Re: "Colorimeter"

On 2025-05-21 09:19, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
 [...]

Sampling jitter within a window corresponds to spectral resolution;
the more jitter, the wider the range of wavelengths potentially
involved in the sample (over time).  As sampling the detector
is a discrete time event (the interval between samples being the
width of the window), how frequently you do this further defines
the spectral resolution.

 I was assuming very fast sampling so that the presentation of each line
was captured by many samples, that way the software could sort it out
over a large number of repeated passes.  Keep the hardware simple and
let the software deal with the errors if it can be given enough data to
start with.
 Less developed software, lower sampling rate, slower ADC and less memory
in the cheaper version.  (And a garish box with "Professional" on it, to
let customers know that this is the cheap and nasty version.)
 [...]

"Cheap and cheerful" is a slang [UK English] expression meaning  a quick
rough estimate or goods that aren't intended for serious long-term use.

>
"Quick and dirty", "spit and baling wire", "bubble gum and shoe strings",
"good enough for government work", "mickey-mouse", "jury-rigged",
"jerry-built", etc.

 That's the sort of thing.  An interesting demonstration toy, rather than
a laboratory instrument.
 

To my non-UK but Commonwealth-derived ear, "cheap and cheerful" is, well, more cheerful than DY's proposed equivalents.
I'd translate it more as "dollar-store" or "chinesium".
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com