Hi Tony,
I agree with Mark in trying the monthly cleaning first. If you have not
recently ran the cytometry there may be a buildup of contaminants, (i.e.,
proteins, old sample), on the walls of your flow cell. Depending on the FSC
threshold setting, the FSC parameter may trigger even when DI water is
running. The monthly cleaning should take care of this. If you need further
troubleshooting help contact me directly or try the troubleshooting flow
chart on the Purdue site. It is located at
http://scooter.cyto.purdue.edu/pucl_cd/flow/vol5/index.htm then go to the
useful tools section. In that section is the troubleshooting flow chart.
Hope this helps.
Ray
Raymond Lannigan
Tritech Inc.
2014 Renard Ct. Suite I
Annapolis, MD 21401
1-410-266-1522
1-800-886-7004
www.tritechinc.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Schountz <tschount@mesastate.edu>
To: cyto-inbox
Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 6:33 PM
Subject: Flow Woes...
>
>I've run into a problem with our FACScan (HP system) that seems rather
>bizarre. I started to set compensation manually using the FACScan Research
>Software, but when I put cells on there appeared to be no flow through the
>instrument (on the computer screen or the instrument panel). So I checked
>all the clear lines for occlusions and none were obvious. I marked the
fluid
>level on the sheath tank and after a few minutes the level had dropped
below
>the mark, indicating that fluid was going through the system.
>
>So I quit FRS and launched Autocomp and after pressing the "PMT" button I
>had events occurring in the lower left quadrant of the FL1/FL2 window and
>events on the FSC axis - with only water in my tube (i.e. no beads). The
>flow rate of these "events" was between 3500 and 5000. Of course, after a
>couple of minutes the software informs me of an error. Could someone shed a
>little light on what might be occurring here? What are these "events" that
>Autocomp is detecting? The instrument was used about a month ago without
any
>troubles, and I take great care in trying to keep the lines free of
>occlusions since it frequently sets idle for this amount of time.
>
>This instrument was donated to our college a couple of years ago, and I
>don't have any formal training for maintaining it. I'd sure like to take
>such a course, but it is fiscally prohibitive for me. So, I'm relying on
the
>collective expertise (and generosity) of the group to help me out.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Tony
>--
>Tony Schountz, Ph.D.
>Dept. of Biology
>Mesa State College
>
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