Are there any good general e-mail discussion lists for instrumentation people?
There are of course lists for HPLC, or spectroscopy, and several for mass spectrometry but are there any lists that cover multiple types of instruments where subscribers are faculty who teach instrumental analysis, or are in charge of instrumentation, or people like myself who are instrumentation support staff?
Does anyone have any sense of whether such a discussion list would even be of interest given how diverse the "instrumentation" field is?
Thank you
Kevin
To paraphrase that great Canadian philosopher, Red Green...An instrument guy makes his own luck, and frequently his own bandages.
Hello Kevin,
For LC specifically, I highly recommend this educational site https://www.chromacademy.com. Used to be free subscription with a university email for several years, not sure how they operate now. Thermo has a very informative website called Planet Orbitrap with tons of useful tips and resources, and, I believe, there is a forum with free registration. Thermo also offers free webinars on best practices for LC and MS, as they sell both.
In general, I find that connecting with the instrument vendor technical support is very helpful for gaining insightful information on troubleshooting. Some vendors now offer free webex support for diagnosing the issues remotely, even if you do not have a service plan with them. Perhaps, contacting your area sales rep and asking for technical resources would be a good start. If your position qualifies you for attending scientific conferences, talking to instrument vendors on the exhibition floor can be useful. It is unlikely service technicians will be there but instrument developers are very likely to be around, and may give top of the line advice.
My personal experience with commercial HPLC and MS training courses is ambivalent. They seem most useful when expanding expertise from one instrument model to another of similar kind, as you already have the background, understand what is this about, and just want the scoop on new features and related maintenance (maybe!); repairs typically not really covered. For some vendors, manuals are so well written, they can beat any course. Finally, hanging around service technician during instrument installation or repairing of your equipment and asking relevant questions may give very practical insights. Hope it helps!
John R Carney , thank you very much for directing us all to this valuable resource! Kind regards!
- Badges
- Science method