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Ah yes just found it. I'm quite tired so my mind is dead. I'll send him a pm. Surprised it hasn't sold yet... I thought it had been bought already
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FrozenGate by Avery
Why gas lasers?
- Thread starter FlutterPie
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hwang21
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I'm surprised it hasn't sold either... it's a nice unit with a remote even...
6 line 60X? Don't most 60X's have 8 lines or so? :thinking:
6 line 60X? Don't most 60X's have 8 lines or so? :thinking:
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There are many opinions on this, but $300 for a working air-cooled Argon Ion Head and PSU that runs on 240VAC is about the minimum you can expect to spend, in my opinion. This is for a reasonably healthy 20-50mW laser.
Among those that fall into the category are: (from oldest to newest)
American Laser Company ALC 60X
Omnichrome 532
JDSU 2214
Some may cost less, but they'll be handicapped in some way. You can certainly pay more.
Those that produce higher than average output or run on 120VAC come at a premium.
If you pay less than $300 for something healthy, consider it a bargain.
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All depends On health of tube.
hwang21
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Well it also depends on what kind of power you're talking about. I picked up a plug-and-play argon from eBay or $175 shipped, does around 45mW at 6 lines 
'
I also picked up an ALC 60X and PSU from eBay for $180 shipped, but this one IS indeed handicapped
I have yet to witness it fire up its photons... :yabbmad:
'I also picked up an ALC 60X and PSU from eBay for $180 shipped, but this one IS indeed handicapped
I have yet to witness it fire up its photons... :yabbmad:
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Zap it lol
hwang21
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I tried that not so simple, unfortunately...
not so simple, unfortunately...
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That's a real shame... Good luck
DJZ
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Just depends on where you look. If you check with universities, museums and planetariums you might be surprised what you can dig up. In the past month I've picked up an American 909, Lexel 85 and a Lexel ColorPro for next to nothing.
Their out there, most places have gone solid state and are dumping the ions.
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This is true. Just got a uniphase from Dave. And argons are still better for some things. I'm thankful for that. Why? Because they're among my favorite lasers, and it allows them to continue to be produced.
IMHO HeNe, or Ar+ lasers are NOT toys, they belong in optics laboratories because there are optics and wave plates designed specifically for them.
That's the main reason they are still in use, also... HeNe or CO2 can be made to operate with very high frequency stability (very close to theoretical limit)...
If I am to buy a HeNe I want the 1.152 μm ("first" gas laser action)! That's why I didn't get the 3.3 micron even though that has a very high gain (compared to other lines).
That's just for historical interest. I don't see a point in spending vast amounts of money unless you are doing research or something useful with it.
That's the main reason they are still in use, also... HeNe or CO2 can be made to operate with very high frequency stability (very close to theoretical limit)...
If I am to buy a HeNe I want the 1.152 μm ("first" gas laser action)! That's why I didn't get the 3.3 micron even though that has a very high gain (compared to other lines).
That's just for historical interest. I don't see a point in spending vast amounts of money unless you are doing research or something useful with it.
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I don't believe any lasers are toys.
Guns are not toys either. Yet, they are great to own, and fun to collect.
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What about cat toys?
Or tat cois
Or tat cois
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I have to disagree here a little. It is your opinion though, and I respect that.
However, I think gas is a great place for laser hobbyists to start, rather than end.
Gas provides a safe medium (aside from HV) to view the laser action without the need of protective glasses.. This is of course pertaining to small frame ions, and HeNe only. High output ions, CO2, metal ion, and other high output lasers, need proper safety precautions.
I digress.
I feel that the small open tube HeNes provide an excellent resource for learning all about lasers and optics. For the most part, they are just the same as diodes, but on a macro scale. The resonator that takes up microns in a p-n junction, is blown up to centimeters, to meters, with HeNes. It allows you to play with various optics, gratings, mirrors, and other experiments without the worry of modulation, frequency instability, or heat dissipation.
With a HeNe, you can turn it on, view the plasma, and do all sorts of experiments.
The more advanced user can do various projects with manipulation of the gain medium using a brewster tube. You can view how slight changes in alignment can alter output completely. Or how using mirrors designed for other wavelengths, can give you different outputs from the same tube.
An even more advanced user can experiment with interferometry, measurements and ranging, spectroscopy, and anything else your imagination can create with a fluid palette such as the HeNe laser.
This is why I love gas.
Once you realize the opportunities you have with gas lasers, you no longer look at them as just tubes of gas. There are endless experiments that you can perform.
Even the very basic functions such as wavelength output can be changed! If you have a red tube, and want yellow or orange, all you need is a mirror or two. Try THAT with a diode or DPSS! It should be noted that doing the above to a diode or DPSS will likely kill the laser.
So, yes, they are meant to be in labs. However, there is nothing stopping you from bringing the lab to you.
However, I think gas is a great place for laser hobbyists to start, rather than end.
Gas provides a safe medium (aside from HV) to view the laser action without the need of protective glasses.. This is of course pertaining to small frame ions, and HeNe only. High output ions, CO2, metal ion, and other high output lasers, need proper safety precautions.
I digress.
I feel that the small open tube HeNes provide an excellent resource for learning all about lasers and optics. For the most part, they are just the same as diodes, but on a macro scale. The resonator that takes up microns in a p-n junction, is blown up to centimeters, to meters, with HeNes. It allows you to play with various optics, gratings, mirrors, and other experiments without the worry of modulation, frequency instability, or heat dissipation.
With a HeNe, you can turn it on, view the plasma, and do all sorts of experiments.
The more advanced user can do various projects with manipulation of the gain medium using a brewster tube. You can view how slight changes in alignment can alter output completely. Or how using mirrors designed for other wavelengths, can give you different outputs from the same tube.
An even more advanced user can experiment with interferometry, measurements and ranging, spectroscopy, and anything else your imagination can create with a fluid palette such as the HeNe laser.
This is why I love gas.
Once you realize the opportunities you have with gas lasers, you no longer look at them as just tubes of gas. There are endless experiments that you can perform.
Even the very basic functions such as wavelength output can be changed! If you have a red tube, and want yellow or orange, all you need is a mirror or two. Try THAT with a diode or DPSS! It should be noted that doing the above to a diode or DPSS will likely kill the laser.
So, yes, they are meant to be in labs. However, there is nothing stopping you from bringing the lab to you.
Yes I think HeNe is a great teaching apparatus that's why it has always been a staple of undergraduate labs for students doing the Young double slit which-way experiment, etc.
It's also one of the cleanest systems... it is still being produced while most other early lasers simply disappeared ages ago!
However HeNes today don't have the Brewster tilted windows for avoiding reflection losses (because mirrors can be directly fixed to both ends of the tube).
Yes the possibilities are endless, I emphasis one thing a more advanced user can do is to stabilize the frequency using Zeeman effect, all you need is to wound a solenoid around the tube and a few polarizing plates and prisms and then you can look at it electronically.
But some people's interest is motivated more by art than by the science behind it, some people say they like the "steampunk" look of the lamp, whatever that is...
It's also one of the cleanest systems... it is still being produced while most other early lasers simply disappeared ages ago!
However HeNes today don't have the Brewster tilted windows for avoiding reflection losses (because mirrors can be directly fixed to both ends of the tube).
Yes the possibilities are endless, I emphasis one thing a more advanced user can do is to stabilize the frequency using Zeeman effect, all you need is to wound a solenoid around the tube and a few polarizing plates and prisms and then you can look at it electronically.
But some people's interest is motivated more by art than by the science behind it, some people say they like the "steampunk" look of the lamp, whatever that is...
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hakzaw1
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What about cat toys?
Or tat cois
The problem with so-called eye safe lasers is the misconception some get from these that MANY lasers are eye safe= take the 405s for example- my 660mW looks pretty harmless but this is far from the truth. it burns much faster than my 1.3W green or my 2w 445- and from a greater distance too in the dark our pupils are dialated allowing much more light to enter the normally 7mm opening. so even the .25 second auto blink reflex to be too slow to stop all possible damage.
I am totally against the use of lasers as 'toys' for dogs- some become hopelessly obsessed and this is very very hard to un-do. its a lazy persons excuse to NOT just get a tennis ball and throw the damned thing..
some dogs are not interested in lasers- others can 'play' chase the dot w/o becoming obsessed BUT finding this out can end badly-- So the harm can be not only physical but also a mental thing. I saw one dog get almost instantly obsessed and even tho now the dog is no longer EVER exposed to a laser spot she keeps looking for it and any shiny object reflections makes her whine and display her obsession of trying to find the dot- when I visit if i forget to remove my glasses the second any reflection hits the floor from my specs she goes after it and will not stop. This must be somewhat rare as the other 6 dogs there show no interest in the laser dot- she is the alpha female and that may have a bearing IDKFS.--
so get a frisbee or throw toy and forget the laser toy:tsk:--its a bad idea IMHO.
hk