Cyonics Uniphase 2214-40MLA Argon Laser

[Mattronium]

My Cyonics Uniphase 2214-40MLA Argon Laser arrived yesterday!
Since this is my first argon ion laser I am looking for information of how to get it up and running. I noticed that there wasn't a whole lot of information specifically on the Cyonics Uniphase lasers, so I thought that I might just make this thread so I can get help and maybe put some useful information out there for anyone else who may need the information in the future.

The head is 2214-40MLA cylinder type, the power supply is 2111A and thankfully came with the controller. The only part that I still need is a cooling fan/blower.

Here is the sellers pic, I'll be putting more up here soon....

 

[olympus mons]

Congrats Mattronium,
thats a sweet gas laser. What wavelengths will it produce? I am sure UltimateKaiser will see this but he would be a very good person to chime in and help you. That guy has the most insane collection of gas lasers I know of. Good luck and enjoy your new laser.

 

[H2Oxide]

Nice!

First and foremost, can you hear anything rattling around inside the head? If you can, the tube may have been broken and BeO dust (which is highly carcinogenic) could become airborne. Hopefully everything is intact though!

 

[Mattronium]

Congrats Mattronium,
thats a sweet gas laser. What wavelengths will it produce? I am sure UltimateKaiser will see this but he would be a very good person to chime in and help you. That guy has the most insane collection of gas lasers I know of. Good luck and enjoy your new laser.

Yes, I've been PM'ing Kaiser a bit these past few days. I just though I might make this thread so that the help he has been giving me can be passed on to help any others who may need help. The data sheet says 458, 476, 488, 497, 502 and 515 nm. The seller said he got 5 lines on idle and 7 max. How many lines it will do for me may be a different story, we'll see.

Nice! ,

First and foremost, can you hear anything rattling around inside the head? If you can, the tube may have been broken and BeO dust (which is highly carcinogenic) could become airborne. Hopefully everything is intact though!

No rattling, the seller packaged them to withstand quite a lot of abuse.

 

[diachi]

Nice!

First and foremost, can you hear anything rattling around inside the head? If you can, the tube may have been broken and BeO dust (which is highly carcinogenic) could become airborne. Hopefully everything is intact though!

BeO is pretty darn tough, I haven't heard of one of these Cyonics or JDSU tubes breaking in shipping - at least not the BeO ceramic.

Yes, I've been PM'ing Kaiser a bit these past few days. I just though I might make this thread so that the help he has been giving me can be passed on to help any others who may need help. The data sheet says 458, 476, 488, 497, 502 and 515 nm. The seller said he got 5 lines on idle and 7 max. How many lines it will do for me may be a different story, we'll see.


No rattling, the seller packaged them to withstand quite a lot of abuse.

It'll be easier getting it running seeing as you have a nice controller with it - always a plus!

7 Lines sounds good at max power (8A normally on the datasheet IIRC but you can run these tubes at 10A for a little while). Not unheard of for these tubes to do >100mW at 10A - Even though they are only rated at 40mW. It may trip breakers when you run it up that high, just watch out for that!

Should have no problem getting all 7 lines!

You'll need some ducting and a nice big squirrel cage fan or inline fan pulling >100CFM (Datasheet should tell you exact airflow requirements) through it to keep it cool. Someone on here might be able to hook you up with that!

Enjoy - make sure to share lots of beam pictures with us!

 

[H2Oxide]

BeO is pretty darn tough, I haven't heard of one of these Cyonics or JDSU tubes breaking in shipping - at least not the BeO ceramic.

I've had one break, I contacted the seller asking if there was any rattling in the tube and he said no. It arrived and a big sliver of white ceramic came sliding out of the tube. It was pretty scary.

EDIT: PM Mariomaster for fans

 

[diachi]

I've had one break, I contacted the seller asking if there was any rattling in the tube and he said no. It arrived and a big sliver of white ceramic came sliding out of the tube. It was pretty scary.

EDIT: PM Mariomaster for fans

Chunks of cracked ceramic aren't so bad as long as there isn't any dust, it's if it is crushed into dust that you *really* need to start worrying.

Sam's FAQ has the correct handling procedures for broken BeO tubes

 

[LtKernelPanic]

Most people suggest getting a squirrel cage blower but I ended up buying this instead for my cylindrical head.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KMOJPK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

It's intended to be used as an inline exhaust fan but it's worked fine for me. I use some flexduct and some 4" hose clamps to secure it.

Hemlock_Mike posted a pic of a nice cooler he rigged up using a PVC floor drain fitting with a round muffin fan attached to the end of it. (guessing the fitting is for a 3" ID pipe since the OD of the laser housing is 3.12". )

There's a pic of it in the thread I posted asking about cooling fans for mine here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f43/head-arrived-now-up-lasing-86325.html#post1254025.

One other thing I'd recommend is getting an extension cable to make controlling the laser easier. I ordered a couple of these cables from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000051183

You'll need to remove the little hex nuts from the end of the thumbscrews on the female end of the cable so it can plug into the remote.

 

[Mattronium]

I'll see if I can fire it up tonight for a quick test for functionality.
Is there any particular reason that I shouldn't put a fan to blow air into the head for this quick test?

Any idea what this side switch is for?

Ready to go...

 

[H2Oxide]

I'll see if I can fire it up tonight for a quick test for functionality.
Is there any particular reason that I shouldn't put a fan to blow air into the head for this quick test?

Ready to go...

There is a reason, I just don't remember what it is (I'm sure someone here knows). I remember when I first got my argon I had the fan blowing in instead of out (oops ), didn't really seem to hurt anything.

 

[Mattronium]

When turning it off, should I just turn the on/off key switch or should I turn the tube current off before turning off the key switch.

 

[jeffreythe00]

Depending on how you're running your tube, you'll ideally want to turn the tube current up slowly until you get it to where you want it and when you're ready to shut it down you'll want to turn it down slowly. This is to avoid stressing the tube.

 

[Mattronium]

Hmm, this is interesting. I turned it on for less than one minute to test it and I got a discharge at 4.04A but no lasing lines... just bore emissions.
IDK what would be wrong, the only thing I can think of would be mirror misalignment?

Here is the picture.

 

[H2Oxide]

Hmm, this is interesting. I turned it on for less than one minute to test it and I got a discharge at 4.04A but no lasing lines... just bore emissions.
IDK what would be wrong, the only thing I can think of would be mirror misalignment?

If it is, the JDSU tubes are practically impossible to realign due to the fact that they're not grounded.

Not sure if the tube still discharges when overpressure, but that would be favorable to misalignment.

 

[LSRFAQ]

Your probably just below lasing threshold at 4 AMPs, multiline tubes designed to run at higher power will have more OC transmittance, to couple more power out of the resonant cavity. This has the effect that lasing threshold will be higher.

Reverse airflow hurts as it heats the end of the tube that was not designed to be hot.

Get the proper fan.

I've seen quite a few people pop tubes on "just for a minute" plasma runs.

Steve

 

[diachi]

If it is, the JDSU tubes are practically impossible to realign due to the fact that they're not grounded.

Not sure if the tube still discharges when overpressure, but that would be favorable to misalignment.

The issue isn't so much that the tube isn't grounded although it does pose a risk when trying to align one of these. The bigger issue is that the mirrors aren't on adjustable mounts, meaning you need to sort of push them into place with something insulated and avoid touching the tube or shorting it to the case. The OC/Anode end on these is *HOT* and I probably wouldn't go poking my fingers around the HR/Cathode end either - just in case. Even if it were all insulated, it would still be a pain in the ass to align due to said lack of adjustable mounts.

I second what Steve is saying - Bump the current up to 5 or 6A and see what happens.