Recognize This Power Source?

[daguin]

I am at my wit's end here. I have very good research skills, but I have not been able to find information about this power source. I did find one old posting on a Spanish used equipment list that had this "number" along with a 20mW HeNe that was said to be a "match" for it. I'm hoping one of the old timers here will recognize it. I have emailed NEC, but they have not responded. If you have any info about this, or ideas on another direction to look, please share it with me. Any scrap of info can help. However, I am hoping for voltage and amperage outputs AND what the "name" of that plug is. I have no clue how to measure kilovolt level outputs.

Here are some picks.

The front view

The rear view

A close up of the front. Do you know what that plug is called or what it was used for? It is NOT an Alden.

Here is the label on the rear

The inside. The "brick" has a pot on the side.

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Peace,
dave

 

[pseudolobster]

You can buy some extremely large resistors off ebay, hook them in series with your multimeter and measure the voltage that way... Just a few bucks, a few weeks, and a little math can tell you the exact specific output of that... Either that or I'd imagine there's a way to guesstimate the voltage based on the size of the tube it was meant to run, I'd assume all HeNe tubes of a certain size would use roughly the same voltage ranges, as neon signs do...

That is, by the way, a power supply for a HeNe laser... it's either 10 or 20mW depending on who you ask... I imagine you've turned up all these results in your search already, but in case you missed some..

Here's a complete unit for sale on some Argentinian ebay site...

The laser is a GLG5410, the power supply is a GLS5410.

This page suggests that the GLS5410B power supply you have might be interchangable with a GLS5410A, so I seached a bit on that...

This page has a bit more specs on the laser itself, as well as this one, though no specs on the output voltage of the power supply.

The plug itself in unimportant... it is the output to the HeNe tube and that's all you need to know... As long as you can deduce which is positive and which is negative (which if you're going to buy power resistors to measure this with your multimeter you'll already know) you should be able to use it for other tubes.

Here's the first google result for "measuring high voltages", which does an excellent job of explaining how to use resistors to measure voltage ranges your multimeter can't handle.

 

[daguin]

YOU are a god!

The info on the Japanese sites will get me into it. I don't know why my searches didn't pick them up. I still need to figure out which is anode and cathode so I can change the socket to an Alden. The wires coming out of the brick to the plug are identical. Thanks Pseudo. I owe you.

Peace,
dave

 

[pseudolobster]

No problem... You might be able to figure out which is which by disassembling it... the polarity of diodes and capacitors can give you an indication which side is negative, as well as negative being usually given larger pads and connecting to large, common, unpopulated portions of board.


[edit]NOTE: BEFORE YOU DISASSEMBLE IT BE SURE YOU HAVEN'T PLUGGED IT IN IN THE LAST WEEK!!![/edit]

 

[daguin]

No problem... You might be able to figure out which is which by disassembling it... the polarity of diodes and capacitors can give you an indication which side is negative, as well as negative being usually given larger pads and connecting to large, common, unpopulated portions of board.


[edit]NOTE: BEFORE YOU DISASSEMBLE IT BE SURE YOU HAVEN'T PLUGGED IT IN IN THE LAST WEEK!!![/edit]

It's a "sealed" brick with a pot on the side.

Peace,
dave

 

[pseudolobster]

...
It's a "sealed" brick with a pot on the side.

Peace,
dave

:-/

Wellll... You can always "unseal" a brick using razor blades or gentle dremeling... Just be careful how you re-mount it... These sorts of voltages can jump half an inch under the right circumstances - provide plenty of nonconductive space between any +'s and ground.

If you don't have any large, high impedance, multi-watt resistors you can use to measure it, or can't be arsed to wire together massive series of parallel smaller resistors, then disassembling the brick is your only option for getting clues as to the polarity. (though in my experiences square has always been negative, just saying.)

 

[daguin]

Wellll... You can always "unseal" a brick using razor blades or gentle dremeling... Just be careful how you re-mount it... These sorts of voltages can jump half an inch under the right circumstances - provide plenty of nonconductive space between any +'s and ground.
If you don't have any large, high impedance, multi-watt resistors you can use to measure it, or can't be arsed to wire together massive series of parallel smaller resistors, then disassembling the brick is your only option for getting clues as to the polarity. (though in my experiences square has always been negative, just saying.)

It may be more efficient to take a chance on sacrificing a hene.

Peace,
dave

 

[danq]

It may be more efficient to take a chance on sacrificing a hene.

???

can't you just string 9 1Mohm resistors together, followed by 10 x 100k; connect the output across it; and measure the voltage across one of the 100k's ? that gives you 1/100th of the full voltage, and your dmm will tell the polarity... but you knew that :-?

 

[danq]

can't you just string 9 1Mohm resistors together, followed by 10 x 100k; connect the output across it; and measure the voltage across one of the 100k's ? that gives you 1/100th of the full voltage, and your dmm will tell the polarity... but you knew that  :-?

:-[
forgot about the power dissipation that comes with the territory... make that 10M ohms and 1M ohm, then you're safe with 1/2 watt resistors up to about 7KV. hmm... ok, make that a whole bunch of 10M ohms!

 

[GooeyGus]

You mean your DMM doesn't have a 20kV scale, dave?

 

[daguin]

You mean your DMM doesn't have a 20kV scale, dave?

I'm sure that it does. EVERYONE needs a 20KV scale, don't they? The label's just probably rubbed off with age and use so I don't know where to set the selector anymore. ;D

 

[pseudonomen137]

How much precision you got on your multimeter's current measuring? Bit of a longshot I guess, but if you can get down to the microamps you could just stick a high value 1/4W resistor in line with your meter and measure current. Using a higher wattage resistor would also let you test this way without needing as much precision on your meter. If all else fails, your body has a pretty reasonable resistance and I'm sure it could dissipate more than 1/4W (DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY OF MY LAME JOKES AT HOME! [go to Dave's house instead - that way its his liability])

If your output is alternating and you just want a rough estimate of voltage, another backasswards way would be to rip apart an old microwave (I snagged a few from craiglist for $5-10) and use the built in transformer in reverse (designed to take 110-120VAC to around 2100-2200VAC typically)

 

[daguin]

How much precision you got on your multimeter's current measuring? Bit of a longshot I guess, but if you can get down to the microamps you could just stick a high value 1/4W resistor in line with your meter and measure current. Using a higher wattage resistor would also let you test this way without needing as much precision on your meter. If all else fails, your body has a pretty reasonable resistance and I'm sure it could dissipate more than 1/4W (DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY OF MY LAME JOKES AT HOME! [go to Dave's house instead - that way its his liability])

If your output is alternating and you just want a rough estimate of voltage, another backasswards way would be to rip apart an old microwave (I snagged a few from craiglist for $5-10) and use the built in transformer in reverse (designed to take 110-120VAC to around 2100-2200VAC typically)

This I can do. If I attach one wire to my left big toe and the other to my left thumb, then the current will only run through the left side of my body, right? That way it will miss my heart and I'll be fine, won't I?

And while your at it, could you press it into a module for me?

Peace,
dave

 

[Cyparagon]

It may be more efficient to take a chance on sacrificing a hene.

HeNes will run on reversed polarity perfectly... just not for nearly as long. The anode will deteriorate at a rapid pace.

 

[daguin]

HeNes will run on reversed polarity perfectly... just not for nearly as long. The anode will deteriorate at a rapid pace.

They will run. I don't think I would go so far as to describe them as running "perfectly." It has been my experience that they run at a lower output and have a tendency to "flicker" when hooked up with revered polarity.

Peace,
dave

 

[Cyparagon]

Really? mine ran just fine.

You said yours had a pot. One of mine has a pot which seems to have no effect. Any idea what it's for?