CIMEL SUNPHOTOMETER - Weekly
Maintenance for Automatic Sun Photometers
Needed tools:
 compressed air or small (pipe) brush
 isopropanol
 Kimberly-Clark Kimtech 7552 paper
 cotton stick
 precision spirit level
 fork spanner, size 10 mm
 allen key, size 5 mm
 clock set to right time e.g. from
http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?UTC/s/0/java
 some water if not raining
 periodically: multimeter
a) VERIFY SYSTEM INTEGRITY

Check that the cable between Control box and black battery pair is connected
at the both ends.

Check that the zenith and azimuth cables are connected to the Control box.
Untangle these cables so that they are not stuck to the stand or other
structures.

Check that the sensor cable is connected to the Control box and to the
photometer. Untangle the cable if needed, so that it is not stuck to the stand or
other structures. Check that the cable does not prevent the instrument rotating
properly.

Check that the white connector panel is properly attached to the Control box
itself (push it a little).

Remove the excess water from the enclosure box. Check that there is not
water inside it.

Check the wet sensor:
 Press any button to weak up the Control box display. You are in the main
screen, it reads: PW AutoRun VIEW
 Go to VIEW / BAT menu by pressing red then white button. You are in a
menu where you can consult different parameters. To go ahead in this
menu, use red button. With yellow button you can go backwards.
 Press red button until the screen reads HH.
 Observe whether the screen is displaying '0 or '1'.
- If it is raining, this should be '1'. If it is still ‘0’, wet the sensor with water
and observe whether the HH status changes to '1' within a minute.
- If it is not raining, wet the sensor with water and observe whether the HH
status changes to '1' within a minute.
- If the screen is still displaying ‘0’ though the sensor is wet, contact by email
veijo.aaltonen@fmi.fi
 Press the green button until you are again in the main screen
b) CHECK BATTERY VOLTAGES
There is a small battery inside the Control box. Check that it has voltage of >5 V this
way:
 If you can not see the menu, press any button to weak it up. You are in the
main screen, it reads:
PW AutoRun VIEW
 Go to VIEW / BAT menu by pressing red then white button. The first value is
the instantaneous value of the internal battery's voltage, for example:
23 : 59 : 59 Ba 5.20
 In this case, the battery voltage is 5.20V, which is ok. If the voltage is lower
than 5V, contact by email veijo.aaltonen@fmi.fi
 Periodically, check the voltage of black 6+6V battery pair with multimeter.
Test it from the battery terminals with all cables connected. If the voltage is
lower than 12.5 V when the Cimel robot is idle, contact by email
veijo.aaltonen@fmi.fi
 To return to main menu, press green button.
For more information, see manual, page 37.
c) CHECK INSTRUMENT CLOCK
Make sure you have a precise clock with you. If you cannot see the display, press any
button to weak it up. You are in the main screen, where you have the date and time, and
the text:
PW AutoRun VIEW
 Check that the date is ok (seen on the main menu).
 Press Green. Introduce the password PW=1 by pressing red button. If needed,
you can use red button to increase, yellow to decrease the value. After having
PW 1 on the screen, press green. On the screen, you have now the current
hour, minute and seconds, and a menu with alternatives RTN, INI, DAT and
PAR. Adjust the Cimel clock if it is more than 10 seconds off related to the
UTC time. To adjust, do as follows:
 To awake the DAT menu, press yellow button. The sequence is in this
order: year – month – day – hour – minute. To go further in the sequence,
press white button. To increase the value, press red. To decrease the value,

press yellow. In the last step, enter the minute one unit ahead compared to
your reference clock, and press green button exactly when the second is
“00”.
Press the green button until you are again in the main screen
For more information, see manual, pages 7-9.
d) VERIFY THAT THE ROBOT AND PARKED SENSOR HEAD ARE LEVEL
If you cannot see the display, press any button to weak it up. You are in the main screen,
where you have the date and time, and the text:
PW AutoRun VIEW
 Press Green. Introduce the password PW=1 by pressing red button. If needed,
you can use red button to increase, yellow to decrease the value. After having
PW 1 on the screen, press green.
 To awake the PAR menu, press red button. Wait couple of seconds during
which the parameters are read from EPROM.
 The first parameter in the sequence is “Auto”, and its value is normally “Yes”.
Change it temporarily to “No” by pressing red. Then, press green, the text
“Valid?” appears on the screen. Press red, and the setting is saved onto the
memory. The instrument is now in manual mode. Press green button (RTN) to
return to the main menu. In manual mode, there you can see the items:
PW MAN SCN VIEW.
 In the main menu, press yellow to get into scenario mode. There you have a
menu in sequence, where you can go ahead onwards or backwards with red
and yellow buttons, and white button executes the scenario seen on the
display. Go ahead with red until the text PARK is on the screen, and press
white.
 After the robot is parked, put the precision spirit level on top of the robot body
cylinder and verify that it is in level. See figure below.
If the alignment is more than 2 mm off the mark, adjust the azimuth direction: To adjust,
loosen the 3 screws of the base plate with 10 mm fork spanner, and use the two silver
screws on the base plate. Check and adjust the leveling at 2 perpendicular horizontal
directions defined by the positions of the silver screws. Rotate the robot base until
aligned. Be certain to retighten the bolts from the Cimel base to the mounting base.

Put the precision spirit level on top of the claw (see figure below).


Check that the sensor head is in level. To adjust the sensor head, loosen the
allen screw and rotate the head until level, then re-tighten bolt.
Remove the precision spirit level.
For more information, see manual, page 10.
e) CHECK INSTRUMENT TRACKING AND CHECK FOR OBSTRUCTIONS IN
COLLIMATOR




Press any key to invoke the main menu: PW MAN SCN VIEW
In the main menu, press yellow to get into scenario mode. Go ahead with red
until the text GOSUN is on the screen, and press white.
observe the alignment of the sun image through the pinhole on the top end of
the collimator onto the circular mark at the base of the collimator. If the
alignment is more than 2 mm off the mark, rotate the robot base until aligned.
Be certain to retighten the bolts from the Cimel base to the mounting base.
Remove the collimator (the double tubes on the sensor head) loosening the
screw in top of it. Look through it toward the sun or a bright light to verify
there are no webs. Even a SINGLE strand of web must be removed. To
remove them, use small brush and compressed air.
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
Check the area around the 4 quadrant detector (the SMALL dark circular lens
on the sensor head--NOT the large sensor head windows) for spider webs and
other foreign matter. To remove spiders and other matter, use compressed air.
To clean the 4 quadrant sensor itself, use cotton stick.
If the two sensor head windows are dirty, clean them with Kimberly-Clark
Kimtech 7552 paper. If the windows are very dirty, wash them with some
isopropanol and then wipe them with Kimberly-Clark Kimtech 7552 paper. If
you have had to clean the windows, mark down the cleaning date and time
(UTC) and report it to veijo.aaltonen@fmi.fi
Put the collimator again on its place and tighten its screw.
If you cannot see the display, press any button to weak it up. In the main
menu, introduce the password PW=1 by pressing red button then green.
To awake the PAR menu, press red button. Wait couple of seconds during
which the parameters are read from EPROM.
Change the value of the first parameter in the sequence (“Auto”) from “No” to
“Yes” with red then green. The text “Valid?” appears on the screen. Press red.
Now the instrument is in Auto mode.
Press Green. Introduce the password PW=4 by pressing red button four times.
If needed, you can use red button to increase, yellow to decrease the value.
After having PW 4 on the screen, press green.
For more information, contact:
Veijo Aaltonen, Finnish Meteorological Institute, e-mail: Veijo.Aaltonen@fmi.fi
Tel. +358-505883202
Other information:
LAT=+3710
LON HH=1E; MM=37; SS=11
Satellite antenna angles: azimuth 153° counterclockwise from north, zenith 15°