February 9, 2025

The "Ingo" spectrometer project - the purchase

I was sitting next to my friend Ingo at the Tucson Mineral show on a nice Sunday afternoon -- February 9, 2025. He is working on setting up his own Raman system. He began telling me about a Spectrometer he would like to use, but the problem was that some software existed for it, the person who wrote that software had died, and the sources were unavailable. He wants to modify the software, but without sources this is all but impossible. Software for things like this is what I do. So we end up agreeing that he will pay for a unit, I will get it shipped to me, and then I will see if I can write some software.

The listing

The seller has 10 units, has already sold 108, and has great feedback. The price is $199, but $189 if you buy two. So I decide to buy two. One for me, and one for Ingo. They say it should arrive 2-14 to 2-21, and I can return it by 3-23. The Seller is "spectrophoton".

You will also need a USB to RS232 gadget. The ubiquitous little boards that I use for so many projects with ARM controllers won't work because they are 3.3 volt serial to USB. This will use the good old +-12 volt RS232 signalling, so something like this:

There are some reports that the "studio" software only works with FTDI chips for USB to serial. This cable is Prolific. It really shouldn't matter, but somebody may have done something stupid in the studio software.

Here is some information from the listing: Up for sale is one B and W TEK spectrometer. The spectrometer you will get will be sealed, like shown in the 1st picture. The 2nd picture is only to show you all the parts that are inside. These spectrometers were originally installed in medical devices and were used for RAMAN spectroscopy; but in my opinion, they are more suitable for general, non-RAMAN spectroscopy. For more info about the spectrometer and to download the software please go here:

Although these spectrometers are not exactly turnkey, they are not too far away from being usable spectrometers. One thing you will have to get is a standard 5 volt A/C adapter. Another thing you will need is a serial to USB adapter if you plan to run them on your USB port. For $70 more you can get this exact spectrometer with those two cables by going to:

For more info on these spectrometers please Google "bw-tek-btc100-spectrometer". Another site with good info can also be found by Googling "hololaser.kwaoo.me spectrometer". A final site with tons of info on these spectrometers can also be found by Googling "B&W-tech Spectrometer & 473 module: Setup+Mods+Info"

Although these spectrometers are not wavelength calibrated, after you download the software please follow my instructions in photo #6 and photo #7 to get the spectrometer to start detecting light.

The way the spectrometers sit now, they will read roughly from 400nm to about 650nm. Please view my 5th picture to see the spectrometer reading a mercury argon light source. Some of the lines you see are strong lines of mercury at 404nm, 407nm, 435nm, 546nm, 576nm, and 579nm. If you increase the integration time you would also be able to see mercury lines of emission with much less intensity.

If you decide not to turn this spectrometer into a turnkey unit, many people enjoy using them just for the parts inside so they are perfect for DIY or students for example.

If you are interested in any fiber cables that are compatible with this spectrometer, I recommend either of these three Ebay ads:

Arrival

The two units arrived on Thursday 2-13-2025. I was able to power both up, connect a serial cable and see this when I gave them power: 
*************************************
***        B&W TEK, INC.          ***
***  Your Solution Provider       ***
***  WWW.BWTEK.COM                ***
***  TEL:302-368-7824             ***
***  Fax:302-368-7830             ***
*************************************

********************************************
**  Model:BTC110-S    For Nuskin          **
**  Version:#6488                         **
**  Release date:  Apr 18,2003            **
**  e-mail: support@bwtek.com             **
********************************************
**  Error codes=0                         **
**  Functional test: Passed!              **
********************************************
No telling who Nuskin might be.
Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

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