Another broken laser - HeNe 612nm. Tube lights fine.. but

[Solonar]

He could most likely get it lasing again, but any crack is going to allow air to enter the tube fairly soon.

These tubes are at 1/190th atmosphere and any path for entry will slowly contaminate the mixture.

 

[Bluefan]

At least you can salvage the optics for those of us lucky enough to have a working 2 brewster windows hene (not me (yet)) if the tube is really absolutely dead.
Gas problem can be seen quite good in the discharge, so if it's leaking, it'll be visible soon enough. If the gas is ok, keep trying. As always, sam's laserfaq is quite informative on reviving tubes.

 

[aryntha]

sorry Lasersbee, I was ... quickly responding to too posts at once, I know, kind of strange, sorry.

I'm letting some sealant cure in it right now; the attempted alignment might have exacerbated the situation. Either way i'll let you guys know the outcome of course. If I do end up with mirrors I can't use, i'll let you folks now.

 

[LSRFAQ]

You've got a 35$ offer on the dead tube with mirrors right now, from me. But please let us see a pic of the discharge color before you make that decision. It may be just fine, we can tell a lot by the color.

Steve

 

[aryntha]

Steve,

I may not be able to keep the thing if the paypal dispute goes through... Unfortunately if the seller wants to make a shipping claim (which I'm guessing he will) it'll require sending it back to him.

It's a $300 gamble of pushing my luck; After some research though, it looks like the tube (even of this size?) was only rated at 0.5mW 612nm to begin with. I'll let folks know...

 

[aryntha]

Interesting. Just finally got through to REO:

"We no longer offer our 612nm lasers."

If that is indeed true, it means that no manufacturers are producing them anymore.

 

[daguin]

Interesting. Just finally got through to REO:

"We no longer offer our 612nm lasers."

If that is indeed true, it means that no manufacturers are producing them anymore.

< makes room in the safe . . . .>

 

[aryntha]

Maybe I shouldn't have said that if I ever hope to see one. It's also possible they could have been feeding me a line to get me off the phone. I'd pay good for one at this point.

 

[photonaholic]

Best of luck with this, I'd be flipping out hard, but then $300 to me is a chunk of change...

Stores have given me refunds before just to shut me up.

 

[aryntha]

Trust me, I've been doing breathing exercises to keep my cool here.

Hoping:

-That I will get my money back.
-That there is another 612nm out there, somehow, somewhere.

It ain't easy. I want to reach through the net and kind slap this guy around; if he had only spent two minutes double boxing the thing........ if only, if only.

 

[photonaholic]

We all learned from this one, If it were me shipping that, I would have removed the PS and wrapped it in bubble wrap separate from the rest. (Now that I know it would move in transit) and then let you put it back when the laser arrived.

But then again, we are laser people here.

 

[aryntha]

The sad thing is, that could have been done without any desoldering. A clip for the anode, a clip on the gas fill; that's it for the power supply. Would have taken all of five minutes.

But yeah, I think overall, it netted an educational thread. Gas fill, possible steps to DIY HeNe mirror alignment, shipping practices, and lessons about eBay. Keeping on the bright side.

 

[Cyparagon]

Maybe I shouldn't have said that if I ever hope to see one. It's also possible they could have been feeding me a line to get me off the phone. I'd pay good for one at this point.

Do you have any idea what gas lasers cost new? If you thought $300 was a lot... :thinking:

 

[daguin]

Do you have any idea what gas lasers cost new? If you thought $300 was a lot... :thinking:

True dat!

We are very spoiled

Peace,
dave

 

[aryntha]

Do you have any idea what gas lasers cost new? If you thought $300 was a lot... :thinking:

Yup, I do. Melles Griot lists their prices online, so I got a bit of a hint. They don't make 612s anymore either though.

 

[Cyparagon]

My point was you aren't willing to pay that much even if it was available.