*Pic Heavy* Woo Hoo! Got Some Lasers!

[xXAxHillbillyXx]

Well I have gotten my first He-Ne's in the mail today! I ordered them off of eBay, decided to risk them not working because of the price. Well on to the pics

I got the three smaller ones and a PSU for $16.00
and I got the bigger one and the other PSU for $11.00
I figured that was a price worth taking the risk of eBay for.
And the best part was ALL tubes lase!


Here are some lasing shots sorry no beam shots I have no smoke..

Here are some size comparison pics:

So now I have 4 He-Ne's and as soon as Dave ships the one I ordered from him I will have 5 MWAHAHA!

And I did have a question. My ballast resistors seem like they are getting really hot.. I even heard one make a pop noise (didnt smell like it was burning though) I haven't checked the resistance values yet but any idea what they should be.. I only had them running for a short time (under 2 minutes)

 

[MarioMaster]

Excellent find - although rare sometimes gas laser gambles on ebay can go very much in your favor

 

[photonaholic]

Nice deals. Congrats.

About the resistors, IF the supply is intended for the larger size tube, and you connected to the smaller tube, it can/will overtax the resistors.

Personally I like the heavy ceramic ballast resistors, they can take a pounding.

Those age great little lasers you have there, especially at that price.

 

[xXAxHillbillyXx]

The three smaller ones have what looks like Melles Griot part numbers. Enjoy!

They are Melles Griot!

 

[argon]

Nice find HeNe-Lasers are mostly uncritical to buy on ebay. They normally ignite without any problems. More risky are argon and krypton-lasers or mixed gas lasers. If an argon laser has been unused for more than a year, it can be difficult to start...

Regards argon

 

[Greenmechanic]

Well I have gotten my first He-Ne's in the mail today! I ordered them off of eBay, decided to risk them not working because of the price. Well on to the pics

And I did have a question. My ballast resistors seem like they are getting really hot.. I even heard one make a pop noise (didnt smell like it was burning though) I haven't checked the resistance values yet but any idea what they should be.. I only had them running for a short time (under 2 minutes)

The ballast resistors should be 75K ohm (total). It is normal for them to get "hot",
However, if you touch them and it burns flesh or you smell burning, It is probably being overdriven.
Check the specs of your tubes VS. the specs. of your PSU's.
Leave the unit on for 1 hour, if it doesn't smoke or discolor the B/R's, I'd say you are fine.
BTW: I was going to bid on those little tubes, but was called out on a service call and missed them, Lucky For You!.... :cryyy::cryyy:For Me

 

[xXAxHillbillyXx]

The ballast resistors should be 75K ohm (total). It is normal for them to get "hot",
However, if you touch them and it burns flesh or you smell burning, It is probably being overdriven.
Check the specs of your tubes VS. the specs. of your PSU's.
Leave the unit on for 1 hour, if it doesn't smoke or discolor the B/R's, I'd say you are fine.
BTW: I was going to bid on those little tubes, but was called out on a service call and missed them, Lucky For You!.... :cryyy::cryyy:For Me

Well I would like to say sorry that you didnt get them,... but if you had gotten them then I wouldent have... so thank god for that service call!:evil:

 

[Greenmechanic]

Well I would like to say sorry that you didnt get them,... but if you had gotten them then I wouldent have... so thank god for that service call!:evil:

I was going to bid up to $40, so yes, lucky for you.
Oh well, I have 10-12 anyway and you didn't.
There will always be more on e-bay.
Great deal although, Congratulations!

 

[Solonar]

The little ones are slightly newer versions of the ones I was making at MG 23 yrs ago. When I left the serial #'s were only in the 75k range.

75k 1 watt resistors should work fine. 5.5ma for the small ones.

Avoid attaching wires to the grooves on the end caps, tugging on a wire can slightly misalign the optics.

 

[KiLLrB]

Nice tubes Lucky. Hope to have one myself soon.