3i SDC Start Up and Shut Down

Start up procedure

  1. On the panel below the computer monitor, turn on the buttons for Vector, Lamp, Microscope, Confocal and Lasers.
  2. Switch on the computer at the bottom of the 3i tower
  3. Turn on the individual switches for each laser on the laser stack. Make sure the laser line(s) you need are switched on.
  4. You must turn off the Laser Safety Shutter key at the top of the laser tower and immediately turn it back on again to open the shutter (1/4 turn anti-clockwise), otherwise the lasers will be blocked. If you are trying to image but no laser light is coming out of the objective lens, you may have forgotten to do this. Alternatively, the laser switch might not be turned on (see above).
  5. Login to the User account and open the SlideBook 2022 software to begin using the microscope.

Temperature and CO2

  1. If you need temperature control, switch on the OKO Touch chamber by pressing down the 'on' switch for 2 seconds (black arrow).  Set the temperature by touch-tapping the temperature box (yellow arrow) and using the + and - buttons (magenta arrow).
  2. You can turn off temperature control by holding down the same power button for 2 seconds and selecting 'OK' when the system asks if you want to switch it off.
  3. If you need CO2, the manual switches are behind the computer.  You'll have to go round the back and manually toggle the flow switches into the off or on positions. The wall mixer dispenses both 5% CO2 and 10% CO2.  If the flow controller is perpendicular to the tubing, the flow is off and if it is in-line with the tubing, the flow is on. 
  4. You can check that the flow is really on by checking if the indicator is floating in the flow regulator.

Shut down Procedure

  1. Save your data and transfer to the server or whatever storage you are using.
  2. Quit SlideBook.
  3. If someone is booked on the machine later in the day, you can leave the computer and microscope system switched on. If no one else is booked, then shut down windows on the computer and turn off the Photomanipulation, Lamp, Microscope, Confocal and Lasers switches.
  4. If you've used the CO2, turn off the 5% or 10% CO2 tap behind the computer.
  5. Check the booking system to see what chamber temperature the next user needs. Set the chamber to the correct temperature, or turn off the chamber heater if the next user needs the microscope at RT.