In this paper, we report a simple and inexpensive method for testing the photovoltaic characteristics of organic devices. We report measurement data on P3HT-PCBM organic solar cells spin-coated from chloroform solutions, obtained using a Gallium-Indium eutectic top contact, and a halogen light source. We propose a method to correct the spectral mismatch of this light source with the solar spectrum. The effect of annealing and changing the P3HT:PCBM ratio are studied, and similar results as with evaporated aluminum are obtained. We conclude that Ga-In eutectic and halogen light source can conveniently be used instead of evaporated aluminum and a solar simulator for the study of polymer-fullerene bulk-heterojunction devices. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.