Beckman, Uniphase (2212) Argon Ion

[532 with Envy]

Re: Beckman 488nm

Here . It's basically a 47 k pot and the needed jumpers to get the laser lase. But it doesn't

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Okay....So I copied your design here with this...
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062355

I double and triple check the wiring...got it all soldered up.
Plugged it in, started up the laser...and all I got was the same dim glow:yabbem:

I still haven't given up all hope, perhaps we are doing something wrong with the wiring or basic idea for the controller?(just throwing it out there.)

I WANT ARGON LIGHT!

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Re: Beckman 488nm

Here . It's basically a 47 k pot and the needed jumpers to get the laser lase. But it doesn't

Okay....So I copied your design here with this...
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062355

I double and triple check the wiring...got it all soldered up.
Plugged it in, started up the laser...and all I got was the same dim glow:yabbem:

I still haven't given up all hope, perhaps we are doing something wrong with the wiring or basic idea for the controller?(just throwing it out there.)

I WANT ARGON LIGHT!

I don't know man.. Which setting do you use, HI or LO ( for voltage ) ? What mains do you have?
I gave up trying to fix this thing. I'm so frustrated plus I don't want to mess things up. It may me a simple and small problem which is blocking the laser to lase. Unless a more experienced person replies here, we can't do anything.

 

[532 with Envy]

Re: Beckman 488nm

MMMM....I'm not sure what you mean by settings or mains? sorry

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Re: Beckman 488nm

MMMM....I'm not sure what you mean by settings or mains? sorry

The psu has 2 modes, LO and HI. Somewhere near the interface input. This defines which range will work with the input voltage of the wall socket. Lo is 208-220V ( im not sure for 208 ) and HI is 230-240 V. Depending on the voltage you have on your wall sockets, you need to use the respective range. In my case the input voltage in my house is 225V everywhere. It's right in the middle of LO and HI. It may be this problem, I dunno.

 

[532 with Envy]

Re: Beckman 488nm

MMMM....okay..my PSU does not have the LO and HI settings anywhere on it.

It does say...AC 100/ 115-120V
15A

I do wonder if the input voltage from the mains could have such an effect though. Anything is worth looking into though.



If all else fails....I will tear my tube apart, you tear yours apart.....a little glue, some screws, tape and BAMM!! we'll have at least ONE working laser:na:

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Re: Beckman 488nm

MMMM....okay..my PSU does not have the LO and HI settings anywhere on it.

It does say...AC 100/ 115-120V
15A

I do wonder if the input voltage from the mains could have such an effect though. Anything is worth looking into though.



If all else fails....I will tear my tube apart, you tear yours apart.....a little glue, some screws, tape and BAMM!! we'll have at least ONE working laser:na:

Lawl.

 

[daguin]

Re: Beckman 488nm

MMMM....I'm not sure what you mean by settings or mains? sorry

The psu has 2 modes, LO and HI. Somewhere near the interface input. This defines which range will work with the input voltage of the wall socket. Lo is 208-220V ( im not sure for 208 ) and HI is 230-240 V. Depending on the voltage you have on your wall sockets, you need to use the respective range. In my case the input voltage in my house is 225V everywhere. It's right in the middle of LO and HI. It may be this problem, I dunno.

MMMM....okay..my PSU does not have the LO and HI settings anywhere on it.

It does say...AC 100/ 115-120V
15A

I do wonder if the input voltage from the mains could have such an effect though. Anything is worth looking into though.



If all else fails....I will tear my tube apart, you tear yours apart.....a little glue, some screws, tape and BAMM!! we'll have at least ONE working laser:na:

Silvershot probably has this model of PSU

He has to select the input voltage range on his using the red switches at the bottom.

"Mains" refers to the wall socket in his home. Low current from the mains can cause the laser to not be able to lase. I do not "know" if that is the problem, but it is possible

Peace,
dave

 

[532 with Envy]

Re: Beckman 488nm

Silvershot probably has this model of PSU

He has to select the input voltage range on his using the red switches at the bottom.

"Mains" refers to the wall socket in his home. Low current from the mains can cause the laser to not be able to lase. I do not "know" if that is the problem, but it is possible

Peace,
dave

That is a little different from mine, and I don't have the red tabs for the switch. What would be an easy way to test the mains in the house? I would assume they are standard, but perhaps they are not giving what they should? If that were the trouble I guess we are just out of luck. :thanks:

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Re: Beckman 488nm

@ daguin, that's similar to the one I have. Mine is black and has only the HI and LO switch,
The fact that the input voltage is not inside one of the HI and LO ranges makes it possible that the laser is not working?
@ 532, use your digintal multimeter. Set it at 200 ACV. put the red wire to VΩmA and black to COM,, then place the leads in the socket to get the voltage reading.

 

[Cyparagon]

Re: Beckman 488nm

We've already been over this several times in laserchat. It is probably better to have slightly too high cathode temp than slightly too low cathode temp. Your line voltage will also sag slightly under load, so you should set it to LO.

 

[daguin]

Re: Beckman 488nm

@ daguin, that's similar to the one I have. Mine is black and has only the HI and LO switch,
The fact that the input voltage is not inside one of the HI and LO ranges makes it possible that the laser is not working?
@ 532, use your digintal multimeter. Set it at 200 ACV. put the red wire to VΩmA and black to COM,, then place the leads in the socket to get the voltage reading.

Ahh. So yours is just +-200V ranges.

Follow Cyparagon's advice and maybe try it at a different (maybe more modern) power source.

Peace,
dave

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Re: Beckman 488nm

Yeah I noticed that the tube got quite warm( a bit hot ) when set at LO. I will try to use neighboors sockets.

 

[532 with Envy]

Re: Beckman 488nm

So I let the Uniphase run for 20min to see what would happen if anything.

It did not disappoint! No Change....although this might be a good sign of sorts.
Over the 20min the 'dot' characteristics did not change, no flux, no flicker, just the steady 'dot'.

I copied Silvershot's pot design, but it seems to have little to no effect, the only thing that turning the post does is dim the 'dot' a bit. I am still hoping that the controller from Rob will yield different results. I have been doing a lot of reading on Sam's lasers about argons, but haven't seen any reference to this, as far a trouble shooting. Some signs point to not enough current, so I tried the make-shift controller. I thought perhaps that it had been sitting for a bit and needed to burn off a bit, perhaps 20min wasn't long enough. It could be a mirror alignment problem, but again I couldn't find specific reference to what the output looks like with a mirror mis-alignment.

In the mean time here are some pics to describe better what I am talking about.
The 'dot' is a nice blue in the center, surrounded by a dim hallo of a more purple color.
Another photo is of the glow from inside the tube...that too is a nice blue color.
some pics

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[Elektrotechniker]

Re: Beckman 488nm

Man this is becoming even more hard to find out what the problem of your laser is. Yours has a blue dot, mine has a purple one.

The fact that when you turn the pot the laser dims, makes me think the laser does not get enough current. Did you try to measure the current across pins 9 and 22? set your dmm at V and youll get a reading of 0.1V/A,. for example if you get a reading of 0.4 that means the current would be 4 A..

For mine its most likely the mirrors, since the reading on the dmm shows up to 10+ amps..

 

[532 with Envy]

Re: Beckman 488nm

I just tried to measure the current....with the controller connected, the psu powered up but not the laser....I touched the 9 & 22 pins and didn't get any reading:thinking:

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Re: Beckman 488nm

For the current capacity of your line, if you have a washer or dryer in your home, try connecting your laser to the plug it uses provided you're not using them for actual laundry. They're usually on a separate run from the outside box because of the power the appliances need.