> Hi All,
>
> I am thinking of upgrading my old 800 catalyst (which right now is just
> a big paper weight) to an 877 Turbo Catalyst. I would like to know your
> experience regarding this model or $15K upgrade. We only do dye
> terminator reactions using both standard M13 primers and custom primers,
> and are using both Taq FS and BigDye kits .
>
> I appreciate very much any suggestions/help.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Ernesto
> ***************************************
> Ernesto C. Almira, Ph.D.
> Director
> DNA Sequencing Core Facility
> The Biotechnology Program
> University of Florida
> 2301 Fifield Hall
> Gainesville, FL 32611-0695
> Voice: (352) 392-6260
> Fax: (352) 392-4072
> e-mail: ernie@biotech.ufl.edu
> web:
> http://www.biotech.ufl.edu/~dseqcl
> ***************************************
Greetings Ernesto:
My facility started out with the 877 Catalyst. After 6 months I was
completely fed up after it randomly crashed about every 2 weeks (each time
something different), had every possible part replaced, and left engineers
scratching their heads. I lost about 250 - 300 samples (they cannot be
retrieved) and was set days behind schedule. We got rid to it and hired a
tech. I have been much happier since. Also, it really wasn't much of a time
saver for us because the majority of our clients use custom primers. It
takes really too long to program unless you only use a few primers.
-- Sheryl Christofferson Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation DNA Sequencing Facility Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (405) 271-7393 www.omrf.ouhsc.edu sherylc@omrf.ouhsc.edu