Tip Pickup Failure

I know this was years ago, but just answering for others. You would need to provide more information in order to resolve this issue. You have an 8-tip Varispan? Are all tips not getting picked up or is it just a few? If it is only a few you need to make sure that the tip adapters are aligned. There is a test within the software to do this. If they are not aligned, what you can try first is checking each tip adapter. It helps to disable power to the motors to do this so you can move the arm and the Z rods freely. You can do this either by powering the instrument off or taking control of each motor in the 'Janus Utilities' app in the bin folder (this app is extremely helpful for troubleshooting FYI). Spread the Z rods apart so you can check each one easily. Loosen the screws on the black plastic part that holds the VersaTip adapters in place. You might have to rotate them a bit to get them to align properly. Then tighten the screws, power everything up, and check the alignment again. If you can't get them aligned this way, then it is likely that you bent the Z rod/racks to the tips that are having trouble. Maybe someone accidentally crashed the arm lately? It doesn't take much to bend these; they are very delicate. And unfortunately very expensive (~$500 each last time I checked). There's really not much you can do if they are bent. Bending them back into place is not really an option. So to summarize, check the alignment, try to adjust the tip adapters manually, and check for bent Z rods/racks. Also, play around with which tip you use for calibrating the deck. You have the option of either tip 2 or 7. Overtime, the tip adpaters do get misaligned/bent - it just happens. So usually, one tip is better than the other at providing an accurate calibration for all 8 of them. You might also need to adjust the parameters in the actual tipbox labware as well to get it to work (this should be a last resort). Good luck!