Hughes He-Ne ?

Greenmechanic · Mar 31, 2010

I got these off of e-bay today and tried to research them as much as possible, (which wasn't much) even Sam's does not list them.
Does anybody know anything about them, other then the obvious; <1-2mW, 632.8nm,etc.
I know these are ancient. (looks like 1978)
What are the odds of these working?
Do they use epoxy or frit (or other) seals?
Are these known for holding gas or are they bad about going up to air?
Does this look like the right PSU with them? (I know this is not a HV PSU)
Required HV input = ??V @ ?? mA?
Like I stated, I could not find anything on this tube number.
They sure look retro although.
Even if they don't laze, but the bore lights up, they would make nice lamps.
They listing states Model #389, but looking at the pics., it looks longer?:thanks:

daguin · Mar 31, 2010

The negative is jumped across those two only. It does not connect with the one between them. Make sure your wire jumper is insulated .

IIRC they will work at 1800VDC. I don't recall the resistor needed

Peace,
dave

timelablasers · Mar 31, 2010

I have half a dozen of these tubes too. They are beautifully lit when running.

Greenmechanic · Mar 31, 2010

timelablasers said:
I have half a dozen of these tubes too. They are beautifully lit when running.

COOL! So all of them you bought lased?
I sure hope mine does. They are very different looking.

daguin said:
The negative is jumped across those two only. It does not connect with the one between them. Make sure your wire jumper is insulated .

IIRC they will work at 1800VDC. I don't recall the resistor needed

Peace,
dave

Thanks for the info, Dave.
Do you have a spare PSU and ballest for these tubes? (DC or AC input, I don't care)
When I get them (if they still laze, or the bore still lights) I'll be needing one.
Do you have any of this type? If so, do they still lase?
I'll keep searching for info as to the longevity of these tubes, but so far nothing.
Correct me if I'm wrong but, it is mostly tubes with Brewster's windows that go up to air, right?
I am hoping at least one of these work, they are so retro and cool looking.
A big :thanks: to Len for finding me these.

timelablasers · Mar 31, 2010

Hey there,
They sure did. Every single one of them. I'm sure yours will too.
Enjoy!

hakzaw1 · Mar 31, 2010

A big :thanks: to Len for finding me these. ----len sez your welcome!!! hope they work

roddenberry · Apr 1, 2010

They sure look nice. If I recall, Dave's epic sale featured two tubes somewhat similar to these. To power these, I would suggest to go the DIY way and look into Sam's LaserFAQ for a HV supply schematic.
- Robert

Cyparagon · Apr 2, 2010

Why are there two negative leads? What's the point? They aren't hot-cathode, are they?

daguin · Apr 2, 2010

Greenmechanic said:
COOL! So all of them you bought lased?
I sure hope mine does. They are very different looking.

Thanks for the info, Dave.
Do you have a spare PSU and ballest for these tubes? (DC or AC input, I don't care)
When I get them (if they still laze, or the bore still lights) I'll be needing one.
Do you have any of this type? If so, do they still lase?
I'll keep searching for info as to the longevity of these tubes, but so far nothing.
Correct me if I'm wrong but, it is mostly tubes with Brewster's windows that go up to air, right?
I am hoping at least one of these work, they are so retro and cool looking.
A big :thanks: to Len for finding me these.

I was thinking about these this morning. I THINK that they needed more than the 1800V I remembered earlier. It wasn't 'crazy', but it may have been more like 2400V. I have a couple of "lab style" PSU's available for $75.

As far as having any resistors available, I don't even remember what they had to be able to look. You'll have to do some experimentation with these, unless Timeblazer can tell you what he is using.

Cyparagon said:
Why are there two negative leads? What's the point? They aren't hot-cathode, are they?

I really have no idea. That is just how they were hooked up when I pulled them from the housings before. IIRC those old Hughes housings even had a photodectector in the rear cap.

Peace,
dave

LSRFAQ · Apr 4, 2010

Those are hard seal. Any one of the two cathode connections will suffice. There are three for glassblowing and processing reasons. The middle one is a second anode pin for processing the tube and the two cathode ones for mechanical stability during glassblowing.

If you have the PSU board shown in the picture you should not need a ballast resistor if the 27K resistors on the board are in series with the tube. If they are in parallel with the tube as HV safety bleeders, or if you wish to use them with another power supply, try 56K and at least a 2 watt resistor. For a small tube like that 47-88K is typical.

Steve

Greenmechanic · Apr 16, 2010

LSRFAQ said:
Those are hard seal. Any one of the two cathode connections will suffice. There are three for glassblowing and processing reasons. The middle one is a second anode pin for processing the tube and the two cathode ones for mechanical stability during glassblowing.

If you have the PSU board shown in the picture you should not need a ballast resistor if the 27K resistors on the board are in series with the tube. If they are in parallel with the tube as HV safety bleeders, or if you wish to use them with another power supply, try 56K and at least a 2 watt resistor. For a small tube like that 47-88K is typical.

Steve

Yes, Steve, you are right. This board is the HV PSU and includes the B/R
Both work great just like they came. I never would have thought this board was HV. Shows what I know!!

Hughes He-Ne ?

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