Specs

(these are approximated but we should soon post a page with calibration information)

• ~400-900nm, maybe wider
• 5-10nm spectral resolution

• ~20-30 samples per second

• ~$30 in materials, drops to ~$10 if you use a non-HD webcam

• approx. 1 hour construction time
• Mac and Linux compatible, should work on Windows but untested
• open-source software at: http://github.com/jywarren/spectral-workbench

Materials

• Everything necessary to make a DIY Spectrometer (let's try to reduce this list!):

• a black VHS case

• a straight-edge
• scissors
• X-acto knife
• a pen
• black tape (gaffe or electrical)
• white glue
• hot glue and a hot glue gun
• a letter or A4-sized sheet of stiff black card paper
• a DVD-R
• and a USB webcam
• a computer

Construction

A full step-by-step tutorial can be found in this gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreywarren/sets/72157627998033468/detail/

A more complete tutorial, videos, and a downloadable illustrated guide are coming soon. Get in touch if you want to help out!