Noob questions for my new HeNe

Hello all and thanks for taking a look. First off let me say im sry for such noob questions that I have. Also let me say that I have also done alot of reading here(very enjoyable) and think I may have some of the answers but wanted to clear some things up. I was a liberal arts major in college and am only now getting into electronics. Please go easy on me, ill learn over time.

So here are some pics of my new HeNe tube and pcu. I'm more interested in some lab style setups than burning things(although i still want that WL arctic :evil I have read alot about the stability of the HeNe and am going that route for some of my upcoming experiments/learning.

By the pics it looks pretty straight forward...from what I understand all i need is a wallwart and hook it up to the PCU and im ready to go! Now I found a wallwart laying around that says:

Input: 100-240v--50-60Hz 0.4A
Output: 12V--1.2A

I hope this is close to what I will be needing.

Second the true noob question!....on the PCU you will see the connection for the laser it self.....the other grouping of wires I would assume is for the power to the wall. One Green...One Yellow....and Two White. Also my wallwart(not pictured) has two black wires, one of them has spaced lines printed on it and the other words. I would guess one being neutral and other positive. Again please go easy on this Liberal arts major! As time goes on I will more easily understand the principles of electronics.

Thanks again all!...pics will be added when i safely get it fired up!

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Hi there!
I'm a little confused as to why you might need a 'wallwart' which I assume is a power adapter? I'm from Aus and slang is a little different
It looks to me (and you might want to get a second opinion so nothing blows up) that the power supply you have is line AC input. Green is definitely earth, I'm just not sure if the two whites are 110v and one white and the yellow are 240v, or the other way around. Are there any other labels on the power supply? There might be another label under the the silver foil.....I don't know.
Lets see if anyone else can shed some light on the subject.
Cheers,
Rob

Not sure really what is under the foil....didnt want to tear into it yet. With the wall wart..I need something to plug into the wall for power and its my understanding that it has to be regulated from the wall to the PSU. Again, as always, I am very new to electronics and am really starting my learning from the First steps.

Every AC power supply I have it connected directly to the wall outlet. It's news to me that it would have to be regulated. Won't be long before someone posts more info here.
Good luck with it.

So I may be able to just use a power cord from a desktop computer? I still need to figure out which of the wires..2white, 1green, 1yellow to use as well. I still feel kind of foolish about this post though...seems like this should be pretty basic stuff...but also i would like to use this for many hours to come so ill get it right the first time :thinking:

There's nothing foolish about this post at all. Always better to ask questions than blow up your power supply. And yes, if the power supply is a 110/240v input supply, then power straight from the power outlet is fine.
OK....I've found the info you need. I have a PDF with all the wiring info. Email me and I'll send you the document in a reply.
Cheers,
Rob.

It appears to be a Laser Drive PSU. It is wired for 110VAC-120VAC

For 110V mains, the two white wires are twisted together.

The two white wires hook to 110V "hot"

The yellow is 110V "neutral."

The green wire is ground

These hook directly to the 110V mains. No walwart is needed (or desired). When a HeHe PSU is powered by 12VDC-24VDC, the wiring color scheme is usually the basic red and black (with another sometimes thrown in to confuse the issue )

You should read Sam's Laser FAQ.
Sam's Laser FAQ - Preface, Introduction, What is a Laser?, Safety

Scroll down to Part III. Start reading at the "Helium-Neon Lasers" section.

Peace,
dave

Right on the money Dave. That's the exact info that I found in the Laser Drive pdf. Except in the pdf, it says to use one of the white wires while the other is unused and is insulated.
Thanks heaps for your reply to my PM too Dave.
Take care!

Thanks to everyone here for the help! I go to Sam's pretty often and have looked over the HeNe section some as well...READ..READ...READ is in my future!

EDIT--you guys are too fast for me----

Well... you do need a lot of help. 1. resize your photos in the future plz-they are one size too big. make it fit our screens w/o having to scroll back and forth.--a PITA.
2. DC has a pos. and a neg. but not the same for AC- which is why on some plugs, say for a lamp, it matters not which way you plug it into the wall. A DMM is a must- it will tell you the +&-. voltage, etc.
3. While some PSs for HeNes require a voltage regulator. say 12vdc ..some do not. They work off mains.
4. Take a few days to look thru Sam's FAQ. There will find many answers- and your HeNe head and PS listed by model number and a lot of data.
5. That is a nice head- being open make you able to see the beamage inside- it is desriable for making HeNe table lamps. But take care where you touch it.
6. Wall warts are not the best way to go for lasers and PSs in many cases. Some like using a PS from a PC>-- It offers several different voltages.
7. WE like to help most those who help themselves.


hope this helps a little and if I am incorrect in any of the above someone will post so.

go to Sams- He has many chapters on HeNes.-----Len

532 with Envy said:

Thanks to everyone here for the help! I go to Sam's pretty often and have looked over the HeNe section some as well...READ..READ...READ is in my future!

Click to expand...

Here's a link to the section covering "common" color coding of commercially available HeNe PSU's

Sam's Laser FAQ - HeNe Laser Power Supplies

Peace,
dave

SHAZZAAAMMM!!! Thanks again to everyone for the help!......well on my way to a good setup....I think next will be a 532nm HeNe....but until then here are a few pics of it up and running!

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Meredith Instruments sells new baretube GreeNes on eBay for $195 OBO and $10 shipping.

NEW 2mW GREEN HELIUM NEON LASER TUBE HeNe Melles Griot - eBay (item 200486696014 end time Jul-22-10 13:17:41 PDT)


And your current setup is looking good.

thats the just the one I have been looking at....just have to find the PSU and of course some more 'Scratch'!!

532 with Envy said:

thats the just the one I have been looking at....just have to find the PSU and of course some more 'Scratch'!!

Click to expand...

Talk to me before you buy the one from Merideth

Peace,
dave

I would go through Dave for either the PSU or the whole setup, the proper psu (based on tube requirements and the PSU specifications, it'd be a lot cheaper probably) as Meredith wants $300 for the PSU alone: HELIUM NEON LASER POWER SUPPLY 16-20inch long HeNe head - eBay (item 190398356554 end time Jul-18-10 14:01:29 PDT)