Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W Argon laser...)

[Cyparagon]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

That looks kinda complicated, how long do you think it will take to fix it? :-?

This is a critical failure. It's analagous to having a crack in the front of an old TV or a broken light bulb... It's not something you just fix.

 

[Mohrenberg]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

[quote author=maxkillz link=1225945623/0#8 date=1226004738]That looks kinda complicated, how long do you think it will take to fix it? :-?

This is a critical failure. It's analagous to having a crack in the front of an old TV or a broken light bulb... It's not something you just fix.  [/quote]

ppftt, it just needs some duct tape and super glue, it'll all be good then

 

[Davo]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

I've sourced a brand new tube, but it's $2k....

dam, thats alot

 

[Event_Horizon]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

I cringed when I saw the dent. I almost shed a tear when I saw the broken tube. :'(

Be careful not inhale any of the resulting dust from that glass. While the argon gas is long gone (and harmless anyways), argon laser tubes are typically made of beryllium oxide. Inhaling even small amounts the of that stuff and you are going to wind up with some serious respiratory problems. :-/

 

[Cyparagon]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

The shattered part is regular old boring silica glass, not BeO.

 

[Event_Horizon]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

Oh. I have not seen that before. Mine is BeO right to the ends.

 

[GooeyGus]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

yeah only the actual bore of the tube is BeO, the ends are just regular glass.

I've got a line on another tube for around $600.... so it might be fixed pretty soon... we'll see.

 

[diachi]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser..

Hope you get it fixed up soon And I wish you better luck with the spectra physics tubes!

-Adam

 

[randomlugia]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

Ouch, too bad! Those things are so expensive... hope you get it fixed all right. :'(

Just wondering, how easy are these to run when they're workeing? Do you just plug it in and push a button?

 

[GooeyGus]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

Ouch, too bad! Those things are so expensive... hope you get it fixed all right.  :'(

Just wondering, how easy are these to run when they're workeing? Do you just plug it in and push a button?  

If everything is working correctly, then yes. On this model there is a foot pedal. The power supply has to get charged up, then the filament in the tube heats up, then it's ready to rock. There are many safety interlocks that must be in place before the tube will fire though, as with most class IV lasers.

 

[randomlugia]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

Cool! I might get a 60mW on Ebay some time. Does it have need to have a delay for the FDA?

 

[GooeyGus]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

They all have a delay, it's sort of inherent to the design.

 

[wesdaman14]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser..

That sucks that it broke

 

[rkcstr]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

Man... was that thing just in a cardboard box with styrofoam peanuts and carpet padding???

What is with people shipping heavy stuff with just some peanuts and random crap in a box? I've had many heavy things just thrown in a box with peanuts and then the box gets beat to crap and the stuff inside isn't very well protected so it often gets damaged. They could pretty simply get some solid foam pieces to reinforce the corners so that the unit was snugly placed in the box then fill the rest with peanuts or other choice of shock-absorbant material. Even better would be a good 2" or more of foam surrounding on all sides, which would also serve to reinforce the box more to prevent the box corners from crushing to the point of hitting the item.

Its a shame that you lost an awesome laser to what is probably a combination of poor handling and poor packaging

 

[Cyparagon]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

As stated above, all argons have delays. Both my SP and HGM have a ~30 sec delay on only the first firing. Shortly after a shut down, the delay is ~3 sec for my HGM and 1/4 sec for my SP.

 

[Event_Horizon]

Re: Ugh.... (pics of my new 4W  Argon laser...)

When my first argon came in the mail, it was in a box hardly even big enough for the laser head and power supply, with newspaper packed in to keep it in place. It was really beat up and didn't work. The second time I bought an argon on ebay it was packaged so well I couldn't believe it. Huge boxes, with the laser head and power supply in separate boxes, each with more then 6 inches of solid styrofoam on all sides. The boxes were trashed but the merchandise was immaculate.


Also, I do believe that the delay when starting an argon is because the cathode has to warm up.