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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

So I might be getting a 632 nm HeNe laser.

C

Connormgs

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"Would you possibly be interested in trading for a 632nm hehe? I have a bare tube one here with PSU, it is DC though and needs a separate DC 12V supply. No worrys just wondering, thanks!"

Just a few questions about this. Does he mean HeNe, or is there an HeHe laser out there? He says it has a power supply, but why would I need a separate one? Are HeNe lasers way cooler than handheld?! With an open tube laser, any maintenance tips? Is it "basically" a large handheld, in a sense? I was looking for a handheld red, but the thought of having a gas laser just sounds too cool.

Thank you in advance for the responses that I may or may not receive!
 
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lasersbee

lasersbee

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Yes... he is offering a Helium Neon (HeNe) 632.8nm Laser...
It is a glass tube Laser....
The Power Supply needs to produce a few thousand volts
to trigger the tube and ~1000 volts to keep it lit..

A standard 12 Volt Power Supply powers the Laser High
Voltage Power Supply...

A HeNe Laser is really cool when you see the red/orange
glow of the gasses and the almost perfectly round TEM00
Beam profile...

Just ask what the recently tested output power is...


Jerry
 
C

Connormgs

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lasersbee said:
Yes... he is offering a Helium Neon (HeNe) 632.8nm Laser...
It is a glass tube Laser....
The Power Supply needs to produce a few thousand volts
to trigger the tube and ~1000 volts to keep it lit..

A standard 12 Volt Power Supply powers the Laser High
Voltage Power Supply...

A HeNe Laser is really cool when you see the red/orange
glow of the gasses and the almost perfectly round TEM00
Beam profile...

Just ask what the recently tested output power is...


Jerry
Click to expand...

3-4 mW, I said no to the trade.
 
brando132

brando132

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It's sorta kinda hard to find a HeNe over 10mW, they have to be fairly big to get over 10mW.
3-4mW isn't that bad for a HeNe. It depends on what you are trading to him, to see whether or not it's worth the trade.
 
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daguin

daguin

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Check out some of the posts in this board. There are lots of pictures and info about HeNe's

Peace,
dave
 
J

james1095

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brando132 said:
It's kinda hard to find a HeNe over 10mW, they have to be fairly big to get over 10mW.
3-4mW isn't that bad for a HeNe. It depends on what you are trading to him, to see whether or not it's worth the trade.
Click to expand...


It's not too hard to find them up to around 15mW, but by then you're looking at a 2-3 foot long tube with an expensive power supply. Unlikely to find a complete system over about 10mW for under $400 or so.

HeNe is an excellent choice for holography, no diode will come close in terms of beam quality and divergence, and new they're very expensive so prices remain fairly high. 2mW or less were used heavily in barcode scanners so they're cheap and easy to find, 5mW can be found for under $100, but above that they start to go up pretty fast.

Anyone who is just looking for power may as well go with a diode. Gas lasers in general are more of a specialty item these days.
 
hakzaw1

hakzaw1

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Bare tubes allow you to see the beam inside-- way cool!!! and they make very nice table lamps too. Everyone should own at least one. Also look for one that runs from 115vac-- its a PITA to need a PS for your PS, but still worth it. You cant always just run it from a cheap 12v wallwart. Some use the PS from PC and those can be found for free.
 
J

james1095

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A wall wart works fine. I have several small barcode scanner HeNes, they're cute little tubes about 5" long. I use a 12V switchmode regulated (the small really light kind) wall wart rated at 1.5A to run them.
 
brando132

brando132

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james1095 said:
It's not too hard to find them up to around 15mW, but by then you're looking at a 2-3 foot long tube with an expensive power supply. Unlikely to find a complete system over about 10mW for under $400 or so.

HeNe is an excellent choice for holography, no diode will come close in terms of beam quality and divergence, and new they're very expensive so prices remain fairly high. 2mW or less were used heavily in barcode scanners so they're cheap and easy to find, 5mW can be found for under $100, but above that they start to go up pretty fast.

Anyone who is just looking for power may as well go with a diode. Gas lasers in general are more of a specialty item these days.
Click to expand...
I got a 14" 13.6mW MM 632.8nm HeNe bare tube for 40$, I got the PSU that was made to go with it for 30$.
70$.
Not 400$
 
J

james1095

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14" sounds a bit small for that power level, the 9.8mW (measured) head I have is rated 7mW minimum and the tube in it is around 18" long. Is that actual measured power, or the value on the CDRH safety sticker which is often much higher? You might have got lucky and found a really "hot" tube but most in that size range are 4-5mW.

I wish I could find a deal like that. Both of my PSUs have died, and of course they're epoxy potted bricks. New ones run $200-$300, surplus dealers occasionally have them in the $150 range. I've seen a few used ones on ebay in the $80-$100 range, but nothing suitable currently. I need 2450V 6.5mA and 2700V 7mA which are larger than the common ones you can find for $20-$50.

Prices are all over on heads, but brand new they run anywhere from hundreds for a little 0.5mW up to thousands for 30-35mW. Surplus of course are far cheaper, and in the smaller sizes, readily available.
 
brando132

brando132

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I got the tube from Dave, who I believe metered it at that power. Specs say 15mW, it is also MM, which will have something to do with power.

I got my PSU from eBay, it is an epoxy brick, Melles Griot 05-LPM-902-065, with 2.45KVDC and 6.5mA output.
 
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Benm

Benm

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I suppose noone gets HeNes for their power anymore though, The optical characteristics are far superior to diode lasers, but they do get huge when pushing beyond 10 mW or so.

Before laser diodes huge HeNe tubes were constructed, think of a meter in length if not more. Those just became obsolete once pen-style diode lasers capable of 100s of mW hit the market.
 
Gata

Gata

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Dude is this my HeNe your talking about? I can't even remember what we were trading XP

Also do you understand why I said you will need a 12V supply?
 
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hakzaw1

hakzaw1

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james1095 said:
A wall wart works fine. I have several small barcode scanner HeNes, they're cute little tubes about 5" long. I use a 12V switchmode regulated (the small really light kind) wall wart rated at 1.5A to run them.
Click to expand...


Not always true- I said some do and others do not-what is printed on the wallwart cases is not ALWAYS what they output. But those little HeNe are pretty tough so not much chance of hurting it. I have found that the tubes are cheaper and easier to find than the brick PSs. Looking for five of them ATM.

Will trade for A-140s.-or any AixiZ items.
 
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