Confidence in detection performance begins with instrument readiness. What that takes - calibration, functional verification or a product-specific check - differs across HT-Nova's detection technologies and products.
HT-Nova products are built on different detection technologies - ion mobility spectrometry, photoionization, gas chromatography, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence, bioaerosol sensing and radiation measurement among them - and are supplied as sensor modules, handheld instruments, vehicle-mounted equipment and integrated systems. They do not share one readiness procedure, one interval or one set of reference materials, and this page does not present them as though they did.
Read what follows as a description of the kinds of work involved and why they matter. The instructions that govern a particular unit are the ones in its product manual, or the ones HT-Nova technical support gives you for that model, configuration and operating history.
A detection result is only as good as the instrument's readiness to produce it. Confirming that readiness before it matters gives an operator a basis for trusting a reading - and an equally important basis for questioning one.
Depending on the product, that confirmation may take the form of calibration, functional verification, a reference check, an internal diagnostic, a built-in self-check routine or another product-specific procedure. Not every HT-Nova instrument uses conventional calibration, and describing the portfolio as though they all did would be wrong for most of it.
What these procedures have in common is their purpose: confirming that an instrument responds as expected, revealing performance changes that normal use does not make obvious, supporting operational readiness before an instrument is relied on, and indicating when a unit should be examined more closely or handed to qualified technical personnel.
Before a product leaves HT-Nova it goes through the inspection, configuration and operational checks defined for that product, and, where the product calls for it, performance verification against its own criteria. What is checked and how it is recorded is specific to the product; it is not one accredited procedure applied across the portfolio.
A short check that an instrument is ready to work: that it starts and initialises as expected, that it responds the way it should, and that nothing obvious has changed since it was last used.
Functional verification is not necessarily the same as calibration. It confirms that an instrument responds; on its own it does not adjust the instrument and does not establish measurement accuracy. Which of the two a product needs, and how each is performed, is defined by that product.
Some instruments need calibration or verification at intervals; others are managed differently. There is no single HT-Nova interval, because a sensible one depends on the detection technology, how many hours the unit runs and how often, the environment it works in, the application it serves, its operating and storage history, and any regulatory or customer requirement that applies to your organisation.
The interval that applies to your instrument is the one in its product instructions. Where those leave it open, HT-Nova technical support can advise for that model and use.
Additional inspection or verification is often appropriate after a repair; after a detector, sensor or component has been replaced; after readings that do not look right; after physical shock or damage; after extended storage; after unusual environmental or hazardous exposure; and after a routine verification that did not pass.
What is appropriate depends on the event and on the product. It does not follow that any of these automatically requires factory calibration - that is one of the things worth asking about rather than assuming.
Where a procedure needs something to check against, what it needs is defined by the product. Depending on the instrument that may mean a reference material, a standard, a test accessory, a fixture or dedicated equipment, and the requirements differ substantially between detection technologies. An item intended for one HT-Nova product should not be assumed to suit another.
This page deliberately publishes no general list, because a general list would be wrong for most of the portfolio and a wrong reference material is worse than none. Use the items named in the product instructions, and confirm with HT-Nova technical support what applies to your model and configuration before sourcing anything.
Where calibration or verification is carried out as a service, documentation of what was done may be available. What that documentation covers depends on the product and on the service actually performed, and it is agreed as part of arranging the work rather than assumed: not every check produces a certificate, and nothing on this page should be read as a claim of accreditation.
If your organisation needs a particular form of record - for an audit, a quality system or a regulatory requirement - say so when you contact HT-Nova, so that what is possible for your product can be established before work begins rather than afterwards.
Anything that means adjusting the instrument internally rather than operating it.
Procedures that need equipment or reference items an operating site would not normally hold.
Replacing a detector, sensor or comparable component, and confirming the instrument afterwards.
A failed check, or performance that stays abnormal after the steps in the product instructions.
Work the product instructions place with qualified technical personnel rather than the user.
Tell us the product model, the serial number, the configuration, the application and operating environment, the country or region the instrument is used in, and what you need to establish. Anything you cannot find is worth asking about rather than guessing at.
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