I want an ArIon laser!!!

I used to have one, a little NEC GLG3030. I only got the head, and had to build up a power supply for it. The power supply was a beast with two big toridal transformers in it, a strip of 8 or so power transistors and a control board based on sams laser faq plans for the SGIL1.

Seems some of you guys on the forums here are selling ion's for reasonable prices - problem is I'm in australia so shipping could get pretty expensive.

Ebay lasers I dont really trust. Theres a lot of heads on ebay that have no power rating in the description, so what I think might be like my 45mw nec, could turn out to be a weak 10mw machine.

I'd really like to get into the 150+mw range. (i.e. something that will burn things. I've seen a 400mw set fire to a piece of paper!)

Argons are pretty cool lasers. Big noisy fans, power supplies that weigh a tonne, and the most beautiful aqua beams. My collection of DPSS modules (532 nm) is starting to get boring.

My NEC argon was stolen from me (long story, involved a dodgy cleaner at the club it was being used in), and I'd like to get another one with a helluva lot more power than the 40 odd mw the nec had.

It would be an excellent toy to take to the amateur radio club as something different to experiment with as opposed to radios.

P.S. My first post in these forums. so err.. Gday

Cheers
Ben

The only way you're getting 150mW is by over-running a small head, or under-running a large head. There is a small chance you'll find a like-new head that'll do that much. oh Dave! Where for art thou?

A tube similar to an ALC-60x should produce around 150mW running normally, or so I've read anyway. My Uniphase 2214-40MLA argon tops out around 90-100mW at 10A, which is quite a bit higher than I like to run it.

ElektroFreak said:

A tube similar to an ALC-60x should produce around 150mW running normally, or so I've read anyway. My Uniphase 2214-40MLA argon tops out around 90-100mW at 10A, which is quite a bit higher than I like to run it.

Click to expand...

An ALC60 with multimode optics can produce a good bit over 200mW at 10A tube current. I have a system here running at 120mW multiline with slightly dirty optics and a little waste beam. Should be about 10A tube current. ALCs can range anywhere from 20mW single line to >200mW , most commonly they are around 100mW-150mW though.

I've seen a JDSU 2211-40MLA do >200mW before, but it's rare. 100mW-130mW is great for a JDSU 2211-40MLA. A 2213-**ML is larger and will do a good bit more.

Thanks for the reply guys

Theres plenty of JDS uniphase heads, some with power supplies and some without on ebay - rather expensive unless you opt for the single line models. I'd prefer the multiline myself as the bonus with these is you get more power and several lines. Must remember to keep an eye if the seller knows what type of power supply is with the laser. I dont want to have to source a 120vac stepdown transformer to run the laser.

Theres also a few lexels on ebay as well. Water cooled (no problem here) but I dont think I'd have the power requirements for these. I believe these are 35A and 220vac single or 3 phase.

A small (read easy to load up on a 15A 240vac circuit) water cooled would be the ducks nuts if I could find one.

And of course even a small one would produce over half a watt of power if the tube was in good nick and not run flat out for all its life.

Unless you can find something on Oz, you better have your wallet open. There is no more "parcel post" or "first class" international shipping from the US. That means that any package, over 4 pounds, has to go at least priority mail. Laser heads and PSU's are over 4 pounds and will NOT fit into a flat rate box.

From the US, shipping an 18 pound PSU to Oz will cost ~$118 just for the shipping! The laser head (~12 pounds) will cost ~$87. That's over $200 JUST FOR SHIPPING!!!!! Add $200-$300 for a moderately priced unit and you have a $400-$500 laser in the 20-80mW range.

Occasionally there is some equipment coming out of The Phillipines, but I have no idea what their shipping costs are like.

Peace,
dave

Duck nuts you say?

ElektroFreak said:

My Uniphase 2214-40MLA argon tops out around 90-100mW at 10A, which is quite a bit higher than I like to run it.

Click to expand...

Understandably. It brings the tube life down to <2000 hours instead of the >10000 it would get at idle. Like I said, anything at 150mW is either over-running a small tube, or under-running a large one.

dave:

Yes i was fully prepared for the "wallet shock" of shipping an argon over to australia. In january I should have about $1k to spend on the laser and shipping.

Just checked my stove circuit and it goes up to 32A so a big single phase laser can run off that provided it doesnt top 32A (and trip the breaker).

heres some examples of lasers I've spotted on ebay:
JDS Uniphase Argon Laser 2214-25MLUP & Power Supply - eBay Industrial Lasers, Lighting Lasers, Industrial Supply MRO, Business Industrial. (end time 30-Dec-09 05:59:42 AEDST)

Has a cut cable but I can fix that...

Toshiba argon laser LHI-106D - eBay Other, Test Equipment, Electrical Test Equipment, Business Industrial. (end time 07-Dec-09 17:43:49 AEDST)

This ones a strange beast - not heard of a toshiba argon.

Spectra Physics 168 Argon-Krypton ion 265 exciter LASER - eBay Industrial Lasers, Lighting Lasers, Industrial Supply MRO, Business Industrial. (end time 04-Dec-09 15:16:25 AEDST)

This one would trip my breakers... and kill my wallet with shipping, but I bet its a few watts out; so I could run it at a watt and it would last a while *drool*

Theres also some lexels on the bay, 3500's and 95's but they are the 10's of watts, cost a bomb to ship, need 3 phase, and overkill for what I want.

Theres many cheaper JDS uniphases but they are single line and only around 10-20mw of power.

Before I even delve into a high powered argon, are the glasses on ebay ok? I've got a set suited to my 400mw green module, and wear them whenever playing with it. Since argons are a different colour or combination of colours, I believe my present glasses would only protect me from the green lines, and I would need to buy a more broadband set of glasses to protect me from the blue lines.

edit: turns out my glasses are suitable possibly... 2-3OD at 488-532

Would you like to purchase a 40mW Multi line argon-- It won't put out the 150mW you're looking for but it'll be around 100mW at 10A.

Thanks for the offer there potatorage, but I'll need to wait until january when the funding is available..

I am also not too keen on running the laser at 10A as this reduces the tube life substantially.

The eventual end use for the laser will be for a set of scanners. I will wait until january and when I have the $ i will see whats around.

Hopefully a large air cooled locally!

If you'd like a Uniphase 2214-40MLA argon laser that does 125mW full tilt, I've been thinking about selling it. You'd get the head, PSU, cooling fan, and my DIY interface to adjust power output. All it would need to get going is a power plug.

I'd like to get $400 for it + ship - it's in perfect condition with the exception of a little bit of dust.

After discussing with mariomaster about his laser, I've decided to buy it when he is ready to sell it. No sooner had I done this, another LOCAL laser pops up on the scene; a laser physics reliant 50S. Only 50mw, but it has low hours, has been kept in good condition and will form part of a bigger project.

MM if your happy to hang on to your laser (you said you are in no rush to sell) I will happily take it off your hands early january.

The 50S will be going into my CO2 laser burner project (80 watts) as the aiming laser.

Looks like the plans for me having a RGB projector and a "Big Scary Laser That Burns Stuff (TM)" is coming together.

Now I will need to study up on how to combine the beams of a CO2 with the argon to get it all to work. As well as working out the optics to combine the beams of the 532, 635 and the JDSU multiline for the projector.

You may have to do some knife-edge mirror combining with the CO2, or using a slight angle so both beams overlap at the correct material height - standard dichroic mirrors and glass itself is opaque to 10.6um

You can use standard lasershow dichroic mirrors to combine the argon with green and red.

I put mine up for sale here: US Only: mult-line Uniphase Argon (2214-40MLA) for sale or trade. - Photonlexicon

I would start another thread here, but I really would like to trade it outright for a good USB DAC. I'm most likely to get that over on PL, but if you are interested in buying it outright, that is certainly an option. All details in that link.

MM:

yes I was fully aware I'd have to pull some sort of trickery to combine the beams. I've decided to do it lexel shg style and have the aiming beam approximately 1 inch to the left of the burning beam.

Since the CO2 laser is just a personal hobby laser accuracy really only needs to be in the vertical axis. So long as you keep any body parts out of the blue beam of the argon, the chances of getting a burn from the 10.6nm CO2 are slim.

I am still not fully up to speed on CO2 lasers. What would make a good beam stop for this particular laser (so it doesnt burn through the wall and into the back of the next door neighbours TV?). Yes an overstatement, but I dont want to be scorching my walls with this thing. I will probably just use a cinder block. The CO2 will only fire so long as the button is held down on the remote so it wont be on for long.

Elecktrofreak:
Thanks for the offer of your argon but I have already offered to buy MM's argon in jan.

I will post pics and write a review of the laserphysics argon (for the CO2 aimer) when I get it to the forums. Its a very nice unit that is fully self contained - the power supply is built into the head.

A cinder block or a brick would probably be fine for a beam stop, a graphite block would probably be best but they're not easy to come by.