Wolf, I've know the Tristan spectrometer for a while. They sell a self-contained unit but also, since recently, a tethered unit, accessible from the RS-232 serial port. This one is more affordable but it still remains a $2000 USD purchase in North America. I would be tempted by the Tristan system. But, if I remember, they did not made a model with as wide a wavelength range as the OceanOptics. I am refering to a model that goes from 250nm to 850nm, really wide. I know there are compromises involved in making a spectrometer sensitive to such a wide range but, if I decide to put the money out, I want the unit to serve measing in both the UV and Visible, I don't case about IR. I'm still keeping an eye on eBay for spectrometers. And the Tristan are nice units. Thank's for the information. > I once bought a Tristan spectrometer on EBay for ~500 Euros. Sony CCD > and SMA 905 based. Has a nice LCD touchscreen, internal battery(!), > memory card... built for rough environments and because of the > battery/memory card slot ideal for measuring things outdoor. > > The interface is documented (you basicly just use menu items as > command). I am not sure how it compares in measurement quality to the > OceanOptics... but the manufacturer seems less known and thus might > sell cheaper used on Ebay. The manufacturer also offers the devices > directly on Ebay (usualy for the normal price). Maybe you can > consider putting that one also on your ebay "watch list"... > > The main problem is, where do I get a good 45/0 probe? Increadible, > but there seems to be no source... > > > -- > Wolf Faust Tel: +49-69-5486556 > mailto:wfaust@xxxxxxxxx Fax: +49-69-95409598 > http://www.coloraid.de Mobile: +49-179-6924769 > > Regards, Roger Breton | Laval, Canada | graxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://pages.infinit.net/graxx