LGK 7812 Argon laser , Glass End Bell .

Hey ,

Another argon to show , this time its a LGK 7812 ML4 and the unique thing about this argon laser is that the end bell with the cathode is made from glass which I love about this tube .

You can see the bore entrance too .

Unit was made in 2007 but I have no idea on hours and im not fully sure of its rated power , I hear its around 25mW , no idea at what current its meant at .

With the unit set on idle and a voltage measured of 0.35V on the remote interface ( I assume its ( 3.5A ) the tube output didn't register on my X4 LMP .

Turing the laser to run mode and setting current to what I assume is 5A ( 0.5V ) I get 8 lines at 10mW and turning the current pot to full I get a current of 6.5A and a output of 24 - 25 mW 8 lines .

Cathode and bore ,

IMG_0623 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

IMG_0624 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

Anode end with anode heat sink .

IMG_0625 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

Light sensor and under it is the ignitor .

IMG_0626 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

IMG_0611 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

IMG_0612 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

Size comparison to the ILT 5500A Head .

IMG_0613 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

IMG_0615 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

IMG_0616 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

IMG_0617 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

IMG_0622 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

Nice! Always nice to see a good healthy Ar+ doing its 8 lines

Though I think your mirrors may be out of alignment, given the ghosting you have. Or a wedged mirror.

If it is alignment ... I am baffled that you are getting 8 lines while still misaligned. Running hot for sure.

I think the ghosting may be from a dirty optic, probably the reflection grating.

That is a really lovely self contained unit. I love seeing the full 8 lines. If I had a self contained unit I never would have sold my argon. I just can't stand the big clunkers that take up 1/4 of a room.

Congrats on the Lasos. I love these little guys.

Mine is running about 50-60mw with 8 lines and is one of my favorite argons.

Without getting into big glass and water cooled stuff like DJmatt has, these are the prettiest argons I've seen.

Very nice! I love these units! As for the lines, it's all in the mirrors. I was wanted one of these because I like the class cathode.

bloompyle said:

Nice! Always nice to see a good healthy Ar+ doing its 8 lines

Though I think your mirrors may be out of alignment, given the ghosting you have. Or a wedged mirror.

If it is alignment ... I am baffled that you are getting 8 lines while still misaligned. Running hot for sure.

Click to expand...

Sigurthr said:

I think the ghosting may be from a dirty optic, probably the reflection grating.

That is a really lovely self contained unit. I love seeing the full 8 lines. If I had a self contained unit I never would have sold my argon. I just can't stand the big clunkers that take up 1/4 of a room.

Click to expand...

Thanks , im glad it survived the trip from Germany , yeah the ghost spots are from the CD I was using to slit the lines , the actual output from the tube is a practically perfect dot .

It is nice to see 8 lines : D , They do like to take up space .

icecruncher said:

Congrats on the Lasos. I love these little guys.

Mine is running about 50-60mw with 8 lines and is one of my favorite argons.

Without getting into big glass and water cooled stuff like DJmatt has, these are the prettiest argons I've seen.

Click to expand...

Thanks , Me too : D , Yours is the 7872 ? not sure on its power rating but it is rated for more than the 7812 .

ultimatekaiser said:

Very nice! I love these units! As for the lines, it's all in the mirrors. I was wanted one of these because I like the class cathode.

Click to expand...

Thanks : D , that's the reason I tried and managed to get one , due to the glass cathode .

Pics of the tube running ( fan was installed ) and a video of start-up -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blpgQ4DcxiY

IMG_0635 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

IMG_0629 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

IMG_0630 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

Ahhh that beautiful purple argon glow :tinfoil:

Beautiful argon glow indeed! I am so used to seeing the plasma glow from a HeNe, that argon seems "exotic" If I ever get another argon, it will have to be one of those for sure. Great pics +1

The End Bell is Quartz on the Zeiss/Siemans/LaSos tubes. Watch out for excessive UV-B and UV-C light from the arc. A pair of clear polycarbonate safety glasses will catch much of the harmful radiation.

Steve

crazyspaz said:

Beautiful argon glow indeed! I am so used to seeing the plasma glow from a HeNe, that argon seems "exotic" If I ever get another argon, it will have to be one of those for sure. Great pics +1

Click to expand...

Thanks : D , It definite looks nice , Go for it ; they are worth it .

LSRFAQ said:

The End Bell is Quartz on the Zeiss/Siemans/LaSos tubes. Watch out for excessive UV-B and UV-C light from the arc. A pair of clear polycarbonate safety glasses will catch much of the harmful radiation.

Steve

Click to expand...

Ok thanks , I did have normal glasses on if that was any help , its back in its case now .


I did have a go at the extended cavity , I used a OC from a RYB ArKr laser , under normal output at 3.5A I get -

IMG_0645[1] by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

This is 5 lines at 3.5A , now with the external OC I get 7 lines -

IMG_0642[1] by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

I also notice at 6.5A , no external OC it looks like I get 9 lines ?

IMG_0648[1] by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

Wow! You got 9 lines with stock cavity? That's awesome. IIRC there are 10 or 11 possible lines for "standard" ArIon heads. 8 is the usual max count as the mirror reflectivity is low towards the UV and yellow ends.

Think it's 11 lines standard IIRC. Companies unfortunately I've gotten really good at controlling on the lines that are supposed to produce. Depends on the mirrors, length, diameter, gas pressure and lots of other things. Lots of times, changing or adding mirrors can actually not benefit the tube at all or has no effect! It's pretty interesting to experiment with.