Installation – Power-up Test
31
Power-up Test
Before you make any other connections to your Reference 3000, check that the Reference 3000 is at least
nominally functional.
One quick test is to power up the Reference 3000 and watch the blue
Power
LED indicator on the front panel
of the Reference 3000 (see Figure
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). After connecting DC power to the
Reference 3000, turn on its rear panel
Power
switch (see Figure 4-2). The
Power
LED should illuminate for a
second or so, flash three times, then remain on. If this sequence doesn’t happen, see Appendix F for a list of
blink codes.
The status of the other LED indicators is not important at this time.
Each flash of the
Power
LED upon startup corresponds to successful conclusion of one portion of the Power
PC’s power-up self-test.
If the
Power
LED goes on, then turns off and stays off, the Reference 3000 is not working properly! Contact
Gamry Instruments or your local Gamry Instruments representative as soon as possible if this power-up test
fails.
USB Cables
The Reference 3000 connects to the computer using a standard High Speed USB A/B cable. A suitable cable
was shipped with your Reference 3000. If this cable is lost, you can get a replacement at almost any computer
retailer. The replacement cable should be rated for USB 2.0 High Speed USB operation.
An A/B USB cable has different connectors on each end. The end with a wider, rectangular connector plugs
into a USB port on your computer (or a similar port on a USB hub). The end with a nearly-square connector
plugs into the USB port on the Reference 3000 (see Figure 4-2).
The USB connection can be “hot-plugged”. This means that both the computer and the Reference 3000 can be
powered up before the USB cable is plugged in. Unlike many other instrument system connections, you need
not power down the system before plugging in the USB.
You may also safely remove the USB cable without powering down the Reference 3000 and your computer. Be
aware however, that this may have undesirable consequences if the system is currently taking data or
performing an electrochemical experiment.
Front Panel USB LED
The front panel
USB
LED provides a simple test of two aspects of normal Reference 3000 USB operation. It has
three
normal
states:
Unlit
The USB cable is disconnected, or the USB connection is disabled by the host computer.
Continuous
green
A valid cable connection has been made and the Reference USB processor is receiving
power from the USB cable.
Flashing yellow
Valid USB messages are being transferred between the computer and the Reference 3000.
Continuous red
A software download is in progress, or a USB communications error.
The flashing state only occurs when Gamry Instruments application software is running.
The firmware update process is described later in this chapter.
