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Remember to exercise those argons!

I'll check the hours today I havent even looked since I bought the tube a year ago. At full blast it will draw 10.59A iirc. I don't run it full power very often but I do once and a while for short periods of time.
I have a remote for it I usually adjust the laser in by viewing the amperage display. I've heard people say it should be in light mode. Hm.
I'll report back
 
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Yes. Current mode is mostly just for intracavity or diagnostics. The tube should also never draw more than 10A. Most of the PSUs are only rated up to 10.5A IIRC. Anything over 10A is considered over-current for small air cooled tubes. Generally they're intended to run their spec power and if healthy, that's usually near 5-6A. Though it also depends on cooling...If your cooling is too low or high it can influence damage regardless.
 
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Thanks for the link Down With Umbrella. My argon's beam is so messy you probably couldn't tell the difference between it and a collimated LED. :rolleyes:
And obviously thanks to ultimatekaiser for making the tut.
 
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Fired up the blue space heaters one more time before putting them back in storage for another month or two.
 
NEXT time you guys exercise your argon try this and let me know what happened--
With the room darkened fire up a green pointer while running the argon- then with it off-
either i'm a trippin' or i see yellow instead of green but only in the presence of my argons.
Im betting the camera see green- not the yellow I see.
 
LS ---
I fired up my Argos tonight after another year off.
I let the cathode heat for about 15 minutes and it
come on, 8 beams, on the 5th shot !!!
Get 'em HOT before you slip 'em the juice !!!
HMike
 
Hmm, I guess we are doing inline ads now.

Anyway, thanks for the tip. It should keep
the night lights well pleased. :D

Mine is the type that has the automatic
preheat timer, but I'm wondering if I can
reach under the covers and fiddle with the
knobs a bit to draw out the process.

We're still talking about lasers, right? :o
 
LS --
I see you caught the old joke !!! Having worked with radio
tubes for years, Many need a thorough heating of the cathode
especially MV tubes. I can run my Argos without HV power up
then there is a 15 second delay after the key switch to ignition shots.

HMike
 
Yes, and vacuum are the only kind of tubes
this old knob will ever see, so I guess the
joke is on me. :p

The ILT has a 3 minute preheat and starts
on the first pulse every time since it's
still such a new tube. Next time it's out
maybe I'll have another look at the circuit
boards to see if it can be changed.
 
Great! I just did mine recently too. Probably a pressure related thing. One of my favorite lines is 501.7 I love the color
 
It seems to be a good indicator of tube
health. I have been running it at 6A for
about 10 minutes around the middle of the
run and idling the rest of the time. I
think you recommended doing that somewhere.

Get it, moth balls?
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Lol yeah my 502 comes in pretty good. Mine usually runs nice and clean at 6A. Starts first try every time. I love the Ar+ wavelengths.
 
I haven't given mine a burn since February. I just don't have a place I can keep them set up for more than a couple days. Need to remedy that very soon.
 
Okay drug both argons out of storage tonight after sitting there for four months. As usual my rectangular head fired on the first pulse but surprisingly my normally stubborn cylindrical head fired on the third pulse after warming for maybe three or four minutes. Maybe it's slowly being nursed back to health after all.
 
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