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FrozenGate by Avery

B&W-tech Spectrometer & 473 module: Setup+Mods+Info

Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

I picked up one of these units on eBay (the 17USD ones without the laser) and have been playing with it. The filter baffle removal info presented here was very useful.

I also have access to a copy of BWSpec. However, it seems that it wont work with these modules. BWSpec appears to only work with USB versions of the BWTek modules. Those devices appear to use a Cypress logic FX2 USB interface. That part (and no other part with a USB interface) is not present on these boards unfortunately.

I guess it maybe possible to add this, but would be some work. Perhaps the USB interface board is designed to sit on one of the headers?

If anyone has any information regarding the USB interface on the BWTek spectrometers I would be very interested!
 





Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

You will need an RS232 to USB converter to use this spectrometer. There have been issues with some of the cheaper versions of this converter. I have a UGreen one I am using with the last one I had success trying.
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

Agastar said:
yes, Raman.

For one, I would like to see how many layers are in the graphene that I make. The process I use is supposed to be good for 1-3 layers and I'm curious if I'm anywhere near that.

For others, I think it would be cool to sample some liquids and determine the chemicals in them. For example, food dye colors in fruit drinks. Others could be sampling a plant leaf.

I'm not really sure what all can be measured within the spectrum that these machines seem to be limited to.

Honestly, it is just something fun to mess around with and see if I can get it to work some-what decently. Learning what I can do with it will be next :)
Click to expand...

Yes, in principle, raman microscopy is possible with this device; but depending on what you expect in terms of results, additional retrofits such as eg. notchfilter or langpassfilter, laser line clean up filter and various optics such as cubebeamsplitter or ALPHA-Epsilon edge filter necessary for rayleigh rejection.
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

new301 said:
I picked up one of these units on eBay (the 17USD ones without the laser) and have been playing with it. The filter baffle removal info presented here was very useful.

I also have access to a copy of BWSpec. However, it seems that it wont work with these modules. BWSpec appears to only work with USB versions of the BWTek modules. Those devices appear to use a Cypress logic FX2 USB interface. That part (and no other part with a USB interface) is not present on these boards unfortunately.

I guess it maybe possible to add this, but would be some work. Perhaps the USB interface board is designed to sit on one of the headers?

If anyone has any information regarding the USB interface on the BWTek spectrometers I would be very interested!
Click to expand...

Here you can find some VIs about the USB version, maybe this is useful for you:
https://forums.ni.com/ni/attachments/ni/170/587117/1/VER1.zip
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

paul1598419 said:
You will need an RS232 to USB converter to use this spectrometer. There have been issues with some of the cheaper versions of this converter. I have a UGreen one I am using with the last one I had success trying.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm sucessfully using it with an RS232 to USB converter. However, this does not work with BWSpec. BWSpec appears to require a different USB interface which is not present on these modules design for OEM applications (it does not appear to be a RS232/TTL <-> USB interface).
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

new301 said:
Yes, I'm sucessfully using it with an RS232 to USB converter. However, this does not work with BWSpec. BWSpec appears to require a different USB interface which is not present on these modules design for OEM applications (it does not appear to be a RS232/TTL <-> USB interface).
Click to expand...

do you have the SDK "Software Development Kit" ?
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

Agastar said:
Hey everyone, I picked up two of these units from ebay and one of them was marked for parts only. I want to go through these units and do the mods listed here as well as make sure the laser optics is aligned correctly. I know what a good beam looks like for laser pointers and laser engravers but I have no idea what a good beam is supposed to look like for these machines and going through fiber optics. Does it need to be collimated or focused to a point at some known distance?

If I understand what I read here, it sounds like the answer to my next question is probably no (or at least not without some serious modifications) but I'll ask just in case. I make graphene at home and I would love to be able to test some of my samples. Is this even remotely possible (with mods) or is this just beyond the reach of these machines?

Thanks
John
Click to expand...

long time ago it was talked about the laser optics of this laser ... see here:

https://laserpointerforums.com/f40/b-w-tek-bwb-10-oem-473nm-10mw-53423.html
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

paul1598419 said:
OUCH! I'm sorry to hear that, Richard. I was hoping it might be some insignificant shorted device. Not a CPLD or some expensive A/DC. I thought, at first it might be a zener on the +5 volt supply, but that didn't pan out. It might not be worth my time to go further if you had these problems. I still have a couple of good ones left beside the one I am currently working with.
Click to expand...

to avoid the ripple of an external power supply i used an usb power cable like this to supply the unit over the laptop with 5 v dc :

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01BHEAL56/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

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Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

jnrpop said:
So do I :beer:

I was even thinking to bridge the power over from the rs232-usb converter cable, therefore then only one cable is requires. Although noise might then be a factor :thinking:
Click to expand...

2 € for a y-usb-cable .... it makes no sense to solder and i can use the power-supply-cable for other devices .... ?
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

chloderic said:
2 € for a y-usb-cable .... it makes no sense to solder and i can use the power-supply-cable for other devices .... ?
Click to expand...

Yes, i do use one now too :)

It was only a thought, because then i only need to use 1 usb port on my computer, and i can keep my usb mouse plugged in :crackup:

J :beer:
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_port#Pinouts

Some serial ports on motherboards or add-in cards provide jumpers that select whether pin 1 of the DE-9 connector connects to DCD or a power supply voltage, and whether pin 9 of the DE-9 connector connects to RI or a power supply voltage. The power supply voltage can be +5V, +12V, +9V, or ground. (Selection varies by vendor.) The power is intended for use by point-of-sale equipment. Makers include Dell, HP, and others (This is not an official standard.)
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

I found the Pulsar Engineering review of the Science Surplus Spectrometers to be very informative. I see now the limitations of this spectrometer and what I can expect to get out of it in the future when I have time to fiddle with this thing again. I was wondering where they got the 1nm resolution when I thought it should be much better, but it just isn't. The CCD having only 0.2mm pixel height does make this device limited in its ability to resolve many spectra. I guess I'll be sticking with my USB2000 instead of expecting these to do more than they are capable of.

I haven't had any problems with power supply ripple on my +5 volt supply for these units, but the USB to miniplug seems like a good idea.
 
Re: B&Wtech 473nm unit / Spectrometer Mods & Info

paul1598419 said:
I found the Pulsar Engineering review of the Science Surplus Spectrometers to be very informative. I see now the limitations of this spectrometer and what I can expect to get out of it in the future when I have time to fiddle with this thing again. I was wondering where they got the 1nm resolution when I thought it should be much better, but it just isn't. The CCD having only 0.2mm pixel height does make this device limited in its ability to resolve many spectra. I guess I'll be sticking with my USB2000 instead of expecting these to do more than they are capable of.

I haven't had any problems with power supply ripple on my +5 volt supply for these units, but the USB to miniplug seems like a good idea.
Click to expand...

You know that the USB2000 has the same ccd ?
 

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