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I was just about to point out the same things as Craig.

1) The A/C vent will definitely cause thermal cycling of the microscope,
especially if the thermostat is far from that spot.  This will cause many
issues including:

   - Thermal creep - This is when optics don't return back to their
   original position when thermally cycled.  Therefore, each cycle will cause
   the optics to gradually walk further and further out of alignment,
   requiring more frequent service visits.
   - Drift of optimal z-corrections - when using correction collar
   objective and imaging at the resolution limit of the system, you will
   notice a drift in the point spread function if the thermal cycling is bad
   enough and at a low enough frequency.
   - I would also be concerned about how much the power conditioner is
   going to add to the thermal load

One other note, if you have large dynamic thermal loads (such as multiple
people in the same room, argon lasers, multiple scopes running, servers)
this will greatly aggravate the thermal cycling issue.

2) The power conditioner may or may not cause issues, but as a core
facility manager, that is definitely not a game you really want to play.
We had some UPS's backing up our microscopes, and when they kicked into
battery mode, the sharp PWM ripple from the inverter did cause some noise
to show up in the PMT signal (about 2m away).  That said, your UPS is a
double conversion supply, meaning it is constantly running through an
inverter, which emit a fair amount of EMI due to the high-power switching
inside the inverter.  Given that this is only FCC Class A rated (see here
for more details: http://www.ti.com/lit/wp/slyy142/slyy142.pdf page 8),
there is a reasonable chance this will be emitting enough EMI that if the
PMTs happen to be in an anti-node you would get some noise in the
detectors.  Additionally, changing the position of equipment in the room
can change the positions of node and anti-nodes, meaning things may be fine
at first, but when you add another scope then you will see noise which is
actually from the inverter and not the new scope.  Hence the point about
not wanting to play this sort of game.

Also, one final concern is the conditioner is rated at 65db.  While below
OSHA guidelines, the microscopes themselves will also be emitting a fair
amount of noise, which will be additive to the 65db baseline.  Therefore,
there is also a risk (although slight), that the room may start to exceed
safety ratings.  That said, who on earth would want to do a 6 hour imaging
run with a 65 db inverter buzzing right next to them?!

Hope this helps,
   Ben Smith

On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 3:45 PM Benjamin Smith <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> I was just about to point out the same things as Craig.
>
> 1) The A/C vent will definitely cause thermal cycling of the microscope,
> especially if the thermostat is far from that spot.  This will cause many
> issues including:
>
>    - Thermal creep - This is when optics don't return back to their
>    original position when thermally cycled.  Therefore, each cycle will cause
>    the optics to gradually walk further and further out of alignment,
>    requiring more frequent service visits.
>    - Drift of optimal z-corrections - when using correction collar
>    objective and imaging at the resolution limit of the system, you will
>    notice a drift in the point spread function if the thermal cycling is bad
>    enough and at a low enough frequency.
>    - I would also be concerned about how much the power conditioner is
>    going to add to the thermal load
>
> One other note, if you have large dynamic thermal loads (such as multiple
> people in the same room, argon lasers, multiple scopes running, servers)
> this will greatly aggravate the thermal cycling issue.
>
> 2) The power conditioner may or may not cause issues, but as a core
> facility manager, that is definitely not a game you really want to play.
> We had some UPS's backing up our microscopes, and when they kicked into
> battery mode, the sharp PWM ripple from the inverter did cause some noise
> to show up in the PMT signal (about 2m away).  That said, your UPS is a
> double conversion supply, meaning it is constantly running through an
> inverter, which emit a fair amount of EMI due to the high-power switching
> inside the inverter.  Given that this is only FCC Class A rated (see here
> for more details: http://www.ti.com/lit/wp/slyy142/slyy142.pdf page 8),
> there is a reasonable chance this will be emitting enough EMI that if the
> PMTs happen to be in an anti-node, then there is a reasonable chance you
> would get some noise in the detectors.  Additionally, changing the position
> of equipment in the room can change the positions of node and anti-nodes,
> meaning things may be fine at first, but when you add another scope then
> you will see noise which is actually from the inverter and not the new
> scope.  Hence the point about not wanting to play this sort of game.
>
> Also, one final concern is the conditioner is rated at 65db.  While below
> OSHA guidelines, the microscopes themselves will also be emitting a fair
> amount of noise, which will be additive to the 65db baseline.  Therefore,
> there is also a risk (although slight), that the room may start to exceed
> safety ratings.  That said, who on earth would want to do a 6 hour imaging
> run with a 65 db inverter buzzing right next to them?!
>
> Hope this helps,
>    Ben Smith
>
> On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 2:48 PM Craig Brideau <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> *****
>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
>> *****
>>
>> Hi Michael, I'm assuming you're fishing for people to agree with you that
>> this is a bad idea, so let me just say this is a bad idea. :)
>> Electrical noise can be very unpredictable, as things like cable length,
>> direction, loops, etc. all govern how a wire acts as an antenna (or not).
>> That said, locating a system next to an electrical distribution
>> transformer
>> would appear to be asking for trouble. In addition, the A/C vent directly
>> above the proposed location of the microscope will cause issues with
>> thermal stability. If the system is installed in that room, I suspect you
>> will end up expending considerable time and resources attempting to deal
>> with electrical and ventilation issues to achieve usable results with the
>> microscope.
>>
>> Craig
>>
>> On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 3:39 PM Cammer, Michael <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> > *****
>> > To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>> > http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>> > Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your
>> posting.
>> > *****
>> >
>> > We have been told to move a Zeiss 700 confocal with environmental
>> chamber
>> > for live work into a newly renovated room and wanted to ask advice about
>> > this move.
>> >
>> > As users walk in, the wall on the left has the main electricity for a
>> > large segment of the floor.  In the corner of the room is a Symmetra LX
>> > power conditioning module the size of a small filing cabinet that hums
>> and
>> > buzzes.  The microscope would be placed immediately next to this.
>> Picture
>> > at
>> >
>> >
>> http://microscopynotes.com/700/temp/20190801_110630_room_view_labeled_web.png
>> >
>> > Our question is whether this electricity conditioning immediately
>> adjacent
>> > to a Zeiss confocal would do anything to image quality.  Also, a Nikon
>> A1
>> > would be placed approximately 2 meters away in the same room.
>> >
>> > Thank you.
>> >
>> > Michael Cammer, Sr Research Scientist, DART Microscopy Laboratory
>> > NYU Langone Health, 540 First Avenue, SK2 Microscopy Suite, New York, NY
>> > 10016
>> > C: 914-309-3270  [log in to unmask]<mailto:
>> > [log in to unmask]>  http://nyulmc.org/micros
>> > http://microscopynotes.com/
>> >
>>
>
>
> --
> Benjamin E. Smith, Ph. D.
> Imaging Specialist, Vision Science
> University of California, Berkeley
> 195 Life Sciences Addition
> Berkeley, CA  94720-3200
> Tel  (510) 642-9712
> Fax (510) 643-6791
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> http://vision.berkeley.edu/?page_id=5635 <http://vision.berkeley.edu/>
>


-- 
Benjamin E. Smith, Ph. D.
Imaging Specialist, Vision Science
University of California, Berkeley
195 Life Sciences Addition
Berkeley, CA  94720-3200
Tel  (510) 642-9712
Fax (510) 643-6791
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://vision.berkeley.edu/?page_id=5635 <http://vision.berkeley.edu/>