Help! My Agera is not recognizing my port plate and gives me error of invalid port plate.

A new port plate sensor design is used in Agera with serial number of AGR00477 and above. The sensor board and the port plate is updated as well. The old design has an optical sensor where as the new design has the magnetic sensor. If you have the new sensors (serial number >=00477), please keep using the updated port plate. If you have the older sensors (serial number <00477) and need to use the new port plate, please check with support@hunterlab.com to update the sensor board.  

Here are the part numbers of port plates used with old and new port plate design: 

Description

AGR00100-476

AGR00477+

Standard 2" Port Plate

D02-1018-483

D02-1020-139

Standard 1" Port Plate

D02-1018-548

D02-1020-140

Standard 5/8" Port Plate

D02-1018-549

D02-1020-141

Sample Cup 2" Port Plate

D02-1018-615

D02-1020-460

Glass 2" Port Plate

D02-1019-010

D02-1020-463

Glass 1" Port Plate

D02-1019-102

D02-1020-465

Glass 5/8" Port Plate

D02-1019-104

D02-1020-467

If the port plate is correct but Agera Essentials still could not recognize the port plate, please go to WORKSPACE menu > DIAGNOSTICS > ADVANCED DIAGNOSTICS. Place the port plate on the Agera, then click "PORT PLATE" in advanced diagnostics. This will show the detected signal in data view at the right side of this dialog.

Here is the general list of port plates: 

For all the standard 2''/1''/0.625'' port plates, the gloss detection is enabled.

LAV​ standard port plate : index 0001 Green-Red-Red
MAV standard port plate: index 0004 Red-Red-Green
SAV standard port plate: index 0002 Red-Green-Red

The port plate with gloss disabled (PP index 0003, 0005, 0006) can be detected correctly when Agera has

Essentials Rev1.01.0062 and above and Firmware V1.10.19.239A and above. Essentials and firmware version can be checked at AGERA ESSENTIALS > ABOUT > INFO.

If Agera has Essentials version lower than Rev1.01,0062, please download the latest Agera Essentials and upgrade. 

If you need to use these special port plates (PP index 0003, 0005, 0006) while the Agera has the older firmware version, please contact us support@hunterlab.com. In this case, the instrument needs to ship back to Service for a firmware upgrade. 

For an optical sensor with old port plate sensor design: When a wrong port plate index is detected in Agera Essentials (DIAGNOSTICS > ADVANCED DIAGNOSTICS), please check the back side of the port plate to make sure that all the three dots are placed correctly and there are no scratches on them. The following is a picture of the 2'' standard port plate, there are three dots, #1 white, #2 black, and #3 black.

If any of the white/black dots become scratched or dirty, a wrong port plate index could be detected. The new system uses magnets instead of stickers to avoid damaged dots. If these dots are placed correctly and not damaged while a wrong port plate index is still reported, the cause might be bad dot detectors in the Agera. 

Do you still need more information? Submit a ticket and our support team member will reach out to you soon!