"Meters" .... does anyone use these?

September 25, 2009

I bought the tricked out model from EDTM, made in the USA and it is quite handy. I have used it for automotive applications but I primarily use it for residential and commercial glass. This meter is capable of providing SHGC, UVT and VLT. Based on the results provided by the meter you can determine, fairly accurately, the exact type of glass you are looking at and coordinate with the glass manufacturer's specs for more information. Great tool for F2G charting if you live in a geographic area that utilizes a lot of low e/hp low e glass. Thanks to Mark at EDTM, that guy is a glass guru of all gurus. :beer

:dunno

- FB

September 25, 2009

Gents,
I truly wish I had access to a physics professor for a single day. There are several questions about our industry that after 26 years are still unresolved for me.

One of them involves these tint meters. I think that the process of measuring glass+film simultaneously is fundamentally flawed. Here’s why:

Take a drinking glass out of your kitchen cabinet and fill it ¾ of the way to the top with water. Now put a spoon into the water. Use a spoon that is tall enough so that it sticks up above the water level. Now look at that spoon from different angles. The spoon looks bent – but of course it’s not.

The reason for this optical illusion is that the glass and the water have two different refractive indices. The light waves do not travel at the same speed thru the water as they do thru the glass. The difference in these values is what makes the spoon look bent.

What does this have to do with tint meters?

I have meters in the warehouse that just measure film. I also have the glass+film meters that we sell to you guys, like the Pocket Detective.

I can take a piece of 50% film and put it in the meter. It meters 50%. If I double it up, it correctly reads 25% (which is 50% of 50%). With me so far??

Next I take a meter like a pocket detective and meter a piece of unfilmed glass. I get a 70% reading. Then I put the 50% film onto the 70% glass. It should read 35%, right? (that’s 50% of 70%). But it never does. I am sometimes off by 8-12%. I think this is due to the fact that polyester film has a different refractive index than glass and hence, cannot be accurately read simultaneously.

Anyone know someone with a PhD in physics?

-Howard

This meter I speak of specifically states that it is not intended for use with glass in conjunction with film, but I have used it with moderate success. Which way is your meter off? You say it is 8-12% off, which direction is it miscalculating? With practice you could "dial it in" and account for the error to determine what the actual results are, for a quick fix of course. You are already aware of this I'm sure, I don't have access to a Physics doctor but it would be cool to have this explained!

EWF · September 25, 2009

Very interesting development:

I found a service called intota.com that will find you an expert in any field of science you wish. I was immediately able to find a qualified expert!! I just had a half hour consultation with this fellow: http://www.intota.com/expert-consultant.as...mp;perID=720984

Check that resume !!! MIT and Princeton !!! It does not get better than that !!

In a delightful French accent, he explained that if the glass + film were bonded together with "zero gap" it would make no difference that they had different refractive indexes. But in this case, there is a layer of adhesive between them and that would make metering them "as a unit" inaccurate. I explained that the layer of adhesive was infinitesimally thin - but he stated that it does not matter. As an example, he reminded me that people apply sunscreen lotion to their skin (imagine how thin that layer is) yet it effectively screens the UV wavelength.

Unfortunately - he informed me that due to his current research workload, he could not take on the project in the foreseeable future. He was very intrigued by the problem and wished he had time; he believed he would have enjoyed it.

Based upon this consultation - I am going to find an expert that will work with me. It is foreseeable that if we could have the present metering methods declared legally invalid, enforcement pressures would let up. So many of my dealers are complaining about "the heat".

This is very interesting and I will pursue it. I'll keep you posted.

-Howard

EWF · September 25, 2009

Very interesting development:

I found a service called intota.com that will find you an expert in any field of science you wish. I was immediately able to find a qualified expert!! I just had a half hour consultation with this fellow: http://www.intota.com/expert-consultant.as...mp;perID=720984

Check that resume !!! MIT and Princeton !!! It does not get better than that !!

In a delightful French accent, he explained that if the glass + film were bonded together with "zero gap" it would make no difference that they had different refractive indexes. But in this case, there is a layer of adhesive between them and that would make metering them "as a unit" inaccurate. I explained that the layer of adhesive was infinitesimally thin - but he stated that it does not matter. As an example, he reminded me that people apply sunscreen lotion to their skin (imagine how thin that layer is) yet it effectively screens the UV wavelength.

Unfortunately - he informed me that due to his current research workload, he could not take on the project in the foreseeable future. He was very intrigued by the problem and wished he had time; he believed he would have enjoyed it.

Based upon this consultation - I am going to find an expert that will work with me. It is foreseeable that if we could have the present metering methods declared legally invalid, enforcement pressures would let up. So many of my dealers are complaining about "the heat".

This is very interesting and I will pursue it. I'll keep you posted.

-Howard

Booms · September 25, 2009

Thast some VERY interesting stuff there Howard! Good Job! :dunno

Carmeltinting.com · September 25, 2009

If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, would you be interested in using it to measure the Visible Light Transmission (VLT) percentage? I just completed an application called ‘iTint’ , and should be available in the Apple App Store by the end of August 2009.

I got it and it actually works pretty well. :lol

October 13, 2009

If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, would you be interested in using it to measure the Visible Light Transmission (VLT) percentage? I just completed an application called ‘iTint’ , and should be available in the Apple App Store by the end of August 2009.

I got it and it actually works pretty well.

Version 1.1 is now available. Default calibration points are used if you don't have calibration samples. Check out the App Store.

October 13, 2009

I've got a tint meter in the shop, like said before in this post it is a good way to deter customers from going too dark... lol I sold 9 of these to a police force 30 min away

December 23, 2009

If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, would you be interested in using it to measure the Visible Light Transmission (VLT) percentage? I just completed an application called ‘iTint’ , and should be available in the Apple App Store by the end of August 2009.

Did this ever come available?

If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, would you be interested in using it to measure the Visible Light Transmission (VLT) percentage? I just completed an application called ‘iTint’ , and should be available in the Apple App Store by the end of August 2009.

Did this ever come available, and how does it work? I see above that it did My b. How many people use and is it worth it? any pics of it?

February 9, 2010

If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, would you be interested in using it to measure the Visible Light Transmission (VLT) percentage? I just completed an application called ‘iTint’ , and should be available in the Apple App Store by the end of August 2009.

Did this ever come available?

If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, would you be interested in using it to measure the Visible Light Transmission (VLT) percentage? I just completed an application called ‘iTint’ , and should be available in the Apple App Store by the end of August 2009.

Did this ever come available, and how does it work? I see above that it did My b. How many people use and is it worth it? any pics of it?

It has been available for quite some time on Apple's App Store. Search for 'iTint' on iTunes. Visit my website at www.hjchome.com for more details.