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I suppose if I needed the schematic I could create it easily enough, it just seemed odd that it was missing but that makes sense. I don't have Windows but I thought pdf was pretty standardized, strange, I ended up typing the numbers in since there aren't all that many parts, not sure why copying...

This thread is a bit old at this point but it seems the boost driver is missing the schematic in KiCAD format, is this intentional? Also the only BOM I could find is a PDF I can't copy and paste from so I have to manually type in every one of those long part numbers. Looks like a nice little...

I've never seen that specific model but I do remember HeNe pointers back in the early 90s. They are not very powerful by modern standards, typically around 0.5mW but when properly working the output should be steady and not flicker. Even the cheapest most basic gas laser tubes will have beam...

It looks great, but man I would be terrified to work with such an expensive diode, imagine the feeling if you manage to hook it up wrong and pop it. A friend and I spent quite a bit of time several years ago experimenting with cameras trying to accurately capture the color of discharge lamps...

The wavelength only matters in relation to absorbtion of the material you wish to heat. A 1W laser at 200nm is putting out exactly the same amount of energy as a 1W laser at 10,000nm. The 10,000nm laser is producing more photons to get to the same output but that's irrelevant in this case. It's...

Blue photons are much more energetic than red photons, but Watt for Watt it's all about absorbion. Any light that is reflected off the target is wasted energy when you are trying to heat the target. Very few things reflect the CO2 wavelength well. This is why it works so well for cutting and...

It won't hurt anything as long as you rinse the tube out so nothing dries and stains. Even that won't hurt the functionality but it won't look good either. A mixture of distilled water and antifreeze is good if you have a closed system that stays full in the event that the laser is stored in an...

The old fashioned iron NSTs have magnetic shunts which create a leakage path for the magnetic circuit. This limits the secondary current and makes them very tolerant of short circuits. Core saturation is another issue entirely though and shunts will not prevent DC from saturating the core...

Re: My Argon just went bang... update: reason discovered Depends where you are. Here in the US, you would only find GFCI breakers protecting receptacles located outdoors, in bathrooms, or in more modern homes kitchens and other places near water sources. Bedrooms in new houses have to be...

Re: My Argon just went bang... update: reason discovered I don't want to sound snarky, but google it. Look for testing transistors with a multimeter. If you have a diode test function that works perfectly. Bipolar transistors look like two diodes with the cathodes both on the Base pin (NPN) or...

Re: My Argon just went bang... update: reason discovered The yellow wire looks like it connects to one side of the filament which is also the cathode of the tube. Without seeing a schematic of the power supply there's no way to know what damage it may have done, but I would test any power...

The laser tube won't mind half wave rectification, but it will cause a DC current in the transformer core and risks saturation. Transformers don't like this and will run very hot. As with most things, your mileage may vary, but HV diodes aren't terribly expensive. Last I checked All Electronics...

Re: My Argon just went bang... Open up the PSU and have a look, that's where I would guess the bang came from. I've had power transistors and diodes violently explode when something shorted, even had the flying shrapnel draw blood from my hand on one occasion. If it's a switching power supply...

I have one somewhere that's a null modem cable, but it says NULL right on the connectors. The vast majority that you find will be straight through. DB25 straight through cables were used mostly for RS232 serial ports back in the PC/XT era prior to the AT (286) switch to the 9 pin port but they...

You can wire the output of multiple identical flyback transformers in parallel to get more current. It isn't the most elegant way of powering one of these tubes but it will work. You will want a milliammeter in the cathode (-) side so you know how hard you're driving the tube. You may not need a...

Yeah any glasses you can find will almost fully absorb the wavelength from a CO2 laser, but enough power is available that it won't take long to burn a hole through them if you manage to get directly in the beam. Also it's completely invisible deep IR so the first clue that you've been hit will...

Copper vapor lasers can be run pseudo-CW and produce average powers of hundreds of Watts. I don't know how well they scale up. Pulsed ruby lasers can produce extremely high peak powers in the visible red range, but the repetition rate and average power are low. DPSS is the highest power truly CW...

Heat related alignment was my initial thought as well. I've only ever realigned HeNe lasers but with those you want to let it warm up for 20-30 minutes and attach the tube or head securely in the position you expect to run it prior to tweaking the alignment. With a random tube shoehorned into...

Depends what you're trying to do. If you want to replace the cord, remove the rear cap.

I use a small fountain pump with my 25W CO2. I need to make a proper reservoir at some point but this works fine for intermittent use and when the water starts to get warm I dump some ice cubes in the jar.