## Experiments

This is a list of community-generated guides for experiments using your spectrometry setup (either a starter kit or a modded design) toward specific applications. Some may be more reproduced -- or reproducible -- than others. Try them out to build your skills, and help improve them by leaving comments. 

Purpose | Author | Time | Difficulty | Status | Goal
----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
Wavelength-calibrate with a Compact Fluorescent Blub (CFL) | @warren | 10 m | - | 150 replications Try It | X replications
Scan sunlight | @warren | 10 m | - | 80 replications | X replications
Compare different concentrations in a liquid sample (Beer’s Law, absorption) | @straylight | 4 h | easy | 0 replications Try it | X replications
Extract samples (tomato) with ethanol | @cfastie | 2 h | easy | 0 replications Try it | 5 replications | 3 reviews
Compare blends of olive and peanut oil | @ygstc | 3 h | moderate | 0 replications Try it | X replications
Oil testing | @gretchengehrke | 2 h | moderate | 20 replications Try it | X replications
_(draft) Collect and concentrate oil sheen_ | @matej | 6 h | difficult | 1 replication Try it | X replications
_(requested) Determine effects of weathering on oil samples_ | - | - | difficult | - | - 

**[ Add your guide here ]   [ Request a guide ]**

_Guides should include a materials list and a step-by-step construction guide with photo documentation. See an example._

## Hardware Mods

Have you added to your starter kit, improved it, or redesigned it? Show others how to take it to the next level by posting a build guide here:

Title | Author | Time | Difficulty | Status (?) | Goal
----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
[Oil Testing Kit (fluorescence, cuvette frame)](/wiki/oil-testing-kit) | multiple | 6 h | moderate | 0 builds Build it | 0 reviews
“Ebert” mod | @cfastie | 4 h | easy | 0 builds | Build it | 5 builds Build it | 3 reviews
OTK Proto 3 | @stoft | 13 h | difficult | 0 builds Build it | 0 reviews

**[ Add your hardware mod here ]   [ Request a hardware mod ]**

_Mods should include a parts list and a step-by-step construction guide with photo documentation. See an example._

## Builds

There’s a lot going on in open source spectrometry -- if you’ve developed another open source design you’d like to show others how to construct, post it here!

* [RamanPi](https://hackaday.io/project/1279-ramanpi-raman-spectrometer)
* [Hackteria “drop”-style spectrometers](https://publiclab.org/notes/gaudi/04-03-2014/diy-micro-volume-spectrophotometer) / [DIY NanoDrop on Hackteria.org](http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/DIY_NanoDrop)
* Add yours here

## Starter Kits

Public Lab’s Kits initiative offers several starter kits, including many of the basic components, and instructions for constructing a basic visible light spectrometer. The point of the kits is to provide a shared reference design for building experimental setups onto. 

The **Desktop Spectrometry Starter Kit** (now at version 3.0), is our most recent “reference design” incorporating some community improvements while balancing low cost and relative ease of construction. We have not yet met all our intended goals for this design, which is still at an exploratory phase: build on this design by adding a sample holder, attaching a light, or [incorporating it into an experiment](/wiki/spectrometry#Experiments). 

[Visit the Desktop Spectrometry Starter Kit version 3.0 page](/wiki/desktop-spectrometry-kit-3-0)

**New to spectrometry?** You might like to try the **Papercraft Spectrometry Starter Kit**, a $10 foldable spectrometer which you can attach to a smartphone or webcam. It’s made of paper to reduce cost and complexity, and is mainly intended as an “introductory” or educational kit. 

[Visit the Papercraft Spectrometry Starter Kit page](https://publiclab.org/wiki/foldable-spec)