An open source Earth's Field NMR Spectrometer.
The PyPPM project includes a set of hardware and software designs that enable anyone to perform Nuclear Magnetic Resonance experiments using the Earth's magnetic field.
There are two principal hardware designs in the PyPPM project. The first, PyPPMv1, is a Proton Precession Magnetometer that uses the non-adiabatic method of Russell Varian and Martin Packard to observe NMR signals at Earth's field:
M. Packard, R. Varian, Free Nuclear Induction in the Earth's Magnetic Field, Physical Review, 1954, 93(4): 941.
The second hardware design, PyPPMv2, is more appropriately termed an Earth's Field NMR Spectrometer, as it adds the adiabatic polarization features required to perform more complex NMR experiments.
Note: At the moment, only PyPPMv1 has been verified to function at spec.
This GitHub repository (or tarball, depending on how you downloaded the source
tree) contains all the files necessary for either reproducing or modifying the
PyPPM designs. The following sections break down exactly what you can expect
to find in each subdirectory of the repo. Each subdirectory also contains it's
own README.md file that provides further explication.
The designs directory holds hardware (schematic and printed circuit board),
coil, and enclosure designs. Anything physically constructable is likely to
have design files living in this subdirectory.
The firmware directory contains all device firmware, both for PyPPM devices
and any other devices that use megaAVR microcontrollers.
The PyPPM project uses the gEDA PCB design tool for all printed circuit boards. While the gEDA footprint library is fairly extensive, a few custom device footprints had to be made to suit the more exotic/modern parts that went into PyPPM boards.
The models directory holds all SPICE models used by simulations of PyPPM circuit behavior. To see the actual simulation files, look in simulations.
The notes directory holds a few random jots of information that don't really fit into any of the other subdirectories, like recommended color schemes for Gerber rendering, etc. Documentation related to the PyPPM's entry into The Hackaday Prize will also be placed here.
Miscellaneous support scripts that I wrote to make my own life easier during PyPPM development are co-located in the scripts directory.
The simulations directory contains all SPICE simulations I've made to analyze the behavior of subcircuit modules in PyPPM.
The software directory holds all software written during the course of the PyPPM project's development. Anything from command-line utilities to python modules to calculations of free induction decays is here.
The symbols directory holds all custom gEDA gschem schematic symbols used in the PyPPM schematics.
All software in the PyPPM project is released under the GNU GPL 3.0, and all hardware designs (PCB and case designs) are released under the CC-BY-SA 2.0.