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Argon Ion Laser (Worth the Gamble?)

Unpairedelectron01

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I was scrolling through a Chinese ebay-like auction site when I stumbled across a listing for an argon laser. The seller claims he doesn't know what it is, and is selling it as is for approximately $40. The laser looks to be missing the PSU, but have absolutely no experience with gas lasers I can't really glean anything else from the pictures. I do know that argon lasers are usually expensive, so if this would be a good deal then I am willing to risk the $40.

Additionally, do you guys know any simple tests the seller could do to point towards a working or not working tube? I heard one way is to gently shake it and listen if anything is rattling inside. If I do decided to purchase it, besides saying "package it well" are there any other specific instructions I should give to ensure it arrives undamaged?

One other thing, I have found what appears to be the operation manual for this laser, in case that helps any: http://www.nationallaser.com/images/Manuals/C61 Manual.pdf

IMG_2103.JPGIMG_2104.JPGIMG_2105.JPGIMG_2106.JPGIMG_2107.JPG

Thanks in advance for any help, owning a gas laser is something I have been looking forward to for a long time! :)
 





Anthony P

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Looks like JDSU 22xx tube. They are now owned by Lumentum. You may be able to find more info at their website. National Laser Co is a repair/rebuild service. They do excellent work. I will try to give you more info later... out of time for now.
 

Unpairedelectron01

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Looks like JDSU 22xx tube. They are now owned by Lumentum. You may be able to find more info at their website. National Laser Co is a repair/rebuild service. They do excellent work. I will try to give you more info later... out of time for now.

Thanks for the reply! I did a lot of digging on the Lumentum website and although I wasn't able to find one that had the exact specs as the one up for sale, it does indeed appear to be one of their products. Do you have any suggestions on how to tell if it is still working?
 

Anthony P

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Try to contact Cyparagon, LPF member. He built the controller for a very similar argon that I recently purchased. I would bet he knows much more than I do. To operate that tube you will need power supply AND controller AND fan. They require about 165 cfm or more fan (shop vac). Mine has the National Laser sticker and also the JDSU sticker that tells wich model. Hope this helps. Argons have one of the cleanest purest beams of all lasers. They are bulky and cumbersome compared to the modern diodes... but they are worlds apart when it comes to beam quality.
 

Anthony P

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Try to contact Cyparagon, LPF member. He built the controller for a very similar argon that I recently purchased. I would bet he knows much more than I do. To operate that tube you will need power supply AND controller AND fan. They require about 165 cfm or more fan (shop vac). Mine has the National Laser sticker and also the JDSU sticker that tells wich model. Hope this helps. Argons have one of the cleanest purest beams of all lasers. They are bulky and cumbersome compared to the modern diodes... but they are worlds apart when it comes to beam quality.
btw: the sticker that says 160mW is NOT the output power.
 
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$40 is a good deal. Does that include shipping though? Shame if you don't have extra parts lying around, you'll be out $400+ before you have a fully original turnkey system.

If you can source your own fan, are fine with just sticking paper clips into the controller port, and have some intermediate electrical knowledge, you can get away with spending just another $115-$150 for the power supply. 2110, 2111, 2112, and 2114 models should all be compatible if I remember correctly.
 
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It took me some time to find a working one. I bought 4-5 of them before I found one that worked. It cost me a lot but having a working Argon is very unique. That one you have posted does look in good condition. I would expect it to be ok. There is an hour meter on the circuit board behind the front cover. Maybe you can get the seller to open it and take a photo of the hour meter. > 10,000 hours prob stuffed. My working one has about 6000 hours.

You can check the gas by putting an Oden or Tesla coil or similar on them. You should see a blue flash inside the tube if you look down it from the front. No flash or Pink flash means the gas is gone. You can check the Heater coil with an Ohm meter.

A power supply can be made but it's a lot of work. There are many JDS power supplies on ebay that should work. Reasonable price.

You will also need a fan with a pretty high air flow rate. These tubes draw around 1000 Watts at full power. Most of that is heat.
 
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Yeah, mine makes a great room heater in the winter months as it pulls 12 amps at full power. It has a replacement tube in it because the guy I bought it from worked for Uniphase or whatever company that supplied the tube.
 

Unpairedelectron01

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Thanks everyone for you contribution! I have a much better idea of what to look for now. I will hold off on this one because I just found two more listings for complete systems (laser tube and power supply). One is a new LDSU 2218, and the other is a Melles Griot 35-IMA-830-012 lightly used. They are going for $185 and $300 respectively. I'm leaning towards the Melles Griot one because it's the type that has an on-board fan, but it is more expensive and I need to do some more research to see if it is indeed a multi-line laser (the sticker seems to read 457-488nm and not the typical 458-515nm, but like I said I'm still new to gas lasers and don't really know what that means). I'm also not sure what the aluminum attachment to the output is.

LDSU 2218 Listing Photos: IMG_2117.JPGIMG_2118.JPGIMG_2119.JPGIMG_2120.JPGIMG_2121.JPG

Melles Griot: IMG_2108.JPGIMG_2109.JPGIMG_2110.JPGIMG_2112.JPGIMG_2115.JPG


Due to time zone differences, I want to apologize for not being able to respond to your posts in a timely manner, but I do appreciate all the help.

Cheers,
Unpaired01
 

Anthony P

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I am not 100% sure, but I think the "SL" on the jdsu indicates single line as opposed to "ML" multiline.
 

Unpairedelectron01

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I am not 100% sure, but I think the "SL" on the jdsu indicates single line as opposed to "ML" multiline.

You are absolutely correct, that tube is definitely a single line (still a good deal though). Now if only I could find some information on the Melles Griot 35-IMA-830-012. The Melles Griot website doesn't even list gas lasers anymore, and the Wayback machine hasn't proven to be too useful.
 

diachi

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I am not 100% sure, but I think the "SL" on the jdsu indicates single line as opposed to "ML" multiline.

SL is single line 488nm. The number preceding that denotes the rated power in mW, in this case 10. Although they'll usually do more in good health, maybe 20-30mW.

You are absolutely correct, that tube is definitely a single line (still a good deal though). Now if only I could find some information on the Melles Griot 35-IMA-830-012. The Melles Griot website doesn't even list gas lasers anymore, and the Wayback machine hasn't proven to be too useful.

Not sure on that model, documentation doesn't list it, but does list other 35-XXX models. Could be a custom model number for a customer. UltimateKaiser might have a better idea.
 

Unpairedelectron01

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So I decided to pull the trigger on the Melles Griot 35-IMA-830-012. I talked the seller down from $300 to $275, under the condition I cover the shipping fees. I described the fragile nature of the laser tube, and so the seller wrapped the whole thing in bubble wrap and double boxed it. I also paid a bit extra for the shipping company to frame the outer box with wood strapping, for a total shipping cost of $15 :cry: (the final package weighs 17kg). Fingers crossed it arrived undamaged...I'll keep you guys updated. :)

-Unpaired01
 
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That is pretty cheap. I think shipping on my argon cost ~$50.00, but it was very well packed and arrived completely intact. Good luck with this one.
 




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