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Operation of
the PE 1720X FTIR Spectrometer
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1. The instrument is left on all the time -
- it
is not necessary to turn it off.
2. Make sure the sample compartment is empty.
BE
CAREFUL--laser radiation use safety glasses. Don't look directly into the laser beam.
3. Turn on the monitor. The monitor is turned off between users
or when it is not in use.
4. The IRDM software
should also be running. The menu options will be for File, Options, View, Data, and Instrument.
Select Instrument. The software will start
automatically if the computer is rebooted.
5. Under
Instrument select Scan followed by Background, with the background for the sample
in the sample beam. Normal background may be air, a blank potassium
bromide pellet, or an unused screen. Select the same number of
scans, scan region, etc. as will be used for the sample.
6. If the background scan is satisfactory place the
sample into the sample holder, close the lid and select Scan and Sample. The
FTIR spectra will appear on screen and can be expanded, labeled,
saved, or printed.
Annotating
Spectra
7. To place an identification
label on the spectra use the mouse to select an area to place
the label. Place the mouse pointer in the upper left corner and
hold the mouse button down to draw a rectangle. Release the mouse
button and then select Comments from the View menu. Type comments in the dialog
box using the Enter key to enter another line of text. Use OK
to typing comments. Comments can be moved, edited or deleted.
8. Labeling Spectra Peaks from the View window by selecting Label Peaks. The wavelength
labels can be also be removed from the View window by selecting Remove Labels.
Plotting
9. Spectra is plotted from the File menu under the Plot command.
The plot general sequence and setup have already been entered.
Once the plot command has been entered no other command can be
issued until the spectra has been plotted. The File/Plot window will allow either All spectra or
only the Top spectra to plotted from a
single window. Normally, the user will select plot and TOP.
10. Shut down -- Remove your
materials from the cell compartment, clean up the area, turn off
the monitor and record you use in the instrument log book.
Storing FTIR Data from PE-1720X on Floppy Disks
11. In the upper left hand corner of each window is an early
version of an icon used to close the window. It looks like two
triangles (TT-Icon) 
with the apex
facing each other. Click on this icon to close the window down
or to step down the directories. For instance, if the current
directory is C:\IRDM\Data\Spectra. A single click with exit the
Spectra directory, a third click with exit the Data directory
and a third click will exit the IRDM directory, leaving the user
at the C:\ prompt. A fourth click will close the window. The window
can be opened again. Toggle back and forth between spectrum and
the Data Region by double clicking on the TT-Icon.
12. Copy files from the Data region with Drag and Drop to the
B drive icon. First remember the vertical B drive is placed into
the computer backwards from the normal position. Therefore, it
is necessary to insert the 3 ½" floppy in a reverse
to the normal position, e. g. with the label to the left.
Never force a floppy into a drive, if force is required the disk
is not being inserted correctly.
13. Delete data from the Data Region by first selecting the
Data Region window. Then drag and drop the file onto the wastebasket
icon and answer OK to the question confirming the file to be deleted.
14. Data saved to a floppy can be processed by the ACD software.
15. Valet is also available on this computer from the DOS prompt.
It is easy to copy and move files from this utility. Quit to DOS
and select the directory where the file has been saved. The following
directories contain data: C:\Spectra\Spectra or C:\IRDM\Data\Spectra.
Each FTIR data file has a DOS extension, automatically appended
to it name (.SP) From the File menu select Quit to DOS. First,
at the C:\ prompt enter the valet command (V), go to the correct
directory where the data is located. Select the file(s) to be
copied with the space bar when file is selected. Select C for
Copy and then give the destination.
To return to the FTIR software from the C:\ prompt first change
directories, CD IRDM then type IRDM1700.
