1. Open glass door covering the plotter and place pen in right holder in plotter.

2. Plug in water-cooling unit and voltage stabilizer.

3. Turn on power for diffractometer.

4. Switch goniometer to "STOP" and light will go out.

5. Place in glass slide or sample holder, with sample on the side facing you.

6. Unlock goniometer with release lever and move goniometer with arm behind the detector.

N.B.: Do not move the goniometer by the cylindrical detector, as this could misalign the X-ray detector and source.

7. Move goniometer to approximate desired starting 2q_max value; a typical value is 50° (2q).

8. Release lever and move goniometer with lever until it locks into position.

9. Push rate selector knob to N (neutral) and adjust goniometer position, with the zero knob, to exact desired starting 2q_max value. Pull rate selector back out to 2°/min (note: 1/2°/min setting does note function).

10. Close cover and lock handle.

11. Set range to ideal value; 500 cps if not known. The range attenuates the signal and represents the vertical intensity range that appears on the plotter. Therefore, the signal will be twice the height on 500 cps versus 1000 cps, for example.

12. Turn on plotter and push pen to down position (in contact with paper). Switch plotter to fast speed and advance paper until the pen is on a thick grid line. Mark paper by varying position and/or write 2q_max value on bottom of paper. Position pen ~10 to 20% to the right of the leftmost setting (intensity increases to the right).

13. Turn on X-ray.

14. Turn on HV (high voltage).

15. Turn on goniometer (up) and plotter on slow speed (down) at the same time.

16. The goniometer automatically stops at 2.5° (2q).

17. The paper does not – be nearby to stop the paper in the appropriate time [minutes = (2q_max-2.5)/2].

1. Turn off plotter.

2. Turn off HV supply.

3. Turn off X-ray source. You can now remove your sample.

4. N.B.: Remove and recap the plotter pen.

5. N.B.: Allow water to run for at least 5 additional minutes and then unplug water-cooling unit and voltage stabilizer.

6. Be sure to note the date, sample info and range on the printout.  Write the 2q values on the x-axis.