When networking  became common in the office, it naturally extended itself to the Analytical Laboratory.  For much of the same reasons that "network printers" became popular - so did "network instruments".   Here were the factors that drove the change:  Ease of set up and a common environment (IT personnel with Lan experience are easy to find... HPIB experience not so easy to find).  Communication by Ethernet is much faster and reliable.  Lan instruments can be  MUCH FURTHER away from the PC.  How many labs have instruments on one bench, but the PC on another bench across the isle or across the room ?   Ethernet made that  EASY !  Ethernet cables are much easier to route and much neater. 

     Chemstation Upgrades for HP 5972, 5971 Mass Specs

A complete turnkey solution to keep your HP 5890 GC with FID, EPC, etc... running another 10 years.  Available for order now!   Click on our 5890 Upgrade page, to see a bit more about this new product and then ask for a quick, free quotation.

Power Distribution Board (PDB) - is both the primary distribution node for the the incoming power and the board that starts and controls the diffusion pump.   The PDB is stuffed under the manifold, behind the electronics chassis (sheet metal where main board and I/O board are mounted).  It is rare that this board dies, but it does happen. 

The beauty of this board is that it fully controls the diff pump with or without the PC and Chemstation up and running.  Get the manifold under vacuum and power on the MSD.  This board will take over and turn on the diff pump when the vacuum is low enough and provide the "Diff Pump On and Hot" signal when appropriate.  The board also provides a red led to indicate that the diff pump is powered on and running.  You can see the red led through a one-half inch hole in the chassis back behind the smartcard near where the power cord comes in.