Gamry Interface 5000, Operator'S Manual

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Appendix C: I/O Connectors
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Master: The Master potentiostat provides the clock signal used for all potentiostats and provides data-
acquisition pulses used to control the timing of A/D conversion. All synchronous multiple-potentiostat systems
have only one Master.
Serf: A Serf potentiostat gets its timing information from a Master potentiostat. A multiple-potentiostat system
can have up to seven Serf potentiostats all controlled by one Master.
A special cable is used to connect the instruments that will be synchronized. The cable has a Master connector
on one end and a variable number of Serf connectors.
Gamry sells three standard Master-Serf cables:
•
985-00132 One Master and one Serf
•
985-00133 One Master and up to three Serfs
•
985-00134 One Master and up to seven Serfs
All of these cables have the Master end of the cable identified by a large M on the DIN connector. A cable may
be used with some instruments missing, so the eight-instrument Master-Serf cable may be used for one Serf,
two Serfs, three Serfs,..., seven Serfs.
The Master-Serf connection scheme sends a 24 MHz complex clock signal from the Master to the Serfs using a
daisy-chained low-voltage differential signal (LVDS). Data-acquisition pulses are embedded in the clock signal.
DC pins in the DIN connector are used to detect all cable connections, and, most importantly, detect the
Master end of the cable.
Monitor Connector
The Monitor Connector is located on the Interface 5000 Front Panel. It is a 9-pin round mini-DIN connector.
One possible mating connector is from CUI Inc., part number MD-90. The pin-out signals of the Monitor
Connector are provided in Table C-2.
We recommend that you always plug the Master and last Serf ends of the cable into a
potentiostat. You may leave the DIN connectors in the middle of the cable disconnected.
Use only Gamry-supplied cables for all Master-Serf synchronized systems. The cable uses a
differential pair that requires controlled impedance, making user-construction of a cable very difficult.