rutt roh...
Eh, Houston.... We might have a problem.
There are four, maybe five ways to solve this problem.
Get the laser lasing.
Remove the optic from the mount, call SP with the part number, but you will loose cavity alignment if you do that.
Aim a known wavelength all lines Argon laser at the optic.
Measure the transmission of the all lines beam with a grating, indirect eyeball, and/or power meter.
Use a spectrophotometer,
The near incidence optics test (NIO) tm
NIO is my emergency test. Its NOT foolproof.
It is not in the FAQ for a reason.
You might have a wavelength selective rear mirror from looking at the pics, either 488 nm only or UV only. I say "Might" as the reflectivity of rear cavity mirrors that are light yellow/straw color like that causes doubts in my mind that you have a all lines reflector. The color of the reflection from a dielectric mirror like that shifts as the cosine of the angle of the light hitting it.
Just looking at a photo however, has a uncertainty about it.
So the NIO test is to take a flashlight, preferably with a old tungsten, not LED bulb.Aim the flashlight at the mirror and reflect the beam from the mirror back into the flashlight, now hold the flashlight and mirror against a piece of white paper, and see what color the reflected spot is, while keeping the mirror face as perpendicular to the flashlight as possible. It is ok, once you learn what your doing, to aim the beam just past the top of the flashlight on a wall far away.
Rough guide, still less then 70% certainty, but still better then my guessing you have a UV optics set.
Pale blue spot, 488 only mirror. Blue green spot, all lines optic. Deep purple, 457 only mirror. Pale Yellowish, faint spot with white tinges, UV mirror, no visible lasing.
Again, this is only a rough guide and one of the four other tests must be applied.
The setting of the calibration knob for the light sensor, in the pics, is not encouraging. Its on the UV-Deep violet setting.
Before you cheer and say, Ok, I've got a UV laser, cool, the tube runs at least 3 times harder to make UV. You also then need a lot of skill to find lasing.
Do not dispair, 15 mm Argon optics sets are all over the place. I probably have 25 sets myself.
PS, this is a 5 watt laser, most likely, the danger sticker power is 2-3x the rated power.
PS PS, with the covers off, this thing can easily kill/mame you. Within certain parts of the head, there is up to 600VDC when not lit, and 260 VDC when lit. The ignite pulse alone can ruin a finger, or worse. It will set fire to certain wall materials, you need a beam stop of brick, anodized aluminum, or steel. The scatter off the beamstop is a eye hazard unless you take certain steps.
Screwdrivers and allen wrenches get blown apart if you stick them in the wrong place.
I tell students that this is a rattlesnake that does not rattle, bites for no reason, and moves at the speed of light. It commands respect. Yet people have handled them safely for years with a low incident rate.
The UV when lasing, UV, does not make it through your cornea very well. At least until the cornea fails from a high power direct hit.
When lasing a Argon on UV, wear UV safety goggles or polycarbonate safety glasses. When lasing this class of laser, goggles are a requirement unless the beam is contained by other means.
Friends do not let friends drive BIG ion lasers for the first time alone.
I'm assuming your a adult.
Got it?
Steve
This is 15W and it has 12 different optics for the one end, and it shoots a beam both ways. I will just run it during the day so the neighbors dont notice their lights go dim.
