Though they're not perfectly related, I thought I just put both questions into one post, since both are about the VP2 ISS.
First, I'm using an old UV sensor for the VP2, which IIRC was made for the VP1 but is compatible and works perfectly, but one weird thing is that when there's no detectable UV light, the ISS presents it as "no sensor", which is quite baffling. For the more technically inclined and in the know with the radio packet format, here are 2 samples:
No sensor or no light (C1 vs. C3 is random, unrelated to sensor presence): 49-00-E9-FF-C3-00-D9-0B-FF-FF or 49-00-E8-FF-C1-00-C9-DD-FF-FF (late night, probably 0.0 UVI)
Broad daylight, single sample: 41-02-00-4C-C3-00-40-F8-FF-FF (6.1 UVI)
Is that normal? Could anyone confirm the same with a VP2 sensor and a way to look at the raw radio packets? It'd be important to represent de difference between "no sensor" and "no UV light" for maintenance, proper status, etc.
Second, I want to add a solar panel to my extra SIM (used with my anemometer) which came with none - it's a "temperature transmitter" which is incidentally a fully fledged SIM board in a shelter box with hinged door but no panel - would higher voltage ones suffice? The original is a 4-cell, 2V 0.5W one IIRC. Would something like a common 5V panel cause damage? I'd think the electronics can bear more voltage though I can be mistaken. I definitely don't want to kill my SIM.