2214-VL revival.. Run it a while?

So, I came upon a 2214-VL head that will 'light' (filament OK, arc OK) - but won't lase. Friend of mine who had it said that it used to work, but he left it in his storage unit for a few years, and now it won't.

(Of course, we all know how this goes with ArIon tubes, but with 2214's, less so. My first 2214, actually a VL, I left idle for *5 years*, and it still lit at first start. Of course, I don't do that anymore... I run it regularly.)

In absence of an oudin coil, (I don't have one; and not sure if I'm confident enough with the voltages to build one...) - could a long runtime revive it? I know it also could be mirror alignment, but so far with 6+ attempts at mirror alignment, on HeNe and ArIon lasers, I've failed every time, and am probably going to forgo an attempt at this. (Maybe. Might try it.)

I was considering running it for 4-5 hours to see if output happens. Has anyone see a 2214 come back to life this way?

If the arc is okay, it is almost always an alignment problem. It doesn't help that it is a lower gain line.

An oudin coil only aids in starting.

Yeah. If you are getting a plasma glow, it is probably alignment.

I have a 40ML like this, that I am working on right now

Peace,
dave

Completely agreed. Let it warm up for a few minutes and then try using an insulated object to apply light pressure in various directions to the mirror mounts while watching for flashes of output.

Both of my green HeNes had the same issue, it's a problem common to all gas lasers. Once you get it going, a photodiode can be used to monitor the output while you tweak the alignment for max output.