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Helium Neon Laser Pointer

lasingfox

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hey hey, I recently built a HeNe pointer out of this cool old pointer from the 90s. The case was chonky enough to fit a HeNe so I decided to cram everything in there and hope it all works. Also doubles as a taser since the anode is poking out the tip. might need a ground wire but hey, can't do that with stupid little diodes

hene case.jpegnnn point.jpeghenen poht.jpegennnen.jpeg
 





Ears and Eggs

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Very cool build, I love how it has that small open area at the business end so you can see into the side of tube. (y)
 
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Very cool. I been thinking of buying some of those little cylindrical supplies and making a pointer out of some of my little 6" tubes. maybe I should take one of my oranges and make something similar
 
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Very cool. I been thinking of buying some of those little cylindrical supplies and making a pointer out of some of my little 6" tubes. maybe I should take one of my oranges and make something similar
what HeNe Driver is this? I have a very small rectangular one, similar to below, but I think it is 12v input:


Is there a better option?
 
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lasingfox

Member
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May 2, 2020
Messages
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Points
18
what HeNe Driver is this? I have a very small rectangular one, similar to below, but I think it is 12v input:


Is there a better option?
I used the 12v version of that PSU and I had to end up chewing up the resin to make it all fit. Its a big mess on the inside but it all works, . Ideally though, I would want to use these snazzy cylindrical voltex ones but I decided to cheap out https://1317d61c-a274-9998-7dec-305...d/c7cc11_688bea4f444d49a490302dd7a0107be5.pdf

I have a friend who I sent another one of these hosts and is going to make an orange HeNe pointer so sorry @ultimatekaiser, he beat ya to it haha.

henepoint_50.jpeg
 
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Yeah used to have a cylindrical one that is intended for those little 6 inch tubes and it hugs the back end mirror and is actually a pretty snazzy little thing from Melles Griot but I think voltex makes an equivalent. I’m not sure what I did with it. It would be great for that though
 
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Thanks for sharing. I'm going to look at those vortex ones, if they are still around.
I have plans to incorporate the new 6" tube into a handheld or maybe even a cane. I would like slots on the sides and maybe a removable crackled 1" uranium marble on the end for effect :). Fun.

I've always been jealous of the 6" orange you have ultimatekaiser. I got my orange from Sam but it is a lot bigger.
 
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Voltex is in my backyard and they make some of the best HeNe supplies you can get in my opinion, but they are very expensive. They actually make a rather unique universal power supply for HeNes, which I actually have been planning on doing a review of, but it's not here yet. I've used one of their older ones, and their newer one I've been wanting one of for a while. Very expensive supply though, but worth it for niche people like me that have tons of tubes of all types and sizes, or that make and test their own, etc. they're used on production benches to test their tubes and make sure they run as they should at a few places.

As for my oranges, yes, I love 612. I wish it wasn't so darn hard to get though. I have several oranges for research purposes, as well as fun. They're not really all that practical of a laser, and few have ever worked as intended due to how hard they are to make relative to the other colors. There's just so much that uniquely has to go right to get orange and only orange out of a tube. They almost never worked right or were able to be produced consistantly and reliably, and they don't really do anything that the other colors can't do better, and they're very gain limited if you don't want any invasive other wavelengths, even if your production is good, so they died in industry fast.
 

CurtisOliver

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Very nice work lasingfox
Not common to find HeNe pointer builds.
 
Joined
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Voltex is in my backyard and they make some of the best HeNe supplies you can get in my opinion, but they are very expensive. They actually make a rather unique universal power supply for HeNes, which I actually have been planning on doing a review of, but it's not here yet. I've used one of their older ones, and their newer one I've been wanting one of for a while. Very expensive supply though, but worth it for niche people like me that have tons of tubes of all types and sizes, or that make and test their own, etc. they're used on production benches to test their tubes and make sure they run as they should at a few places.

As for my oranges, yes, I love 612. I wish it wasn't so darn hard to get though. I have several oranges for research purposes, as well as fun. They're not really all that practical of a laser, and few have ever worked as intended due to how hard they are to make relative to the other colors. There's just so much that uniquely has to go right to get orange and only orange out of a tube. They almost never worked right or were able to be produced consistantly and reliably, and they don't really do anything that the other colors can't do better, and they're very gain limited if you don't want any invasive other wavelengths, even if your production is good, so they died in industry fast.
I saw that new version of the universal one last night, very nice lab supply. I've got over 50 tubes but most are 10-14". So no real need for me. I do need to reply today about the A-14-00 and see what a single qty will run 😩😲😵
 
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The A-14 is what I used in one of my old HeNe pointers I built for a friend. I had it set up with a 6" tube that did about a milliwatt, so I had it configured for 9V in and an output current of 3.7mA. I just set it up to use 2 18650s in series. I should probably find someone who can make me a new host for a new one. Might be fun to do again.
 




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