User & Installation Manual

Transcription

1 User & Installation Manual For Blake-Larsen Sun Recorder SR-UIM-100 by Jul Larsen Consulting IVS, Denmark. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the written permission of B-L Sun Recorder. Document SR-UIM-100 Version 2.0 Date

2 Table of Content Page 1. INTRODUCTION Sun Recorder History Blake-Larsen Sun Recorder General Information Computer Requirements Software Installation Software Installation Time Zone selection Location selection Getting location using Google Map Wizard Manual entry of location Installation of Sun Recorder Unit Main Display New Calibration data available New Software and/or manual available Time Additional information Menu items View Archive View - Month Sun Rise & Set View - Day Sun Azimuth and Altitude Year / Month Sun Shine Report View Sensor Monitor User Settings Location Restart Delay WEB-site Weather Station Sun Norms Back-up Date / Time Format Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 37

3 Colors Help User Manual About Test Midnight Break (10sec) APPENDIX - User Graphics Day Days Months DaysArchive APPENDIX - Data Files APPENDIX - Replacing Cable Plug Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 3 of 37

4 1. INTRODUCTION. The B-L Sun Recorder is a meteorological instrument for measuring sun shine duration fully automatically. It has the capability to detect sun shine from sun rise until sun set provided the sun light exceeds a certain brightness. It further records the actual sun shine state and stores the data on a hard disk. 2. Sun Recorder History. The Campbell-Stokes sun recorder was invented by John Francis Campbell in 1853 and later modified in 1879 by Sir George Gabriel Stokes. It consists of a glass sphere where a paper sheet was placed at a distance from the sphere equal to its focal point. Because of its spherical construction, the sun produced a hot spot at the focal point and thereby burnt a trace in the paper sheet as seen on this sample with hour markers at the top and the burn marks at the bottom. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 4 of 37

5 In the more advanced versions different sheets were available to adapt for the seasonal changes of the suns azimuths and elevations. To register the sunshine hours was then a matter of measuring the length of the burn marks compared to the length of a given day. The great advantage of the Campbell-Stokes was its relatively simple construction and therefore also quite affordable price. The disadvantages were its inability to burn the marks just after sun rise and just before sunset due to the much lower intensity of the sun light even though the sky could be totally clear. Furthermore it was a manual system where the operator had to collect the paper sheet and then do a more or less subjective judgment of the total amount of burn marks. The system was also sensitive to ambient weather such as rain, icing etc. Irrespective of the disadvantages, the Campbell-Stokes sun recorder is still in use all over the world simply because no price comparable alternative has been available before. Today a much more expensive alternative is available and in use by several governmental meteorological organizations namely the pyranometer which in simple terms is based upon measuring the solar irradiation and when the irradiation exceeds 120W/m2 which is the international WMO specification for when sun is shining. 3. Blake-Larsen Sun Recorder The Blake-Larsen sun recorder is based upon light measurement and sophisticated software algorithms, which makes the decision on whether the sun is shining or not. It s basic principle is to detect sun shine as it is seen by the human eye, and it has the capability to register sun shine correctly even just after sun rise and until the sun sets if the sun is clear and not dimmed by haze, light clouds etc. The system does fully automatically register the total hours of sunshine per day irrespective of the season and geographical location of course provided the unit has an unobstructed view close to the horizon of where the sun rises and sets. The sun recorder is designed to detect sun shine at all latitude locations in other words from equator to the poles. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 5 of 37

6 4. General Information The B-L Sun Recorder comprises the following items: Sensor element with attached cable and a RJ12 6/6 connector at the indoor end standard cable lengths are 30, 50 and 100 meters. USB adapter for interfacing to the computers USB connector. Mast mounting hardware for mm diameter. Operation software Computer Requirements. CPU: 1.66 Ghz Minimum Memory: 1 GB Minimum 1 x USB 2.0 Port Windows 7 or later. If the computer shall handle other tasks besides the Sun Recorder, a Dual Core version is recommended. Note: It is recommended to install the software and check the system on a desk BEFORE actual BEFORE the sun recorder is installed in its final location. 5. Software Installation Software Installation. The supplied installation CD shall be used for installation of the sun recorder software. Connection to the internet is required, The installation includes user options for shortcuts. Follow the installation procedure given in the CD case. Start the Sun Recorder program. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 6 of 37

7 5.2. Time Zone selection. If the computers time zone is set to to select the local time zone here:, is required Note: The time zone selection is required for correct date and time stamps of various files generated by the system. After time zone is selected, click to continue Location selection At first time the sun recorder is started, it needs the geographical location using two optional methods: Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 7 of 37

8 Getting location using Google Map Wizard. Click and follow the above instructions Manual entry of location. Enter latitude and longitude and select hemispheres by clicking and Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 8 of 37

9 Whenever latitude and/or longitude is changed, this will be shown: The display shows when the sun azimuth is exactly due South (or North in the southern hemisphere) in local time at the present day. This information is as tool for proper azimuth adjustment of the recorder unit. After data in either case are entered, - click it. If YES is selected the entered location will be shown in Google Map. 6. Installation of Sun Recorder Unit. First you must carefully choose the place for installing the sun recorder. Ideally it should be a place with no obstructions between the sun recorder and the horizon from sun rise to sun set happens during the year. Also there should be no obstructions like buildings, trees etc. between the sun recorder and the suns path during the day again taking the time of year into consideration with emphasis on the low altitude at winter time. The sun recorder should be installed on a mast of preferably 38mm in diameter while the height of the mast is decided with attention to the above remarks remembering that the height of the mast might solve problems with obstructions as mentioned. It is essential that the mast is positioned so it is accurately vertical (perpendicular to earth surface). Where a long mast is required consideration should be given to bracing wires to avoid excessive strain on a possible wall bracket in windy conditions. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 9 of 37

10 The sun recorder comes with a mounting bracket which is furnished with a bending cutout so the bracket can be bent by hand according to the instructions taped to the bracket for the correct angle for the site latitude. The bracket is factory pre-bended for a latitude of 45 degrees. By using the attached bend template, bend the bracket according to actual latitude. Please observe that the tolerance of the bending should be within +/- 2. Warning: make only one bend of the bracket repeated bending back and forth might cause metal fatigue and eventual breakage. Remove the bend template after the bracket bend is correct. The sun recorder should be attached to the mast using the delivered mast brackets and M6 bolts with M6 self locking nuts. The sun recorder FRONT must be oriented towards south (or north in the southern hemisphere) as shown in the figure. FRONT FRONT shall point towards: SOUTH in the Northern hemisphere NORTH in the Southern hemisphere ACCURACY: +/- 5 degrees At latitudes above 60 the recorder should be placed at the top of the mast to avoid that the mast itself obstructs the sun. Tighten the M6 bolts (2 each) to secure the recorder to the mast without deformation of the bracket. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 10 of 37

11 Un-wind the supplied cable from the recorder end using a cardboard tube (like an empty kitchen paper roll), plastic bottle or the like. WARNING: it is strongly advised to use the described un-winding procedure to avoid an almost incurable mess. Fix the cable firmly to the mast using suitable cable strips. Note: The sun recorder can alternatively be mounted on a horizontal pole. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 11 of 37

12 7. Main Display. The picture at upper left have four different displays: Sun shine No Sun Shine Twilight Night Twilight is the periods before sun rise and after sun set where the sun is between 0 and 6 below the horizon (called the Civil Twilight). Accumulated sun shine time for the day is displayed in hours, minutes and seconds as well as decimal hours: Sun shine durations per hour are displayed in minutes: indicates that system has access to internet Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 12 of 37

13 flashes once per second to indicate program is running New Calibration data available. This alert will be displayed when centrally generated calibration data has been generated: If clicking used immediately. If clicking remote server. the new calibration data will be loaded into the sun recorder and the new calibration data will be rejected and removed from the 7.2. New Software and/or manual available. This alert will be displayed when a new version of software and/or a new version of this manual is available on the remote server: Clicking the alert enables the automatic software/manual update at next midnight break and this alert will be shown: Clicking the alert again will cancel the midnight automatic update Time If clicking time will be shown as (and visa versa) 7.4. Additional information If clicking the bottom of the main display will show: percent. indicates how much of the day has elapsed and progress bar the same in Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 13 of 37

14 indicates how much sun shine until now at the day and progress bar shows sun shine in red and no sun shine in percentage of the elapsed day so far. indicates time where no data has been recorded and progress bar the same in percentage of the elapsed day so far. Between midnight and sun rise the display will be: One more click on the bottom of the main display will show: At one further click on the main display reverts to its normal size Menu items View Archive Initially is displayed in which years sun shine files exists. When a specific year is selected (click): Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 14 of 37

15 Months in which sun shine files exists in the selected year When a specific month is selected (click): Days in which sun shine files exists in the selected month and year. Note: day 21 and 22 has no file as indicated by Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 15 of 37

16 Selecting a year by double click: Selecting a month by double click: Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 16 of 37

17 Selecting a day by double click: View - Month Sun Rise & Set Select a specific Month and Year then click Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 17 of 37

18 When appropriate for the selected Month and Year the table will show solstice or Equinox time and marking of Longest Day, Shortest Day, Earliest Sun Rise, Earliest Sun Set, Latest Sun Rise and Latest Sun Set. Table can be printed using Latitude and Longitude can selected different from the installation location if selected longitude differs from the installation, all times will be shown in UTC time View - Day Sun Azimuth and Altitude Select a specific date and minute interval between calculations Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 18 of 37

19 then click Table can be printed using Latitude and Longitude can selected different from the installation location if selected longitude differs from the installation, all times will be shown in UTC time. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 19 of 37

20 Year / Month Sun Shine Report Select a year by double click: Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 20 of 37

21 Select a month in a year by double click: When the report is displayed you can either or If is clicked you will be asked to select folder and file name for the destination of the CSV file View Sensor Monitor Displays sensor current, threshold, sensor temperature and supply voltage in real time. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 21 of 37

22 Displays year, month and date for which sensor data files are available. To select a specific date, click year, month and date. Top line displays sun events for the selected date and also minimum / maximum sensor temperature as well as minimum / maximum supply voltage. The top green graph indicates the theoretical maximum sensor current and the purple graph the calculated threshold according to time of day. The two vertical blue lines indicates sun rise and set while the vertical orange line indicates solar noon. The two horizontal boxes with display of time are moveable cursors click and old down the mouse button to move either horizontal. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 22 of 37

23 In this example start and end time cursors has been moved to show a total period of time of 02:00:10. When clicking the display will be horizontal zoomed: Further zoom steps can be done. If right clicking display zooms back to the previous selected. Same functions are present for zooms in the vertical current display. Displays the calculated sun shine duration either for the total file or within the selection done with the horizontal cursors. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 23 of 37

24 7.6. User Settings. Used for various user settings whenever a setting is changed, displayed so notify the user that changes shall be saved. is Location Used for entry of the installations geographical location. Entry format is Degrees/decimal degrees. location. opens Google Map for visual confirmation of the The time where the sun azimuth is due south in the northern hemisphere (or north in the southern hemisphere) are displayed and can be used to orient the sun recorder unit towards the sun at the indicated time. Note: It is recommended to change the location only before sun rise or after sun set otherwise the current file for sun shine detection will be erased to avoid conflicts in the recordings Restart Delay Select a restart delay between 5 and 120 minutes. Every day at midnight the sun recorder main program closes automatically and restarts the selected minutes after Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 24 of 37

25 WEB-site midnight. You can here select if you want your sun recorder data displayed on the WEB-site. Entered Geographical name is displayed on sunrecorder.net Entered URL for your weather station WEB-site is displayed on sunrecorder.net You can disable display of your geographical location on sunrecorder.net Weather Station Click on the entry field you can select the folder where sun shine data are stored once every minute. Note: the folder shown is for use with Cumulus weather station software Sun Norms Official average sun shine duration for each month can be entered and used for comparison of the sun recorders recorded sun shine hours. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 25 of 37

26 Back-up If a valid path is entered (click on the entry field to select the path) the system will carry out a full back-up of all sun recorder data recordings including user graphics to the selected location. At least a second hard disk installed is recommended for that purpose. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 26 of 37

27 Date / Time Format The user can select either standard Windows national settings or a specific user setting:: Colors The user can select his preferred color settings for the user graphics. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 27 of 37

28 A click on for instance will display: Use the standard Windows color picker to select the preferred color is used to select the outer color of the gradient column and inner gradient color. for the A click on any of the standard. button will reverse the color selection back to Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 28 of 37

29 8. Help 8.1. User Manual Opens SunRecorderManual.pdf 8.2. About Displays information about software versions and sensor. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 29 of 37

30 8.3. Test Midnight Break (10sec) Forces a simulated midnight break of 10 seconds. It is recommended to do the test to verify that a firewall will accept the SRbreak.exe program. During the midnight break the display shows: Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 30 of 37

31 9. APPENDIX - User Graphics The system generates various graphic files which can be used at the users preference for various purposes such as a weather station Web-site. The files are stored in sub-folder UserGraphics which comprises the following sub-folders: 9.1. Day Once every 1 minute these graphs are generated and stored in folder /UserGraphics/Day: GraphText.png size: 690 x 450 pixels Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 31 of 37

32 Graph.png size: 670 x 255 pixels Info.txt Latitude,N Longitude,E februar, 2014 Sun Shine,0.90 Recorded Time,6.92 Day Length,9.78 Info.txt is intended for use with Graph.png for design of users own web-site Days30 Once every 1 minute these graphs are generated and stored in folder /UserGraphics/Days30: GraphText.png size: 690 x 450 pixels Graph.png size: 670 x 255 pixels Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 32 of 37

33 Info.txt Latitude,N Longitude,E January, February, 2014 Sun Shine,32.49 Recorded Time, Day Length, Info.txt is intended for use with Graph.png for design of users own web-site Months12 Once every 1 minute these graphs are generated and stored in folder /UserGraphics/Months12: GraphText.png size: 690 x 450 pixels Graph.png size: 670 x 255 pixels Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 33 of 37

34 Info.txt Latitude,N Longitude,E February, January, 2014 Sun Shine, Recorded Time, Day Length, DaysArchive For every day the system stores these files and stored in folder /UserGraphics/DaysArchive: png (yyyymmdd) size: 670 x 255 pixels txt (yyyymmdd): Latitude,N Longitude,E februar, 2014 Sun Shine,0.95 Recorded Time,7.32 Day Length,9.78 Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 34 of 37

35 10. APPENDIX - Data Files The system generates data files as described below. The data files are stored to hard disk once every 30 seconds. The user may access these files as the sun recorder software automatically controls if a file is opened by the user if so the writing is postponed to the next elapse of 30 seconds. Warning: it is strongly recommended to make a copy of the file in question before processing the content of the file so the user access time is kept to the lowest possible duration. If the user does not comply to this, the sun recorder software might not be able to update the files in a proper manner with consequential loss of data. The sub-folder SunRecords comprises sub-folders for each year (named yyyy) The year folder comprises subfolders for each months (named 01 to 12) The year folder further comprises a YearTotal.dat file which contains 365 records (366 in leap years) where each record comprises Date (yyyymmdd), sun shine duration (hh:mm:ss), recording duration (hh:mm:ss), sun rise time (hh:mm:ss) and sun set time (hh:mm:ss). During a day the sun shine duration and recording duration are continuously updated. The month folder comprises sun shine duration files for each day named Sun_yyyymmdd.dat. Each sun shine duration file comprises header records: LAT LON TZ 1 DST False SRS 07:49:43 17:15:18 TOT 00:33:29 00:10:18 where TZ is time zone offset from UTC, DST is Daylight Saving Time. SRS (Sun Rise Set) shows sun rise time (07:49:43) and sun set time (17:15:18) both in local time. TOT shows total sun shine duration (00:33:29) and total none record time (00:10:18) The individual sun shine duration records: SUN 15:37:02 15:37:21 SUN 15:37:23 15:37:25 SUN 15:48:28 16:21:35 NRC 17:05:00 17:15:18 Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 35 of 37

36 The records starting with SUN shows the sun shine duration as (from) - (to) local time. NRC means No Recording in this example recordings were not done between 17:05:00 until sun set at 17:15:18 Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 36 of 37

37 11. APPENDIX - Replacing Cable Plug. You may need to cut off the plug to feed the cable through a hole ( mm) in for instance a window frame. Remove the RFI filter from the cable (must be fitted again later) and cut of the connector (keep it for reference to color coding). Note: Please observe that connector leads have different location in the connector according to recorders serial no: Serial No Top View - the lock hook on bottom side. Plug type RJ12 6/4 Serial No Top View the lock hook on other side. Plug type RJ12 6/6 (included in supply) Observe the asymmetry in placement of the leads Use an authorized crimp tool for crimping the cable to the connector. Note: Be sure that the color coded wires is inserted correctly in the plug use the cut off piece as reference. Copyright B-L Sun Recorder. All rights reserved. Page 37 of 37