You know the old saying – hope for the best, but expect the worst. At work and in life, setbacks are inevitable. This is especially true if you work with complex sequencing equipment. But with a little patience, any challenge can be overcome. And today, we’re taking on one of the biggest challenges our end users face: lasers gone bad.
We all know that uneasy, sinking feeling. It’s the end of the week, your machine is failing, and it feels like all is lost. Your plans to have a productive day at work are ruined, and so is your weekend. Sometimes your instrument has a different idea of fun. But that’s why you have SeqGen. Our expert team of service engineers are ready for any malfunction you might encounter. But before you give us a ring, there are a few simple steps you can take to expedite the troubleshooting process.
At SeqGen, we love sharing our best maintenance tips and tricks. The most rewarding part of running this blog is helping you learn more about your sequencer and how to care for it. Over the years, we've helped our end users troubleshoot all kinds of technical difficulties, from leaks to clogs to false error messages. But a lot of the questions we receive from customers circle back to the same problems.
That's why we're diving into our archives this week and pulling our most popular, most requested blogs into one convenient post. After all, the classics never go out of style!
As new technology is developed and introduced to the marketplace, you may have heard a nasty rumor that the manufacturer will no longer be offering support or maintenance on older machines like the ABI 3130/xl Genetic Analyzer, or 7900HT qPCR. You might have even gotten a notice that effectively says that you’ll have to upgrade to a newer model if you want to keep your lab operational. Sure, these machines have improved functionality and can make a lab more efficient, but the bottom line is this unnecessary upgrade is costly and just doesn’t make sense for a lot of labs.
Yes, we all know it’s that time again. New Year’s Resolutions are notoriously hard to keep, however you’ve finally convinced yourself, “This is the year I finally stick with my gym membership past February!” But have you thought about any resolutions for your lab?
If you have an ABI 3130/xl or 7900HT, you’ve probably been asking yourself “What will I do when the OEM stops servicing my machine?” Depending on your labs’ specific situation, it might make sense to go ahead and upgrade to a newer model, but this just doesn’t make sense for a lot of the labs out there.
If you are wondering about ongoing maintenance for your ABI 3130/xl Genetic Analyzer, or 7900HT qPCR, you aren’t alone. Thermofisher has announced that they will discontinue service for these machines in the not too distant future.
As a matter of fact, if you have one of these machines you’ve probably already gotten a notice saying that you’ll have to upgrade your technology if you’d like to continue maintenance. Lucky for you, SeqGen plans on covering these machines for many years to come!
Everyone knows to stop at a red light, slow down for a speed bump, or to walk carefully when there is a “caution, wet floor” sign. Signs are there to give us a hint about what we should do next, and luckily for you, DNA Sequencing machines give you signs to help you out.
Judging from the number of “Out of Office” replies we are receiving these days, it seems that many of you are enjoying some well-deserved time off. You will get the same response from me if you email in the next two weeks! Luckily, the amazing SeqGen team is awaiting your call and can help you with any service issue you may be facing. If you are planning an extended absence, don’t forget to also give your sequencer, PCR, or qPCR machine the proper vacation it needs.
