{"id":1441,"date":"2013-09-26T00:10:19","date_gmt":"2013-09-26T07:10:19","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-01T14:41:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T21:41:31","slug":"1441","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/1441","title":{"rendered":"UVA Sensor Troubleshooting and FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"\/product\/uva-sensor\/\">UVA Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>UVA-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/h3>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/manuals\/uva-bta\/\">Specifications and User Guide<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/product.uva-bta.hero._001.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Primary Test<\/strong>: Are you using the UVA Sensor to check UVB light? Confirm that the sensor is appropriate for the experiment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Secondary Test:<\/strong> Take readings outdoors in the sunlight with and without a barrier, such as a piece of cardboard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Additional Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/1137\/\">How do the Vernier UVA and UVB sensors work?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/3008\/\">Which UV sensor should I purchase--UVA or UVB?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/1442\/\">UVB Sensor Troubleshooting and FAQs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/1339\/\">Where can I purchase a UV light source?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/1552\/\">Why does my UVA or UVB sensor display incorrect units in Logger <i>Pro<\/i> v3.4.5.1 and older?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/392\/\">Does Vernier sell a weather station?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Specifications<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UV peak sensitivity: one volt per 3940 mW\/m<sup>2<\/sup> at 340 nm<\/li>\n<li>Wavelength sensitivity region, approximate: 320 to 390 nm (320 to 375 nm, half-sensitivity points)<\/li>\n<li>Dimensions: 21 cm by 2 cm diameter<\/li>\n<li>Typical Resolution: 5 mW\/m<sup>2<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>Time response: ~ 2 seconds to reach 95% of final reading<\/li>\n<li>Stored calibration coefficients: slope (gain) = 3940 mW\/(m\u00b2 V); intercept (offset) = 0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Calibration<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calibrate? No. The sensor is set to the stored calibration before shipping. It is quite difficult to calibrate a UV sensor to read in absolute units, since you must have a source of known UV intensity and spectral distribution. More often, you will simply want to calibrate the sensor in terms of a relative intensity as noted below.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cover the tip of the UVA Sensor with a clean opaque object. <\/li>\n<li>Select the calibration option of the program you are using. <\/li>\n<li>Enter 0 (zero) as the first known intensity, then click or tap Keep.<\/li>\n<li>Now allow full UV intensity to strike the sensor.\n<ol style=\"list-style-type:lower-alpha\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Since the orientation of the sensor affects the reading, it is best to hold the sensor in place with a ring stand or other clamp. <\/li>\n<li>To point the sensor directly at the sun, make the shadow of the sensor tube as small as possible.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Enter 100 as the next known intensity, then click or tap Keep.<\/li>\n<li>Exit the calibration dialog. Measurements of the sensor will be relative to this second intensity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information on calibration, see <a href=\"\/til\/4011\/\">How do I calibrate my sensor?<\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related Products<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/uvb-sensor\/\">UVB Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>UVB-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-light-and-color-sensor\/\">Go Direct<sup>&reg;<\/sup> Light and Color Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-LC<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Specifications and User Guide Troubleshooting Additional Troubleshooting Specifications Calibration Calibrate? No. The sensor is set to the stored calibration before shipping. It is quite difficult&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1073,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[720,1908,1909,1910],"class_list":["post-1441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-maintil","tag-uva-bta","tag-uva-din","tag-uvamain"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1073"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}