turbo sort blues

From: btilton@caregroup.harvard.edu
Date: Mon Dec 20 1999 - 12:43:28 EST


Is there anyone who has upgraded their FACStar Plus with the turbo sort
option and is happy with it?  My FACStar Plus was upgraded with the TSO
last year.  The most noticeable improvement was fewer clogs with the
macro sort head.  Hi-speed is a different story though.
I am unimpressed with the TSO when it comes to running hi-speed.

my first problem is with severe noise in the Side scatter PMT.  I can
minimize this noise with the SSC obscuration bar, but It is not a
complete fix and I take a big hit in the signal itself.  

second, making decent side streams is a challenge.  Even if I can make
good side streams, often the distance to the media in the tube is great,
and I suspect a substantial number of cells end up drying and dying on
the side of the tube.

Between these two problems, I seldom use the TSO.  Unfortunately, I have
been getting a lot of sorting requests that require sorting at Hi speeds.

My request is two-fold.

1) any suggestions for the problems stated above.

2) I would like to get a general idea of how many users are satisfied
with the performance of there Turbo Sort Option installed on the FACStar Plus.



Brian Tilton
Flow Cytometry 
Beth Israel Deaconess 
Medical Center
Boston, MA 02215

tel# 617-667-4901



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