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Construction Guide Do-It-Yourself Spectrometer for 10 US $

Author / Editor: Matthias Back / Dominik Stephan

A spectrometer for 10 US $? Impossible – after all, commercial spectrometers cost several thousand euros. And yet it can be done, as a project run by the organisation Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (PLOTS) shows.

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The finished do-it-yourself spectrometer: the cost of the components involved is not even 10 US $; it is available as a kit for 30 US $
The finished do-it-yourself spectrometer: the cost of the components involved is not even 10 US $; it is available as a kit for 30 US $
(Picture: PLOTS/CC BY 2.0)

Spectrometers are measuring instruments with which materials can be identified by their absorption properties, and are usually very expensive. But now PLOTS has published on its homepage a construction guide for a low-cost spectrometer: the components required cost not more than 10 US $. If HD resolution is desired, the material costs amount to around 30 US $

Open source software displays the spectrum on a PC

The PLOTS spectrometer covers a measurement range from 400 to 900 nm with a resolution between 5 and 10 nm and processes 20 to 30 samples/s. It consists mainly of a webcam, a no-longer-required DVD and the casing of a VHS video cassette. The open source software necessary for operating measuring instrument is likewise already available online. A kit for the spectrometer is offered by the BreadPig Shop for 30 US $.

The construction guide on video:

Online Instruction

Download the Open-Source-Software zfor the Spectrometer

Buy the spectrometer kit from BreadPig Shop

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