Two CO2 laser heads on ebay for $50 each ?

[HIMNL9]

Just found these auctions ..... anyway, i have no way for go there and pickup, maybe someother can be interested.

ULTRA LASERTECH CO2 LASER HEAD MODEL: 3822L - eBay (item 330384907602 end time Dec-15-09 13:26:51 PST)

ULTRA LASERTECH CO2 LASER HEAD MODEL: 5822L - eBay (item 330384907612 end time Dec-15-09 13:27:54 PST)

Just a doubt, those types of auctions can hide some scam ? (i mean, the usual "we don't have way to test, so is sold as is ....." advice ..... can be an excuse for sell broken items ?)

 

[Bluefan]

If the tubes are intact, it's a very nice deal. They do look very clean. The AS-IS statement is quite often just to evade any resposibility and just to be lazy, but it's also used as an excuse for selling a heavy paperweigt. But you can ask where they got the head from. If they were discarded as broken, it probably is. If they sell it on behaf of somebody else, they just don't know what it is or how to handle it.
If local pickup is the only reasonable option, you can check the tube yourself.

 

[heruursciences]

They are tunable co2 lasers for FTIR and other similar uses, I would expect they are in need of a regass as the mftr date is 1986

 

[MarioMaster]

That optical resonator looks really nice though, if you had some other kind of tube that would fit in there it would probably be a great deal.

 

[LSRFAQ]

If the tubes are intact, it's a very nice deal. They do look very clean. The AS-IS statement is quite often just to evade any resposibility and just to be lazy, but it's also used as an excuse for selling a heavy paperweigt. But you can ask where they got the head from. If they were discarded as broken, it probably is. If they sell it on behaf of somebody else, they just don't know what it is or how to handle it.
If local pickup is the only reasonable option, you can check the tube yourself.

Yes, and ask yourself, self, those are epoxy sealed tubes, how much helium have they lost since 1986, by diffusion out the expoxy.

Nice resonantors, nice optics, but perhaps a paperweight.

Steve

 

[Bluefan]

Just curious: how can you see it's a epoxy sealed tube?
But even if it's gassfil is poor, it's a CO2 laser, those aren't as critical in gas fill as HeNe or Argon lasers, more closer to a N2 laser actually. I'd go for a DIY regas. Just look at sam's laser faq, CO2's are relative easy DIY lasers, no super high vacuum needed. It would be quite some work and you'd need the gas, but many people have build their CO2's from scratch, so this can be done.
And the resonator and optics alone are very neat.

 

[LSRFAQ]

Just curious: how can you see it's a epoxy sealed tube?
But even if it's gassfil is poor, it's a CO2 laser, those aren't as critical in gas fill as HeNe or Argon lasers, more closer to a N2 laser actually. I'd go for a DIY regas. Just look at sam's laser faq, CO2's are relative easy DIY lasers, no super high vacuum needed. It would be quite some work and you'd need the gas, but many people have build their CO2's from scratch, so this can be done.
And the resonator and optics alone are very neat.

COE of ZNSE is 7, quartz is 4, Pyrex is 33, and Lead glass is 88.

COES need to match within 6 ppm for a successful hard seal, at least until recently. That leaves frit epoxy and indium and o-rings as the potential sealing methods. The plate the window is on doesn't look like 52 alloy or moly to seal direct to quartz, , so I'm willing to bet its epoxy, there is nothing to provide compression for indium or the o-ring.

My bet is 75% chance of epoxy, 25% chance its frit.

No doubt they would be a excellent start for a home made 1o watt co2.
Steve

 

[HIMNL9]

Yes, and ask yourself, self, those are epoxy sealed tubes, how much helium have they lost since 1986, by diffusion out the expoxy.

Ehm ..... these are not He-Ne tubes, these are CO2 tubes ..... and, probably, refillable units (at least the more big one, look as a refillable tube, but i'm not 100% sure, the pics don't show all the details)

Anyway, yes, also the conditions of the brewster windows and the seals have to be considered ..... maybe, being a pickup-only sell, this can be an advantage ..... i mean, if you have to go and pickup them, then you can inspect them before pay .....

Damn, why those things are sold just in the USA, at these prices ? :cryyy:

 

[Cyparagon]

Don't question the master! He wrote the book. There's a lot more gas in CO2 lasers than just CO2. In fact, about 80 percent of the gas fill of a CO2 laser is helium. "but then why is it called a CO2 laser?" because the CO2 is the active lasing component, and Helium-nitrogen-carbondioxide laser is too long of a name.

 

[heruursciences]

I had one of these before and it is refillable, they are epoxy sealed units, it is a special epoxy called torr-seal, and it it is good for several years as a seal, but from 1986 it will need a helium flush and laser gas recharge at the least you can make a seal tube gas mix relitively easily by adding traces of hydrogen (as H20) and xenon -a small flash tube has way more than you need- and or argon to cool the cathode electron emission temperature. you add the laser gas mix first then add the h20 vapor, till you get lasing that won't kill out -watch for plasma that doesn't go white- then xenon and argon until you get the best power output, then a bit more water vapor to reduce power by about 15% to give the tube a respectable lifetime.

The process will take a couple days a tube.