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Hello,
On a whim I bid on a JDS Uniphase argon head on eBay. I out a max bid for $30 and got it for $28, opening price I believe. In fact I think I was the only bidder. That probably says everything one needs to know about it but who knows. It was stated in the ad it was in operating condition when removed from whatever it was removed from. As you can see in the pics there is no power supply and the "cord" going into it was cut at about 5' from the head. The unit is clean and appears un-damaged. Beyond these details and the pics I know nothing else. My questions are the obvious and framed from one who has no experience with gas lasers. It was manufactured 14 years ago, is that too old to be functional? Where can I find a schematic to all these wires? Can a spartan power supply be fabricated easily for this? Could another powersupply from another similar laser be modified to work? Basically, what's the easiest way to test and opssobly run it at it's rated? It was rated for 500mW.
Anyone out there care to give me a hand in trying to get this thing running?
I am very well versed with operating and constructing high voltage circuits, previously I built electron tube audio circuits as a hobby. I think the highest I ever messed with was around 1400v at around 200mA.
I would imagine all the wires coming out of this cord are not necessary to test and operate this tube. I have not traced them into the head yet, just pulled it out of the bubble wrap this evening. Tomorrow I plan to remove some of the cowling that appears easy to access.
Even if this thing is dead I figured $28 was worth the education in tearing one down. If I could get it working at or near it's rated 500mW for less than $500 I would start ording parts tonight. For now it's just a paperweight waiting to be dissected.
Time to start studying up on gas lasers. Anyone with some useful advice and links to good reading on this type of head please let me know where to find it,
Here's a few pics, enjoy:
On a whim I bid on a JDS Uniphase argon head on eBay. I out a max bid for $30 and got it for $28, opening price I believe. In fact I think I was the only bidder. That probably says everything one needs to know about it but who knows. It was stated in the ad it was in operating condition when removed from whatever it was removed from. As you can see in the pics there is no power supply and the "cord" going into it was cut at about 5' from the head. The unit is clean and appears un-damaged. Beyond these details and the pics I know nothing else. My questions are the obvious and framed from one who has no experience with gas lasers. It was manufactured 14 years ago, is that too old to be functional? Where can I find a schematic to all these wires? Can a spartan power supply be fabricated easily for this? Could another powersupply from another similar laser be modified to work? Basically, what's the easiest way to test and opssobly run it at it's rated? It was rated for 500mW.
Anyone out there care to give me a hand in trying to get this thing running?
I am very well versed with operating and constructing high voltage circuits, previously I built electron tube audio circuits as a hobby. I think the highest I ever messed with was around 1400v at around 200mA.
I would imagine all the wires coming out of this cord are not necessary to test and operate this tube. I have not traced them into the head yet, just pulled it out of the bubble wrap this evening. Tomorrow I plan to remove some of the cowling that appears easy to access.
Even if this thing is dead I figured $28 was worth the education in tearing one down. If I could get it working at or near it's rated 500mW for less than $500 I would start ording parts tonight. For now it's just a paperweight waiting to be dissected.
Time to start studying up on gas lasers. Anyone with some useful advice and links to good reading on this type of head please let me know where to find it,
Here's a few pics, enjoy: