Argon Ticking

hwang21 · Oct 13, 2013

And the plot thickens... the seller of the ticking Argon is on PL, and he's been trying to sell it for over a year over there... it's been just ticking since 2012 when he first put up a thread to sell it...

bloompyle · Oct 13, 2013

He posted it a while ago on PL

Hemlock_Mike · Oct 13, 2013

I try to run mine with an exhaust
temp of 140 to 150 Deg F.
HMike

hwang21 · Oct 13, 2013

Yeah I noticed, he posted it over a year ago on PL trying to sell it. For less than what I bought it for, I might add :yabbmad:

So now, not only has it been sitting there for over a year collecting dust, but it was ticking back then. So if it's a high pressure problem then it's definitely got some high pressure problems now...

hwang21 · Oct 13, 2013

UPDATE: just picked up a BD-10A by Electro Technic from eBay for $100

Hemlock_Mike · Oct 14, 2013

Looks like an OK price.
Single probe Taser !!!
Speaking of Taser --- A cheep
one of those might work good too.
HMike

hwang21 · Oct 14, 2013

If this Oudin coil tip touched a human body, what would happen?

Hemlock_Mike · Oct 14, 2013

It would likely hurt a bit.
Shocking knowledge but it
won't happen again!!!
HMike

Just another thought....
You will likely never touch the probe tip --
It will reach out to touch you at that voltage!
Stay back from the tip.

crazyspaz · Oct 14, 2013

Yes, getting shocked by an oudin coil won't be pleasant! My physics teacher had a professor in college who would touch an oudin coil to the chair legs of people who fell asleep in his class, shocking there rump...needless to say it woke them up rather quickly lol!

DJZ · Oct 14, 2013

hwang21 said:
If this Oudin coil tip touched a human body, what would happen?

The first time I played with a bd-10a coil was when I was testing a Laser Ionics to see if it was gas intact. The Laser Ionics tube was about 6feet long! I leaned my arm on the frame of the laser and touched the bd-10a tip on the cathode and hit the button. Let's just say I'll never make that mistake again!

I put this video up on YouTube a few years ago. It's an old 60x that hadn't been started in years and you can see it ticking:

60X argon laser being started with an HV coil. - YouTube

hwang21 · Oct 15, 2013

Will an argon tick, but not light up, if none of the pins on the remote for the PSU are jumped? Or if the wrong pins are jumped?

Hemlock_Mike · Oct 16, 2013

Some PS units need a jumper for "handshake" before
they will output. Information is limited but available
if you can find them. My Lasos will start without a jumper
but needs a jumper to go to full power.
HM

hwang21 · Oct 16, 2013

Interesting. As far as I can tell, the Omni PSU had no pins jumpered... :thinking:

hwang21 · Oct 16, 2013

Update: I have word from the seller that there are not any other issues he is aware of, just that the Argon sat in his closet for several years so the tube should just be under high pressure and unable to start.

If this is the case, where should I place the BD-10A tip to jumpstart the Argon? I haven't seen any clear images of where I should place the tip, and I read somewhere that bad placement can blow open the tube

thanks

pschlosser · Oct 18, 2013

hwang21 said:
If this is the case, where should I place the BD-10A tip to jumpstart the Argon? I haven't seen any clear images of where I should place the tip, and I read somewhere that bad placement can blow open the tube thanks

The lightning bolt from the BD-10 does not actually have to touch the glass tube of the laser. Once you start playing with the Oudin coil, you'll see what I mean. It lights up fluorescent tubes (even burned out ones) and HeNe tubes without the bolt needing to come in contact with the item targeted. But does as the tip (the metal point where the bolt comes out) gets near the target.

To test the tube, with the head disconnected from the PSU, zap away at the head. I'm assuming you will pull the cover so you can see exposed parts of the plasma tube. A definite zap of the glass tube will ionize (light up) the gas within. If it doesn't, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it may be up to atmosphere. :cryyy:

If it looks good, hook her up to the PSU, turn her on in sequence (start with a light dinner) and as she is ticking, give the tube a tiny zap to begin the ionization process, and HWANG !! she should produce some beams. If she doesn't, you may have an alignment problem.

MarioMaster · Oct 18, 2013

I would recommend staying away from the glass and tube seals when you're trying to zap the tube, this is where you can pierce the tube with the electrical discharge. What you want to do is remove the top cover of the laser head and zap the heatsink that surrounds the bore (do this while the system is on and clicking) if the tube does ignite (even if it is out of alignment) the tube will light up dimly blue/violet and quickly begin producing heat. At that point put the cover back on so the tube has cooling.

Let it run for few hours at least once it ignites. If it is out of alignment then you can begin walking the mirrors at this point.

Argon Ticking

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