He-Ne Laser on eBay (noob question)

First off let me state; I have only been "in" to lasers for about a month now.I have bought several laser pointers and laser levels, etc. But I am ready to move up a level to a gas laser. I found this on on eBay.

HENE LASER + Power Supply Lab Tube-Head HVPS Red - eBay (item 180408788718 end time Oct-16-09 22:16:32 PDT)

What I want to know: Is this for real, can I really get a good (working) He-Ne for this price?
I always thought lab and scientific lasers were much higher then pointers. I have done searches here and haven't seen anything this cheap.

Also on eBay, lasers that looks identical to this one are $500 or $600. What is the difference?

Next, what is considered a high powered He-Ne? I have searched thru some of the threads here and haven't seen anything over 20 or 30 mW. Of course I want the highest powered one I can afford. :yh:
I have been doing searches, but haven't come up with any definite answers. Thanks

I can offer you a bit higher powered HeNe, in the tube, with an Alden plug, and a PSU which takes power from the mains (110V or 220V) instead of having to buy a 12V converter, for the same $40 (the shorter looking ones)



My most powerful HeNe is 19mW (and it wasn't easy to get that in a used Hene)

Peace,
dave

I can offer you a bit higher powered HeNe, in the tube, with an Alden plug, and a PSU which takes power from the mains (110V or 220V) instead of having to buy a 12V converter, for the same $40 (the shorter looking ones)

Click to expand...

Dave,
So the one on eBay has to have a ac to dc converter? And yours plugs right into the wall? Like I said in my post I know nothing about He-Ne. How many mW does the one your selling output? I would rather buy one off someone from this forum, then someone on eBay. That's why I posted this. It's so easy to get ripped off on eBay. PM me with the info. PayPal e-mail,etc

The one on ebay seems complete though, but i have no idea about the seller.

Having a power supply that works directly off mains would be more convenient though.

A laser like that should not be all that expensive, $40-ish sounds like a nice deal to me.

Greenmechanic said:

Dave,
So the one on eBay has to have a ac to dc converter? And yours plugs right into the wall? Like I said in my post I know nothing about He-Ne. How many mW does the one your selling output? I would rather buy one off someone from this forum, then someone on eBay. That's why I posted this. It's so easy to get ripped off on eBay. PM me with the info. PayPal e-mail,etc

Click to expand...

Yeah. The little "copper" bricks are either 5V or 12V (I would need to see the serial number to tell you which this one is). In the eBay listing he says "With an AC to DC adaptor. . " The tube in the eBay listing looks like a 1mW tube. These are fairly common. The eBay listing also says (in the picture) that it is for a "kit." I don't know if he will assemble it or not from the listing.

The ones I have here have Alden plugs on the laser and the PSU. They are contained in a good aluminum (original) housing. The aperture cap comes off in case you need to clean the optics.

The PSU's come with "flying leads." That means that the wires coming out of the PSU still need to be connected to a cord and plug for the wall. I leave them this way because they can be wired for either 110V or 220V and it uses different wires for each. You will have to connect a cord/plug to it (easy stuff). You can even wire in a switch here if you want the laser to be switchable.

After warm-up (~15 minutes) the lasers put out a nice steady 3-5mW. Of course they give good laser light while warming up as well, but gas lasers (especially HeNe's) like to be warm to operate best.

Peace,
dave

Dave,
Allright, I'm ready to get my first gas laser. PM me with details.
Thanks: Mark

Greenmechanic said:

Dave,
Allright, I'm ready to get my first gas laser. PM me with details.
Thanks: Mark

Click to expand...

I already have one warming up for my last test before shipment in anticipation

If anyone else is interested, I have a few more of these available and ready

Incoming PM

Peace,
dave

Hooray!!! My first gas laser is on the way:wave: Thanks for the replys. And a big Thank You to Dave

Greenmechanic said:

Hooray!!! My first gas laser is on the way:wave: Thanks for the replys. And a big Thank You to Dave

Click to expand...

You're welcome.

Your laser is packaged up and ready to ship. It will go out with tomorrow's (Wed) post. Tracking number sent via PM

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

You're welcome.

Your laser is packaged up and ready to ship. It will go out with tomorrow's (Wed) post. Tracking number sent via PM

Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

Hey Dave,

If you've got any PSUs that will suit a .5mW JDSU tube ( 1.25kV at 6mA? ) could you send me a PM? Looking for one with Alden connectors. If You don't have a PSU without a tube I might be into buying a complete setup as I'm only REALLY interested in the mount from the auction I'm looking at as the HeNe ( as I have said ) is only .5mW.

Regards,

Adam

I think these things are pretty cool to own just for the sort of historical aspect to them... but shipping is usually more expensive than the actual laser when they are overseas - not to mention the risk of breakage.

Benm said:

I think these things are pretty cool to own just for the sort of historical aspect to them... but shipping is usually more expensive than the actual laser when they are overseas - not to mention the risk of breakage.

Click to expand...

I'd love to get one of those old SP HeNes, the ones that would do 250mW new and were 6ft long. Heck the tube used to bend it was that long, so I hear anyway! That would really be a piece of history.

diachi said:

Hey Dave,

If you've got any PSUs that will suit a .5mW JDSU tube ( 1.25kV at 6mA? ) could you send me a PM? Looking for one with Alden connectors. If You don't have a PSU without a tube I might be into buying a complete setup as I'm only REALLY interested in the mount from the auction I'm looking at as the HeNe ( as I have said ) is only .5mW.
Regards,
Adam

Click to expand...

Are you willing to do some limited soldering? Do you have or are you willing to get and/or use a 12V AC-DC converter?

I'm trying to get you a set-up that we can ship in a flat rate envelope. For a complete laser and PSU like Greenmachine's we would have to use the flat rate box!

@ Benm -- I ship these all the time. International shipping is no more "rough" than domestic shipping. The cost, on the other hand, I can do little about. Once you get above a 1-3mW tube, the size alone forces, at least, an international flat rate box ($50).

You should try shipping an argon and a full size PSU!!!!!! Most of the PSU's are too tall to fit into a flat rate box. Plus a JDSU PSU weighs in at around 10Kg when packaged effectively. You are looking at ~$100 just for international shipping (that does not include the laser itself)!

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

Are you willing to do some limited soldering? Do you have or are you willing to get and/or use a 12V AC-DC converter?

I'm trying to get you a set-up that we can ship in a flat rate envelope. For a complete laser and PSU like Greenmachine's we would have to use the flat rate box!



Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

I need an excuse to do some soldering anyway, not done any in too long. As for the AC/DC converter, I can use my bench PSU for supplying 0-20V DC at up to 6.1A so it should work perfectly .

diachi said:

I need an excuse to do some soldering anyway, not done any in too long. As for the AC/DC converter, I can use my bench PSU for supplying 0-20V DC at up to 6.1A so it should work perfectly .

Click to expand...

OK. I have a "copper brick" (12V) that will work. I will send along a female Alden socket. You will have to solder the Alden onto the leads from the PSU. I THINK that your tube has the resistor integral with the housing. If the tube is set up STOCK with an Alden it should have the resistor integral. If it ends up that it doesn't, you will have to solder a resistor inline within 3 inches of the tube. I can send one along if you need but don't have one, just in case.

This will all fit into a flat rate priority envelope. How about $25, shipped?

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

OK. I have a "copper brick" (12V) that will work. I will send along a female Alden socket. You will have to solder the Alden onto the leads from the PSU. I THINK that your tube has the resistor integral with the housing. If the tube is set up STOCK with an Alden it should have the resistor integral. If it ends up that it doesn't, you will have to solder a resistor inline within 3 inches of the tube. I can send one along if you need but don't have one, just in case.

This will all fit into a flat rate priority envelope. How about $25, shipped?

Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

It should have the resistor built into the housing as it has the alden connector and the original housing and wiring, theres no need to send one along, and even if it does need one I can get one for a few pence anyway. Don't mind soldering up a connector at all either.

$25 sounds like a deal, if you want I can send you that along with the money for that argon PSU when I have it cleared into my paypal ? SHOULD be soon, if not it'll be around 15-17 days from now.