Bioptechs FCS3 User Manual

FCS3 Micro-Environmental Chamber Instructions

Chamber

The chamber is shipped without glass components installed.

To open the chamber, turn the knurled lid counterclockwise with respect to the dovetailed base. Remove the keyed
pressure plate made of PEEK™.
The following components of the chamber can be autoclaved: dovetailed chamber base, all gaskets, coverslips, and the
knurled top.

Loading the Chamber

1. Attach inow and outow perfusion lines to the 14ga needles.

2. Hold the dovetailed chamber base in the upright orientation as shown and place the lower gasket (.75mm
thick) into the recess while aligning the perfusion clearance holes with the perfusion tubes.

3. Place a microaqueduct slide, groove side up, onto the gasket and oriented such that the perfusion tubes
align with the holes in the microaqueduct slide.

4. Select an upper gasket of the appropriate thickness and internal geometry for your experiment on the
microaqeduct slide and press in place.

5. Place the 40mm coverslip (cell side down) on top of the gasket.

6. Place the PEEK pressure plate on top of the coverslip (wide edge down) oriented in a manner to engage
the two recesses on the perimeter of the base.

7. Screw the knurled chamber top onto the dovetailed chamber base thus compressing the gaskets to the
optical components.

8. Plug in the 4-pin connector to the back of the chamber; orientation does not matter (non-polarized).

9. Rotate the locking lever fully counter clockwise then place the chamber into the stage adapter with the
4-pin plug facing away from you and the dovetail engaging the adapter plate.

10. Turn the locking lever clockwise to engage and secure the chamber to the stage adapter plate.

11. Plug the rainbow colored wire into the controller (6 Pin mini DIN) and follow the controller instructions.

3560 Beck Road • Butler, PA 16002 • Voice: 724-282-7145 • Fax: [phone] • E-mail: [e-mail] • Web: www.bioptechs.com

3560 Beck Road • Butler, PA 16002 • Voice: 724-282-7145 • Fax: [phone] • E-mail: [e-mail] • Web: www.bioptechs.com

Before You Begin:

• Check to make sure there is no visible damage in shipment and save all packing materials.

• The Controller box should contain; controller, power cord, 2.5mm screwdriver, 1/8” jack, and 3 pin mini

DIN connector.

• Check the packing list and call your supplier if there are any discrepancies.

The FCS3 is comprised of three main parts. An electronic controller, the chamber (optical cell cavity) and
the stage adapter that supports the chamber on the microscope.

Controller:

Front Panel of FCS2 & FCS3 Controller

Numeric Display should be illuminated when the controller is turned on. If it does not light, check the main

power source, then the fuse block located in the power input module where the AC power cord plugs in.

Display Selector is the black button adjacent to the display. It selects the source of the information displayed.
When the controller is turned on, the default condition is to display the setpoint value indicated by the red light
adjacent to the word Setpoint. The button selects one of a sequence of display options. This button can be
pressed at any time and has no effect on the temperature regulation functions of the controller.

Display Lights indicate the source of the value displayed on the numeric display.

Setpoint is adjusted by a potentiometer accessible with the 2.5mm screwdriver provided. To adjust the setpoint

set the numeric display to Setpoint, then adjust the potentiometer to the desired value. If you need to change
the setpoint value during your experiment on a routine basis there is a remote setpoint jack on the back of the
controller. See Remote Setpoint.

Slide is the location where the calibration of the circuit reading the Microaqueduct Slide can be adjusted.

Chamber is the location where the calibration of the circuit reading the Chamber can be adjusted.

Reset (Red Button) resets the controller if the alarm sounds. Note: If the alarm went off there must have been a

reason. Check the chamber before resetting the controller.

Calibrate substitutes precision resistors into the circuit that reads the thermistors so that calibration adjustments
can be made to a known value.

3560 Beck Road • Butler, PA 16002 • Voice: 724-282-7145 • Fax: [phone] • E-mail: [e-mail] • Web: www.bioptechs.com