Cyonics 2201-15SLB

[GVLLD M981]

I have 2 of these, without the power supplies. I have no idea what they came out of. From what I could gather, these are 488nm Argon lasers. The power supplies I've seen are really pricey. Anyone have any thoughts on what to do with these? I want to light one up really bad. I'm considering making a power supply for it, but from what I remember reading, one of it's requirements is 3VAC @ 25A, this would involve rewinding a microwave oven transformer, which I have done before, not a huge deal, just a pain. I'd rather not.

 

[swamidog]

yes, they are 15mw single line 488 (cyan) nm argons.

 

[Mosc007]

I rewound the secondary of a toroid to get the 3 vac for the filament supply. It does need a center tap for the common to the Anode supply. You need a beefy supply for the Anode. About 110 vdc at 10 amps. Needs to be current regulated or a very hign wattage ballast resistor. You also need the ignitor voltage. About 5kv.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f67/argon-laser-pulse-tester-100461.html

I am having a hard time getting a working argon. Bought 3 so far. None work. Waiting for delivery on another. 20 sl. Held by customs atm.

I might have found a 40 ml local though from a DNA sequencer. Getiing it tested before i buy it. Supplier said he may have 2 or 3 of them.

 

[paul1598419]

Glad to hear you have another option, Mosc007.

Yes, those single line 488nm argons are rated at 15 mW but can do more if they are not too high in hours.

 

[GVLLD M981]

I have an MDQ-200A, full wave bridge rectifier, that will do it, but I don't know how to go about current regulating it, other than possibly just using a 10A circuit breaker. Everyone should have a 1600V, 200A, full wave bridge rectifier, they come in so handy at times. I arc weld 6011 rods with it, and it doesn't even get warm! I made my arc welder by rewinding microwave oven transformers, and it works just fine. I scored 11lbs of 6011 rod, not knowing that it was DCEP only rod, but my rectifier handles it just fine. They make a 3 phase version of it, called MDS-200A.

MDQ200A | eBay

If you are a hobby welder, like me, this is what I would do if you find yourself needing to use D/C, especially if you already own an A/C welder. D/C welders are prohibitively expensive, and this solution worked out okay for me. Bolt it right to the side of your welder, with some heat sink compound on it, so it can use the side of the welder as a heat sink if it has to. Cut the cables just long enough to reach the rectifier, and put 4 ring terminals on the cut ends of the cables. Attach the cables from the welder to the rectifiers inputs, and leave them there. The leads can then be attached to the rectifier's outputs for D/C, or bridged to the inputs with the cables coming from the welder for A/C welding. Crude, but cost effective.

 

[Mosc007]

You can do it without a current regulator. The tube voltage should be about 110 vdc. You can calculate what value resistor you will need. But very high wattage. 10 amps is the absolute max. Aim for about 8-9 amps.

Eg. If you have 150 vdc then you need to drop 40 volts at 9 amps. That will be about 4.4 ohm resistor at 356 watts.

Search google for Sam's laser page. He has sample supplies.

 

[GooeyGus]

Not sure what your budget is, but I see these psus on eBay all the time for under 100 bucks. I picked one up for 50 a couple weeks ago. Just shop a bit and you'll find one.

Also for what it's worth the power supply doesn't have to perfectly match the model number, so long as it's a cyonics 2101-xxx you'll be fine.

 

[GVLLD M981]

I got my power supply today, at least it's supposed to be a power supply:
Cyonics Laser Power Supply Model 2201-40MLA | eBay
But there doesn't seem to be any way to plug it into the wall, some

#2201-40MLA. But I don't see how this is going work. I think they sent me another laser. Godddammmit!

 

[diachi]

I got my power supply today, at least it's supposed to be a power supply:
Cyonics Laser Power Supply Model 2201-40MLA | eBay
But there doesn't seem to be any way to plug it into the wall, some

#2201-40MLA. But I don't see how this is going work. I think they sent me another laser. Godddammmit!

Yup, that's just the laser head with no power supply...

 

[GVLLD M981]

Yeah, now I have three cool argon lasers without power supplies. Does that mean I strike out?

 

[Mosc007]

If you are a bit electronics minded you can build a power supply. Have a look at Sam's Laser pages. He has circuits.

You can find a few power supplies on Ebay. It doesn't really matter if it's the correct one. You can run a 25ML, 40ML, 20SL etc all on the same supply. Just make sure you get the correct voltage. 220 or 110.

If you bought cheap tubes on Ebay there is a high chance they don't work. You will have to test them. I finaly got a working one on my fifth purchase.

 

[paul1598419]

With all the work you did to get your gas lasers working you've become somewhat of a gas laser expert in a fairly short period of time. I love it, Mosc007.

 

[Mosc007]

With all the work you did to get your gas lasers working you've become somewhat of a gas laser expert in a fairly short period of time. I love it, Mosc007.

You are being overly Generous. I don't think I know much about them at all. Just the very basic stuff.

There is a lot of information on the net about Argon Lasers. I have just done a lot of reading.

I was thrilled seeing 5 lines after so many failures. It's amazing. Bending a tube slightly to get it to lase is not a problem at all. I might get a chance to machine up an adjustment ring this week and make it more perminant. This does look like a good tube. Mirror alignment aside.

 

[paul1598419]

There are many here that don't put out the effort to learn. It was a well deserved compliment. You've come a long way from not understanding even the basics to a decent general understanding of the lasers you own. That is more than many people who own them can say.

 

[GVLLD M981]

There are many here that don't put out the effort to learn. It was a well deserved compliment. You've come a long way from not understanding even the basics to a decent general understanding of the lasers you own. That is more than many people who own them can say.

That reminded me of something I saw, once. Here was this guy driving an '80's Buick Riviera, and he had it all dressed up, with big, fat, slicks on the back, and those tiny, thin, rail like tires in the front, for drag racing. It looked good on the car, but I had to wonder if this idiot knew that car was front wheel drive?

 

[paul1598419]

That is hilarious! A great example of what I was talking about. :crackup: