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Twist activation troubleshooting

Generation3 instruments

All RBR Generation3 instruments come equipped with twist activation as a standard feature. Twist activation allows you to start and pause the instrument without the need to connect to a computer. The instrument will vibrate to provide feedback that it has been started or paused. See the RBR Instrument Guide: Standard Instruments³ and Ruskin User Guide: Standard Instruments³ for details.


For Generation3 instruments, the red battery end-caps are interchangeable. 


If you ever find that your instrument is not vibrating when you twist the battery end-cap, here are a couple of things to check:

  1. Go to the "Configuration" tab on Ruskin and ensure
    1. that the "Gating" is set to "Twist activation".
    2. that the logging status is not "Stopped".
  2. Check that the body of the instrument is screwed tightly to the sensor end-cap.

The body of the instrument still needs to be tightly screwed into the sensor end-cap for the magnets to align and the vibration to occur. If there is a guard on the instrument it may cover the seam between the instrument body and sensor end-cap. 

If the alignment between the battery end-cap and the body of the instrument does not pair with the twist activation mark when the vibration is activated, it might be due to the sensor end-cap being loose. In this case, re-tighten the sensor end-cap. 


When tightening the end-cap with one hand, hold the body of the instrument in the other.


If these steps above do not resolve the issue, please contact RBR at service@rbr-global.com for further support.

Generation2 instruments (Pre 2018)

If the twist activation is not functioning on a Generation2 instrument, verify that the twist activation feature is installed and enabled on it. Then, follow the same steps as above.

An additional step that can be taken for these instruments, is probing the twist activation magnet present in the cover above the battery carriage. The magnet fills one of the holes in this cover. When twist activation is on, this magnet can be probed with a kitchen magnet to check that the twist activation is working. If there is no vibration when the setting is enabled, this confirms that there is an issue with the twist activation.

Ensure that the end-cap matches the instrument and that the magnets are securely in place, both on the end-cap and in the battery cover of the instrument. 

If these are all in place and the magnets still do not align, you may need to return the instrument to RBR for repair. Please contact our support team to obtain a return merchandise authorisation code (RMA) and review the detailed shipping information on the RBR website.