CTC CombiPAL/Agilent 6890 Sync Issue

[ghostpotato]

Hello, new to this Forum and hoping to get some assistance. I am hoping someone has experience with the CTC CombiPAL and might be able to provide some assistance. I have been tasked with resurrecting a GC/MS system to run headspace analysis. Previously, the GC/MS was not communicating with its CombiPAL autosampler. After a lot of troubleshooting it was determined that the GC Mainboard needed replacing. I did that, and everything seems to be working together again with the exception that Injection does not trigger the GC run. I have near zero experience with the CombiPAL, and there is no-one left in the lab that has any experience with it either. The manual is not helpful, and I've tried searching online and in this forum, but came up with no answers. Thanks in advance, looking forward to hearing what you all think.

[Trishia]

Have you tried switching the remote cable in case that is the issue (you mention GC/MS, so this should be a Y-remote cable)? This is the cable that would be responsible for sending the trigger sign to the GC from the CTC-PAL. Not sure what version of software you are using, but you should also be able to add the CTC PAL status window to the UI and see what error messages show up there.

[James_Ball]

I agree with Trishia, first think to look at is the remote cable. Should connect to the Remote port on the MS and on the GC and the cable should split at the GC with a connector to the Autosampler.

Even if all are connected I have had the cable go bad in the past and cause instruments not to start.

[rb6banjo]

Mine is a very old system. 6890/5973N with a LEAP Technologies CombiPAL sampler. I think we bought it in 2000. Still works like a champ. JUst change the bungee cords every now and then. I operate in SPME mode.

1) "Remote" port on the GC is connnected to "Interface 1" on the sampler. I assume this is for the GC to tell the sampler it's ok to start the sampling routine.
2) "Ser1" on the sampler is connected to one of the serial ports on the PC. I assume this is how the sampler tells the PC to "go ahead and start the GC and also collect data".
3) Because of the cycle time of the GC and the sampling times, I can nest the samples (begin prepping for the next run before the current data collection is complete) but the GC sends the ready signal when it's ready to go and the sampler can start the whole thing again when it's ready.

I inherited this instrument (wasn't there for the initial setup) but I looked in the method and in the "Injection/Injector" section, it is set to "Manual". I might have thought it should be "External Device". It works reliably in this mode so I'll stay with it.

If you are sure your connections are all correct, I'd also say one of your cables is not good. Get a multimeter and check if the connections all go through on the cable. You might be able to troubleshoot a bad cable this way.

Good luck.

[ghostpotato]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I am coming into this at the end of a lot of troubleshooting. The lab had outside contractors work on the instrument prior to my hiring, and they apparently replaced all of the cables and a board in the CTC itself. I'll see if we have any extra cables that I can swap out to check if that's the issue.

I do not see the "Injection/Injector" section in the Method. I'm assuming that you are accessing this thru the hand-held controller?

[rb6banjo]

I was talking about in Chemstation and where the origin of the remote start signal comes.

I use the keypad to input the experimental conditions to the PAL.

[ghostpotato]

The Injector section of my Chemstation method is greyed-out and I do not have the options you mention.

I swapped the Ser1 cable with a cable that I know is working and no change.

[Jake]

Could it be the PAL driver isn't installed? Do you know for sure that it is?

[Trishia]

You're not mentioning the software you are using but assuming it's MSD Chemstation since you're trying to 'resurect an older system': apart from the standard CTC drivers (PAL Loader and PAL Object Manager), in order for MSD Chemstation to add it to the config, you also need a driver from Agilent (CTC Control SW for GCMS). When you first load up MSD Chemstation, it would also show it is establishing communication with the GC, the MSD, and the autosampler (you would also see the autosampler physically home itself). If it isn't doing that and/or if you don't see the autosampler listed under Instrument > Inlet/Injection Types in the software then something is not installed or configured properly for them to talk. The fact that you mention that the option is greyed out seems to indicate that this would be the case;

https://imgur.com/a/Bnd4AVF[

Additionally, the right COM port needs to be configured when setting up the instrument in Programs > MSD Chemstation > Agilent MSD Configuration;

https://imgur.com/a/f1kEQKY

[ghostpotato]

Thanks for your response, Trishia!

I am using ChemStation. I do know that ChemStation has established comms with all of the components, including the PAL, as the PAL does Auto-Home upon opening ChemStation, and I am able to initiate an injection sequence from ChemStation. The GC just won't auto-start once the PAL performs the injection (I can manually start).

I've been in contact with a technician from CTC (now Trajan Scientific and Medical) and have done some troubleshooting that leads me to believe that the issues are on the Agilent side. I'm waiting on our IT Department to give me admin access so I can look in the Agilent MSD Config and verify that the correct port is selected. Apparently the 3rd party vendor that installed the PAL verified everything on the PAL side is working (including changing cables), so I think this is a software issue on the Agilent side.

[ghostpotato]

Could it be the PAL driver isn't installed? Do you know for sure that it is?

Thanks for the response Jake! I believe the driver IS installed, as I am able to initiate a sequence from ChemStation and have the PAL do everything it is supposed to do. I just can't get the GC to auto-start once the injection is made. I'm inclined to believe that this is most likely a software issue on the Agilent side, as all of the PAL cables had been replaced earlier by a 3rd party vendor, and I replaced the GC Mainboard myself last month.

[James_Ball]

Could it be the PAL driver isn't installed? Do you know for sure that it is?

Thanks for the response Jake! I believe the driver IS installed, as I am able to initiate a sequence from ChemStation and have the PAL do everything it is supposed to do. I just can't get the GC to auto-start once the injection is made. I'm inclined to believe that this is most likely a software issue on the Agilent side, as all of the PAL cables had been replaced earlier by a 3rd party vendor, and I replaced the GC Mainboard myself last month.

One thing to think about on the cables. Different models of Agilent GCs used different polarity or voltages to trigger and injection start signal. I remember when we replaced a 5890 with a 6890 on a purge and trap system and it needed to have the cable reconfigured, maybe needing a resistor or just reversing two wires to make it compatible.

The other option is if it needs a contact closure to trigger or a voltage pulse. I think the GC can look for both, but if configured to look for the wrong one it won't start.