I'm not sure which one I would like the most.
But if you need any help with the electronics I'm glad to help.

What sort of price tags are we talking here for each one? 100 or 1000 dollars?

I am very very interested in all of them or any of them and would be interested in making or building one when the time and money permits.

This would be very good for many people, not just us...
I don't know the benefits or significant differences between all of the spectrometers...

I'm not sure which one I would like the most.
But if you need any help with the electronics I'm glad to help.

Help with electronics? Yessir, that I do need, I'm going to have to build a microcontroller that can interface with a standard 5MP CMOS camera, then using a "Pushbroom" technique, even out the pixels in each column, then in a sweeping type action, push the lot down to a 1 pixel high single row - which will be image v intensity (Monotone = 0-255 measure of luminosity - however, that has to be dealt with by virtue of the fact that luminosity and perceived luminosity aren't the same thing, so some rows need to be multiplied by a constant to get to 100%, then they need to be adjusted for the passband of the filter(s). All this while turning lights on and off.

On top of that, building a non-trivial Program to deal with the streaming data (hopefully pre-broomed or the amount of data will be huge).

Wizard, I think GC is the best option for the home instruments, heat the cell to gasify the components, then using a gas cell we can run Atomic Emission, FT-IR, UV-NIR, and then Quadrupole Mass Spectroscopy - the microchannel plates simply increase the number of electrons running through small holes, the surge of electrons hits a conductive plate and is therefore detected - detection/time = the spectrum (did my head  in working that out). But with FT-IR, UV-NIR, GC-MS and AES, there really should be a whole lot of data to wade through.

I don't know what you need as far as programming, but I'd like to offer my services in that arena.  I'm competent in x86 assembly, proficient in python and java, and a master of C/C++/D.  I really haven't dealt much with image processing, but it doesnt sound too hard to work out.

Quote from: akcom on December 26, 2010, 07:21:20 PM

I don't know what you need as far as programming, but I'd like to offer my services in that arena.  I'm competent in x86 assembly, proficient in python and java, and a master of C/C++/D.  I really haven't dealt much with image processing, but it doesnt sound too hard to work out.

I have all the software covered. I'll upload it here or at http://wizardx.4shared.com the next couple of days.

Uploaded here http://www.4shared.com/file/lSAN8uFi/Chromatograph_Apps.html

Look at ReadMe.txt in zip file.


The Gas Flow Calculator (FlowCalc) for capillary gas chromatography. (gccalc.exe)
Very useful tool for calculation of flow / pressure / linear velocity of carrier gas through capillary column at defined conditions.
The general kinetic equations were used for calculation of the flow conditions of gas in tube with friction. Physical constants was taken from the Physics Handbook by A.Kikoin.


Flow meter "GC Timer" (GCTIMER.EXE) - FREE Useful tool for old GC's with bubble flowmeters. Simple timer that calulates flow for specified volume between two time intervals.


Look at unichrom.hlp for info on UniChrom V4.7.9.609.exe & UniChrom DDK.exe

UniChrom system is constructive independent from signal source (e.g. chromatograph, optical or another type spectrometer) measuring system for acquisition, processing and storage of spectrometric information (DPS - data processing system) and includes itself three following functional modules: input signal converter or other signal source, data transmission media and personal computer containing service functions for visual representation, mathematical methods for data measuring, processing and storage.

PeakFit V4.11 - look at peakfit.pdf & Install.txt for info.

I don't know what you need as far as programming, but I'd like to offer my services in that arena.  I'm competent in x86 assembly, proficient in python and java, and a master of C/C++/D.  I really haven't dealt much with image processing, but it doesnt sound too hard to work out.

The program will have to be able to utilize several spectral databases, which will be packaged with it on CD/DVD. The spectrometers will be connected via either ethernet or USB 2.0 to the laptop/PC (thus the program will have to be able to access streaming monochrome images, etc.). The program will be required to take the intensity values (0-255 ie. grayscale) and convert them, using known optical filter transmission data curves and also perceived intensity/Wavelength curves to correct the values to the theoretical 100% transmission across the various ranges.

The program will also need to utilize some simple noise reduction algorithms and "pushbrooming" (taking a square image several hundred/thousand pixels high and condensing it to a single row that is a representative, corrected value). The output will need to utilize this single pixel high column to graph the intensities of the collected light and/or the absorption as and where required. There is a need for a single GUI, that can control the multiplicity of spectrometers, returning results, potentially from several units, to enable the determination of the identity of the various substances. There is also the potential to use the single pixel image, increasing it to 10-20 pixels and placing it above the graph thereof. The program will also need to be able to perform a Fast-Fourier Transform on the streaming information with some units, and to provide representative image therefrom in addition to the graph of intensity v wavelength.

This is no small task, assistance is required, that said, assistance can and will be paid for provided it is of direct use. Suffice to say, anyone who wishes to avail themselves of instrumentation at some future point in time need only set up an account somewhere that is untraceable and a price can and will be worked out (of course, won't actually be me, no?)...*

Put quite frankly, the 2-MethoxyBenzyl-PEA's, the various Fentanyls and several other dreams are not something one should even attempt without adequate instrumentation. Real instruments are going to take real components and a fucking shitload of designing. They are not precisely something one will be building at home unassisted (unfortunately). I was hoping to be able to come up with a couple of at home methods, but they are somewhat involved. Personally, if the cost of instruments can be reduced enough (by purchasing components in bulk & keeping the profit margin down), it'll be easier for all concerned. I'm having to pay for a shitload of assistance in order to get the designs right, that money will have to be recouped of course, but it also tells me that these are a little too intricate to build in the basement. What I'm looking at is ~$500 (retail) for a Raman Spectrometer, about the same for UV-VIS-NIR and depending upon the fucking around with stepper motors, etc. it may be possible to get FT-IR/FT-NMR in the same sort of bracket (That isn't for some fucked unit on ebay that requires several grand to get operating).

I'm also looking quite hard at modifying the various Parr-Pressure Vessels (the sealed magnetic stirrer gland I could modify with the soon to be patented modified Halbach-Array) and other items of lab equipment (I'm thinking along the lines of flat-pack Hoods/Gloveboxes with re-usable pressure-swing-type inert gas/hydrogen generators). If I (or someone else) has to enter this market (and it is a bitch of a market to enter), I'm going to have to be prepared to diversify, then again, it looks like a nice opportunity to get some nice equipment (both for myself & others) that is otherwise risky as fuck to purchase, or simply unobtainable without a research group.

Funny, it actually looks like there may be a serious market for low-cost, Accurate/Quality Instruments - legitimate as all get fucking out too...

* To put it mildly, my friend (unit that he is), is quite happy to go to 1/2 - 1/3 the list price for certain customers, just something to remember. When his site is up, I'd be very fucking suprised if it were all that hard to find (I'd almost certainly expect to see it under discussion @SM for a start).

Z80 based chips are cheap and decently clocked these days, for ram you can use PSRAM also cheap, would give you lots of program space. More than likely there are some open source board designs. Just a suggestion as it might allow you to cut your costs down. Those pre-made boards are expensive. Also if you haven't go to the digikey website and put in for their free catalog. I have 2 of some older ones, they're bigger than the my local phone book.