FS: ALC60 multiline argon laser head - read! £40

[diachi]

Hey,

Wanting to get rid of this ALC60 as it's taking up space on my desk and I don't have the time to work on it/build a PSU ( or the money to buy one ).

Has some screws missing ( OC end mirror mount has one missing and the ballast resistor in the head has two missing ). The OC end mirror mount needs a 4-40 Hex screw, not sure what the ballast resistor needs. Head needs alignment so it will not lase as is, but once you get the hang of it alignment is easy. Tested to be gas intact, so it will lase when you get a PSU and get the mirrors aligned. Was doing 120mW multiline, so it should be capable of that or more.

Someone take this off of my hands - £40 + shipping!

Also have two HeNes for sale, one is a bare tube the other has a case and a solid metal mount for it. Both are around 1-2mW.

£10 for the bare tube and £20 for the HeNe with the mount.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[Morgan]

Would you consider a trade?!!!

Any links to some beam shots of this ALC? Where would I source a suitable PSU?

M

 

[diachi]

Would you consider a trade?!!!

Any links to some beam shots of this ALC? Where would I source a suitable PSU?

M

Depends what you have for trade

I have a couple beamshots somewhere of when it was aligned, so I'll stick them up in a minute. As for a PSU, either here, PL or eBay - there are a few that will run it, Omnichrome model 150 being one ( There was one of these on ebay last week although it was outside of what I wanted to spend ).

If you want to build a PSU I have schematics for that, and a cathode transformer too - all the other parts are easy to source.

 

[Morgan]

Hmmm, building a PSU does interest me...

Let's see what turns up in the meantime regards trades but keep me posted on whether you sell. Beam shots would be great to see so I'll check them out when they're up and keep an eye on the thread.

Thanks and good luck.

M

 

[diachi]

 

[Morgan]

So that's two lines? What wavelengths and how is the power split between them?

M

 

[laserboystuart]

So that's two lines? What wavelengths and how is the power split between them?

M

sooooo morgan....

one taste of your first argon and hooked already? Damn i need one!! (dont have the money though or knowledge )

 

[diachi]

So that's two lines? What wavelengths and how is the power split between them?

M

That's actually all of the lines, all of the green lines are in the green beam and all of the blue lines are in the blue beam. I never metered what power each individual one was, since I didn't have an LPM at that time.

All the speckle around the dots in these pictures is from the dichros I was using.

Beam shot from the head, that little waste beam is due to an internal reflection in the OC mirror, nothing bad, lots of argons have this. The other beam which is hitting off of that case ( Not included since It's not a projector ) is from one of the dichros.

I haven't got any half decent pictures of all the lines split up because I only took pictures of the lines being split by a prism which doesn't give much spread, so it's hard to see the lines since they all blend into each other. I think I took those images on a lower tube current too, so two of the lines weren't there or they were too faint to see through the prism.

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Considering I never had an argon before, how hard is it gonna be to align the head in order to make the laser work? Also, where can I find a psu?

 

[diachi]

Considering I never had an argon before, how hard is it gonna be to align the head in order to make the laser work? Also, where can I find a psu?

if you have a HeNe and can make some form of alignment jig for it, you should be able to get the HR done in about half an hour or less. there are instructions on the FAQ, it's pretty easy to get the HR done. The OC can be partially done with a HeNe but it's not as accurate as doing it with the HR.

You could have this up and running in less than a day I reckon, so long as you have a PSU. PSU can be found on eBay or you can make one. I have a cathode transformer for one which will work on 240VAC, and I have schematics too. Could ask on PL too. An Omnichrome 150 PSU will work with this.

Shipping to greece would be a pain and a hazard though, since this tube doesn't have sealed optics - brewster stems would be put in danger ... plus it would be expensive to get it over there.

 

[Elektrotechniker]

if you have a HeNe and can make some form of alignment jig for it, you should be able to get the HR done in about half an hour or less. there are instructions on the FAQ, it's pretty easy to get the HR done. The OC can be partially done with a HeNe but it's not as accurate as doing it with the HR.

You could have this up and running in less than a day I reckon, so long as you have a PSU. PSU can be found on eBay or you can make one. I have a cathode transformer for one which will work on 240VAC, and I have schematics too. Could ask on PL too. An Omnichrome 150 PSU will work with this.

Shipping to greece would be a pain and a hazard though, since this tube doesn't have sealed optics - brewster stems would be put in danger ... plus it would be expensive to get it over there.

Alright then, thanks for letting me know about shipping. It was a good chance though..

 

[Morgan]

Sorry for the uneducated question here, but... how many lines in total? I understand that there are several lasing wavelengths from green to blue here but do all multi-line Argons have the same number of lines? Maybe I should ask these Qs in the gas section but it seems pertinent to this thread too.

Thanks,

M

 

[diachi]

Sorry for the uneducated question here, but... how many lines in total? I understand that there are several lasing wavelengths from green to blue here but do all multi-line Argons have the same number of lines? Maybe I should ask these Qs in the gas section but it seems pertinent to this thread too.

Thanks,

M

This one was doing 120mW with 6 lines. Argon can do more than that, I've seen 8 from a JDSU 2214-40MLA.

Four explanations that I can think of:
Tube pressure is wrong so the gain on some of the lines isn't high enough to lase.

Mirrors weren't perfectly aligned, once again meaning there wasn't enough gain on some of the lines for them to lase.

The optics are designed to omit some lines, however I doubt this.

My power supply wasn't driving it at 10A, instead only 8A. In which case it could still squeez a good bit more power out.

458,477,488,497,501 and 515 lines were the ones lasing IIRC. Those are the 6 strongest visible lines other than 529, but it's much harder to get that to lase. Can't remember what you need to do for that to lase, it's on the FAQ somewhere ...

 

[Morgan]

Okay. This would be a nice project to get up and running well. I'll spend some time checking out the HeNe alignment jig that would have to be built, (Damn, I now have to post about my HeNe PSU!).

You said you had a Cathode transformer. Will this allow the 10A once built into a PSU?

Thanks for the info so far.

I'll be back....

M


(I missed my 400th post! :yabbem: Oh well, 403 is close enough)

 

[diachi]

Okay. This would be a nice project to get up and running well. I'll spend some time checking out the HeNe alignment jig that would have to be built, (Damn, I now have to post about my HeNe PSU!).

You said you had a Cathode transformer. Will this allow the 10A once built into a PSU?

Thanks for the info so far.

I'll be back....

M


(I missed my 400th post! :yabbem: Oh well, 403 is close enough)

My alignment jig consisted of the HeNe and mount that I have combined with a metal plate and some books/bits of paper. There are details on the FAQ for making a proper one though.

The cathode transformer will provide the 3.2VAC @ 25A needed to heat the cathode, the 10A @ 90-110VDC is produced via a 240-115V step down transformer, a rectifier and passbank with control loop.

I can send you the schematics if you want?

 

[Morgan]

Always good to be fully informed so yes, if it's not too much trouble then PM the schematics over, or post them here for others too.

M