Anyone Else Using an Ocean Optics Spectrometer w OmniDrivrer ?

[r***@libero.it]

Anyone Else Using an Ocean Optics Spectrometer?
I am experimenting with an Ocean Optics USB4000;
Optics and electronics seem fine, but software is a nightmare !!!!
They sell Spectrasuite, which is a nice interface just for very very
simple task.
But if you want to make something more seriously, you need to write
your own software code; so you have to buy OmniDriver ( $$$)
I did so, but I received a beta version of the package ( why I have to
pay to work as beta-tester ??) , with very little documentation and
missing or wrong source code samples.

Has anyone else had the pleasure to use OmniDriver ?
I'd be interested in swapping experiences.

[Friedrich Menges]

Post by r***@libero.it
Anyone Else Using an Ocean Optics Spectrometer?
I am experimenting with an Ocean Optics USB4000;
Optics and electronics seem fine, but software is a nightmare !!!!
They sell Spectrasuite, which is a nice interface just for very very
simple task.
But if you want to make something more seriously, you need to write
your own software code; so you have to buy OmniDriver ( $$$)
I did so, but I received a beta version of the package ( why I have to
pay to work as beta-tester ??) , with very little documentation and
missing or wrong source code samples.

that's true banana software: getting ripe in the client's place :-(

[f***@hotmail.com]

Anyone Else Using anOceanOpticsSpectrometer?
I am experimenting with anOceanOptics USB4000;Opticsand electronics seem fine, but software is a nightmare !!!!
They sell Spectrasuite, which is a nice interface just for very very
simple task.
But if you want to make something more seriously, you need to write
your own software code; so you have to buy OmniDriver ( $$$)
I did so, but I received a beta version of the package ( why I have to
pay to work as beta-tester ??) , with very little documentation and
missing or wrong source code samples.
Has anyone else had the pleasure to use OmniDriver ?
I'd be interested in swapping experiences.

I've been using OmniDriver for the past few weeks to write an in house
application. I had my share of problems and it took quite some time
to get it to work. Mostly because we use an old Borland framework.
getting the code to work with Visual Studio was much easier and was a
matter of hours.

However, as you said, I'm always "shocked" to pay for a beta version.
You can try using the spectrometer in RS232, but you need to buy a
seperated box, and it's much less efficient.

Good point to the software team, they were a great help to get that
thing to work with old Borland. They replied quite siftly and we got
the whole thing to work. Now my problems are more with the
spectrometer itself rather then the software around it.

[s***@usask.ca]

I am also trying to use a USB4000 with OmniDriver. The program I am
trying to integrate the spectrometer into is written in C#, so I am
using the COM interface. When I read a spectrum, I only seem to get
dark-level readings (even with the cap off). The VB sample program
from OO gives the same thing. The Labview sample and Spectrasuite
read spectral data, so I know the problem isn't the spectrometer. It
is almost like there is an electronic shutter that isn't being opened,
or the CCD isn't transfering charge to the AD converters, or...who
knows?

Has anyone had any luck making the USB4000 (or anything else) work
using the COM/.Net package?

Post by r***@libero.it
Anyone Else Using an Ocean Optics Spectrometer?
I am experimenting with an Ocean Optics USB4000;
Optics and electronics seem fine, but software is a nightmare !!!!
They sell Spectrasuite, which is a nice interface just for very very
simple task.
But if you want to make something more seriously, you need to write
your own software code; so you have to buy OmniDriver ( $$$)
I did so, but I received a beta version of the package ( why I have to
pay to work as beta-tester ??) , with very little documentation and
missing or wrong source code samples.
Has anyone else had the pleasure to use OmniDriver ?
I'd be interested in swapping experiences.

[d***@gmail.com]

Post by s***@usask.ca
I am also trying to use a USB4000 with OmniDriver. The program I am
trying to integrate the spectrometer into is written in C#, so I am
using the COM interface. When I read a spectrum, I only seem to get
dark-level readings (even with the cap off). The VB sample program
from OO gives the same thing. The Labview sample and Spectrasuite
read spectral data, so I know the problem isn't the spectrometer. It
is almost like there is an electronic shutter that isn't being opened,
or the CCD isn't transfering charge to the AD converters, or...who
knows?
Has anyone had any luck making the USB4000 (or anything else) work
using the COM/.Net package?

I assume you already have this figured out, but...

I have used OO USB4000, USB2000, and Red Sea spectrometers in .Net.
Their little .Net example programs worked for me directly. If the
spectrometer is working in Spectrasuite, then my best guess is the
integration time setting. The integration time in the example program
doesn't really work all that well...it doesn't pick up the correct
maximum integration times and so it gets stuck on something small.
So, depending upon your light level, it can look a lot like a black
level. I didn't want to spend too much time figuring it out and so I
(inelegantly) hard wired a maximum integration time of 10^6
microseconds.