Chromatography Forum

Hi there,

Two things:

I am trying to turn an old HP 5880A into gas analyser ..just the TCD no column..there is an RS232 how can I collect an analog signal using a PC? Or the hyperterminal software of Windows. There is no Analog output board, I have an integrator with an erratic plotter.

Can I buy a stand-alone TCD? One that will give an analog signal no GC required..

Thanks

Try Gow-Mac or Valco as sources. Others may be available.

I thought the RS232 interface was so the printer/plotter could function as a teletype terminal on 335x LAS systems. There is no detector signal on it. There was an analog detector signal for about an inch before it got to the A/D board, then the proprietary 335x digital loop took over. If you had the foresight/luck/spare cash to install a D/A board early on you could continue with the 5880 after the demise of your LAS system and with the rise of the PC. Old stocks of these D/A boards ran out very quickly. I digress but the HP5880 and the 335x systems were wonderful kit in their day and so simple to program. I was remote controlling mine from a graphics terminal in my home in 1984 via a phone line.

I believe there was one third-party PC solution that emulated the digital loop about 8 years ago but it was not cheap.