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Hi Michael,

If you cannot implement any of the former suggestions, what about just using
a coverslip with a grid on it?
I know, it is not automated and certainly simplistic, but it can also be of help to double check the validity of other methods.

Cheers

Marco

Dr. Marco Marcello
Imaging Manager
Institute of Integrative Biology
University of Liverpool
L69 7ZB
Liverpool
UK 
tel +44 (0) 151 7954425
http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~cci/

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kevin Ryan
Sent: 13 February 2013 20:32
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Zeiss stage problem

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It sounds like your stage is assigning "0,0" (or some other number) to the position it is in when the system is started, and offsets from that start. 

I would suggest "parking" your stage in a particular corner _before_ shutting it down, or moving to that corner and restarting the stage controller, so that the same position is the starting point on each run. If the stage controller startup isn't assigning random numbers this should get you to repeatable offsets, as they will all be relative to the same starting point. 

It's a bit ugly, and adds to the workflow, but it might be the least expensive solution for your system. 

Kevin Ryan
Media Cybernetics, Inc.



---------------------------
On Feb 13, 2013, at 9:19 AM, Cammer, Michael wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
> 
> We are having a problem with the stage on our Zeiss 710 with Zen 2009.
> 
> Our goal is to image a slide on one day and save positions and then to reimage the same positions a few days later.
> 
> This should be automated.  We are supposed to be able to record positions in the Positions window and reuse them later, but the positions are saved in a text file with unpredictable offsets and then when the file is reopened in Zen new unpredictable offsets are assigned so they can't be used.
> 
> If we zero the stage at a corner and write down each absolute position we need to return to, we can use the joystick to get back to those positions in later sessions, so at least there is a manual workaround.  Unfortunately, there is no way to type in the positions and the pre-zeroing does not solve the offsets problem either.
> 
> Has anybody else noticed this odd behavior or figured out a work around easier than using the joystick to manually return to positions?
> 
> Thank you.
> ________________________________________________________
> Michael Cammer, Assistant Research Scientist Skirball Institute of 
> Biomolecular Medicine
> Lab: (212) 263-3208  Cell: (914) 309-3270