Lambda 16/18/19 Installation

Perkin Elmer Lambda 16/18/19 Installation

Suppose you have a Lambda 9. The console no longer controlled the optical bench, and you had no budget for a replacement for your old instrument. There was one final option: convert the Lambda 9 to a Lambda 19. You retained the optical bench and replaced the console with two parallel ports wired into the Lambda 19 connector.

This obsolete Lambda-SPX solution was supported only on 32-bit Windows computers with built-in LPT (parallel) port. A PCI board added LPT2 and a custom cable combined the ports into a 37 pin Lambda 19 connector. As built-in (motherboard) parallel ports are no longer provided, you needed an older computer.

While update kits are no longer available, FilmStar MEASURE and Scantraq for Lambda 19 are maintained and updated. There are two possibilities:

1. Do-it-yourself update kit: Ascanis has kindly granted free license to its Lambda-SPX application. Use the following serial number when you install the software: 196-252-544-915. FREE means that if it doesn't work, it is time to either contact your PE sales engineer and purchase a new machine, or search for a gently used Lambda 900/950/1050. If only working in UV/Vis then a Lambda 650 or 850 should suffice.

Lambda-SPX installer

PCI card information

Wiring diagram (2x25 pin LPT to 37 pin Lambda connector)

2. Unconvert Lambda 19: If your Lambda 19 is a Lambda 9 converted to 19, you may have the original Lambda console box with keyboard and CRT. If so, connect the 37-pin cable to the console and determine whether serial communications work as described here.

NOTE: The Lambda 9/19 becomes increasingly unreliable as it ages and the Lambda SPX solution fails on some computers. Eventually, your only solution is to purchase a new unit.

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