PE Ultraview Confocal Service Contract and camera upgrade

[Erika Wee-2]

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Hello all,

It's been really a terrible experience to negotiate the service contact with PE, we simply asking them to provide us a clear list of what parts are still available and will be continue supported for the gold coverage. All they were saying is it will be "best effort" but list of the parts available. Now service engineer just confirmed that PE will be no longer effectively service any and all Ultraview systems. They can only offer best effort billable service.  

I am talking to both Quorum technology and Morrell Instrument at the moment to find a solution to upgrade the Hamamatsu R2 CCD on our Ultraview to the ORCA fusion sCMOS or the PRIME 95B, depends on which camera works the best with the Volocity software. All resources are recommending the Fusion, but it may not be compatible with the Volocity.  I am worried that the PRIME 95B pixel size will be too big for 20X and 40X, adding a 1.2x lens will help but it's still not optimal.

If you have an Ultraview system, I would really appreciate to hear from you, any information would be really helpful.

Many thanks.
Best,
Erika
[hidden email]

[Erika Wee-2]

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To clarify, PE responded that "there is no list that shows all the parts for that instrument that are considered service parts for a Gold Coverage service contract renewal." So after many email exchanges about the coverage, they change to their respond to "NO longer effectively service any and all Ultraview systems. We can only offer best effort billable service."

Any suggestion about maintaining the Ultraview system would be really appreciated.

Best,
Erika

[Julio MATEOS_LANGERAK]

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Dear all,

We are having a very similar experience with GE and our OMX-V4. It is basically non-negotiable with large companies. Just a best-effort 5 years after purchasing the system.

My take here is that, the only way to deal with these issues i to negotiate them up front and include them in the tender. If they do not commit to provide a proper after-sale service, we just don't but their system.

Best, Julio
________________________________
From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> on behalf of Erika Wee <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, November 7, 2019 6:54 PM
To: [hidden email] <[hidden email]>
Subject: PE Ultraview Confocal Service Contract and camera upgrade

*****
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Hello all,

It's been really a terrible experience to negotiate the service contact with PE, we simply asking them to provide us a clear list of what parts are still available and will be continue supported for the gold coverage. All they were saying is it will be "best effort" but list of the parts available. Now service engineer just confirmed that PE will be no longer effectively service any and all Ultraview systems. They can only offer best effort billable service.

I am talking to both Quorum technology and Morrell Instrument at the moment to find a solution to upgrade the Hamamatsu R2 CCD on our Ultraview to the ORCA fusion sCMOS or the PRIME 95B, depends on which camera works the best with the Volocity software. All resources are recommending the Fusion, but it may not be compatible with the Volocity.  I am worried that the PRIME 95B pixel size will be too big for 20X and 40X, adding a 1.2x lens will help but it's still not optimal.

If you have an Ultraview system, I would really appreciate to hear from you, any information would be really helpful.

Many thanks.
Best,
Erika
[hidden email]

[Gary Laevsky]

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Hi Erika,

Your path forward depends on the amount of money you want to spend up front
or over time.

We moved on from the exact same system.

We saved the stand, disc, filter wheel, and camera (although ultimately we
changed the camera to a Flash (we use a Zyla on our other disc) no
commercial interest in either).

We threw out the control box.  The only cable we kept was the serial-25 pin
connector to talk to the disc directly via the PC (pinout and commands are
available).  The sync is over-rated, you can just tweak the camera exposure
to get rid of the artifact.

You would have to buy a laser launch, Toptica (no interest) has some really
nice reasonably priced turn-key options.  And a filter wheel controller.

We also switched to Elements (no interest).

We did this about 6 years ago, and the system has performed flawlessly
(saving all the money from the service contract, and spending it up front
on the components).

Happy to chat about this offline with you.  Pretty simple really.

Good luck.

On Fri, Nov 8, 2019 at 5:25 AM Julio MATEOS_LANGERAK <
[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear all,
>
> We are having a very similar experience with GE and our OMX-V4. It is
> basically non-negotiable with large companies. Just a best-effort 5 years
> after purchasing the system.
>
> My take here is that, the only way to deal with these issues i to
> negotiate them up front and include them in the tender. If they do not
> commit to provide a proper after-sale service, we just don't but their
> system.
>
> Best, Julio
> ________________________________
> From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> on
> behalf of Erika Wee <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Thursday, November 7, 2019 6:54 PM
> To: [hidden email] <[hidden email]>
> Subject: PE Ultraview Confocal Service Contract and camera upgrade
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Hello all,
>
> It's been really a terrible experience to negotiate the service contact
> with PE, we simply asking them to provide us a clear list of what parts are
> still available and will be continue supported for the gold coverage. All
> they were saying is it will be "best effort" but list of the parts
> available. Now service engineer just confirmed that PE will be no longer
> effectively service any and all Ultraview systems. They can only offer best
> effort billable service.
>
> I am talking to both Quorum technology and Morrell Instrument at the
> moment to find a solution to upgrade the Hamamatsu R2 CCD on our Ultraview
> to the ORCA fusion sCMOS or the PRIME 95B, depends on which camera works
> the best with the Volocity software. All resources are recommending the
> Fusion, but it may not be compatible with the Volocity.  I am worried that
> the PRIME 95B pixel size will be too big for 20X and 40X, adding a 1.2x
> lens will help but it's still not optimal.
>
> If you have an Ultraview system, I would really appreciate to hear from
> you, any information would be really helpful.
>
> Many thanks.
> Best,
> Erika
> [hidden email]
>

--
Best,

Gary Laevsky, Ph.D.
Director, Confocal Imaging Facility
Nikon Center of Excellence
Co-Founder, North Atlantic Microscopy Society (NAMS)
https://namsmicroscopy.com/
Dept. of Molecular Biology
Washington Rd.
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey, 08544-1014
(O) 609 258 5432
(C) 508 507 1310

North Atlantic Microscopy Society Annual Meeting at Princeton University,
Nov. 1, 2019.

[Erika Wee-2]

*****
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*****

Dear Julio,

I agree. We also have the OMX V3 in our facility. Knock on the wood, and hope for the best.

Best,
Erika

[Erika Wee-2]

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*****

Thank you so much Gary for the detailed info, that's supper helpful.

I will contact you soon to chat a bit more offline.

Many thanks again.
Best,
Erika

[McDonald, David L-2]

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Hi Erika,

We have almost the exact same system and are also completely moving on.

Stared having PC problems almost 2 years ago and purchased a PC upgrade and PM service.  The engineer opened up the PC and discovered the boards were not compatible with the new PC and basically left.  We have been keeping the old PC barely running but it has finally given up.  We are throwing in the towel since we are looking at purchasing a new SD anyway.  We'll likely sell off anything salvageable from the old system.

Good luck,

Dave

Dave McDonald
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Scientific Imaging Lab, DE-512
1100 Fairview Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
206-667-4205
[hidden email]


-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Gary Laevsky
Sent: Friday, November 8, 2019 6:03 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: PE Ultraview Confocal Service Contract and camera upgrade

*****
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Post images on https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.imgur.com&d=DwIBaQ&c=eRAMFD45gAfqt84VtBcfhQ&r=GHyloYB94wDqTt4rdLolfxdTOMi2V4YP4vEWIp-g9Uw&m=DrMhX-e-vifFyIuWWgZzWkt2VeM_Mx3jQ-8rMeD54mM&s=tbz3cMPPbVloJCHUjLxUqqZ5WzlLbQ7If5UfGTxkEAc&e=  and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi Erika,

Your path forward depends on the amount of money you want to spend up front or over time.

We moved on from the exact same system.

We saved the stand, disc, filter wheel, and camera (although ultimately we changed the camera to a Flash (we use a Zyla on our other disc) no commercial interest in either).

We threw out the control box.  The only cable we kept was the serial-25 pin connector to talk to the disc directly via the PC (pinout and commands are available).  The sync is over-rated, you can just tweak the camera exposure to get rid of the artifact.

You would have to buy a laser launch, Toptica (no interest) has some really nice reasonably priced turn-key options.  And a filter wheel controller.

We also switched to Elements (no interest).

We did this about 6 years ago, and the system has performed flawlessly (saving all the money from the service contract, and spending it up front on the components).

Happy to chat about this offline with you.  Pretty simple really.

Good luck.

On Fri, Nov 8, 2019 at 5:25 AM Julio MATEOS_LANGERAK < [hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.umn.edu_cgi-
> 2Dbin_wa-3FA0-3Dconfocalmicroscopy&d=DwIBaQ&c=eRAMFD45gAfqt84VtBcfhQ&r
> =GHyloYB94wDqTt4rdLolfxdTOMi2V4YP4vEWIp-g9Uw&m=DrMhX-e-vifFyIuWWgZzWkt
> 2VeM_Mx3jQ-8rMeD54mM&s=7ka9AXlI0RzkD6frz1eH-vt1d-DZeM3eZJMbDth5QN4&e=
> Post images on https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.imgur.com&d=DwIBaQ&c=eRAMFD45gAfqt84VtBcfhQ&r=GHyloYB94wDqTt4rdLolfxdTOMi2V4YP4vEWIp-g9Uw&m=DrMhX-e-vifFyIuWWgZzWkt2VeM_Mx3jQ-8rMeD54mM&s=tbz3cMPPbVloJCHUjLxUqqZ5WzlLbQ7If5UfGTxkEAc&e=  and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear all,
>
> We are having a very similar experience with GE and our OMX-V4. It is
> basically non-negotiable with large companies. Just a best-effort 5
> years after purchasing the system.
>
> My take here is that, the only way to deal with these issues i to
> negotiate them up front and include them in the tender. If they do not
> commit to provide a proper after-sale service, we just don't but their
> system.
>
> Best, Julio
> ________________________________
> From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> on
> behalf of Erika Wee <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Thursday, November 7, 2019 6:54 PM
> To: [hidden email]
> <[hidden email]>
> Subject: PE Ultraview Confocal Service Contract and camera upgrade
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.umn.edu_cgi-
> 2Dbin_wa-3FA0-3Dconfocalmicroscopy&d=DwIBaQ&c=eRAMFD45gAfqt84VtBcfhQ&r
> =GHyloYB94wDqTt4rdLolfxdTOMi2V4YP4vEWIp-g9Uw&m=DrMhX-e-vifFyIuWWgZzWkt
> 2VeM_Mx3jQ-8rMeD54mM&s=7ka9AXlI0RzkD6frz1eH-vt1d-DZeM3eZJMbDth5QN4&e=
> Post images on https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.imgur.com&d=DwIBaQ&c=eRAMFD45gAfqt84VtBcfhQ&r=GHyloYB94wDqTt4rdLolfxdTOMi2V4YP4vEWIp-g9Uw&m=DrMhX-e-vifFyIuWWgZzWkt2VeM_Mx3jQ-8rMeD54mM&s=tbz3cMPPbVloJCHUjLxUqqZ5WzlLbQ7If5UfGTxkEAc&e=  and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Hello all,
>
> It's been really a terrible experience to negotiate the service
> contact with PE, we simply asking them to provide us a clear list of
> what parts are still available and will be continue supported for the
> gold coverage. All they were saying is it will be "best effort" but
> list of the parts available. Now service engineer just confirmed that
> PE will be no longer effectively service any and all Ultraview
> systems. They can only offer best effort billable service.
>
> I am talking to both Quorum technology and Morrell Instrument at the
> moment to find a solution to upgrade the Hamamatsu R2 CCD on our
> Ultraview to the ORCA fusion sCMOS or the PRIME 95B, depends on which
> camera works the best with the Volocity software. All resources are
> recommending the Fusion, but it may not be compatible with the
> Volocity.  I am worried that the PRIME 95B pixel size will be too big
> for 20X and 40X, adding a 1.2x lens will help but it's still not optimal.
>
> If you have an Ultraview system, I would really appreciate to hear
> from you, any information would be really helpful.
>
> Many thanks.
> Best,
> Erika
> [hidden email]
>

--
Best,

Gary Laevsky, Ph.D.
Director, Confocal Imaging Facility
Nikon Center of Excellence
Co-Founder, North Atlantic Microscopy Society (NAMS) https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__namsmicroscopy.com_&d=DwIBaQ&c=eRAMFD45gAfqt84VtBcfhQ&r=GHyloYB94wDqTt4rdLolfxdTOMi2V4YP4vEWIp-g9Uw&m=DrMhX-e-vifFyIuWWgZzWkt2VeM_Mx3jQ-8rMeD54mM&s=8PLm-PbkOy0M8rbIKADIWaRZjlSvGvbFSFcteqhj9lk&e=
Dept. of Molecular Biology
Washington Rd.
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey, 08544-1014
(O) 609 258 5432
(C) 508 507 1310

North Atlantic Microscopy Society Annual Meeting at Princeton University, Nov. 1, 2019.