The instructions below assume that the standard six-position nosepiece is fitted to the DM6 microscope with three standard M25 thread lenses installed: 20x, 40x and 63x. The instructions also assume that the SuperZ Galvo stage is fitted. If an M32 thread lens or an alternative stage is installed, then different procedures will apply.
Turn on the PC and Supply Unit
It doesn't matter which one you turn on first. Press the power button on the front of the PC and switch on the Supply Unit by turning on the Power and Laser switches on the side of the Supply Unit and turning the key 1/4 turn clockwise to the vertical position. The PC can be turned on without switching on the rest of the system so you can analyse or copy data.
Check for obstructions that could damage the microscope
Make sure there is no sample on the stage or anything on or around the microscope that could cause damage during microscope initialisation.
To check the stage, slide down the hatch on the front of the microscope chamber. If it is hard to see, turn on the LED by rotating the white dial on top of the chamber clockwise. You will hear a click when the switch turns on, after which the dial increases the brightness of the light. The LED can also be switched on and off using the foot switch. If you turn the dial on and see no light, try pressing down the foot switch.
Raise the microscope nosepiece and lower the condenser
To avoid the possibility of damage to the objective lens during stage initialisation, raise the focus so the objective lens is far away from the stage. There are no focus knobs on the microscope stand itself but there are coarse and fine focus knobs on the STP8000 controller. The inner of the two focus knobs is the coarse focus.
To prevent damage to the substage condenser as the stage initialises, lower the condenser by rotating its focus knob anticlockwise until the front lens is clear of the bottom of the stage.
The DM6 is a fixed stage microscope, which means that the stage doesn’t move when the focus is changed. Instead, it’s the objective lens nosepiece that moves up and down. Fixed stage microscopes are used for experiments where the sample must be kept very stable, such as electrophysiological experiments where there may be probes inserted into the specimen that could be moved or damaged if the stage moves up or down. The fixed stage configuration also allows the user to change stage types and raise or lower the stage to accommodate different sized specimens.
Double-click the LASX icon on the desktop.