Merlin has been involved with the implementation of the Perkin-Elmer Ozone Precursor System since its earliest implementation in the State of Texas Coastal Oxidant Assessment for Southeast Texas (COAST) program in 1994. Merlin’s services encompass all aspects of the site operation. We provide operator training and application assistance covering topics from Microsoft Windows operation to Gas Chromatographic theory. Merlin has customized the installation of hardware and software configured and optimized to operate co-operatively in the Windows environment and produce a robust application capable of continuous unattended field operation. We provide the user with certification data which details the individual system performance at the time of start-up including background, detection limits, precision and linearity. Once configured for robust operation in this fashion, data recoveries are routinely 90 - 95%.

The Merlin Ozone Precursor Application has been developed to enhance the analysis of VOC Ozone Precursors. The basis for our application is the Perkin-Elmer Continuous VOC Analyzer System. Comprised of a custom blending of the P-E hardware, PE Nelson (Turbochrom) Software and Merlin Automation Software and hardware, this application is designed to automate many of the day to day site activities, freeing valuable staff resources for system evaluation and data validation.

Merlins’ software creates unique (dos) file names for each hourly data file. Utilizing these names to automate data archiving and file transfer allow the system to operate with minimal intervention freeing up operator time for data evaluation. It also provides uniquely identifiable file names to reduce the time needed to locate specific files and reduce potential data losses. Additionally we optimize the DOS system files and the directory tree to provide structure necessary for the automated environment. All installation, configuration, final testing and third party software products integral to the automation process are included.