800 MIB Dave Speltz Les Ehrlich S/N Affected Approval: Reviewed By: All Ray Attwell Dave Case
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Number: DSS200201 Issue Date: 12/13/01 Page 1 of 6 SERVICE BULLETIN Model Number: Originator: Reviewed By: Star 800 MIB Dave Speltz Les Ehrlich S/N Affected Approval: Reviewed By: All Ray Attwell Dave Case *** INFORMATION ONLY *** HELPFUL DOCUMENTATION AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR THE STAR 800 MIB A few months ago, the Star 800 MIB was introduced to replace the aging ADC board. To help the field in learning how to install and configure the Star 800, first read the attached “Star 800 Installation Instructions” which is also included with the Star 800 MIB. To learn more about connecting the Star 800 with other Varian device controlled through Ethernet communication, please read the “Installing Ethernet Chromatography Devices”. To answer your most common questions regarding the Star 800 MIB, please read through the FAQs below. Other resources for the Star 800 MIB can also be found at. http://thecreek.csb.varianinc.com/techsupport/index.html From the “search” box, type in “Star 800 MIB” and click on “go”. STAR 800 MIB Frequently Asked Questions What part numbers do I need for full serial control of the 3400 with 2 detectors? 03-907938-11 Star 800 MIB w/serial & 2 ADC channels 03-907938-04* Analog Cable, 3-pin Molex, 3 meter Contains: 1 Cable – 3 pin molex to Star MIB (signal) 1 Cable – P23 (molex) to bare wire (start signal) 1 Cable - P16(molex) to bard wire (ready signal) 03-907938-13 Serial Cable to 3000 series GC, 3 meter Contains: 1 Cable - RJ45 Star 800 serial to 3400/3600 serial 1 Jumper for Serial I/O PWA in 3400/3600 * Order one 03-907938-04 for every detector channel you need. Failure to install the Jumper on the Serial I/O board will cause System Control to crash when the 3400/3600 tries to log into System Control. For sync control only of the 3400 you will not need the Serial Cable (03-907938-13) and the Star 800 MIB does not need serial ports (03-907937-01). Can I start each channel on a 2 (or 4) channel Star 800 box independently ? Yes. By clicking on the “Config” button in the “Setup Ethernet ports” dialog box, the user can make the channels run independently or run synchronously. For a two channel box, the following setup would make each channel independent, and each would log into system control as two separate icons, each which can be “dragged” into their corresponding instrument. The system will create two separate data files (.run). Each data file will contain 1 channel of data. The first line will create a module “80” with only one channel. This will show as a separate icon in System Control configuration The second line will create a second module “81” which will show up as a second icon in System Control configuration To run the channels synchronously, the system would be reconfigured as follows: The first line will create a module “80” with TWO synchronous channels. When viewing the 80 module it will look like the old ADC board. DSS200201 12/17/2001 Page 2 of 6 After doing this, the Star Module would have a module similar to the old ADC board. The module would be represented by one icon in system control but would show 2 channels. Only one data file is created. This data file contains 2 channels of data. When do I use the red crossover cable versus a regular patch cable? The crossover cable which is supplied as part of the Star 800 MIB can only be used for a direct connection between the Ethernet card on the PC and the Star 800 Box. When connecting more then 2 network devices utilizing UTP (cables with phone jack connectors) through a hub or switch, standard patch cables are used. Does the MIB have internal buffering capability similar to the “Nelson” box? Star Workstation does not have the ability to recover chromatographic data that is lost due to a communication failure, promoted as a feature of the "Nelson" box. This feature will be available in a future data system. What is the maximum number of Star 800 MIBs / channels I can configure on one computer? Theoretically, System Control can be configured with 4 Star 800 MIBs, each containing four channels. (4x4 = 16). Practically, the optimum number would be determined by the speed of the PC, number of other modules connected to the Star Workstation, and number of operators using the PC at one time. Is setting up the Star 800 similar to setting up Ethernet communications with the 3800 or 3900? Yes. The main differences are: · In the BOOTP server the user must manually type in a compatible IP address for the Star 800 MIB. The system will not automatically assign one as in the 3800 BOOTP setup. Replace the 0.0.0.0 IP address with an address compatible with your network · You must set the module type to “800” from the Setup Ethernet dialog box, then manually type in the address for the box you specified under the BOOTP server setup. (Note the “Address” button changes to “config” when choosing “800”. This means that you do not have the ability to “browse” the network for Star 800 devices). Rules for configuring the Star 800 on a company network are the same as 3900 and 3800. The box can be accessed from any PC on network. Once the Star 800 “logs in” to a PC, it is not available from other PCs on the network. DSS200201 12/17/2001 Page 3 of 6 1) Select the 2) Manually enter the Host Module type Name or IP address which as “800” you entered in the BOOTP table for the Star 800 MIB What do I need if I’m controlling a 3800 on the same computer as the Star 800? If the configuration requires an Ethernet controlled 3800 and Star 800 MIB be resident on the same computer, a hub with both BNC and RJ45 (phone jack) connectors (Varian p/n 03-926129-21) must be used to connect the Ethernet devices together. This is because the 3800 uses the older 10Base2 (BNC) media and the Star 800 MIB uses 10BaseT (unshielded twisted pair). Varian does not recommend the use of 2 network cards in this configuration. The following is an example of this configuration with fictitious IP addresses. Note that either PC1 or PC2 could collect data from either 3800 or 800. Only one PC should have the BOOTP enabled for 3800 and Star 800 IP assignments. IP: 10.190.76.122 IP: 10.190.76.121 PC 2 Star with RJ-45 3800 network card Terminator (phone jack) IP: 10.190.76.123 Star 800 MIB PC 1 Star with BNC HUB Standard Network Patch network card cables (10BaseT) BNC UTP - RJ-45 p/n 03-926129-01/-02 IP: 10.190.76.120 (phone jack) BNC cable Generic (10Base2 or Detector thin net) or GC What is the 9 PIN D-shell port on the Star 800 for? This port is for uploading new firmware into the Star 800 MIB. When this is required, a service bulletin will be issued describing how to do it. DSS200201 12/17/2001 Page 4 of 6 Do I need a MIB if I have a 3900 XL (w/ detectors) under full WS control? No! Although the 3900 and Star 800 MIB both use Ethernet communication, the 3900 sends the data to the PC directly though the Ethernet interface with Star Workstation. Does the MIB have relay capability? On introduction the Star MIB has 4 “start-in” inputs and 4 “WS ready out” outputs. These will allow the Star 800 MIB to have the same synchronization capability of the ADC board it is replacing. The Star MIB has the ability to add additional relays, but are not yet available for implementation in Star Workstation. This feature should be available soon. What do the LEDs mean on the Star 800 box mean? Error LED –Indicates serious Error (never should see except on power up.) Blinks on/off when box un-configured along with yellow light below. Should go out after box configured. Ethernet Link LED means that the Ethernet cable is connected to an active Ethernet port. Full WS communication LED Ethernet data transmission LED Power LED Can I change the units and/or scaling for the Star 800 MIB? Yes. To do this, select the “config” button under “setup Ethernet ports”, then type in the preferred units and/or scaling factor. For example, if you are using a absorbence based detector, set the Units to “Absorbance” and scaling factor to 2.0. This will cause the y axis to show units scaled appropriately, with the full scale showing as 2. What do I do if I can’t establish communication with the Star 800? Check to see if the Ethernet link light is on the Star 800 box. (see above for location) If not, there is problem with the Ethernet hardware. Check to make sure the cable is correct for the type of networking media being used. Common causes of this might be connecting the Star 800 directly to the Ethernet card in the PC with a non-crossover cable (standard patch cable) or trying to use a crossover cable to connect to a hub. If the link light is OK, there can be many other causes for the problem. Here are some tools to help you: · Run the program winipcfg.exe (with windows 9x) or ipconfig.exe (with Windows NT or 2000). If you get “Fatal IP configuration” error, remove the drivers for all network cards, and DSS200201 12/17/2001 Page 5 of 6 re-install.