my first argon ion laser

[fleefly]

View attachment 78816

Last week, got my first argon ion laser tube.
cost me about 50$.
I managed to power it on.
with prism, multi wavelength.

 

[fleefly]

with grating

 

[kecked]

Enjoy they are fun. Remember to run it every month for a couple hours to keep it alive. They will get hard to start if you don’t do this. Also be careful inside the voltages are lethal. They make great space heaters in winter.

 

[fleefly]

The argon ion laser tube is a bit like the aluminum capacitor.It can deteriorate during storeage without regulal powering.
I think this one doesn't power up more than one decade before I got it. I have to apply high voltage low current between
cathode and anode for about 2 hours to revive it.