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Did you put a ballast resistor in series with the
Anode of the Tube like in the Pic in Post #2.....:thinking:
Jerry
Anode of the Tube like in the Pic in Post #2.....:thinking:
Jerry
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FrozenGate by Avery
Trouble firing up my new HeNe tube
- Thread starter LtKernelPanic
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Well, looks like the tube that I got is dead as well. Just saw a couple of blue sparks in the microwave :eg: and no joy when I hooked it up to the PS.
Scared to touch this thing now. :crackup:
Scared to touch this thing now. :crackup:
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*ZAP*
lol holy crap! Power supply got me.
lol holy crap! Power supply got me.
Last edited:
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about the oudin - tesla coil. this is used to just test the gas integrity of a sealed tube? or for something else? i have one - well a plasma globe - which will make an unpowered (by the ps) tube light up without lasing.
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Thanks for the link. I missed it since we both posted at the same time earlier. If I decide to get more untested tubes I may contact le quack and get one of his boards to test with.
There's a 77k ballast resistor built into the positive lead going to the mounts I got from Sam. You can barely see it in my avatar pic.
Welcome to the world of gas lasers.
One reason all my lasers connect to their PSUs via alden style connectors is so I can disconnect them and short the pins to discharge the built up charge on the tube. That's one way I could tell the PSU was working when trying that tube. I could see and hear the spark when I shorted the pins.
n2stuff
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Now I told you in the other thread about that:na:
It's more of a surprise than pain but it will get your attention
Sorry about your guys tubes
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Did anyone get good tubes from that link? I bought one, and I am afraid that I got a bad one too. -.-
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Welcome to the world of gas lasers.
hmm I'll definately have to look into that.
Now I told you in the other thread about that:na:
It's more of a surprise than pain but it will get your attention
Sorry about your guys tubes
Yeah, I guess I didn't leave it sit long enough.
Yep, that's where I got mine.
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The coil will cause the gas in the tube to glow if its still present.
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So I just got mine in the mail and it's really neat. Never had a gas laser before. No PSU yet though. I do have a HV flyback run on a ZVS though.
The question is, how can I check if my tube has degassed? I turned my flyback on and drew an arc and put the tube within 3-4 inches of the arc (so it wouldn't arc to the tube itself) and I didn't get any glow. Does that mean that it is dead? :\
Also - does it matter what the current/frequency/voltage is of the HV HF source that I put the tube near?
EDIT: Alright, so I read on Sam's Laser FAQ that I would be able to test it out by hooking it up even to an HV AC source (like my flyback transformer) if I put enough resistance to limit current. I think I may have killed my tube though, because when I was measuring current, I didn't realize I was measuring DC current until I had already tested it. Under that same test layout that I tested the tube with, I was measuring 70mA D: I don't know what happens when you overcurrent a HeNe tube, but I assume it dies =p I saw no plasma or anything. I eventually reduced the current to about 7-10mA (a BUNCH more resistors), I tried it again, but no plasma or nothing
Should I still try to stick it in a microwave?
The question is, how can I check if my tube has degassed? I turned my flyback on and drew an arc and put the tube within 3-4 inches of the arc (so it wouldn't arc to the tube itself) and I didn't get any glow. Does that mean that it is dead? :\
Also - does it matter what the current/frequency/voltage is of the HV HF source that I put the tube near?
EDIT: Alright, so I read on Sam's Laser FAQ that I would be able to test it out by hooking it up even to an HV AC source (like my flyback transformer) if I put enough resistance to limit current. I think I may have killed my tube though, because when I was measuring current, I didn't realize I was measuring DC current until I had already tested it. Under that same test layout that I tested the tube with, I was measuring 70mA D: I don't know what happens when you overcurrent a HeNe tube, but I assume it dies =p I saw no plasma or anything. I eventually reduced the current to about 7-10mA (a BUNCH more resistors), I tried it again, but no plasma or nothing
Should I still try to stick it in a microwave?
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I'd try the micro. I only let it go 5 seconds. I'd be shocked if yours worked. I feel bad for posting that link now but it's a known risk when buying untested, used gas lasers.
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^^ meh, don't feel bad. It was worth a shot, and would have been hella cool if they worked.
There's always next time.
There's always next time.
Sigurthr
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I don't think 70mA for a short time with no observable glow would have destroyed your HeNe tube, they're pretty robust in that regard. That being said you should have seen a glow with even a few picoamps of high frequency HV near the tube.. it is probably dead and not by your fault.
This is looking more and more like some one unloaded a bunch of dead tubes on eBay!
This is looking more and more like some one unloaded a bunch of dead tubes on eBay!
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Yeah...
Anyone leave him feedback yet? :eg:
I think he mentioned that he wasn't sure if they worked or not (which is complete BS, but whatevs)
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Yeah, I made the mistake of purchasing another -.-
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I did. I left positive because I couldn't in good faith leave negative for something that was advertised as as-is untested. I did note the tube was EOL aka dead. Oh well I'm going to keep it around to use as a demo tube so don't have to keep handling one of my good tubes to show people.
On a related note I got my PSU in the mail today. I'm going to try it with the little 6" tube that I got from Sam. I may have to take wannaburn up on his offer if the tubes he has are similar to the dead one for visible plasma.