We all had this
issue: an old spectrometer, mechanics & optics in good working
condition. However: the software is missing. Or, the software would
only work on already broken computer hardware. Or runs only on a
completely outdated operating system. Of course, the product has
long been out-phased by it's manufacturer, or the manufacturer vanished
after a series of M&A activities.
Seems, the durability
of spectrometers is much longer than that of their manufacturer...
But, there is help! At least for some devices:
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The
free DATALYSE
by retired engineer Carl Hemmingsen from Danmark
allows controlling a number of older spectrometers, as there
are:
- Cecil
1000/2000/3000 spectrophotometers
- DiVA
spectrometer
- Hitachi
U-1000, U-1100, U-2001 spectrophotometer
-
Jenway 6300, 6305, 6400, 6405 spectrophotometer
-
Perkin Elmer Lambda 2 spectrophotometer
-
Phywe spectrophotometer
-
Shimadzu UV-1201, UVmini1240 spectrophotometer
-
Spectronic Genesys 8, Genesys 20
-
Spectronic 301 spectrophotometer
- ThermoSpectronic,
Genesys 6, Genesys 10
-
Ultrospec I, Ultrospec 3000I spectrophotometer
-
Unicam Helios e spectrophotometer
-
UNICO UV-spectrophotometer
-
WPA lightwave spectrophotometer
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The
software Lambda-SPX from German company ascanis
is a modern times replacement for UVCSS for those devices:
- Perkin
Elmer Lambda 16, Lambda 18, Lambda 19
- Perkin
Elmer Lambda 5, Lambda 7, Lambda 9, Lambda 15, Lambda 17
- will
als work for Lambda 650, Lambda 750, Lambda 800, Lambda
850, Lambda 900, Lambda 950 and Lambda 1050
- additionally,
control of Thermo Scientific Helios, Evolution and Genesys
spectrometers with their EnzLab
software
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Scantraq
is a software alternative from FTG
Software for controlling multiple spectrometers,
as there are:
- PerkinElmer
Lambda 2/10/12/14/20/40/25/35/45, 9, 19, 650-1050 (URA,
TDM); Lambda Bio/XLS; 580B-983G (IR); Spectrum GX, Spectrum
One, 100 & Frontier (FTIR)
- Agilent
8453 Diode-Array
- Varian
Cary 1-5 (100-500, 4000-6000i)
- Hitachi
U-3210, U-3410 (3200/3400)
- Nicolet:
all models supported by OMNIC
- Ocean
Optics: all models supported by SpectraSuite
- Carl
Zeiss MCS 500 Series
- StellarNet:
instruments supported by SpectraWiz
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The
BioLight Studio software was made by German company
BioLight
Luminescence Systems for control of PerkinElmer
fluorescence spectrometers, and also for some absorbance spectrometers:
- Perkin
Elmer LS45, LS55 and LS50B fluorescence spectrometers
- Perkin
Elmer Lambda 2, 10, 11, 12, 14, 20, 40, 25, 35
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Original
Software |
Over
the years, some original versions of original legacy spectrometer
software accumulated in my place. Just some examples:
- Perkin
Elmer CFS (BASIC source code from 1988)
- Nicolet
OMNIC from 1993
- Beckman
DU WinConnection Suite 1.11 from 2010
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Virtualisation
approach |
In
case you don't have (any more) the computer hardware required
for running old software on old operating systems, you can
always try virtualisation for running it on modern computers.
I recommend VMWare, because it is quite good for connecting
software from inside the virtual machine to real hardware.
Her comes an example for interfacing a 1994 HORIBA SkinSkan
spectrometer with DataMax software to a modern computer (including
a Boot floppy disk):
- make
a Win98 virtual machine (VM) using VMWare Player
- assign
the serial port to the VM (might also use a USB-to-serial
adaptor)
- use
ImgBurn to convert the Windows 98 SE DVD to a .iso image
- use
Winimage to convert the SkinSkan Boot floppy disk to a .flp
image
- finally:
launch the install Windows 98SE from the .iso, take control
of the serial port, and boot the SkinSkan using the floppy
image
The
whole procedure has been described by Dr. Philip Yip, see
this
youtube video!
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upcycling/
long-term maintenance |
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Besides
being able to provide decade-long updates to their own products,
US-based company Olis,
Inc. also upcycles the work-horses of the past, making
them fit for future:
- Perkin-Elmer
IR-983
- Cary
14 UV/Vis/NIR
- HP
8452/ 8453 diode array
- Aminco
DW-2 & DW-2000
- SLM
SPF-500, 4800, 8000, 8100
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Safas
from dwarf state Monaco builds sturdy, long-lasting, high-performance
absorbance and fluorescence spectrometers with extremely long-time
available spare parts and upgradability.
They have a long history (since over 50 years) of ground-breaking
innovations, however the fame often went to their successors
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DISCLAIMER:
I am not affiliated with any of the above mentioned companies, nor
do I receive any rewards for mentioning. This information was just
collected to help you. Please let me know of more and other sources!
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