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Hello Everyone,
Zeiss has been truly wonderful. Their response time is often less than a
day with the a service tech often here within 24-48 hours. More
importantly, the problem has always been fixed by the time he leaves. Not
that we require that much service, our instrument has been pretty rock
solid.
Best
Gerry
-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Karl Garsha
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 10:55 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Zeiss META
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Which tests were run to assess performance at 6 months? Are the factory
specs publicly available or did the service representative simply assure
you that the system is performing above spec? The questions outlined
above lie at the crux of misunderstandings between core facilities and
confocal manufacturers.
Also important: when your facility does experience a hardware related
problem how efficiently and effectively is the problem handled? Real
problems start when research is unnecessarily hindered by a downed
instrument for extended periods of time; this is where dysfunction in a
service infrastructure may become apparent. This is where researchers
stand to lose time, effort and finances in a highly competetive
environment. Hence, less-than-positive feelings are all to frequently
cultivated.
I'm happy to say that our Leica SP-2 is a thoughtfully engineered,
versatile and high-performance instrument. I am working on standardized
"confidence tests" which demonstrate the outstanding capabilities of our
instrumentation for our user base. These tests are also hoped to permit
more efficient preventative maintenance of instrument subsystems. Like
a high performance automobile, or a high performance fighter jet,
helicopter (anything with moving parts and synergistic subsystems)
service is an integral part of realizing the useful lifespan of the
instrument. Most pilots would not wish to fly vehicles in which the
possiblity of unpredictable equipment failure and anomolous behavior are
taken to go with the territory; by the same token, many researchers do
not like the idea of collecting data on instrumentation which provides
unpredictable or unreliable results. Preventative maintenance, routine
benchmarking and a responsible approach to crisis management are the
keys to ensuring high-performance AND high-availability for research
grade instrumentation. Many of us hope that the future will demonstrate
that confocal manufacturers pay greater attention to the performance
records of installed instruments.
Regards,
Karl G.
Colin Izzard wrote:
>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
>Letters to the Confocal Microscopy List often comment on problems
>encountered with the products from different companies or the service
>the companies provide, or potential purchasers seek comparative
>information on the companies and their products prior to making a
>purchase. However, unsolicited positive comments on the companies and
>their products are seldom posted, and could serve the community equally
>well.
>
>In January we added a META detector to our LSM 510 from Carl Zeiss,
>Inc. It was tested recently after six months. I am very pleased with
>the results. It is performing far better than factory specifications
>require and generating excellent noise-free sharp images from triple
>stained preparations. The help and advice of the product managers and
>field representatives made the decision to upgrade an easy one, and the
>fine efforts of the field service representatives made the installation
>and maintenance smooth operations.
>
>Anyone wishing to discuss more specific details should feel free to
>contact me directly.
>
>Colin Izzard.
>
>--
>Colin S. Izzard, Ph.D.
>Department of Biological Sciences.
>State University of New York,
>1400 Washington Avenue,
>Albany, N.Y. 12222, USA.
>Tel. (518)442-4367. Fax. (518)442-4767.
>e-mail [log in to unmask]
>
>
--
Karl Garsha
Light Microscopy Specialist
Imaging Technology Group
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
405 North Mathews Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
Office: B650J
Phone: 217.244.6292
Fax: 217.244.6219
Mobile: 217.390.1874
www.itg.uiuc.edu
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