grabowski
d06bf451f5
Remove send_test_config() call - vendor software doesn't send 8C 2B for each single test, only when changing modes. Remove set_integration_time() from spectrometer.py - vendor doesn't send 8C 01 either. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
HPCS 6500 — Open-Source Driver
Python driver and CLI for the HPCS 6500 spectrophotometer / integrating sphere.
Communicates directly with the instrument over USB serial, replacing the vendor software for measurement automation and data extraction.
What This Does
- Measure: Luminous flux (lm), CCT (K), CRI (Ra, R1-R15), chromaticity (CIE xy, uv, u'v'), radiometric flux, spectrum 380-1050 nm
- Electrical: Voltage, current, power, power factor, frequency
- Harmonics: 50-harmonic voltage/current analysis, UThd, AThd, waveforms
- Power supply: Control the built-in AC (100-240V, 50/60Hz) and DC (1-60V, 0-5A) power supply
- Export: CSV output for data logging
Quick Start
# Install
uv sync
# Single measurement (auto-detects device, turns PSU on/off)
uv run hpcs6500.py
# Continuous measurements
uv run hpcs6500.py --continuous
# Quick test (lumen + CCT only)
uv run hpcs6500.py --quick
uv run hpcs6500.py --quick --continuous
# Show full spectrum + harmonics
uv run hpcs6500.py --spectrum --harmonics
# Save to CSV
uv run hpcs6500.py --continuous --csv output.csv
Power Supply Control
# Read current PSU settings
uv run hpcs6500.py --psu-status
# Set AC mode, 230V 50Hz
uv run hpcs6500.py --mode ac --voltage 230 --frequency 50
# Set DC mode, 12V with 1A current limit
uv run hpcs6500.py --mode dc --voltage 12 --current 1.0
# Manual PSU on/off
uv run hpcs6500.py --psu-on
uv run hpcs6500.py --psu-off
# Set integration time (ms)
uv run hpcs6500.py --integration 500
Offline Parsing
Parse previously captured USB traffic (pcap files from USBPcap):
uv run hpcs6500.py --parse captures/some_capture.pcap
uv run hpcs6500.py --parse captures/some_capture.pcap --quick
Files
| File | Description |
|---|---|
hpcs6500.py |
Driver class (HPCS6500) and CLI |
usb_capture.py |
USB traffic capture tool (requires USBPcap) |
PROTOCOL.md |
Complete protocol reference (byte-level) |
pyproject.toml |
Project metadata and dependencies |
Hardware
- Device: HPCS 6500 spectrophotometer / integrating sphere
- USB: STM32 Virtual COM Port (VID
0483, PID5741) - Protocol: Custom binary over serial, documented in PROTOCOL.md
Dependencies
- Python 3.11+
pyserial(serial communication)- USBPcap (only for
usb_capture.py, not needed for normal operation)
Protocol
The binary protocol is fully documented in PROTOCOL.md, including all command bytes, data block layouts, field offsets, and the complete measurement sequence. This was reverse-engineered from USB packet captures of the vendor software.