Commands and Tips for Third-Party Devices
Shimadzu LC-10A / LC-20A / LC-30A and LC-2010 HPLC Systems: General Tips

LC-10A, LC-20A, LC-30A and LC-2010

• When the system is operated in stand-alone mode, the system conditions, such as the oven temperature, are reset to the initial values at the end of the sample program (called Time Program by Shimadzu). If Chromeleon controls the HPLC System, the system conditions entered last are retained.

• Chromeleon also disconnects and automatically reconnects to the HPLC System when you change the Mode parameter (single or dual wavelength) for the UV detector. This may take some time. After reconnect, an audible beep sounds. Make sure that this process does not interfere with sample processing.

LC-10A, LC-20A, LC-30A

• Parameter settings changed on the instrument in stand-alone operation are lost when Chromeleon connects to the instrument. Chromeleon always restores the preset values when connecting to the instrument.

• Depending on the operation (with either the Shimadzu sampler or a manual injection valve), Chromeleon sets the WaitForRemoteStart property automatically to the appropriate value for the selected option.

• Chromeleon disconnects and automatically reconnects to the HPLC System when you change the setting for ExternalStart or when Chromeleon changes the setting for the WaitForRemoteStart property (see above). Make sure that this process does not interfere with sample processing.

• To change from the UV lamp to the VIS lamp takes considerable time. Make sure that this process does not interfere with sample processing.

• For blank samples (no injection performed at all) a time shift may be observed between the retention time stated in the Chromeleon Audit Trail and the data recorded by the instrument. Such a time shift may occur if the oven temperature control is activated and the oven is not ready when the analysis starts. The time shift between the audit trail and the data recorded by the instrument corresponds to the time delay until the oven reaches its temperature and the system gets ready. However, the recorded data are correct, even if the wavelength is switched during run time. As a workaround a sample with a short run time may be added to the sequence to ensure the oven reaches its temperature first. Note that none-blank samples are not affected.

LC-10A

• Changes made in Chromeleon do not appear immediately on the ANALYSIS FILE and TIME PROGRAM menus on the System Controller. To see the changes, exit and reenter the corresponding display. The MONITOR menu is updated immediately. However, the nominal values are not displayed.

LC-20A Prominence

• The LC-20A Prominence HPLC system can be controlled by the CBM-20A and CBM-20Alite system controller. However, it is also possible to control the LC-20A using the SCL-10Avp system controller of the LC-10A series. When run in such a mixed configuration, the LC-20A has to be configured for emulation mode, which turns the system into a 'pseudo' LC-10A system. For details about controlling the LC-20A in emulation mode under Chromeleon, refer to Shimadzu LC-10A/LC-20A Prominence HPLC Systems: Emulation Mode.

• The SPD-20A detector and Chromeleon each follow a different approach to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. The SPD-20A detector uses a Response factor, while Chromeleon uses a Time Constant parameter. To translate the Response factor used in the SPD-20A detector into the Time Constant value, Shimadzu provides the following table:

LC-2010

• If the HPLC System detects an error or if data acquisition is active, you cannot connect to Chromeleon.

• Parameter settings changed on the instrument in stand-alone operation are lost when Chromeleon connects to the instrument. Chromeleon always restores the preset values when connecting to the instrument:

WashDuration: 0
WashMode: NoWash
PurgeTime: 25.0
WashSpeed: 35
WashVolume: 200
SyringeSpeed: 15.0
NeedleStroke: 52

SourceVial: UpperHalf
DiluentVial: Bottle
TotalVolume: 400
Sampler.DilutionFactor: 2
MixRepeat: 3
PrepVolume: 200
Bubbling: On
PrepTime: 1.0

SourceVolume: 100
ReagentAVolume: 100
ReagentBVolume: 100
ReagentCVolume: 100
ReagentAVial: None
ReagentBVial: None
ReagentCVial: None

• If a CTO Wait Time is defined in the Server Configuration and you want to run a blank run on the LC-2010, set the Inject parameter in the Chromeleon PGM to Blank=Inject and specify a position of a vial that contains eluent. Performing an actual injection is required to synchronize  the Chromeleon time and the LC system time.

• Changes made in Chromeleon do not appear immediately on the METHOD menu. To see the changes, exit and reenter the corresponding display. The MONITOR menu is updated immediately. However, the nominal values are not displayed.

For information about how to install the Shimadzu HPLC systems, refer to

 Shimadzu LC-2010 HPLC System: Installation and

 Shimadzu LC-10A/LC-20A Prominence HPLC System: Installation.