ESA Coulochem II Detector: Installation

Installing and Controlling Third-Party Devices
ESA Coulochem II Electrochemical Detector: Installation

Device Type:

Electrochemical Detector

Device Driver:

Esa: CouloChem II ECD

Supported Hardware Options:

This driver also supports the Coulochem III ECD. However, a separate driver is provided by Dionex for dedicated support of the Coulochem III ECD (also, refer to ESA Coulochem III Electrochemical Detector: Installation).

What is required?

License:	Timebase Class 1
Connection:	Null modem cable (For more information, refer to Null Modem Cable (RS 232) in the Appendix of the Hardware Installation section.)
Hardware Prerequisites:	An A/D converter is required for data acquisition. A UCI Universal Chromatography Interface including the appropriate signal cables may be used. A free RS-232 port is required for control.
Control Panels:	ESA_DC.pan and ESA_PULSE.pan

Hardware Installation

Device Connection:

Connect the Coulochem II Detector using a null modem cable (see Null Modem Cable (RS 232) in the Appendix of the Hardware Installation section).

Device Settings:

Set the communication parameters as follows:

Baud rate: 4800

Databits: 7

Stopbits: 1

Parity: EVEN

Handshake: None

Verify that the detector is correctly installed and configured in the Server Configuration program and that the instrument itself is switched to remote operation:

Turn on the detector. After the detector has completed the self-test, press the MODE key. Press the arrow key á until SYSTEM MENUS appears on the display.
Press <Enter> until ENTER REMOTE COMMUNICATIONS MODE appears on the display. Press <Enter> again to enable the remote mode.

Software Installation

Install the Device Driver in the Chromeleon Server Configuration. (For more information about the program, refer to Software Installation and Communication The Server Configuration Program.)

Start the Chromeleon server.
Start the Server Configuration program.
Add the detector to the timebase. Select Add Device on the Edit or context menu, and then select Esa from the Manufacturers list box and CouloChem II ECD from the Devices list box.
The following settings are required:

On the General tab page, select the port to which the ECD is connected. In addition, disable the Demo Mode.

On the Signals tab page, double-click the corresponding channel to open the Signal Configuration dialog box. Assign a channel to the signal and name the signal in the Signal Name field according to the selected detector type.

The Error Levels tab page classifies the severity of any errors that occur. It is generally not necessary to change the default settings.

To control the ESA CouloChem II electrochemical detector, connect one of the following panels in the Chromeleon client to the corresponding timebase: ESA_DC.pan or ESA_PULSE.pan Control Panels

Application

All DC Mode parameters are set on the ESA_DC.pan control panel. All Pulse Mode parameters are accessible in the ESA_PULSE.pan window.

Open one of the two windows to operate the detector.
Enable the Connect switch. Please note that it is required to activate the remote mode on the instrument. If there is a serious error, such as power failure, this switch is disabled. Thus, the user must switch the ESA detector manually to remote operation again. Otherwise, the unit would be in an undefined start state. This is necessary because the ESA detector is not capable of reporting its status to Chromeleon.
As soon as remote operation is ensured, setting the parameters can be continued in the usual way.
Press the F1 key on the control panel to directly access detailed information about the individual parameters. However, this requires basic knowledge of how to operate the detector. For more information, refer to the detector manual.
Also, refer to ESA Control/Run Method.

Further Information

Tip:

For more installation details, refer to the manual for the instrument.

For information about installation of the Coulochem III detector, refer to ESA Coulochem III Electrochemical Detector: Installation.

For an overview of the different Dionex devices, refer to Installing Dionex Devices.