Pegasus Astro Uranus Meteo Sensor User manual

Pegasus Astro - Uranus Meteo Sensor Manual
URANUS METEO SENSOR
PRODUCT MANUAL
Version 1.1
2022-Oct-01

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Pegasus Astro - Uranus Meteo Sensor Manual
VERSION HISTORY
Version #
Implemented By
Revision Date
Reason
1.0
Evans Souglakos
25/06/2022
Initial Document
1.1
Evans Souglakos
01/10/2022
Add Mechanical Drawings.
Add Emissivity for IR Sensor.
Modify Buttons Operation.

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Pegasus Astro - Uranus Meteo Sensor Manual
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 5
1.1 Purpose.................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Device Care............................................................................................................. 5
2DEVICE DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Design Overview..................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Battery Operation.................................................................................................... 7
2.3 Battery charging...................................................................................................... 7
2.4 USB Operation........................................................................................................ 8
2.5 Power Consumption and Sleep Mode................................................................. 8
2.6 Device Reset........................................................................................................... 9
2.7 Mounting Holes....................................................................................................... 9
3SENSORS ............................................................................................................................... 10
3.1 Ambient Temperature.......................................................................................... 10
3.2 Relative Humidity.................................................................................................. 10
3.3 Barometric Pressure............................................................................................. 11
3.4 Light / Sky Brightness.......................................................................................... 11
3.5 Cloud Infrared Sensor.......................................................................................... 13
4GPS.......................................................................................................................................... 13
5MEMORY BANKS................................................................................................................ 16
6DEVICE OPERATION......................................................................................................... 17
6.1 First-Time Use....................................................................................................... 17
6.2 Mobile Usage......................................................................................................... 19
6.3 Remote Usage...................................................................................................... 21
7ON SCREEN DISPLAY........................................................................................................ 22
7.1 Organic Led........................................................................................................... 22
7.2 Menus..................................................................................................................... 22
8MEASUREMENT CONSIDERATIONS............................................................................ 32
8.1 Sky Quality............................................................................................................. 32
8.2 Cloud Coverage.................................................................................................... 35
9CONFIGURATION CHANGES.......................................................................................... 36
9.1 Set Units................................................................................................................. 36
9.2 Set Timezone........................................................................................................ 36
9.3 Set Sleep After...................................................................................................... 36
9.4 Set Light Readout Offset..................................................................................... 36
9.5 Set Infrared Sensor Emissivity........................................................................... 36
DIMENSIONS............................................................................................................................. 37
10 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION......................................................................................... 37

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11 ENVIRONMENT................................................................................................................... 38
12 WARRANTY.......................................................................................................................... 38
13 SUPPORT............................................................................................................................... 38

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Pegasus Astro - Uranus Meteo Sensor Manual
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 PURPOSE
Thank you for purchasing the Uranus Meteo Sensor. This pocket-sized device is an
all-around astronomer, astro-imager companion.Smaller than the size of a cigarette
box, and equipped with a variety of digital sensors, can precisely report the ambient
temperature, humidity, pressure, cloud height, cloud coverage, astronomical dawn,
twilight time, and the night sky brightness.
1.2 DEVICE CARE
The device electronics are housed inside an aluminium anodized blue enclosure.
The enclosure is made from aircraft aluminium alloy 6061 which provides very good
corrosion resistance. The label button on top of the device is water-resistant and the
material was selected to last a long time. However, the device is not waterproof and
it should not be installed outside for long term, exposed to weather conditions e.g.
direct sunlight, rain, snow.
A black silicone case protects the device from drops and scratches. Also it does not
allow contact of aluminium enclosure with your palm. (especially during cold nights
the heat transfer from your hand to the metal can be really disturbing)
We strongly suggest keeping this case, especially if you plan to use the device as a
mobile unit (have it in your pocket etc). In case you need to place the device inside
your observatory, you can remove the silicon case and use the screws at the bottom
of the device to securely attach Uranus on a plate (2xM3 screws) or a tripod ball
head ( 3/8-16 UNC thread).
Please note that the device is not water-sealed and you should not leave it
exposed to weather conditions such as rain or snow. However, the device can
be placed into a roll-off observatory to measure night conditions, for
astronomical observations, when the roof is open.

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Pegasus Astro - Uranus Meteo Sensor Manual
2 DEVICE DESCRIPTION
2.1 DESIGN OVERVIEW

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2.2 BATTERY OPERATION
The device includes a rechargeable 3.6Volts - 3xAAA NiMH battery back. The
current capacity of the battery pack is 600mA. The battery can be recharged from
the USB-C socket. A battery management controller inside the device ensures that
the device is properly charged following the NiMH battery charging characteristics.
When the battery is fully charged, the controller cuts the charging current. Battery
levels are shown on the OLED display.
Typically, NiMH batteries can be recharged hundreds of times However, battery
life is limited to up to 5 years. After that, it can be easily replaced with a new
rechargeable battery pack. In order to do that, remove the two screws from the
back of the device and lift the bottom enclosure plate. Locate the battery and
disconnect the two wires. Remove and replace the battery pack. Pay attention to
the battery + and –cable. (black is - , red is +). There is a printed indication close
to the device socket showing how to attach the cables with the correct polarity.
Please note that the device has reverse polarity protection so if you accidentally
reverse the battery polarity, the device will just not start. (It will not get harmed).
2.3 BATTERY CHARGING
When USB-C cable is inserted to the device, the battery automatically enters into
a charging cycle. The internal NiMH change controller decides if battery requires
charging and starts the charge sequence. Also, it stops the sequence when battery
is fully charged.
During charging sequence, the battery pack produces some heat (a normal
condition during any battery charging). Despite the fact that all temperature
sensors are placed into a different compartment of the aluminium enclosure (to

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isolate any heat emission from the electronic board) this will affect them and offset
their temperature readout by 2-3 °C. When charging cycle ends, the battery is
cooled down and temperature sensors readout return to normal values.
To reinitiate a battery charge sequence, USB cable should be re-inserted and
battery should be lower than 90% of its capacity.
This ensures that during remote operation ofthe device the battery will not produce
heat so it won’t enter, periodically, into battery charging cycles. Therefore, the
sensors are not get affected by any abnormal temperature fluctuation.
If you intend to mount permanently the device on your observatory, you can open
the back of the device (remove the two screws and lift the back plate) and easily
remove the whole battery or just disconnect one battery clip.
2.4 USB OPERATION
The device has a USB-C socket on its right side that charges the internal battery
pack, and most important, exchange information with your PC. The USB
communication is USB 2.0. Maximum cable length that ensures a stable
communication between Uranus and your PC is up to 5 meters / 15 feet.
Device prefers the USB power channel (+5V) so when the USB cable is inserted,
the device instantly switches to USB power and battery power consumption falls
to zero. When you remove the USB, device instantly switches back to battery
power consumption, operation (no disruption in device operation happens).
2.5 POWER CONSUMPTION AND SLEEP MODE
Uranus consumes 60mA during its normal battery operation. When the device is
onbattery “mobile”mode (USB cable is not plugged) device enters into sleep mode
after 5 minutes of inactivity (default sleep interval –can be changed from Unity
software). Sleep mode is practically, to the user experience, a full shut down of the
device.

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In sleep mode, the device consumes up to 15μA. This ultra-low power consumption
allows the battery to last for more than a year! The right push-button single click
brings the device back to life, normal operation. Due to this power save feature,
the device does not need a classic switch button to turn on or off.
2.6 DEVICE RESET
A pin-hole on the left side of the enclosure fully resets the microcontroller of the
device. If your Uranus does not turn on for any reason, carefully insert a small
needle and press this button once.
2.7 MOUNTING HOLES
Uranus has two different types mounting holes at the back of its enclosure.
A couple of M3 holes and a 3/8-16 UNC are available according to image below.
The device can be attracted with two different ways:
•On a small tripod by using the 3/8-16 UNC hole, pointing to the zenith of
the sky.
•“Piggiback” on your telescope OTA: In this case, please ensure that the
sensor front area is as close to the front of your telescope. This ensures
that each optical sensor ‘s field of view is not obstructed by an object (such
as the telescope tube itself).

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3 SENSORS
3.1 AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
A digital sensor measures temperature ranges from -40°C to +60 °C. Temperature
readings are taken every 15 seconds, to disallow any heat that might build up if
there were quick time interval readings. After each reading, the sensor enters into
sleep mode in which power consumption is at a minimum. All the above ensure
that the sensor measures precisely the current ambient temperature. Temperature
sensor value is also used for temperature compensation of the pressure and
humidity sensors.
3.2 RELATIVE HUMIDITY
A digital relative humidity sensor ensures accuracy tolerance of ±3 % relative
humidity. The humidity sensor provides a fast response time and high overall
accuracy over a wide temperature range. The integrated temperature sensor has
been optimized for the lowest noise and highest resolution. As the temperature
sensor, each reading is taken every 15 seconds to minimize internal sensor heat-
up and reduce power consumption.
The below image shows the humidity sensor operating range