Chromatography Forum

Posted: **Sat Oct 11, 2008 7:54 pm**

I wonder if anybody out there has a copy of the Finnigan MAT ITS40 software for me?
Unfortunately my HD crashed and the original disks are unreadable. I also was told that the Varian Saturn 5.2 software should be able to work with the ITS40, but I could not manage to get running.

If anybody could help me with a copy, it would be nice. If anybody knows how to get the Saturn 5.2 working with the ITS40 it will be also very helpful.

Regards
Stephan

Posted: **Thu Aug 09, 2012 7:43 pm**

Hi,

recently I've been able to solve all of these problems

Please tell me if you're still interested.

Posted: **Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:47 pm**

Hi,

recently I've been able to solve all of these problems

Please tell me if you're still interested.

Hello HBJ,

I don`t have the ITS40 anymore. But I am still interested how you solved the "problem".

Best regards

Stephan

Posted: **Sat Aug 11, 2012 12:13 am**

The ITS40 and the Varian Saturn I/II are identical in hardware terms. Therefore, it is possible so use the Varian ROMs in the SAP board of the ITS (ROM type is 27C64). After that change, the Varian 5.2 software recognizes the ITS 40 as a Saturn and can control it flawlessly. As the Varian DS is much more stable than the earlier Finnigan 3.0, you can even use it under Win98SE with modern hardware (USB, networking etc.), therefore extending the lifetime of the ITS to almost infinity

This is of course a hack. Try it at your own risk (for those who actually own an ITS 40).

Posted: **Sat Aug 11, 2012 8:17 pm**

The ITS40 and the Varian Saturn I/II are identical in hardware terms. Therefore, it is possible so use the Varian ROMs in the SAP board of the ITS (ROM type is 27C64). After that change, the Varian 5.2 software recognizes the ITS 40 as a Saturn and can control it flawlessly. As the Varian DS is much more stable than the earlier Finnigan 3.0, you can even use it under Win98SE with modern hardware (USB, networking etc.), therefore extending the lifetime of the ITS to almost infinity

This is of course a hack. Try it at your own risk (for those who actually own an ITS 40).

Quite interesting. But isn`t the 27C64 an EPROM? Must they not be hard coded with an "EPROM burner" ?

Best regards
Stephan

Posted: **Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:14 am**

Yes, you need the proper ROM images and a programmer (I'm using a GALEP 5).

If somebody needs those image files, I'll happily upload those.

Posted: **Mon Oct 08, 2012 7:40 pm**

Hi all,

each time I'm impressed off people who understand electronics and hardware.
Anyhow, I just read this post accidentally, but I maybe can support you with an open source software to handle Finnigan ITS40 and ITDS files. So, if you'd like to, try it. It can be downloaded here:
http://www.openchrom.net

The ITS40 converter is available free of charge in the marketplace (I do not offer the file format converters open source to not get in juridical trouble with manufacturers):
http://www.openchrom.net/dokuwiki/doku. ... arketplace

I would be really interested in, if you can read your data files using the plug-in.

Cheers,
eselmeister

Posted: **Tue Oct 09, 2012 2:50 pm**

I've been following your Openchrom project for some time now and even consider to install it as the Varian MS Workstation begins to show its age.

As soon as I did so I'll give you feedback about the file import.

Posted: **Sun Apr 16, 2017 12:44 am**

Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Fl has just acquired a 30 (or more) year old HP 3400 GC and Finnigan ITS 40 MS. The Varian Software that was supplied was loaded onto a Pentium based PC, with an IEE 488 bus card. The software goes to an unreadable red screen. Any chance you may have some correct software or suggestions on helping us get this equipment operational so we can teach our organic chemistry students GC/MS?

We also have an HP 5890 GC and a 5972 Mass Selective Detector. Can these be connected for a GC/MS and if so, where do we get the S/W to run it?

George Kenney Kenneyg@EasternFlorida.edu

Posted: **Sun Apr 16, 2017 7:07 pm**

Hi George,

I see your desperation, but please don't spam the forum

That put aside, I have a few questions:

1.) What OS is the data system running on? If it is Windows 95, 98 or 98SE, please add the following lines to your autoexec.bat file:

mode con codepage prepare=((850)C:\WINDOWS\command\ega.cpi)
mode con codepage select=850

This selects the correct codepage. Otherwise, the Varian data system might end up totally garbled.

The CONFIG.SYS should contain the following commands:

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
DOS=HIGH,UMB
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE 2992 RAM
FILESHIGH=255
BUFFERSHIGH=32,0
DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\command\display.sys con=(ega,,1)

On that note, you might as well post your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files on here, for a quick check.

2.) Has this software ever worked with the MS? As I did point out earlier in this thread, the Varian Software does not support the ITS 40. If you need some burnt ROMs for your ITS, I can provide those on a pro-bono basis.
In case your IEEE card went bad, I have plenty of spares as well.

If everything else fails, I might even provide you with a pre-loaded PC

3.) How far does the Varian data system start up? Do you ever get to see the main instrument control screen?

Welcome to an exciting adventure of error hunting and fixing

Posted: **Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:15 pm**

Sorry, not trying to spam the board, just trying to get a donated GC/MS operational at our college - Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Fl.

I don't believe this machine has been operational in 20 years.

I'm in the process of acquiring a pump to get us to the required vac pressure.

We have a Varian 3400 GC attached to the MS
The Mass Spec has two proms "SAP 050 EVEN CI REV.4" and "SAP U35 ODD CI REV.4".

it'ls labeled as a STAURN GCMS/ITS40
System ID Saturn 10511
We have a second system that has a Finnigan ITS-40, but prefer to try the get the other system operational.

We also have 2 HP 5890 Series II GC's and 2 HP 5972 Series Mass Selective Detectors. Would we be better off trying to put these together??

Our present problem is to get the Varian S/W running on a pentium PC under Win 2000. Should we be using XP?? We'll try your suggestions. On starting the Saturn Program, we get an unreadable rectangle with some unreadable writing in it.

We may also need a new IEE 488 card.

Your welcome to switch this discussion over to my college email of KenneyG@EasternFlorida.edu

Our goal is to get a GC/MS operational to show undergrads the capability of GC/MS.

Our

Posted: **Wed Apr 26, 2017 5:42 pm**

Hi George,

If everything else fails, I might even provide you with a pre-loaded PC

Yes, we would be interested in a pre-loaded pc with the Saturn S/W. Email me the details and price Kenneyg@EasternFlorida.edu

I'll get some pictures of the equipment up on my web page

3.) How far does the Varian data system start up? Do you ever get to see the main instrument control screen?

We have not powered it up yet. There is no Helium or a column in it - would that matter for just a power up?

Welcome to an exciting adventure of error hunting and fixing

I've been fixing equipment for years so I'm not afraid of getting into a circuit board and tracing down a problem.

Posted: **Sun Apr 30, 2017 1:49 am**

I've got some pictures of our Varian Saturn GC/MS Project at:

http://www.irishmansoftware.com/EFSC%20Lab.html

Were trying to get it operational to show Undergrad's some simple GC/MS.

Really looking for help on the computer end, may need to have someone build me a Win 98 System with the IEE 488 card and the S/W on it.

I DO have the Original 3" Varian Saturn Disks, and am looking around for some old hardware to install it on.

You can also contact me directly at KenneyG@EasternFlorida.edu

Posted: **Wed May 03, 2017 2:15 am**

Thanks for all the pictures, there are several issues that need mending.

1.) The CPU board of the GC is in bad shape. I guess the electrolyte of the leaked batteries has eaten away many traces on the board and damaged several components. You need to unsocket the CPU and ROMs and clean this mess with copious amounts of distilled water and a toothbrush until all copper sulfate is removed and the damage can be assessed. From my point of view, the board is toast.
Maybe you can source one from a donor machine or a vendor like GenTech Scientific.

If everything else fails, I could send you one from my spares pile.

The good news is that the power supply seems to work properly, which is a big plus.

2.) The MS looks to be in great nick. It's unclear why the gang switch on the interconnect board isn't switch to any operational status. Please press on "AUTO" and tell me if the switch keeps in that position. If not, the switch needs to be lubricated.

3.) I'm extremely interested in the contents of those floppies. Would you mind copying those and putting them online as a ZIP archive?

4.) Regarding the computer, I might be able to provide you with one. We'd have to agree on the exact terms, especially regarding shipping.

Posted: **Tue Mar 02, 2021 10:41 am**

Greetings to everybody !
I own ITS40/Varian3400, have purchased it in 2012, and it was running just fine until 2017, and then there was period of long idling.
Now when it was launched again, HDD of Compaq DeskPro 386/20e have crashed and for my deep regret I need to reinstall all the system from scratch.
Original HDD Conner CP3111 was replaced with Conner CFS420A ( configured as type 38 in BIOS ) and now system has 300MB usable memory instead of 100 for old one, new HDD is partitioned.
There is set of diskettes in my spare part box, which I have never used and have no idea about it's content and how to deal with them. reference to the photo of these diskettes:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k-wyQQ ... sp=sharing
And prior to install some of MS-DOS versions on HDD, I would like to know, do any of MS-Windows version is necessary for normal functioning of ISA card, which provides IEEE-488 interface with Ion Trap.
I very appreciate if somebody could have idea, how the system could be reinstalled. Thanks for reading.

Chromatography Forum

Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software

Re: Finnigan MAT ITS 40 Software