I also use a FACSCalibur and had both lasers changed several months ago. We have yet to experience any problems with loss of sensitivity or changes in compensation when using the red diode laser and we use it almost every day. That said the laser will probably fail on me today. I can only assume that you may have hit a bad batch of lasers. Keep after BD and make them fix it. If it continues, propose to BD that they find you another company to purchase a red diode laser from and make them pay for it. My service tech did tell me to expect this new laser to only last about a year whereas the other red diode before lasted almost three year. hope this gives you some sort of encouragment and I feel you pain Janet Dow At 4:26 PM -0600 12/17/01, James F. George, Ph.D. wrote: > Greetings fellow flow cytometrists We recently acquired a new dual >laser facscalibur. We have had some serious problems with the stability >of the red diode laser. In two months, the laser has been changed out >three times and our fourth service call for the same problem will >commence tomorrow. Typically, one will observe a decline in sensitivity >in fluorescence in channels that rely on the use of the diode laser, >accompanied by a large increase in the amount of compensation required >for those same fluorescence channels (I am being deliberately >non-specific here to accomodate those who do not have BD instruments, for >those facscalibur users, I am obviously talking about FL4, but this would >depend on the fluorochromes that were being used etc). I went with BD >because my previous long experience with the highly reliable Facsscan and >the fact that I really needed two lasers. Unfortunately, the other laser >is not useful if it is unreliable. Have others experienced this >problem, particularly since BD switched suppliers for the diode laser? > This is making me crazy. Any info you have on this would be useful. I >am working with BD on this (upper management has been pretty responsive), >but currently I have not seen a permanent solution to the problem. >-James Janet Dow Research Technician and Manager Flow Cytometry Facility North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine Room C-314 Raleigh, NC 27606 (919)513-6364
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