PS Woes!

Okay, I guess I'm officially bitten by the gas laser bug since I recently got my third HeNe, lol! I saw a nice one on eBay that was similar to one of my others, and it was in good working order (shown in a photo) and was a very good price.

But I haven't been able to use yet it because of the power supply that was sent with it! The ad said that the PS was included (but didn't show it in the photo), so I thought nothing of it. I just assumed that it would be similar to my other PS:



This one I understand. It has a place for the laser head to plug into it on the back. It has a cord, with a plug, that fits into the outlet in my wall. And it has a key that fits into the switch that turns the power on. Got it! No problem.

But this is the FrankenPS that I got with my newest laser:

View attachment 38585

:wtf:

How...is this thing used??? There's nothing to plug into the outlet (and no way am I going to stick one of those loose wires in there! :crackup and it has no switch or buttons. It scares me even to look at it!

After doing some searching, I found out that this is apparently how they're being made now. But since I have no intention of even trying to use this thing, I really would like to know if my other PS might work with this laser. The other one is/was originally 15 mW, and this latest one is/was 10mW. (They're both pretty old, so probably less now).

I don't want to try it until I know it's safe.

Your image link is broken. You can use any chopped up AC appliance cord to plug your psu into the outlet. If my phones net was working a bit better I'd go search eBay for you. They cost about 2$ shipped and you probably have one laying around. Just make sure you don't mix the ground wires with the AC wires . You can just twist together the wires and tape them so you don't have exposed mains wires and or cap them.

Either way your new power supply is not worthless.

To clarify an AC appliance cord is used by many household appliances, tv's, computer's, toaster, microwave's. Basically what you want is one of those 3 prong cords.

When you chop one up it should have a green wire in there. That should be a ground "if you are in the US". The other two are for the AC. Usually black and white.

Basically you will want to chop the end off the cord (not the end you plug into the outlet) and expose the wires. Then you will attach them to the corresponding input wires on your power supply. Once you do that make sure there are no shorts or exposed wires. The next step is to plug in the psu and test.

I still can't see the second link. So I'm assuming you have 3 wires for your input. If its only two then you won't need a ground and if its more than 3. Well I'm not sure haha.

jeffreythe00 said:

Your image link is broken.

Click to expand...

Hmm, it works ok on my end. Let me try again just in case.

Your second attachment is not working. I can see the 1st photo just fine. I just added more info btw.

Second photo you posted is fine now. I'm just stupid lol.

jeffreythe00 said:

Your image link is broken. You can use any chopped up AC appliance cord to plug your psu into the outlet. If my phones net was working a bit better I'd go search eBay for you. They cost about 2$ shipped and you probably have one laying around. Just make sure you don't mix the ground wires with the AC wires . You can just twist together the wires and tape them so you don't have exposed mains wires and or cap them.

Either way your new power supply is not worthless.

To clarify an AC appliance cord is used by many household appliances, tv's, computer's, toaster, microwave's. Basically what you want is one of those 3 prong cords.

When you chop one up it should have a green wire in there. That should be a ground "if you are in the US". The other two are for the AC. Usually black and white.

Basically you will want to chop the end off the cord (not the end you plug into the outlet) and expose the wires. Then you will attach them to the corresponding input wires on your power supply. Once you do that make sure there are no shorts or exposed wires. The next step is to plug in the psu and test.

I still can't see the second link. So I'm assuming you have 3 wires for your input. If its only two then you won't need a ground and if its more than 3. Well I'm not sure haha.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. However, I know absolutely nothing about building electronics, so I would feel a lot better letting someone who knows what they're doing mess with it. My brother-in-law probably could, but I rarely see him. I may have to pay him a visit, lol!

madmacmo said:

If the power supply you received looks like this

Then what you have is referred to as a HeNe "brick" power supply, where it is of utmost importance to determine if it is powered by either 120VAC or by 12VDC, as you for sure do not want to inadvertently connect a 120 volt power cord to a 12VDC device

Click to expand...

Yes, it's similar to this. I've a feeling my B.I.L. is going to have a new project pretty soon...:eg:

madmacmo said:

If the power supply you received looks like this

Then what you have is referred to as a HeNe "brick" power supply, where it is of utmost importance to determine if it is powered by either 120VAC or by 12VDC, as you for sure do not want to inadvertently connect a 120 volt power cord to a 12VDC device

Click to expand...

Dont forget that in some cases they are 28 vdc. Not sure how many are floating
around in the USA, but here in Canada, 28vdc was the norm for the barcode
tabletop scanner He/Ne's. Talk about a PITA to find a suitable transformer
back in the day, long before the interwebz

I still have a 28v version from CVI, and a big honker of a re-purposed laptop
P/S hanging from it :undecided:

The 28v version looks just as pictured above, though different decals.

If you can give the model number or any writing on the PS, you can get more information on it. It looks like a melles griot PS from the picture.

JLSE said:

Dont forget that in some cases they are 28 vdc. Not sure how many are floating
around in the USA, but here in Canada, 28vdc was the norm for the barcode
tabletop scanner He/Ne's. Talk about a PITA to find a suitable transformer
back in the day, long before the interwebz

I still have a 28v version from CVI, and a big honker of a re-purposed laptop
P/S hanging from it :undecided:

The 28v version looks just as pictured above, though different decals.

Click to expand...

Here's the info on mine, although I don't know what most of it even means:

M/N: 05-LPM-340-065

Input: 115-230 VAC

W. max: 23

Hz: 50-400

Output, KVDC: 1.70-2.45

mA: 6.5

ARGLaser said:

If you can give the model number or any writing on the PS, you can get more information on it. It looks like a melles griot PS from the picture.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I posted before I saw this. Yes, it's a Melles Griot.

That answers one of the big questions. It looks like it will just take a normal ac power cord chopped up and attached to the matching wires on it.

If you get stuck, I'm sure someone here will be able to walk you through it.

Here it is on Sams laser FAQ, though that label has everything you need to know about it

Sam's Laser FAQ - Complete HeNe Laser Power Supply Schematics

I've got one just like that. Laser output is obviously the large white alden plug. 120VAC goes into the white and yellow and green is ground. Tie the whites together - that forms one leg (call it neutral, although reverse polarity won't matter), and the yellow is the other leg (hot). It can also work on 240VAC if you change countries, but the wire arrangement will be different.

Thanks for your help, guys. I wish I could print it out, but alas, I don't have a printer.

I'll try to use what you gave me, though.

I'd still like to know if my other PS might work on this laser, though? Here's the info on it first:

(Hughes PS- Model 5040)

Input power: 115 volts

50/60 Cyc

310 mA


And this is the info that is on the newest laser head:

Hughes Model 3225H-C-66

10mW (May 1988)

The other one that came with the older PS is:

Hughes Model 3227H-C

15mW (Feb. 1987)

Since that one is supposed to be 15mW, and the newest is a 10mW, I don't know if it's compatible with both laser heads.

lasergal said:

I'd still like to know if my other PS might work on this laser, though? Here's the info on it first:

(Hughes PS- Model 5040)

Click to expand...

That one is 7.0 mA 2,600-2,800 V according to sams FAQ.

The brick PS you got is 6.5 mA 1,700-2,800 V.

It's probably to much for the tube you got.

ARGLaser said:

That one is 7.0 mA 2,600-2,800 V according to sams FAQ.

The brick PS you got is 6.5 mA 1,700-2,800 V.

It's probably to much for the tube you got.

Click to expand...

I was afraid it might be. I don't want to fry anything, lol!

Another question now is, is the Melles Griot PS the correct one for this laser? It looks like it's meant for no more than 5mW, and this is *supposed* to be a 10mW. Since the eBay photo didn't even show the PS, I don't know if it's the one that was being used in the photo of the laser in action. The seller may have just thrown a random PS in there with it.