We are alive

Rumors abound of the demise of the SIBYLS beamline.
No worries fellow scientists the SIBYLS beamline is fully functional. Although the webpage has not been updated in a couple of months progress is being made on many fronts.
After an extended shutdown of the ALS for major upgrades to the injector and storgae rings we recieved our first “new” light on January 19th. Since then Greg has been working hard to get the SAXS endstation up and running for the upcoming SAXS users. During the shutdown Greg and Michal made many improvements and additions to both the hardware and software of the SAXS endstation. Maybe I can get Greg to give a little press release when he gets time.
I have also been working diligently on many improvements to the PX endstation including a major upgrade to the beamline operating software, installation of a sample automounting robot, new computers, updated linux releases, dual monitors for the user workstation (one for keeping and eye on data colelction and a second for performing/monitoring your data analysis).
Before the shutdown we were using BLU-ICE version 3.0; we are now using version 5.0. This new version, in addition to having numerous new whiz-bang features, also provides an easier path to future upgrades so we will not be left in the dust as development of BLU-ICE continues at the SSRL.
One of the key features of BLU-ICE 5.0 is the addition of a screening tab to allow automated screening of crystals in combination with the sample automounting system (the robot). Although the robot installation is still in progress the software to support it are almost entirely in place.