SP 127b alive and well! :D

[FRITZ HID]

so, i've had this Spectra Physics 127b kicking around for a couple of years now, picked it up from an electronics junk yard for $20 but it didn't come with a PSU


well.... this little gem arrived this morning thanks to Sam and Phil


and as you can imagine, it did not take me long to.....


Tada! It's Alive! ALIVE!
beautiful beam as well, i'll try and get some beam shots tonight once it gets darker, but in the meantime, i has the warming glow of HeNe discharge to make me grin.

 

[BobMc]

Sweet, Nice find! 20.00 can't beat that. Beam shots? Yep they work too ! Enjoy

 

[FRITZ HID]

and the spectral....

 

[paul1598419]

Nice find, Fritz. And kudos to Sam and Phil.

 

[WizardG]

and the spectral....

If only HeNe tubes would pump that kind of spectrum out of one end instead of from the sides of the tube.... :yh: Nice score for $20!

 

[FRITZ HID]

If only HeNe tubes would pump that kind of spectrum out of one end instead of from the sides of the tube.... :yh: Nice score for $20!

OMG I Know! I'd be crazy about a multiline HeNe like that! LOL

 

[ultimatekaiser]

Very nice. Gotta love the 107/127 tubes. Technically yours is a 107b, I don't know why some of them are labeled as a 127...surplus stock or salvage perhaps... It is technically the same tube but the 127 is the fully enclosed version. What power? Is it a 25 or 35mW version? Although most of them do about the same power anyway I love mine. I've got some parts to make mine a tunable in theory.

 

[FRITZ HID]

Very nice. Gotta love the 107/127 tubes. Technically yours is a 107b, I don't know why some of them are labeled as a 127...surplus stock or salvage perhaps... It is technically the same tube but the 127 is the fully enclosed version. What power? Is it a 25 or 35mW version? Although most of them do about the same power anyway I love mine. I've got some parts to make mine a tunable in theory.

it's the 35mw, getting 39mw at 12.8ma but i've tuned it down to 11ma to try and get max life outta it.
i haven't decided what exactly to do with this one yet, i LOVE the open frame look so debating just mounting it on a wall somewhere and then bounce the beam around the house with maybe a spyro at the end, as a show piece. maybe someday when i have more room i'll dig into holography or something with it.
i'd love to go green with it but from what i understand, the length makes that very difficult/impossible. :/

 

[ultimatekaiser]

I don't think you can get green with these. I have gotten red and orange, and I think Steve got some yellow but not very much. They're made for red. Rated current from SP was 11.5mA. I think mine does 43-ish last time I checked. It's pretty hard to keep these in perfect alignment because they're so long. Usually they're given an hour or two to warm up before use.

 

[FRITZ HID]

so, i've been re-delving into sams Faq on the whole hene section, and i'm debating on going yellow (i've always wanted a yellow laser) or possibly semi tunable (red oranges and yellow), since green is the hardest to get to lase....
thoughts?

 

[ultimatekaiser]

Honestly they're not really good for much other than red And maybe orange without a gas change. Even then, you'd need custom mirrors to make it work well. If you have a littrow prism you could probably try making a tunable but it wouldn't be easy, and you'd still need a OC change to something appropriate. The stock one only reflects red well and a long enough curvature mirror would be big $$$

 

[FRITZ HID]

whats your definition of "$$$$$"? a few grand?

 

[ultimatekaiser]

I'm not 100% sure and it would probably depend on where you got them from. But it wouldn't be cheap, most dielectric mirrors that are mass produced are at least $250...And a matching littrow would be a custom part and thus stupidly expensive probably...And that's to say nothing of the aligning of the thing afterwards-which I've done, and is not trivial...it is a royal pain to be avoided. I have a broadband HeNe OC that would work but I don't think the curvature is long enough. I haven't tried it yet.

 

[FRITZ HID]

well.... i like a challenge. lol

 

[ultimatekaiser]

Yeah I had to do mine from scratch a few times it takes a while, even with a good alignment laser. Entire range of Lasing is like a tiny tiny tiny fraction of a turn of the nuts. Mine doesn't have the dance square mounts with the fine adjustment screws on it. Those are easier. Usually once it's all lined up though, the only thing you really have to maintain usually is the bore straightness (carefully). Thankfully you can remove the mirrors from these with a lot of care without having to adjust the alignment much. Just make sure to do the mirrors one at a time.

Realistically there's no reason to take them out though, they don't really ever get dirty as long as it still has the window covers. They seal pretty well, but tear a bit easily so it's best to leave it alone, lest you damage one or pop a window off or something. The 127 and 125 are the flagship king of the hill HeNe lasers, and are worth the price of a nice car in theory. By taking the mirrors out, you expose the windows to microdust automatically, as well as risk scratching and chipping the mirrors.

Glad you finally found a power supply to make this thing shine again

 

[FRITZ HID]

yeah, they really are beautiful lasers. i love just turning it on and admiring the craftsmanship.