Another 4W argon on ebay

[Razako]

I found this on ebay and thought I would leave it here for anyone interested.
http://cgi.ebay.com/hgm-argon-ion-4...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

 

[brtaman]

Doesn't seem to have a reserve price either. Just I can't imagine what the shipping for that beast would be (110$ seems a bit low?). Not to mention the needed tri-phase, but someone with the appropriate equipment+location could get a great deal with this auction. Nice find [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

 

[FrothyChimp]

he's been rated 3 times (2 being sales over 90 days ago so no info on the products sold) and: "I also reserve the right to stop this auction at any time for any reason" would concern me. So if I win with a $25.00 bid he can stop the sale because it was not reasonable?

 

[brtaman]

Yeah, that statement is a bit weird? Why not just set a reserve...?

On the other hand it seems that he just wants to get rid of it, judging by the fact that it seems to be on a bed. Are you considering it frothy? "I wont refuse any reasonable serious people." Can't think of anyone more serious about lasers than you, maybe if you contacted him a good price could be arranged?

 

[FrothyChimp]

Well the auction is missing quite a bit of vital information. It's not likely I'd pull the trigger on this one. When someone says it needs work but works great I think that I may have to hold two wires together and act as the ballast to get it lasing.

Plus I have to head to Ohio tomorrow and pick up a baby argon.

 

[jake21]

ohio cool that where i live is

 

[GooeyGus]

Ahhhh the infamous HGM5. This laser runs on SINGLE phase 220V at around 35A. They really are a fun laser if you get a good unit. I have two of them, one works great and the other has a broken tube. They are rated for 3W for 30 seconds then they need to cool. If you add better cooling you can get higher sustained powers. The tube is essentially the same as an alc68b. Just be aware that it it amazingly heavy, around 100lbs, yet fragile at the same time. My first one broke in shipping, luckily I found my working unit locally. If you guys need or want some better pictures, I can snap some of my unit.

 

[brtaman]

There is quite a lot of vital information left out as you said frothychimp, would be a gamble to buy, but if someone gets it cheap and has time and it has a decent tube (a lot of ifs ) then its a great deal.

Thanks for correcting my mistake gooey, I assumed that due to the power the laser would have to be tri-phase. (i know, i know...never assume...ass u me... hated highschool teachers using this corny line). 100lbs though, how much did you pay for shipping, his 110$ seems way low?

 

[GooeyGus]

I paid about $150, but I think the actual costs were around $120 or so.

The good thing about these is that they usually hardly have any hours on them. In the medical field they are used to deliver short, high-power pulses. The tube IS designed to run CW. With the factory cooling you can run it at about 500mW for quite a while, and full power for no more than 30 seconds. With GOOD cooling you can easily get a watt of laser light without having to worry about stopping to let it cool down. With really good cooling you can run them at 2W. Many of those lasers they use for pulse treatment will melt if you try to run them CW.

ALSO even if the tube is garbage, this is a GREAT single phase power supply. You can run a ton of lasers on it including a lexel 88 and most other 'medium frame' argon lasers, which require 3-phase more often than not.

 

[brtaman]

Man, if I was in the US I would be all over this baby. That PSU does sound good now that you mention it, I was always under the impression that all argons in the W range were tri-phase, must be one heck of a PSU, but 35A@220v...my god, I don't even want to think of what would happen to my electrical bill. :-/

 

[Cyparagon]

Oh it's not that bad. Power is usually about 10¢/KWh. So running it balls to the walls for a full hour (not even possible) would only be 77¢.

You can run a ton of lasers on it including a lexel 88 and most other 'medium frame' argon lasers

provided you know how to modify it. :-/ Did we fully figure that one out yet?

 

[rkcstr]

I'd stay away from this guy. I emailed him a question about it and he ends up telling me:

"I regret to inform you that I am going to end the auction ahead of its time. I would sell the laser but I have to get at least 350.00 dollars for it. If it reaches that amount.. I would ship it any way the winner likes as long as they pay for it. Again Im sorry if this isnt what you wanted to hear but thats all I can do"

So, basically he's going to end the auction early, no matter that there are currently winning bidders, if it doesn't reach $350. And, we don't even know what condition it is in and if the guy is going to actually pack it well enough to not be damaged in shipping... if he cares so little about the rules for selling, I wouldn't think he really cares enough to carefully package and ship a very heavy and delicate item such as this.

 

[GooeyGus]

Yeah if he powers it up and it lases, $350 is a SCREAMIN deal. But in 'as is' condition, no one has any idea what it's worth, especially since it's so fragile. BUT honestly, even if it didn't work the PSU alone is worth like $250.

 

[rkcstr]

Yeah... I really considered it... but if I bid on it, the guy would probably just end up saying "oh, someone else bought it already, sorry" since it ended at $265 and he wanted "at least $350", plus the $100+ shipping. So, you're probably looking at $450+ for something that may or may not work ("could use some work to be perfect" as he said) that he could just have thrown in a slightly bigger box with some peanuts and wished it the best of luck to make it to you in one piece. Kind of a big gamble IMO.

 

[rkcstr]

Just looking around on ebay and such:

1. Anyone near Ottawa, Canada and have 3 phase? >3W argon with power supply, $499!
http://www.usedottawa.com/classified-ad/7841304

2. Same model with PSU for about $900 shipped in the US:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SPECTRA-PHYSICS...ryZ53141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

3. DIY 20W argon?
http://cgi.ebay.com/SPECTRA-PHYSICS...ryZ53141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

4. Or ready-to-go 20W argon. Averages 24W! make them an offer they can't refuse
http://cgi.ebay.com/Laser-Ionics-55...ryZ53141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

5. A nice white laser, 2.5W... too bad it's only a head:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SPECTRA-PHYSICS...ryZ53141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

6. Maybe good if you can talk them down on the $950 plus $250 S&H, for a 2W multi-line
http://cgi.ebay.com/LEXEL-ARGON-ION...ryZ53141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

7. What is this crap? "5W laser" for ~$400, but no idea what kind, haha. Also, if it is worthwhile, could probably talk em down as I saw an ad searching Google where these same people were trying to hock these for $250 each.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Opto-Power-Corp...ryZ53141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

8. 'nother 3-phaser, 5W argon, but not cheap
http://cgi.ebay.com/Spectra-Physics...ryZ53141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[heruursciences]

Most of the HGM lasers I've bought in the past worked fine, but had high pressure tubes that needed to be burned in to get them on an even keel. I found that using a rectified and current limited microwave oven transformer works the best for getting them in a condition to be able to start reliably. Once you get it to start, run it for 48 hours or so and it will be good as new. The draw back is they are power hungry, heavy, fragile, noisy, and make a LOT OF HEAT.

In fact i even used one as a space heater when the temps up here in Wisconsin got into the negatives, kept the tube in tip top shape, for heating these are a lot more efficient than your average space heater watt for watt..