New 488 nM

[Hemlock_Mike]

My new Uniphase arrived today from Huuresciences. ;D Big and heavy.
The head alone weighs 8 pounds and is 14" long. Don't ask for beam shots yet. I have to build a manafold for the cooling fan - A necessary item.
A label on the side reads 30mW @ 8 Amps.

Mike

 

[drlava]

Nice, glad to see you got it!

 

[Curiously_Coherent]

Gadzooks!

That's the biggest 30mW um... "pointer" I've ever seen!

I just love that colour as well. I'm going to try combining a green and blue beam when my RPL-30 gets here and I'm hoping the resultant colour will be close to 488nM as well. Can't wait to see the beam shots!

Good on ya, mate!

CC

 

[wooooooolazer]

Wow, that thing is big, what color is 488nM anywhay, is it like greenish-blue?

..lazer... ;D ;D ;D

 

[MarioMaster]

Wow, that thing is big, what color is 488nM anywhay, is it like greenish-blue?

..lazer... ;D ;D ;D

yup a rather sky blue, argons are neat lasers but aren't exactly the most reliable or efficient

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

I agree with the efficiency part !! 1000 watts in, 30 mW out
Good space heaters in the winter and the output is sky blue !!!

Mike

 

[Switch]

If you're gonna eat up 1000W to heat up your house , mind aswell get some laser output out of the whole process

 

[Cyparagon]

yup a rather sky blue, argons are neat lasers but aren't exactly the most reliable or efficient

What do you mean they're not reliable? I'd have to agree on the efficiency aspect. Mine uses almost 2kW and outputs 51mW

As for the color, it definitely looks like a sky blue by itself, but side by side with a 473, it looks more teal. None of my cameras however are able to detect a discernible difference.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

I got the duct completed and the fan mounted. I have powered it up and it runs just like Chris said it should. The push button control panel on the rear switches it from run settings to 5 mW idle. Nice. The panel also has a built in watt meter which reads +/- 1 mW of my meters !!
I'll try to ge beam shots as soon as I get a base made to hold it up. The blue thing is the fan duct made from PVC pipe fittings machined to fit the head.

Mike

OH I popped a balloon at 6" without a lens -- 20 mW !! I've turned it up to 54 mW for a short period. The head is rated at 30 mW CW.

 

[Cyparagon]

Does the LPM-1 measure 488?

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

The laser control head has a power meter built in. It along with the LPM-1 and my IL1400A read witnin +/- 0.75 mW . That's not too bad.

Mike

 

[Cyparagon]

You didn't answer my question...

The power meter only guesses the power by the current being used. It isn't always accurate.

 

[Benm]

Somehow the unit looks like a bazooka and a plunger ended up in the haystack on afternoon

 

[likewhat]

You didn't answer my question...

The power meter only guesses the power by the current being used. It isn't always accurate.

Usually the built in power meters take a pick off from the beam right after it exits the laser cavity and measures it on a photodiode, so they arent guessing.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

Cy --

I paid extra for the remote interface controler with this.  It runs in light or current mode.  It has a sampling circuit somewhere because the power reading varies a little at constant current as it warms up.  It has good corelation with my other meters.

Mike

First pix with a spyro.  It's too light to get a beam shot. That at 4' using 4.5 mW. The color is about right.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

My first try at a beam shot. I used smoke but couldn't get the camera to understand. Maybe a longer exposure??

Mike