Lexel 95 and the quest for the missing tube voltage

[MarioMaster]

Wow, thanks - that would be great

I should be able to get some decent power out of it at school, my dorm outlets are 20A sockets wired with 208v 3 phase (various rooms are different legs), so I should be able to run it pretty good without needing to be in a lab. My RA helped me move a DNA sequencer into my dorm last year so he already knows I'm nuts

[buffo]

When you get that unit to SELEM, we'll have 450 amps of 208 3 phase to throw at it. Trust me when I say you'll be able to run it up to full power with no problems!

Adam

[MarioMaster]

[krazer]

yesyesyesyes

Whats the power?

[MarioMaster]

yesyesyesyes

Whats the power?

I'm not sure if it was 488 or 514, but I was getting a bit over 1.1 watts at 29A of tube current (any more and I would be overloading the 20A outlets)

IDK if that's good or bad, heck I don't even know what tube mine has in it (95-2, 95-3, 95-4), the tube just says "95Ar"

I had to set the buck transformer to neutral since I'm actually running it on 208v 3 phase now

Taste the argon rainbow




I counted at least 8 lines messing with the prism

[mixedgas]

I'm very sorry your tube is such a lemon...

.. I'm afraid since you only got 8 lines with the prism that the tube is on the way out. Some one will need to properly dispose of the BeO material for you. Thus I can be there before or after SELEM as needed, in fact its 13:10 in the morning here right now and I can leave right now, to remove the evidence of your sorrows. I'd get there at roughly 07:30 and can have it loaded by 0:7:35 or so, if that is OK with you? I'm so sorry your experiencing this, and I'll pick up the gas and turnpike fees.

1.1W on ONE line with the prism at 29A suggests a 95-3 or more likely a 95-4 and fairly clean and peaked optics and a decent prism such that the compensation grub screw is adjusted like Goldilocks preferred stolen Porriage, " Just Right!"

..As far as I can tell from years of study, is a 95-4 is created when manufacturing is good and there are no flaws in the windows or stem alignment welds or return paths. In other words it looks like they graded the tubes during processing. When they needed a dash two they slightly overfilled a tube or added a flow restriction rod during manufacture if needed.

So what ya gonna trade me for a all lines optic holder ???

While your pondering that, graph me tube voltage VS current every 2.5 amps and publish the graph here. Then go check your cathode settings and see that it stays healthy. 18-22A is a nice number if you insist on fooling around. And DON'T let lasers have a effect on your grades.

Easy way to figure out where you are in the sequence is that 488 and 514 have the most gain and power, period. Sometimes 528 comes up in the sequence with a healthy tube and hot optics like yours, but other then that 514 is the upper green in the sequence. 528 is the ONLY green above 514, and you'll know it, because the gain is low and its mode is sensitive to alignment and current. You need to crank things up to get 528.

I suppose your going to be a schmart fellow and tell us how it was perfectly aligned and you didn't have to touch a thing, right?


Steve

[MarioMaster]

I was lucky and someone had painted lines of white-out on the alignment knobs and casing - I figured it wasn't just for decoration so while the tube was lit I lined up the dashes and was greeted with some lovely coherent light - after that just some fine tuning to get the power up to 1.1w

Thanks for the info on the tube, sounds like they grade tubes like AMD/Intel bin processors.

I dunno of anything I have that would be of use to you in trade for the mirror holder - I don't have access to the vast array of junk at home

[buffo]

HAHA! Looks like Steve has eyes on your tube, MarioMaster! Better keep an eye on it at SELEM!

Just kidding dude. Looks like you found a keeper. Those are some great numbers. But yeah, if you can get that multi-line optic (and holder) from Steve, you'll be golden. And I'm sure he'll make you a deal. He's cool like that.

Will be fun to see that baby cranked up in the backstage hallway at SELEM.

Adam

[MarioMaster]

I herd u liek sum charts



At first I thought the last two readings were incorrect or there was something funky with my LPM, but I tested it again with another power meter of totally different design and the readings matched pretty much exactly The laser was set to the 514nm line.

Pew pew

[mixedgas]

That is power vs current, I wanted voltage vs current! So I can tell the health of your tube. Not that its low pressure or anything, but some of us keep a database of these things in our head.

But its a start.

Steve