Confocal Use

The MRC 600 Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope is available ONLY to pretrained personnel. If you have been trained you may schedule and use the facility. To assist those of you who are trained, but use it seldom, below are the basics of turning on and off the instrument, and hints for use. PLEASE do NOT attempt to use the Confocal based only on these instructions. You will need a password and login account to use it, and at least 1.5 hours of training. Please email Sue DeMaggio to schedule a training session or with questions or problems with the confocal, or in my absence, Amber Neben is available to help in emergencies (no training will be available in my absense).

Turn on Sequence

As with any electonics, we want to avoid any surges of electricity while the computer is on so the sequence for turning on and off the system is quite important. Please follow these guidelines.

Basically, turn on the components which might arc and cause surges before any of the electronics.

1. Turn on the mercury arc lamp. The Hg lamp controls are located on the cart at the right side of the confocal bench. The toggle switch is turned on and allow 5-10 mintues for the lamp to stablize.

2. The Argon Ion Laser is turned on by turning the key on the laser power source box (the beige box located on the lab bench to the far left of the confocal) to the right so that it is horizontal. The ON/OFF switch should be left in the on position. You will hear the fan on the unit come on immediately and within a few minutes the exhaust fan in the ceiling will come on. (This one will stay on after the laser is turned off - until it is cooled down sufficiently.)

3.    The electronic components may now be turned on with the power strip on the floor at the right side of the computer.
         a.      This turns on the computer power
         b.      As well as the BioRad Scanhead, directly to the left of the microscope.

4. Now launch the software by clicking on the Comos Icon. This will start the software.

5. For training in the software itself, please see Sue DeMaggio or George Ehring. Do not attempt to use the software from these instructions - this is only a reminder of the turn of and on sequences for the workstations. A 1.5 - 2 hour training session is necessary before using the software.

Turning off the system:

Turning off the system is basically the opposite of turning it on.

1. Make sure you are logged out properly when you finish. Log out as soon as you are done, since charges are based on the times recorded in the log.

2. Turn off the Scanhead and computer with the strip.

3. Turn off the laser.

If neither Sue nor George is available, you may look up any questions in the manual on the shelf below the computer on the computer stand or contact BioRad's technical support department at 800-4BIORAD.