Bio-Rad SmartSpec Plus Spectrophotometer - Manual (Page 10)

4.2 Setup
When the SmartSpec Plus is not carrying out an assay, you can enter the Setup routine
by pressing Setup. To proceed through Setup without changing the current setting, press
Enter. Most of the current settings can be changed by pressing Select until you see your
desired choice; sometimes you have to use the number pad to change an entry. In either
case, press Enter after the selection is made. When you have gone all the way through
Setup, SmartSpec Plus will automatically return to Home screen. You can exit Setup at any
time by pressing Cancel. When you exit Setup, all changes will be saved.
In Setup you can specify the following:
1. Language
2. Pathlength
3. Background compensation for DNA/RNA measurements.
4. Default type of nucleic acid.
5. Default method to determine DNA and RNA oligonucleotide molar extinction
coefficient and molecular weight.
6. Default number of sample replicates.
7. New operator name.
8. Current operator.
9. Serial port export.
10. Current time.
11. Current date.
12. Time display mode.
13. Date display mode.
14. Performance validation
1. Language. SmartSpec Plus may display one of six different languages on its LCD
screen. After pressing the Setup key, you can choose from: English(Eng),
French(Fra), German(Deu), Italian(Ita), Spanish(Esp) or Japanese.
English is the default language and will be automatically selected if no choice is made.
If another language is selected, once you exit Setup all changes will be saved and the
instrument will display the selected language until changed in the Setup.
2. Pathlength. The pathlength describes the distance that the light travels as it passes
through the sample, and is the same as the width of the cuvette. By using a cuvette with
a shorter pathlength, you can measure the absorbance of more concentrated solutions.
The relationship between absorbance, path length and sample concentration is described
by Beer’s law where
A = εbc
A is the absorbance, ε the molar extinction coefficient in liter/mole/cm, b the path-
length in cm and c the concentration in moles/liter.
Pressing Select once will change the screen to
As you continue pressing Select, the choices change to 2 mm and then 1 mm.
7
Select Pathlength:
>=Help 10 mm
Select Pathlength:
>=Help 5 mm