[[!meta  title="Grr MultiModes"]]
[[!meta  date="2008-07-07 18:54:09"]]

There was some trouble with tapping-mode imaging this morning, and
with Prof.  Yang's help things seem to be straightened out now.  I
tried both NanoScopes with both [[MultiModes|MultiMode]] (we have two
*nominally* identical systems), but had not bothered to swap heads.
As it turned out, we had been using the infrared head (we have three
heads), which wasn't working.  Not that that was the only problem.  As
it turned out, tapping seems to be working with the combination

    NanoScope 2 -- MultiMode 1 -- Head 1 or 2

As far as I can tell, the problem is generating the voltage for the
piezo that vibrates the cantilever, which seems to take place on the
[[MultiMode main board|MultiMode/internals]].  Unless something is
seriously wrong with the NanoScope, it shouldn't matter which
NanoScope we use.  I suppose I should trace the NanoScope-MultiMode
communication in both cases and look for something different.

I've no idea how generating a tunable sine wave can be so complicated.
The simple solution is to stick to *modular* equipment with
open-standard, easily-accessible communication between them, but I
don't have time to develop a system like that.  Some day I will give
up on NanoScope troubleshooting and build a [GXSM
system](http://gxsm.sourceforge.net/).

[[!tag tags/hardware]]