Dear M. HINSHAW,

I'm always interested by your articles in LCGC. But recently, I was surprised by the lack of precision when speaking of fast & comprehensive
GC & GCMS. In an article in LCGC (2002), you demonstrated the importance of the filter time
constant for GC detectors when using fast or ultrafast columns. In your last articles speaking
about such techniques, no comment was made on this parameter ... We know that no apparatus on
the market except the GC2010 from SHIMADZU has a variable value of the filter time constant. So,
what is your opinion about all the publication on
comprehensive GCxGC ?

Sincerely,

Dear S Moreau,

For my current work, I need to know what are the fastest GC detectors on the market. I also appreciate the importance of what you call "a variable value of the filter time constant" (I call it a variable width of a detector impulse response). Agilent 6890 GC definitely has this feature. The smallest value of 6890 GC FID time constant (at the data rate of 200 Hz) is about 5 millisecond. I thought that the 6890 GC FID was the fastest detector in commercially available GC instruments. Is my information too old? What is the smallest time constant in Shimadzu GC2010 detectors? I checked the GC2010 literature, but did not find the info regarding the speed of its detectors. Your information on that subject would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

(I left HP more than 5 years ago and currently have no affiliation with HP or Agilent)

Dear M. HINSHAW,

I don't know exactly about the "impulse response" from AGILENT, but the speed of an electronic device is define by "filter time
constant" and the GC2010 is going down to 4 ms.
The frequency for acquisition is also 250 Hz !
we are speaking about 2 parameters !
It seems to be currently the best choice for
fast and comprehensive on the market. If you want
more details, get in touch with Mr BAIER from
SHIMADZU Europe (hub@shimadzu.de). He knows a lot
on the subject.

Sincerely