dead emission/absorption spectrophotometer

Hi folks,

I recently read Stephen Tonkin's excellent book on amateur spectroscopy
and that has really set the little grey cells working.

Many years ago I happened aquire (for about 10 GBP), a very dead
"Instrumentation Laboratory model 951 AE/AS spectrophotometer". In fact
I always claimed it was a present for my wife, but she doesn't mind me
taking it to pieces now..

The optical systems are all intact, though the detection system is late
1970s vintage.

My question is simply, is it likely that it could form the basis of a
fibre fed spectrograph ?

Obviously it needs a new linear CCD array and some serious hacking, but
is there any fundamental reason why it shouldn't be adaptable ?

Comments, helpful preferably, would be much appreciated !

Steve

You had best take this to the Yahoo spectroscopy group
or ask Maurice Gavin as a start. At the least salvage the
components and build something useful.
kbl





Steve wrote:

Hi folks,

I recently read Stephen Tonkin's excellent book on amateur spectroscopy
and that has really set the little grey cells working.

Many years ago I happened aquire (for about 10 GBP), a very dead
"Instrumentation Laboratory model 951 AE/AS spectrophotometer". In fact
I always claimed it was a present for my wife, but she doesn't mind me
taking it to pieces now..

The optical systems are all intact, though the detection system is late
1970s vintage.

My question is simply, is it likely that it could form the basis of a
fibre fed spectrograph ?

Obviously it needs a new linear CCD array and some serious hacking, but
is there any fundamental reason why it shouldn't be adaptable ?

Comments, helpful preferably, would be much appreciated !

Steve

Steve wrote:

Hi folks,

I recently read Stephen Tonkin's excellent book on amateur spectroscopy
and that has really set the little grey cells working.

Many years ago I happened aquire (for about 10 GBP), a very dead
"Instrumentation Laboratory model 951 AE/AS spectrophotometer". In fact
I always claimed it was a present for my wife, but she doesn't mind me
taking it to pieces now..

The optical systems are all intact, though the detection system is late
1970s vintage.

My question is simply, is it likely that it could form the basis of a
fibre fed spectrograph ?

For what? For Astro-spectroscopy/graphy? Forget it.

Obviously it needs a new linear CCD array and some serious hacking, but
is there any fundamental reason why it shouldn't be adaptable ?

Lab spectroscopes and astro-spectroscopes meet very different
requirements both in terms of design and in terms of final utility.

Lab spectroscopes depend on extended and very luminous sources, whereas
astro-spectroscopes can operate with as little light as that of a single
star at prime focus.

Most of the astro-specs I've seen (Polaris, Granton), are direct vision
scopes that screw directly onto your tube between scope and EP and weigh
10-20 grams.

Contrast that with lab-specs which can weigh anywhere from 10 to 30 kgs.
It is also expected that the receptors would be calibrated using a
different sensitivity scale, if the scope is to be used for
astrospectroscopy/graphy.

In terms of cost and effectiveness, you could read Maurice Gavin's
pages, buy some tape grating from Melles-Griot and construct a cheap
spectroscopic EP for the cost of less than 10$. Passing the light
through such an EP into your CCD, will give you some decent images,
although don't expect commercial grade resolution abilities.

If you want something sophisticated, you could buy a direct vision
double-amici or a block of expensive (transparent) grating and collimate
either one inside a shorty barlow, which could screw in directly between
your scope and an EP.

Comments, helpful preferably, would be much appreciated !

Steve

--
I. N. G. --- http://users.forthnet.gr/ath/jgal/

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 17:14:20 +0000, Steve
wrote:

Hi folks,

I recently read Stephen Tonkin's excellent book on amateur spectroscopy
and that has really set the little grey cells working.

Many years ago I happened aquire (for about 10 GBP), a very dead
"Instrumentation Laboratory model 951 AE/AS spectrophotometer". In fact
I always claimed it was a present for my wife, but she doesn't mind me
taking it to pieces now..

The optical systems are all intact, though the detection system is late
1970s vintage.

My question is simply, is it likely that it could form the basis of a
fibre fed spectrograph ?

Obviously it needs a new linear CCD array and some serious hacking, but
is there any fundamental reason why it shouldn't be adaptable ?

Comments, helpful preferably, would be much appreciated !

Steve

Hi Steve - I answered your direct email but for the forum -
whilst visual stellar spectroscopy is pleasing [maybe a dozen or so
stars reveal recognisable spectra] a CCD greatly increases the scope
by orders of magnitude.

WPO @ www.astroman.fsnet.co.uk