What The Performance Checks Measure - PerkinElmer AVIO 500 Customer Hardware And Service Manual

Troubleshooting
318
Problem
There is a software error.
The printer is not working.
The pump is not working.
If after using the troubleshooting techniques in this chapter your instrument is still
not performing properly contact PerkinElmer service.

What the Performance Checks Measure

The tests in this section allow the operator to measure performance aspects of the
instrument. If you are experiencing problems with your results, these tests can
pinpoint the cause of the problem.
The tests include the following:
• Sodium Bullet Test: This test allows you to visualize the sample flow in the
plasma, so that you can check that the sample introduction system is working
correctly.
• Background Equivalent Concentration (BEC) Test: The BEC value is the
concentration of an element which would produce the same emission intensity
as the plasma background measured at the analyte wavelength. The BEC
serves as an indication of instrument sensitivity. It checks torch alignment,
plasma viewing height, nebulizer gas flow rate, and incident RF power. Refer
to the Syngistix Software Guide on the Syngistix Document Pack CD for
details.
Refer to section
Software
Troubleshooting in the
Syngistix Software
Guide on the Syngistix
Document Pack CD.
Printing Problems on
page 331.
Pump Problems on page
332.