Compact Fiber Coupled CCD Spectrometer Kit (DIY) 1800 l/mm (“DIY Spectrometer”)

Sold by Science-Surplus, these are fiber-coupled spectrometers sold on ebay. They provide quite high resolution at very cheap price – the big question is how it is going to be attached to my telescope but that is a challenge for another day!

Andy

Description of instrument from Science-Surplus:

This is a reconditioned compact fiber-coupled CCD spectrometer. It is a crossed Czerny-Turner design originally manufactured by B&W Tek, Model BTC-110S. It is an OEM instrument formerly used in a medical device and is sold “as-is.” The spectrometer includes an 1800 l/mm grating and the CCD detector is not actively cooled. The spectrometer is not aligned. However, it is “pre-aligned” so that the unit measures the spectral range of about 500 nm to 700 nm with a resolution typically better than 2-3 nm, The grating can be rotated to measure wavelengths below 365 or up to 700 nm (in first order) with a 200 nm total range. An order-sorting filter is typically not included. The spectral resolution can be 1 nm when the alignment is optimized. Other gratings can be purchased for different spectral coverage. Aligning the spectrometer is not trivial.

The kit includes the spectrometer, a custom enclosure (shown in the photo), a fiber optic collection cable (SMA), 5 volts DC power supply, and a serial port communication (D9) communication cable. The kit also includes access to our proprietary Spectrum Studio ©2018 software to read out the spectra, calibrate the wavelength scale, record and/or average the data with or without dark subtraction.

Spectrometer Characteristics

UV-NIR (coverage is typically 200 nm. Min/max wavelengths are 365 and 700 nm)
1 nm Spectral Resolution (optimized)
16 bit Digitizer
RMS read noise <50 counts (typical)
Sony ILX511 linear CCD detector array
~350 ms Readout Time
20 Hz analog spectral readout possible
overall dimensions: 5.75 x 3.75 x 1.75 inches

Software Description

Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10 compatible
Integration time from 50 to 65535 ms
Average 1 to 1,000,000,000 scans
Single scan or continuous scanning
Save and load spectra (csv file format)
Dark signal subtraction
User input coefficients for calibrating the wavelength scale
Instructions for creating your own custom software interface

System Requirements

Windows .NET framework 3.5 (in English)
Serial Communication
9-pin Comm Port or USB to Serial adapter
[Note added by Andrew Thornett = works well through USB 2.0 with USB-serial adapter on my Windows 10 Dell 5 5000 laptop]

What’s in the box