Installing and Controlling Third-Party Devices
Varian 3400 GC: Installation

Device Type:

Gas chromatograph

Device Driver:

Varian: 3400 Gas Chromatograph

Supported Hardware Options:

Components

  • Column oven

  • Gas flow controller

  • Gas pressure controller

  • Two detectors

  • Auxiliary heater

  • Varian 8100/8200 autosamplers
    (including the CX and SX models)

  • Split/splitless Varian 1077 Injector

Detectors

  • Flame Ionization Detector (FID)

  • Thermal Conductivity Detector (TCD)

  • Thermion Specific Detector (TSD)

  • Electron Capture Detector (ECD)

 

What is required?

License:

Timebase Class 1

Connection:

  • A special 9-pin serial cable (For more information, refer to  Varian Cable in the Appendix of the Hardware Installation section.)

  • One signal cable per detector (For more information, refer to  Varian Signal Cable.)

  • An A/D cable for data transmission (depending on the A/D converter used).

Hardware
Prerequisites:

An A/D converter is required for data acquisition. A UCI Universal Chromatography Interface, a Dionex UI20 (Dionex part no. 46017), or any other A/D converter that can be controlled by Chromeleon, e.g., PE Nelson Boxes (including the appropriate signal cables), may be used.

Control Panel:

Varian3400.pan

Hardware Installation

Device Connection:

Use a special 9-pin serial cable (Dionex part no. 8914.0145) for the connection to the Varian GC interface cable (Varian part no. 03-919939-00 Rev. 3). In addition, one Varian signal cable (Dionex part no. 8911.3600) is required per detector. (For cable details, refer to  Varian Cable and  Varian Signal Cable in the Appendix of the Hardware Installation section.)

 Tip:  

Make sure you connect the correct end of the cable to the PC.

In addition, an A/D cable is required for data acquisition. The cable depends on the A/D converter used, e.g., a UCI Universal Chromatography Interface).

Device Settings:

The following communication parameters are used: 9600 baud, 7 data bits, 1 stop bit, even parity, and no protocol.

Restrictions:

If the gas chromatograph contains a CPU board with an EPROM version 03-910526-00 or earlier, the board must be upgraded. Please contact Varian for assistance.

CPU boards with EPROM versions before 03-910617-00 Rev. A have not been tested.

Chromeleon does not support manual injections.

Chromeleon does not support the capillary injection purge valve that is located behind the detector. Use the method 1 on the GC to control the valve.

 Tip:

Dionex advises against manual input on the device. Chromeleon cannot read all settings from the device. Therefore, manual settings on the device may lead to errors in the program.

 

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.)

  1. Start the Chromeleon server.

  2. Start the Server Configuration program.

  3. Add the gas chromatograph to the timebase. Select Add Device on the Edit or context menu, and then select Varian from the Manufacturers list box and 3400 Gas Chromatograph from the Devices list box.

  4. The following settings are required:

On the Components tab page, specify the components that are installed.

On the Oven tab page, specify the limits for the controllable temperature range of the column oven.

 Tip:  

Set the upper temperature to a suitable value. Please note that the column may be damaged if too high a value is set.

On the Injector tab page, enable temperature control for the injector oven and define the controllable temperature range.

On the Detector A/B tab page, enable temperature control for the detector oven and define the controllable temperature range. In addition, specify the detector type.

On the Aux tab page, enable temperature control of the auxiliary device and define the controllable temperature range.

Open the Signal Configuration dialog box from the Signals tab page by double-clicking the respective channel. 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.

  1. To control gas chromatograph, connect the Varian3400.pan Control Panel in the Chromeleon client to the corresponding timebase.

Application

The User Help section provides information about the commands and properties supported by the 3400 GC; refer to Commands and Tips for Third-Party Devices  Varian.

Troubleshooting

 Tip:

If a sample sequence includes a blank run, several Can’t set property error messages may be displayed at the beginning of the next sample. These messages can be ignored.

Chromeleon cannot read out the FlameOut error correctly from the device. Therefore, the error appears continuously.

If Detector B Flameout appears on the device and/or in Chromeleon, but if the detector B is not used or not installed: Disconnect the device in Chromeleon, press the Reset key on the device, and reconnect the device to Chromeleon. In addition, delete the following command in the PGM File:

 GC_2.Autozero.

For more information about troubleshooting, refer to Commands and Tips for Third-Party Devices  Varian 3400/3600 GCs: Troubleshooting in the User Help section.

If you have any special problems, please contact Dionex Service.

Further Information

 Tip:

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

For an overview of the Varian instruments for which device drivers are available in Chromeleon, refer to  Varian.