For many laboratories, there are several needs which remain unmet by commercial instrumentation. The main problems are the considerable expense of instrumentation and the limitations of experimental freedom that are imposed by their design. In addition, a planned obsolesence and rigidity of capabilities via custom electronics and closed source software exascerbate the issue. In our labs, we had several broken instruments too expensive to repair or replace, and also an analytical need not met by commercial instrumentation.<br/>In response to those factors, we developed a system integration tool by combining high performance electronics with Excel. We have used this to (1) Revive a few broken instruments , (2) Evaluate some commercial instruments, (3) Develop 2 new analytical systems, and (4) Add new capabilities to a system. We took full advantage of the properties of Excel to develop several potent data evaluation tools. Several examples will be provided and the important elements (Dynamic range, I/O types, Resolution, Programmability, Speed) will be discussed.

Excel and high performance electronics: A powerful alternative to commercial instrumentation

255th National Meeting (2018)

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