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Setup🔗

This section of the PlanktoScope documentation will help you get to a working PlanktoScope. Every PlanktoScope has two aspects which have to work together: the hardware and the software. Depending on what hardware you already have, you should start at different places in the documentation:

  • "I have a product from FairScope": you probably received either a fully-assembled Planktoscope or a PlanktoScope do-it-yourself assembly kit. For more information, see the FairScope product section of this page.
  • "I have a fully assembled PlanktoScope, and it was not assembled by FairScope": you will need to ensure that you have the latest version of the PlanktoScope software installed on the PlanktoScope, and that the PlanktoScope hardware works. For more information, see the Fully-assembled PlanktoScope section of this page.
  • "I have a kit of hardware parts to assemble into a PlanktoScope, and it was not provided by FairScope": you will need to assemble your PlanktoScope hardware and then set up the software on it. For more information, see the DIY kit section of this page.
  • "I don't have any of the hardware for the PlanktoScope": you have several options for getting the PlanktoScope hardware. For more information, see the No hardware yet section of this page.

FairScope product🔗

You probably purchased either a fully-assembled PlanktoScope or a do-it-yourself assembly kit from FairScope. The various sections of this documentation will provide you with instructions for how to proceed:

  • If you purchased a fully-assembled PlanktoScope, it is ready for you to use! You should go to our operation guide to learn how to operate your PlanktoScope.
  • If you purchased a do-it-yourself assembly kit from FairScope, you should go to our hardware setup guide to learn how to assemble your kit into a working PlanktoScope. The software will already have been set up for you, so after you finish setting up the hardware you can proceed to our operation guide to learn how to operate your PlanktoScope.

Fully-assembled PlanktoScope🔗

If you have a fully-assembled PlanktoScope which was provided to you by FairScope, please refer instead to the Fairscope product section of this page. If someone else provided you with a PlanktoScope, you might need to do some additional hardware setup, software setup, calibration, and/or troubleshooting - please talk to them to figure out what might be needed. The various sections of this documentation site may be a useful resource for you:

  • Depending on what software is pre-installed on your PlanktoScope, and how old the software is, our software setup guide may be useful to help you update the software. You should always ensure that you are running the most recent available version of the PlanktoScope software.
  • Depending on what software configuration your PlanktoScope is running, our operation guide may be useful to help you operate your PlanktoScope.

DIY kit🔗

If you have a DIY assembly kit which was provided to you by FairScope, please refer instead to the Fairscope product section of this page. If someone else provided you with a DIY assembly kit, the process for assembling it into a PlanktoScope may be different from what is described in this documentation site - please talk to them to figure out what you should do. The various sections of this documentation site may be a useful resource for you:

  • Depending on what is included in your DIY kit, our hardware setup guide may be useful to assemble a PlanktoScope from your kit.
  • Depending on what is on the micro-SD card included with your DIY kit (if it includes a micro-SD card), our software setup guide may be useful to help you update the software. You should always ensure that you are running the most recent available version of the PlanktoScope software.
  • Depending on what software configuration your PlanktoScope is running, our operation guide may be useful to help you operate your PlanktoScope.

No hardware yet🔗

If you don't have any hardware for a PlanktoScope yet, you have a few options depending on how much work you want to do, what your budget is, and how much troubleshooting you are willing to do:

  1. Purchase a fully pre-assembled PlanktoScope.
  2. Purchase a DIY kit of parts to assemble into a PlanktoScope.
  3. Both make your own kit of parts and assemble it into a PlanktoScope.

Buy a pre-assembled PlanktoScope🔗

You can buy a PlanktoScope from FairScope, which is a small business started by the inventor of the PlanktoScope in order to make it easier for people to obtain PlanktoScopes. If you buy a PlanktoScope from FairScope, it will be fully standard, fully assembled, and fully tested. It will already have been calibrated in order to produce scientific data which can be compared with data from other PlanktoScopes, without requiring you to perform any additional calibration steps. The software will be pre-installed, so that once you receive your PlanktoScope you can immediately start using it.

We recommend this approach for:

  • Anyone who wants a PlanktoScope which "just works" out-of-the-box.
  • Scientists who just want to collect data and don't want to become engineers.
  • Anyone who just wants to use the PlanktoScope as a tool, rather than tinkering with their PlanktoScope as a project.

Buy a DIY kit🔗

If you are on a budget which does not allow you to buy a fully-assembled PlanktoScope from FairScope, you can instead buy a do-it-yourself assembly kit from FairScope. By assembling your PlanktoScope yourself, you will gain a deeper understanding of how it works, how to troubleshoot any problems you might encounter, and how to repair your PlanktoScope if you damage its hardware. If you make any mistakes while assembling the PlanktoScope, you will have to do some troubleshooting. You will also need to calibrate your PlanktoScope if you want to use it to produce data useful for scientists.

We recommend this approach for:

  • Anyone who wants a standard PlanktoScope but is on a limited budget, and has some interest in building things and troubleshooting problems.
  • Anyone who wants to approach the PlanktoScope as a project and not just a tool, but who has a limited tolerance of technical complexity.
  • Anyone who wants a do-it-yourself experience but does not have access to a laser cutter or CNC mill.
  • Anyone who wants a standard set of parts as the foundation for customizing their PlanktoScope.
  • Engineers and makers who don't want to worry about figuring out suppliers and making their own one-time supply chain in order to obtain all the hardware parts needed to build a single PlanktoScope.

Make a kit and assemble it🔗

If you don't want to purchase a pre-assembled PlanktoScope or a DIY assembly kit from FairScope, you will need to make your own assembly kit, and then assemble it into a PlanktoScope. This will require identifying sellers who will provide you with the necessary parts, and it will require identifying a way either to fabricate various mechanical parts yourself or to use a commercial service to fabricate those parts for you. Depending on which version of the PlanktoScope hardware you want to build, you might also need to assemble a custom printed circuit board (or work with a commercial service to assemble it for you). Once you have a kit, you can begin to assemble your PlanktoScope from it. You will almost certainly have to do some troubleshooting of problems with how you assembled your hardware, which is a great learning opportunity - but only if you're interested in it.

We recommend this approach for:

  • Anyone who is on an extremely limited budget but has lots of time and some hardware engineering experience.
  • Makers who are already familiar with laser cutting or CNC milling, and with soldering or PCB assembly (the necessary skills will depend on the version of PlanktoScope hardware being built).
  • Hobbyists and students who are primarily interested in the PlanktoScope as an engineering project and want to figure out everything by themselves.
  • Anyone who wants to design and build an extremely non-standard PlanktoScope, whether for fun or to use it for unconventional purposes.

Next steps🔗

After finishing any necessary hardware setup and all necessary software setup for your PlanktoScope, you can proceed to our guide on how to operate your PlanktoScope.