Portable UV Meter

I was reading the article IEEE Spectrum Portable UV Meter on making a portable UV meter, however the parts suggested are out of stock. I was wondering whether a https://core-electronics.com.au/si1145-digital-uv-index-ir-visible-light-sensor.html could be used instead?
I was also wondering which was the best beginner setup for arduino? Am I best off getting a kit or is the processor + display sufficient?
Thanks

2 Likes

Hey Niki,

Welcome to the forum! Excellent find, this looks like a really interesting project!

We actually have the board that David used in his article here with 1 in stock as I am writing this post!

The sensor that you sent through won’t work unfortunately as that interprets the UV index from the visible and IR light emitted from the sun.
I had a look for the same sensor used in the project and found this one from DFrobot.

To get a similar project made up with an Arduino Uno I would take a look at the DFRobot version as that looks like it handles onboard logic level conversion.
A kit would get you some more parts that you can use in later projects and even add to this one.
PS: most include a small 12x2 display that is able to show simple numbers and letters such as this one from Sparkfun

If you were looking to emulate the project we also have the other two parts available:

If you have any other questions pop them up,
Liam.

3 Likes

Hi Liam,
Thanks for your help. Looking forward to building this one.
Niki

3 Likes

Hi Liam,
After a long delay I finally have some time to work on my project and have realised I don’t know how to connect the chips together. I have bought a bread board but am wondering what else I need to get my project going? Do I need to use the Qwiic connector or can I connect the UV sensor to the pro-micro directly?
Thanks

Hey Niki,

Which parts do you have at the moment? Qwiic, Piico and STEMMA are all easy to use I2C connectors that handle all of the manual wiring with the JST-SH connectors.

Usually there are hook-up guides for the parts that should get you pointed in the right direction but not quite all the way there. If you take a look at the product pages, they should be linked down the bottom.

1 Like

Hi Liam,
I was wanting to directly connect the chips on a breadboard, not using any other parts. I think I found the connection information online. I got the impression that was how the parts were connected in the article. Will try it when I get some more time.
Thanks

1 Like

Hey Niki,

Awesome! It’s a shame there arent any code examples or pictures of the finished product. If you were looking to make it permanent you could opt for a protoboard: https://core-electronics.com.au/search/?q=protoboard

2 Likes