Ocean Optics OceanHDX spectrometer driver.

[Jorro]

Thank you very much Tom!

I see that the OceanHDX worked with the OmniDriver. If we cannot run it with the OceanDirect driver, we will ask Ocean Insight for the OmniDriver instead.

It seems to me that your VI does everything manually, I mean, to record and subtract the background (dark spectrum), you need to manually turn off your light source, correct?

We want to automate everything, to use an automatic shutter on the path of the light (in between two optical fibers), so that the LabView software works without much human intervention. Our field of application is recording global solar spectral irradiance (with a 180° cosine corrector a.k.a. diffuser).

[Tom_Powers]

You are welcome.  It is nice that I work at a not for profit lab and can share things like this without the potential of bosses getting grumpy. 

I am using it as a plasma diagnostic.  Thus I do a background measurement when the plasma is off, then I ignite the plasma. 

Certainly one could use a shutter to the same effect.  I do recommend that you get the average of several data sets when setting your dark current.  That should help from errors introduced due to thermal noise.  Since you are doing long term experiments you might want to consider regularly doing a dark current offset or at least look at how it might change over time (e.g. close your shutter and leave it closed for a day).

[Jorro]

Thank you for advise. Surely I will average at least 5 dark spectra before each light measurement. Back in Norway, I had an automated measurement system but without a shutter, so I also recorded the night-time dark spectra (well, not so dark if there was a moon in the sky). When we bought our USB2000 back then, the saleswoman didn't understand well the principles of Ocean Optics spectrometers and did not advise us to also buy an automatic shutter with it. Later on, we had their local representative on site, but she was even less experienced than the previous one. But now a lot has changed, all those .NET-based drivers and programming... Let me see how it goes... I still have the LabView crashing every 2nd run of my simple test program, and my OceanDirect is now activated.

[speclabAI]

Hi,

I have the same issue with LabView crashing the second time I run the example code.  Did you ever find a fix?  I can't believe they would release code with a known issue like this...

Thanks

Elad

[Tom_Powers]

My guess is that the code worked just fine when they released it using LV 8.5 or 12.0 or something. The problem with companies like that is that whomever developed the driver years ago moved on to other projects and they did not keep it current.

Try running the program in the .llb file that I posted a few comments up and see if it works better.  I have been using it on Win10-64 computers with LV2019 on a regular basis. 

It has been a few years since I did that code and I do not remember which specific problems I had at the time.

[Jorro]

Hello speclabAI,

In the KNOWN ISSUES file (in C:\Program Files (x86)\Ocean Insight\OceanDirect SDK), the last point reads:

"6. Matlab and Labview program will crash the seconds time the programs runs. For some reason, it works well on the first run but always crash the second time."

Exactly the behavior that I'm seeing!!!

And they market this OceanDirect software for ~EUR 500, just to be able to use the spectrometer with LabView!!!...

[Tom_Powers]

First I am just a customer like you.

The ocean direct interface stuff works for me.  From what I can tell from the post their LV programs are busted. 

My version of a LabVIEW driver works on my machines.  The point being give what I posted a try and let me know if it crashes also.  If it works go ahead and use it modify it what ever you would like.  Since I posted it here it is fair game to use.

[Jorro]

Thank you.

Our dilemma is to buy or not to buy the OceanHDX with an automatic shutter.

We got a one-week free demo (without a shutter) but then we lost 2 days to get a temporary key for the software, and then there was the weekend... to test a totally different programming approach, with a driver that turned out to crash the LabView due to an intrinsic bug.

To test your version would need another demo but I am unable to fully program and test it in a week since I also work on other projects.

I ended up with a free license key for the OmniDriver (since the bug in the OceanDirect driver will be fixed who knows when)... The point is, I don't have so many person-days to waste on this product (again). My manager and I eventually decided not to waste project time (and money) on it, as it was not a central task.

I was just clarifying for the other user (speclabAI) that the OceanDirect driver has a known bug and crashes LabView every other time, and that they should use your version relying on the OmniDriver that seems to work well.

Greetings, and thanks again!

[speclabAI]

Hi,

I was able to get OmniDriver working, at least for basic functionality.  OceanInsights (i.e. OceanOptics) is aware of the issue with OceanDirect and informed me that they are working on a big fix and will let me know when it's complete.  I will certainly pass along the information on the discussion forum.  It still surprises me that they would knowingly release software with such a debilitating bug in it (something that crashes every second time you run it is as bad as something that doesn't work at all), especially when they are charging money for the SDK.  Not happy about it, but they do make good spectrometers otherwise.  Will keep you posted.

Thanks and have a good weekend.

Elad

[a.texer]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the .llbs and .VIs.

There are minor issues with file saving in the VIs, but they worked well with HDX-VIS-NIR spectrometer. 

Adding closeAllSpectrometers function on exit solved the software crash issue on the VI's 2nd restart.

Please, see a screenshot below.

Thanks again!