water's surface and suspended aquatic material tends to attenuate UV-B data in strange and unpredictable ways, mainly as a function of turbidity. A TSP-700, MFR/UVMFR, or SPUV cannot be used underwater.

 

 

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