Introduction

The Bruker Tracer5 Tracer 5 pXRF makes contact elemental measurements on section halves and prepared powder mounts. The device emits a primary X-Ray beam that bombards the material and excites electrons. The movement of electrons emits secondary fluorescent radiation that is measured by a detector in the device. These energy patterns are characteristic to elements and determine what is present.
The Tracer5 Tracer 5 pXRF can be run either independently or through an attached pc laptop. The Bruker RemoteCtrl software mirrors what is present on the screen of the Tracer5 and all functions are the same. 

Before you begin: The instrument generates X-rays and should be only operated by authorized users trained in radiation safety. Do not expose any part of your body to X-rays!

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Place a fully charged battery into the Tracer5 by opening the bottom of the handle. Alternatively, insert the AC adapter labeled ‘pXRF Power Cord’ into the power port under the front of the device below the screen (Fig. 1, B) and plug the cord into a regulated power outlet.

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Note: The device can be used on its own or it can be connected to a laptop and, using the program BrukerRemoteCtrl Bruker RemoteCtrl , the device screen will be mirrored on the laptop. On the laptop, log in using the daq profile (Name: daq, Password: daq). Once logged in, connect the device to the laptop using the USB cord labeled ‘pXRF to computer cord’ connected to the device in the USB Mini-B port (Fig. 1, D).

Turn on the Tracer5 by pressing and holding for the power button for 1-2 seconds (Fig. 1, Left) and the device will initialize.

Open the BrukerRemoteCtrl RemoteCtrl program found on the desktop and select ‘File’ and ‘Connect’. A smaller window will open and the device’s serial number will appear in the box (Fig. 2). Highlight the serial number and select ‘OK’.

The following screens and functions can be accessed on the device itself or using BrukerRemoteCtrlRemoteCtrl.

Once the Login screen appears (Fig. 3, Left), select the ‘Login’ button, enter the password (54321) (Fig. 3, Center) and select ‘Ok’. A radiation warning will be displayed, press and release the trigger to acknowledge this warning.

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Click 'OK' in the lower left corner of the screen. The display will return to the main display screen.

Fill out the LogSheet Log Sheet 

Remember to manually fill out the LogSheet Log Sheet as you are editing the sample information. For the current version of the logsheetlog sheet, do not worry about the Run#, this will be automatically assigned and you can fill that in after the measurement starts. It is important to fill in the Time (in UTC) as this will help the X-Ray technician match up the sample with the measurement and correct any errors, if any, before uploading the data. The most important information is the sample TextID and the Offset (if from a SHLF) as these are unique values needed to upload the data to LIMS.

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There are 2 ways to initiate a scan:

If the device is connected to the laptop

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select ‘Trigger Pull (F6)’ along the top of the BrukerRemoteCtrl program window or press the F6 key on the laptop keyboard. The measurement will begin and continue until finished. Note: If the device is moved away from the sample, the measurement will stop!

If you are not connected the laptop, you simply press the device to the sample, the proximity sensor will detect a sample and the device will be armed for measurement. Press and release the trigger. The measurement will begin and continue until finished. Note: If the device is moved away from the sample, the measurement will stop!

A beep will sound when the device has finished measuring and the device can be moved away from the sample or repositioned for the next measurement. At this point, the previous measurement’s data has been stored and added to the results file.

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Note: The internal memory of the device is only 512MB (~1200 scans)! Therefore, the internal memory may need to be cleaned up several times an expedition to prevent locking up the device’s onboard computer. Additionally, it is important to keep the number of files in the Data folder of the USB The X-ray technician will take care of this, but keep this in mind if you are performing a lot of measurements!

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