Controlling Old waters HPLC with ChemStation?

[smaller]

Hello everyone,

We have two old Waters HPLC systems (see the list below) in the radioactive (a.k.a. hot) lab. There are traces of radioactivity all over the instrument, almost impossible to clean to a point they can be safely disposed of. So we try to keep them running (and they still do, despite of their age) ---the problem is that we don't have the software to control them. We could do manual runs off the instrument panel but it will be nicer to be able to have them under a computer control and see the peaks. What would be the most economical and, more importantly, easy-to-use, way to control the instrument? Would ChemStation even be an option? We are a university research lab and don't need to be 21CFR compliant. Thanks.

Instrument 1:

Waters 2695 main system
996 DAD

Instrument 2:

Waters 600s controller
717 Plus autosampler
486 VWD (tunable wavelength detector)
a binary pump with no label to tell the model number ...

[Csaba]

Chemstation is in principle only for Agilent products.
Waters supports dissapointingly badly older Waters equipment!
Chromeleon 6.8 supports instrument 1 fully, without problem, including 3D chromatograms.
Chromeleon supports 717, but I'm not sure about the rest.
Hope it helps.

[ACrawshaw]

Hi Smaller,

To add to Csaba's response, the best you could do with instrument 2 (with respect to Chromeleon) would be to consider adding an A/D converter (UCI). If the correct input/outputs are available on the modules this would allow triggers for the pump, via contact closure and also convert the analogue signal from your detector. In this way your data would at least be collected within the CDS.

As Csaba highlighted, unfortunately Chromeleon only has the driver for the 717 Sampler.

Instrument 1, not a problem.

Thanks

[ngvtuan]

Hi Smaller

Ezchrom lite can control instrument 1 & 2, you can purchase software with option for water HPLC

I can install demo for you for free,

please contact with me by teamviewer or skype (nick: tuanhappy)

[II5tickmanII]

Hi, I am also currently looking into software options for Waters 2695s and 996/2996 detectors. The issue is with availability of busLAC/E cards... they are not made anymore and Waters are VERY reluctant to supply them.

If we wish to add another 2695s (a 4th) we need another busLAC/E card to cope with all the PDA data coming in. Or we can switch to C6.8/7.1 and remove the need for the cards. I am told Chromeleon is fully compatible with the 2695s, 996 and 2996 detectors. Is anybody able to confirm this and do they offer full functionality (total control over the LC from things such as flow rates, temps, start/stop runs, vial positions, sequence editing, right through to acquistion, processing, printing). Essentially can it do all the things Empower can do?

Cheers

[varossf]

@II5tickmanll
Hmm, OpenLAB CDS EZChrom can certainly do that for you. Agilent also supplies a IEEE card to connect the IEEE based waters instruments. Full control and PDA acquisition supported. Available in Workstation, Networked Workstations and full client/server.