Chromatography Forum

Hi,

I currently use an HP 5890 with chemstation 3.

I am interested in modern advanced EPA methods of VOCs etc that need a Mass Spec detector to be applied.

Would an old HP MSD do the job? Will my old chemstation running on win 98 support the MSD? Where will I find the libraries? What options do I have?

At the moment I cannot afford to purchase a more modern GC-MS and the 5890 seems to be very stable and robust, and there is plenty of support from 3rd party companies which actually makes it more cost effective to run than a modern GC.

We still run three 5890 GCs, and you already correctly stated that the only drawback to them is their age, and obtaining parts, like an old car. We formerly had a 5890 coupled to a 5971 MSD, worked great for over 15 years, used Windows 3.x and ChemStation C1034. We were told that it would be involved to run that on a Windows 95 platform.

Currently we do run a 6890 GC with 5972 MSD on Windows 95, which works great. I'm not sure Agilent ever "guaranteed" that Windows 98 was compatible with any of their ChemStations, but often taht could mean that they just haven't really tried it out, as it seems to work for you. So maybe a 5972 MSD could be your way, check third party vendors like Alpha Omega, they should know.

We still have a 5890/5971 working, now for over 20 years. Restek still has some spare parts for it. It's a great machine and outperforms our new ion trap.

I once had it running with win98, before a hard disk break. If I remember correctly, you should install W95 first, then Chemstation and HPIB drivers and configure it all, and in the end install W98 update. It's not supported officially. I use the F.... driver for HPIB (the new type of card).

But I think it's hard to get a 59xx without GC.

Depending on the age and configuration of the 5890 you may have to do some upgrades, with some models this includes replacing the motherboard with an upgraded one.

I would suggest trying to find a good used GCMS system that is currently operational, including computer, HPIB board, and software. That way you know upfront the total cost, where if you upgrade you may run into unexpected expenses as you proceed.

Tony Mohammadian 972-624-0064 deals with resale of analytical (GC, GC/MS etc.) equipment. You may want to contact him.

Don't waste money trying to configure a bought in MS with your old 5890, buy a complete working GC/MS, the GC is the cheapest part. Plenty of second hand systems available buy one that offers support where ever you are

I would suggest trying to find a good used GCMS system that is currently operational, including computer, HPIB board, and software. That way you know upfront the total cost, where if you upgrade you may run into unexpected expenses as you proceed.

I would agree with this suggestion. Additionally I would strongly suggest getting a GC/MS system with the 'SmartCard2' upgrade or compatibility as it will allow you to use an 82350 HPIB card which uses a PCI interface (and, also, make sure that it comes with an 82350 card). Earlier verisons of HPIB cards use the ISA interface which makes replacing failing computer systems much more interesting (and, in my experience, computers die a lot faster than HP GC/MSs).