ROUND II: Daguin inventory reduction sale!

Speedy78 said:

Would the PSU from my red HeNe work for the green too? If so will just have to hunt around for just the tube.

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I don't remember what the voltage output or current of your PSU is

It will also depend on which green HeNe tube you find

A six inch tube does NOT require the same PSU as a 16 inch tube

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

Unfortunately, I am putting play funds together to pay for the trip to SELEM so I'm not looking at trades for now

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Ah ha! I knew it!
Once you go to SELEM once, you're hooked! I hope you can make it, Dave, it'd be great to have you there again.

David

It measueres 10.5 inches but thats its case its in. No idea the size of the tube although I imigine is similar in size as the case? PSU does not have putput or anything on it

Operating voltage is less important than operating current for most HeNes. You can check the operating current by putting a precision 1ohm resistor in series with the cathode lead and cathode, and then measuring the voltage across this resistor with a DMM. 1mV = 1mA with this setup.

Speedy78 said:

It measueres 10.5 inches but thats its case its in. No idea the size of the tube although I imigine is similar in size as the case? PSU does not have putput or anything on it

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The tube will be very close to the overall length of the housing

Does your PSU have anything written on it (manufacturer, model, etc.)?

Is it inside a box/container of some sort?

Can you post a pic of it?

DJZ said:

Ah ha! I knew it!
Once you go to SELEM once, you're hooked! I hope you can make it, Dave, it'd be great to have you there again.

David

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At this point the only restricting factor is cash on hand
I found out for sure that I had the entire Summer off this year
Good for time
Bad for money

Peace,
dave

NEC model number GLS5323B

I originally got it from you

Speedy78 said:

NEC model number GLS5323B

I originally got it from you

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OK.
Your brick PSU is inside that housing.
I have one of those left here
I'll pop it open to see if we can tell what the PSU is actually putting out

Peace,
dave

**EDIT** -- It is putting out 1.4-2.3KVDC @ 5.5mA with a 10KVDC start pulse
You could probably power a small (up to 10 inches) green with it

Sweet. Thanks for the info. Ill keep an eye out for one.

Sigurthr said:

I found that you can also bake the melles griot cylindrical heads to the point that the silicone softens and then push out the tube safely. I found this to be the best method so far. I did several with piano wire and it was a nightmare. Dremeling the case worked too but way risky; I had a shattered wheel scratch the HR lens exterior once.

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My heat gun worked fine
+1 for you

I got all four of my non-working tubes out of their housings

One was on its way up to air
I've never seen such a "white" plasma :cryyy:
It was pretty, but there is no beam

A second one was cracked

I got two working greens out of the four
One of them is about 10 inches. It is mostly metal, but the beam is nice
The other is abut 19 inches. It is all glass, but it has a frosted capillary tube so the plasma is muted

I'll have to figure out what PSU's I have around here

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

My heat gun worked fine
+1 for you

I got all four of my non-working tubes out of their housings

One was on its way up to air
I've never seen such a "white" plasma :cryyy:
It was pretty, but there is no beam

A second one was cracked

I got two working greens out of the four
One of them is about 10 inches. It is mostly metal, but the beam is nice
The other is abut 19 inches. It is all glass, but it has a frosted capillary tube so the plasma is muted

I'll have to figure out what PSU's I have around here

Peace,
dave

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Awesome! Glad I was able to help. After the fourth or fifth head I began searching desperately for new means of extraction... my fingers ached for weeks.

I still need to grab a greenie from you one of these days. I've been debating making my own flyback based HeNe power supply for months now. I'm not sure what kind of tube size would need such power but I can easily make a 6kV 9mA HeNe PSU, downregulating current from that figure would be the hardest part.

The 1-3mW red HeNe is back up for grabs guys (unless Dave has changed his mind)! I hate living so far away from you guys, shipping is too expensive.

Gun said:

The 1-3mW red HeNe is back up for grabs guys (unless Dave has changed his mind)! I hate living so far away from you guys, shipping is too expensive.

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I feel your pain

If you think this is bad, try looking at the price of shipping a 27 pound box overseas!

With the price increases for international shipping in the last few years, my international sales of argon lasers is virtually dead :cryyy:

I "gave" an argon head to a veteran in Oz a while ago
It cost almost $100 just to ship the laser head (without the heavier PSU)

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

I feel your pain

If you think this is bad, try looking at the price of shipping a 27 pound box overseas!

With the price increases for international shipping in the last few years, my international sales of argon lasers is virtually dead :cryyy:

I "gave" an argon head to a veteran in Oz a while ago
It cost almost $100 just to ship the laser head (without the heavier PSU)

Peace,
dave

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We need to all move into a communal share house together so we can share and talk about lasers 24/7 :crackup:

Gun said:

We need to all move into a communal share house together so we can share and talk about lasers 24/7 :crackup:

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I live alone (with my dog) by choice

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

I live alone (with my dog) by choice

Peace,
dave

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Haha, that might be a bit of a contrast then

Hey Dave,
Since the normal safe operating current is 7A and the PSU can only supply 10.5A I decided to redesign the remote schematic. I have implemented a switch that allows for continuous variable current control or a fixed current level - set at 7A. The variable control tops off at a little under one amp less than the maximum the PSU can deliver, for tube safety and longevity. I decided to leave out the DPDT switch feature that allows for an optical feedback based power control, as I have no desire for it, but it can easily be implemented as in the original feedback. I simply jumpered the connection that normally switches between "light mode" and "current mode" into the current position. Total current draw from the 15V pin is kept to under 15mA, well within the 20mA specification of the manual.

I will for sure be using this set up when the laser arrives, so that will be the first official test, but I see no reason why it would malfunction. It is essentially identical to the schematic on LASERFAQ.

By the way, there is an error on the LASERFAQ page for this remote; the ascii schematic shows a 1.5k ohm potentiometer and a 1k resistor. If this is used the pot will allow adjustment up to a potential of ~18amps, not the normal 12A that having a 1.5k resistor and 1k pot allows. The verbal description is correct, but the resistances in the drawing are reversed. I nearly ordered the wrong size pot as a result. If I had not asked you about nominal operating currents and then decided to redesign the remote to change the operating range and function I would not have caught the error.

Please feel free to use this schematic wherever you would like in the future. A (truly) small token of my thanks. Hopefully it helps others.

EDIT: IMAGE REMOVED DUE TO ERRORS IN REPAIRFAQ's INFO. NEW SCHEMATIC CAN BE FOUND BY SEARCHING FOR STANDALONE THREAD: "Uniphase 2114P-40MLA & 2214-40MLA Argon Ion Laser" IN THE GAS LASERS SECTION.