SIGMA BM-286A - Manual (Page 11)

3. OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS page 8
Model BM-286A
3.2. POWER-UP AND SELF-TESTS
The main power switch is located on the left hand side of the BM-286A. When the instrument is
turned on the computer performs a Power-On Self-Test (POST) which checks and initializes the
system hardware. At the end of this test, an audible ’beep’ is sounded. If the beep fails to sound
during start-up, there may be a problem with audible alarms during sample testing.
The operating system (Windows NT) is then loaded from the hard disk. The program can be run
from the Startup Menu under Program Files. If the system fails to power up correctly, try
turning the power switch on the side of the controller module off for a few seconds and then back
on to re-initiate the tests.
Once the computer has successfully completed its tests and the program is executing, the
instrument will display the normal background collection screen. The detector windows should
be gray, and a pop-up window displaying the message "GETTING nn SECOND
BACKGROUND" will appear. The chronograph will show the remaining time of the count.
As soon as the background count is completed (the time is determined by the current entry in the
Set-Up Menu), the operator must log-on before any operations can be preformed. A scale tare is
recommended at this time.
After the scale tare is complete, the blue "READY" window will light, and the current
background in counts per second will be displayed in black text on a blue background. The
detector windows are positioned graphically to indicate which detectors they represent.