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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Remember to exercise those argons!

diachi

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Yes, i read some of Sam's page posted by diachi.
I will be sure to be careful around BeO. Thank you H2Oxide. :)

To be fair - it's rather tough stuff - it's not going to fall apart if you look at it wrong. :beer: But H2Oxide is right to give you a heads up anyway.
 
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CurtisOliver

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Yes, I have had too many dealings with carcinogens, chemicals and radioactive gas, to the point that I am surprised my lungs still work. I do not want to be the one you gets killed by his laser just because of it's tube. :D
 
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diachi

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Yes, I have had too many dealings with carcinogens, chemicals and radioactive gas, to the point that I am surprised my lungs still work. I do not want to be the one you gets killed by his laser just because of it's tube. :D

Radioactive gas? Radon I assume?

No, that wouldn't be good! Being killed by BeO doesn't sound fun. :beer:


Further warnings: Don't poke around the head with the cover off while it's plugged into the PSU - plenty of things in there that'll electrocute you. Whole anode end of the tube including the OC mirror mount sits at ~90-110VDC when it's running at spec current. Also ... gas laser tubes sometimes like to act as capacitors and there are some other capacitors in the head as well as some beefy capacitors in the PSU. Some HV stuff needed to start the tube in there for good measure too...

Think that's all the safety warnings out of the way. :D :whistle:
 
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CurtisOliver

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Tritium gas. Haven't been exposed to radon yet. As for HV, that is what I am most concerned about. Is the laser box safe to touch whilst operational?
 

diachi

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Tritium gas. Haven't been exposed to radon yet. As for HV, that is what I am most concerned about. Is the laser box safe to touch whilst operational?

That was my second guess ... helps that there aren't a whole load of easily accessible radioactive gasses. :p

Yep - head and PSU boxes are perfectly safe to touch whilst it's running. Just need to be careful if you ever have any of the covers off. :D Head can't run long without its cover in place anyway - it needs it on there for proper cooling.
 

CurtisOliver

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Yes, not many radioactive gases for me to inhale. That's a positive. As for the argon. That is good. No accident electric shocks wanted :D
 
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To be fair - it's rather tough stuff - it's not going to fall apart if you look at it wrong.

Correct, and the JDSU tubes contain a very small amount of it. There's no need to be deathly afraid of dropping your laser (aside from being afraid of breaking your laser of course), it's when it gets ground or crushed it becomes a real problem. But it's always better to be safe than sorry.
 

CurtisOliver

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That is good. They are built to last so I would reckon they can withstand a minor knock. But care will be taken, nonetheless.
 
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Lol yeah I haven't run mine lately either. Been thinking about it but had no motivation to move 75lbs of laser and psu around.
 
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About the same for me. Might've been may. Either way I should probably shake the dust off. Solid state does that to you after awhile.
 
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Is anybody here in the San Francisco area? I want to check out what an Argon looks like in real life, but I don't think I can justify buying one for myself. I can offer +rep and a 6-pack if someone would let me swing by some day after work and watch them fire up the flamethrower. Plus I'll carry the PSU up from the basement if you'd like. :)
 

diachi

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Is anybody here in the San Francisco area? I want to check out what an Argon looks like in real life, but I don't think I can justify buying one for myself. I can offer +rep and a 6-pack if someone would let me swing by some day after work and watch them fire up the flamethrower. Plus I'll carry the PSU up from the basement if you'd like. :)


Keep an eye out for deals, Argon lasers aren't necessarily expensive, especially if you get lucky on an eBay purchase or some such.

Makes sense to go see one in person though, pictures never quite do them justice...
 
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Keep an eye out for deals, Argon lasers aren't necessarily expensive, especially if you get lucky on an eBay purchase or some such.

Makes sense to go see one in person though, pictures never quite do them justice...

I'm more worried about the space and power requirements, since I live in a pretty small apartment. The little HeNe is already taking up a significant amount of my hobby space. :) If I saw one for a great deal, though, I still might have to jump on it.
 




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