SeqGen is dedicated to our customers and your machines. Your concerns become our concerns. We have been receiving many emails and phone calls from our customers asking if they have to upgrade their sequencing and fragment analysis software to work on the Windows 7 operating system. Like many major updates with these machines, this can run you a pretty penny, and you’ll want to make sure you actually need the update before you blow your budget.

Seriously, does anyone like to move? There isn’t enough pizza in the world to persuade your “friends” to borrow their pickup truck.  However, SeqGen is hired frequently to move lab equipment, and we love pizza.  We understand the importance of moving quickly and carefully in order to get your business back up and running smoothly as usual. Every move is different, but with each move we have become better equipped for the next.

Your sequencer is stuck at yellow-light status. This means that the machine has not established a connection with the computer.

The famous line “If I only knew then what I know now” can mean a measure of savings down the road when it comes to your instruments.  In our busy lives there is a simple but forgotten cost-saving step, if you’re willing to do some regular maintenance. It may even end up saving you thousands in laser replacement costs or machine down time.

Your machine is manufactured with many interdependent parts that allow it to function properly. The laser is one of the sequencer’s most critical parts enabling you to complete runs, and the air filter could be the key to extending the life of the laser. 

The ABI 3130 and 3730 models have an air filter that helps remove contaminants before they reach the laser.  Between the routine laser maintenance and realignments performed, you can do one simple thing to help your machine: clean the air filter regularly. All you need is a $3 can of air from your local hardware store and the ability to follow these three simple steps.

A SeqGen customer recently contacted us saying that they had noticed a green/blue background during sample runs and water plate runs. They had done a good job of trying to troubleshoot the issue themselves. After many failed attempts and lost time on their project, they threw in the towel and contacted SeqGen for a solution. We thought these troubleshooting efforts would be helpful if ever you experience the same issue.

We all love the MiSeq for the fast turnaround, remarkable data quality and its streamlined workflow. However, from time to time, our trusty machines will have an off day that can throw an elephant-sized wrench into your plans. From time to time, you may notice that you are unable to start your Miseq run because the pre-run flow check is failing.

Many of our users have found that when using water for injections instead of Hi-Di formamide, they end up with issues that prevent base calling, even when following the machine standards. Proper technique should produce signal strengths well above the minimum threshold when samples are resuspended in formamide.

However, if you are still having issues with signal strength, you can try resuspending your samples in water, since this can increase signal strength by over 10x. If you do try employing water for injections, make sure you’re cautious of these three things:

Over the past few years we’ve been bringing you the most common issues and best trouble shooting tips through our blog. There have been all kinds of odd errors for us to work on this year, but we kept seeing these particular problems occur over and over.

Since we love working with our partners in the lab, we wanted to dive into our blogs and bring you the most helpful tips and tricks we could find. So without further ado, here are the 5 most helpful hints we've given out so far.