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- Posts: 349
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 11:58 pm
- Location: Louisville, KY
I learned GC and GC-MS on an instrument with this exact configuration, and we controlled the MSD with Chemstation then used an external integrator for the FID. It was installed in ~91 by an HP engineer, who claimed at the time that there was "no possible way" to make the computer collect BOTH the FID and MSD data. Since then, a few other independent guys have looked at that system and concluded the same.
I'm now facing a second system where I'm trying to reconstruct things from scratch since someone stole the hard drive, and has essentially an identical configuration(albeit with an autosampler and two towers).
I have a working copy of MSD Chemstation A, and "dry testing"(I won't be in front of the system for a few more days) shows that the MSD SHOULD work perfectly fine but I'm still at a bit of a loss as to how to get the FID working.
There's another 5890 II in the lab that has an NPD and ECD, and it's actually running the MSD version of the software. The "operating method" seems identical to what I'm use to with mass specs-you use "MS Top" to set up a method/sequence, then use a separate data analysis program to look at the data.
I THOUGHT I could configure the FID/MSD system the same, but I'm running into a bit of a roadblock. I've tried adding a second instrument to the MSD control panel, but the software won't let me because I'm trying to add something without an MS.
I've tried installing "standard" copy of Chemstation, but it blocks out the HPIB addresses for the GC and autosampler-presumably because the MSD software has already claimed them. I'm going to take a hard look at how the other system is configured when I go in tomorrow, but in the mean time does anyone have any suggestions?
I'll also mention that I had never used a non-MS system operated by the MSD software before, but after using the ECD/NPD system they have, I actually much prefer it to standard Chemstation. It could well be because I'm so use to using the MSD software, but both for in-lab consistency and my sanity I'd really like to get it working that way.