eDAQ PowerChrom 280, User Manual

Page 1: ...PowerChrom www eDAQ com PowerChrom User Manual PowerChrom 280 for use with Windows and Macintosh computers PowerChrom Power Status Start 280 ...

Page 2: ...data recording units such as e corder 201 and PowerChrom 280 are trademarks of eDAQ Pty Ltd Other Trademarks Mac OS and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc Windows 98 Windows Me Windows 2000 and Windows XP are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation PostScript and Acrobat are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated All other trademarks are the properties of their resp...

Page 3: ... Panel 4 The Back Panel 5 2 Setting Up 9 Self Test 10 Connecting to the Computer 10 External Equipment 11 How Does it Work 13 Detector Inputs 15 Analog Output 15 Injection Signal Input 16 Digital Outputs 16 Recording Unit Accuracy 17 Sampling Operation 18 A Glossary 19 B Troubleshooting 23 USB Issues 23 Problems 24 C Specifications 27 Index 31 License Warranty 33 ...

Page 4: ...iv PowerChrom ...

Page 5: ...gned to record display and analyze experimental chromatographic data Your PowerChrom hardware unit has considerable computing power of its own and performs many tasks that are necessary during data acquisition Data is transferred via a USB interface to a Windows or Macintosh computer This chapter provides an overview of the PowerChrom system ...

Page 6: ...quiring storing and analyzing data Checking the System Before using the PowerChrom hardware check that all items in the accompanying packing list are present and that there are no obvious signs of damage that might have occurred during transit If anything is missing or seems to be damaged contact your eDAQ representative immediately Computer Requirements Windows Pentium processor or better 32 MB a...

Page 7: ...n collectors if available can be triggered by contact closure or TTL signals from the PowerChrom unit The Software PowerChrom software is provided with each PowerChrom unit The PowerChrom software provides facilities for real time recording integration and reporting of chromatograms See the PowerChrom Software Manual for further details and installation instructions You must install the software o...

Page 8: ...ppliance PowerChrom PowerChrom Power Status Start 280 Power Status and Start inject indicators Status Indicator Meaning Off Idle and not yet initialised by the PowerChrom soft ware Green constant Idle initialized and waiting for a command from the PowerChrom software Yellow constant Communicating with the computer Yellow flashing Signal sampling is occurring May show green between yellow flashes R...

Page 9: ...Universal Serial Bus port PowerChrom works with USB 2 0 or 1 1 compliant computers USB requires Windows 98 Me 2000 XP or later or a Macintosh running Mac OS 8 6 or later You can safely turn on and off or disconnect or reconnect a USB connected device while the computer remains on However you should not disconnect the PowerChrom unit while the PowerChrom software is running RS 485 Made in Australia...

Page 10: ...uts for two analog signal inputs differential or single ended CH1 and CH2 one analog output DAC an input for a digital inject signal input TRIG and four digital control outputs CTL1 CTL2 CTL3 and CTL4 to control external equipment either contact closures or TTL levels configured by links A plug in terminal block adaptor Figure 2 2 page 12 is provided for easy connection of bare wires Refer to Chap...

Page 11: ...low yellow when contact closure occurs The PowerChrom Software Manual covers its practical use in normal recording The inject signal connections are marked Trig for Trigger Analog Output The PowerChrom unit can generate a controlled voltage 0 10 V controlled from the PowerChrom software through the analog output pins marked DAC for digital to analog convertor 1 2 3 4 TTL COM COM COM TRIG CH1 CH2 D...

Page 12: ...or a brief time from 16 to 32 ms depending on internal timing Technical details of the digital input and output connectors are given later in this manual please refer to the descriptions before attempting to connect equipment to them The digital output connections positive and negative are marked CTL1 to CTL4 for control More information on the use of the digital outputs is given in the PowerChrom...

Page 13: ...uter using the USB interface and to chromatography equipment Technical details of the PowerChrom 280 unit are also described Please note that there are no user serviceable parts inside the PowerChrom 280 unit Do not use this document as a service manual that user modification of the PowerChrom unit will void your rights under warranty ...

Page 14: ...off and then after at least five seconds turn the PowerChrom back on again This should clear a temporary problem If the PowerChrom does not seem to be getting power or the Status indicator flashes red even after restarting contact your PowerChrom representative as soon as possible The trigger indicator should flash yellow and then stay off If the PowerChrom unit has successfully performed its inte...

Page 15: ...ctor inputs and injector signal If you have a suitable autoinjector then it can be connected to the injector signal input TRIG of the PowerChrom unit The resulting signal is used by the PowerChrom software to mark the injection time for a run A contact closure longer than 10 ms will be registered as an injection event The polarity of this connection is not critical unless the equipment s injector ...

Page 16: ... connect at other end COM COM CH2 CH1 Positive signal Negative signal or ground COM COM CH2 To detector To detector Shielded connection Unshielded connection or when the shield is connected at the detector Terminal block adaptor Instrument Connection port Figure 2 3 Detector connection to terminal block adaptor Figure 2 2 The terminal block adaptor ...

Page 17: ...polarity connection is made the signal will be inverted that is the peaks will be pointing downwards instead of upwards How Does it Work The PowerChrom unit contains its own microprocessor memory and specialized analog amplifiers for signal conditioning The block diagram in Figure 2 4 shows its basic elements All sampling output and communications is controlled by an internal PowerPC 403 microproc...

Page 18: ...produce different full scale ranges The signal is then buffered by an amplifier to give it the capability to drive external loads The injection signal input is coupled to the recording unit via an optical switch providing high voltage isolation Figure 2 6 Back Panel 16 bit ADC Clock 30 MHz Injection signal 50 60Hz Interrupt Multiplexer 2 Programmable Gain Amplifiers 16 bit DAC Range Control 1 Inst...

Page 19: ...tted with a 900 Hz second order Bessel anti aliasing low pass filter which eliminates high frequency interference Input impedance is 1 MΩ The operation of the input amplifiers is illustrated by the block diagram in Figure 2 5 Using differential analog inputs for the detectors gives the system greater immunity to external electrical interference when used in conjunction with a suitable cable The be...

Page 20: ...tal Outputs There are four digital control outputs marked CTL1 CTL2 CTL3 and CTL4 each of which provide a logic level or contact closure depending on the presence or absence of the corresponding links to Gain control 900 Hz low pass filter Channel control bus Detector To multiplexer Grounding and input selection Gain control Instrument amplifier GND Shielded cable Do NOT ground the shield at both ...

Page 21: ...t be at about zero volts it will be at ground potential and this is the default condition Note that in TTL mode the negative terminal must be grounded either by using a ground reference from the equipment it controls or by connecting it to the analog output DAC ground marked COM This makes sure there is a solid ground from which the output can be referenced Recording Unit Accuracy PowerChrom units...

Page 22: ... these samples is made over the duration corresponding to the rate selected in the PowerChrom software Thus each displayed data point is the really the average of many individual signal readings The signal to noise ratio is improved by a factor of n when the average of n individual readings is taken Also at selected rates of 40 s or slower the averaging occurs over an integral number of mains cycl...

Page 23: ... Instrument Connection port The analog output provides a software controlled variable output 10 V that can be used to control a peripheral device such as a pump analysis When the recording unit is not physically connected to the computer the PowerChrom software can be used to analyse and manipulate existing files if the analysis option is chosen connector A plug socket jack or port used in connect...

Page 24: ...frequency response of 200 Hz it means that the signal is effectively unattenuated up to 150 Hz and is 0 707 of the original value at 200 Hz gain The amount of amplification of a signal Hertz Hz The unit of frequency of vibration or oscillation defined as the number of cycles per second It is equivalent to units of s 1 Inject signal input Refers to the digital input Trigger on the Instrument Connec...

Page 25: ...in a SCSI chain to maintain signal integrity Some devices such as internal hard disks have them built in TTL transistor transistor logic A family of integrated circuits with bipolar circuit logic TTLs are used in computers and related devices TTL is also a standard for interconnecting such circuits which defines the voltages used to represent logical zeroes and ones binary 0 and 1 USB Universal Se...

Page 26: ...22 PowerChrom ...

Page 27: ...dows 98 Me 2000 XP or later or a Power Macintosh running Mac OS 8 6 or later USB devices are connected directly to the host computer or indirectly via USB hubs The PowerChrom hardware unit should use a USB cable no more than 5 m 16 feet in length to the computer or USB hub All the devices on a USB network have a common communication pathway and if you are using several devices simultaneously each ...

Page 28: ...his does not work contact your eDAQ representative When Windows starts up it doesn t recognise the PowerChrom The first time PowerChrom hardware is connected to the computer Windows may bring up the New Hardware wizard and ask if you want to install a driver Solution Leave the wizard on its default settings and click the OK button Insert the PowerChrom installer CD The PowerChrom setup information...

Page 29: ... try using the software again There may be a poor connection between PowerChrom and computer or bad cable Ensure that the cable is firmly attached at both ends and try again If there is still a problem try a new cable Windows 95 and Windows NT 4 do not support USB and are not recommended for use with PowerChrom You must have Windows 98 Me or XP PowerChrom doesn t start or crashes after a short tim...

Page 30: ...26 PowerChrom change the Pump control to a new setting even if the setting looks to be acceptable it must be changed to lock in the new value You should now be able to run the method ...

Page 31: ... Range Hardware Resolution µV 10 V 312 5 5 V 156 25 2 V 62 5 1 V 31 25 500 mV 15 625 200 mV 6 25 100 mV 3 125 50 mV 1 5625 20 mV 0 625 10 mV 0 3125 5 mV 0 15625 2 mV 0 0625 Maximum input 15 V Input impedance 1 MΩ 47 pF DC Low pass filtering 3 dB 900 Hz second order Bessel DC drift Software corrected on start up 0 3 µV C RTI typical CMRR differential 105 dB 100 s typical Channel crosstalk 140 dB ty...

Page 32: ...rate 6 V µs Settling time 2 µs to 0 01 of FSR for LSB change Linearity error 1 LSB from 0 C to 70 C Output ranges Range V Resolution µV 10 312 5 5 156 25 2 62 5 Microprocessor and Data Communication CPU PPC403GCX 60 MHz Internal Memory 4 MB DRAM Data communication USB 2 0 USB 1 1 compatible Sampling ADC resolution 16 bits 312 µV 10 V range Signal resolution up to 24 bits with oversampling Linearit...

Page 33: ... contact closure or TTL level Set by rear panel links Contact closure outputs 100 mA maximum 250 V maximum On resistance 20 Ω maximum Close time 2 ms Open time 1 ms TTL level outputs 15 mA maximum each Physical Configuration Dimensions w h d 200 65 250 mm 7 9 2 6 9 8 Weight 1 75 kg 3 lb 14 oz Power requirements 90 260 V AC 50 60 Hz 6 VA 25 mA 240 V or 52 mA 115 V Operating environment 0 to 35 C 0 ...

Page 34: ...30 PowerChrom ...

Page 35: ...al equipment 11 13 PowerChrom to computer 10 USB 10 connectors 11 13 D DAC 7 DC drift 18 detector inputs 7 11 15 digital outputs 8 15 16 F front panel 4 G glossary 19 H hardware requirements 3 I Inject Signal indicator 5 injection signal input 7 14 16 Instrument Connection Port pin assignments 7 Instrument Connection port 6 8 11 13 M mains frequency rejection 18 N New Hardware wizard 24 noise 18 O...

Page 36: ...ck panel 5 checking 2 front panel 4 input amplifiers 15 self test 10 user modification 9 power on self test 10 problems and solutions 24 S sampling operation 18 sampling speed 18 self test 10 Start up problems 25 Status indicator 5 T technical specifications 27 29 terminal block adaptor 6 11 U USB connection 10 technical details 23 user modification 9 ...

Page 37: ... appropriate To obtain a warranty repair replacement you must first notify us before return of the instrument and we will issue you with a RAN return authorization number You must ship the defective product at your expense We will pay return shipping The product should be packed safely preferably in its original packaging and have the RAN on the shipping label Returns sent without a RAN may be ref...

Page 38: ...if appropriate Please also state the model and serial number of your PowerChrom 280 unit the type of computer and operating system being used for example Windows XP or Macintosh OS 10 2 the software version you are using for example PowerChrom v2 3 1 We endeavor to answer all your questions but in some cases for example where the problem relates to the other equipment that you are using a nominal ...