Although the spectrometer in its current enclosure can be held in a single hand it is not handheld in the sense that I would eventually like it to be. I envision the spectrometer being operated with one hand and the ability to view spectra in realtime and capture spectra with the press of a trigger. I'm working on modeling a prototype and hope to share it soon.

Right now the spectrometer is enclosed in a plywood box approximately 9in X 7in x 4in. The diffraction grating and CCD circuit are both held in place with wooden brackets that are hot glued to the floor of the box.

The interior of the box is spray painted black to reduce stray light reflections. However I still need to install baffles because there is still a lot of light from the higher orders diffractions that are reflected back at the CCD. I'm using a fiber optic cable I got off Ebay to shine light on the slit, this makes it easier to "look" at different things as opposed to moving the entire spectrometer.

At one end of the fiber is a circular bundle and the other end rectangular. I have the rectangular end pointing at and aligned with the slit so that more light is hitting the slit as opposed to the "walls' of the slit.

Circular bundle

Rectangular bundle

The slit I am currently used is a Public Labs actetate printed slit which I have taped to the interiror enclosure wall. For the price it works well but I found that the black ink is not completely opaque and transmits a little light. I am working on designing an adjustable slit that will eliminate this problem.

Slit from inside the spectrometer

Slit from outside the spectrometer