Hi, our research group is using an older Olympus FV1000 confocal microscope and an BX-UCB Olympus control box. Today, an error message appeared stating ‘failed in changing light path. please confirm the state of H/W’. The control box is flashing red on the ‘error’ and blinking over the ‘NP’ tab. We haven’t been able to fix this problem - any ideas on what is going wrong here? What does the state of H/W refer to? Thanks for the help 
Oh, that sounds frustrating. I don’t have direct experience with this error, but it sounds like a component involved in switching from eyepieces to confocal imaging is either (a) not moving to the correct place or (b) the sensor that confirms it has moved to the right place has failed. Given the blinking on the control box, my first guess is (a). The microscope configuration (upright or inverted) confocal scanhead mounting location on the microscope will determine what parts need to move.
- On an inverted microscope with a side-mounted scan head, a prism within the microscope body moves to change between the eyepieces and confocal imaging. There is also a position within the fluorescence filter turret that is required to ensure there’s an open hole.
- On an inverted microscope with a back-mounted scanhead, it’s usually a specific position in the fluroescence filter turret with a mirror for the confocal.
- On an upright microscope, there is a specific position in the filterwheel and either a prism or a shutter to prevent laser from getting to the eyepiece.
To troubleshoot this, I would reboot the hardware but leave the software unloaded. Then use the manual controls for the microscope on the body or remote pad to see what causes the control box to blink.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Hi, I appreciate the feedback. Definitely frustrating. As soon as I turn on the microscope, it beeps loudly and the control box starts to blink red for ‘error.’ None of the controls on the remote pad work and it’s easy to leave the software unloaded because it can’t load due to the error message coming up. Any additional thoughts? Thanks again !
The BX-UCB is the control box for the microscope stand itself.
Based on the manual (I found a version here by googling “olympus microscope controller BX-UCB”):
· NP: Lights when the specified motorized revolving nosepiece is attached
So something isn’t right about the objective nosepiece. Do you typically move the objectives by hand or with the software/remote pad? If it’s motorized, I would suspect (a) the connection has failed in some way (check all the cable connections), (b) the motor is dead, (c) there is too much resistance on the motor so it’s throwing an error to protect itself from burning out (easy to happen with older systems when the lubrication starts to dry out), or (d) something else I haven’t encountered yet. With all the power to the system turned off, check if you can move the nosepiece by hand.
Hi, thanks for the help! We finally figured out the error. Nearby construction / demolition of our research building had loosened the objective nosepiece ever so slightly. Once we snapped it into place, everything was back to normal. Whew!! Such a small thing that we missed