If what you see in the pictures is all you get, I'd give it a miss. Although its a pretty tube (I love the glass bell ones - they look cool when ionised), its missing the head cover, and cooling fan.
You're also going to need the umbilical and power supply, and being high hours, the thing doesn't sound like its going to present much enjoyment for long.
Keep looking on ebay. Ask questions to the seller like "how many hours on that hour meter", "does it make any rattling sounds when you gently shake it (please do not drop it" and if you buy tell them "This laser has an extremely fragile plasma tube inside. Please pack it well as we all know what courier/delivery companies are like, and this will not survive a 3 foot drop onto a hard surface if not packed well".
Buying a laser "AS IS, Not tested" off ebay is a gamble. Only gamble what you would not cry over loosing - I've just put my gamble in for $150 on an omnichrome 543, but I spotted the hour meter. It looks to be 339 or 39 hours so practically brand new. Its highly unlikely that I will get a broken laser, but I am prepared for that to eventuate. I did ask the seller to pack it well, quoting the packing instructions above.
Edit: and sadly they didn't seem to read my instructions and I ended up with a broken tube. Fortunately I had the go pro rolling, as I opened the package, and took off the head cover to show the damage after I discovered bits of broken glass falling out. Sadly my hearing isn't the best, and I couldn't hear it rattling inside the box. Luckily I got an honest seller who apologised, and refunded my money, and didn't ask me to send the laser back. I think because in the video once I heard the rattles, I said "yep - this laser is junk. You didn't pack it properly!". Check the sellers feedback, especially the negs - this is where you find people whinging about poor packaging, or the seller simply offloading stuff thats obviously non functional.
This is why you ALWAYS have a video camera rolling, even if its a friend holding an iphone - the quality will be enough from a phone camera these days to prove you didn't damage the goods.
My second entry in the "ebay laser lottery" is an ILT and I gave the seller packing instructions and after a few days they said "I've packed it as you discribed, double boxed and in the squishy foam. Its ready to go as soon as you have paid.", at which point I thought "Oh I'd better pay for that auction", promptly sent an apologetic email to the seller about being slack at paying, and did the paypal thing
Of course one cannot tell if the laser has leaked its gas just by looking at it, unless the filament has been run after the laser has gone up to air; but there are ways to test for this without shelling out for a power supply. One of those mini 15 watt tesla coils off ebay will work - just disconnect all the sensitive electronics first (such as the ignite card, which usually has the light pickup op amp on there, which the tesla will break pretty quick smart. The mini tesla coil is an easy electronics kit to built, and should take even the lesser experienced with a soldering iron half an hour to build. Watch the business end though, even though its small, it can give you quite a zap. You will know its working if you bring a fluoroescent tube nearby - it'll light the tube just like magic. Also the angry sparks coming off the fine wire is another dead giveaway. They state these are musical, but I'd be more than hesitant to hook up your $1000 iphone/samsung to a project that generates 1000's of volts
I wasn't interested in this functionality - I just wanted something to test gas tubes with.
Once confirmed gas intact, you can start hunting for a power supply. Look for units that either state "Working, tested to power on" or are shown plugged in and the interlock / power leds lit. These are usually the good ones. Don't buy the ones stating "not tested as is" etc as they may have blown output devices, or simply be non functional.
Cheers
Ben
