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Thread: The £500 ion gas laser myth

  1. #11
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    mixedgas is offline Creaky Old Award Winning Bastard Technologist
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    If it was not hopping the pond, ie shipping, I could help you.\\Steve

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    haha, thanks I apreciate it.

  3. #13
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    Cool

    Hy Mr pj -

    Quote Originally Posted by masterpj View Post
    Oh my god I'm in love *looks at argon laser picture*
    It's actually a Whitelight - this shot was with the system barely 'cracked-open', something like ~2.5W @ 21A or something, iirc - it was simply not possible to take a photo of 16W of WL so close-up, especially with any fog in the room - looks like you're taking a photo of a nuke-bomb flash!

    Sir Simon - just wanted to say: sorry if I came-across as a 'capitalist-pig' putting a FS-ref in your thread... I know it's a 'bit' more than £500 but hey - you never know - might win the ol' Lotto or find a bag full of gold coins along the motorway, eh? ...anyhoo, wasn't trying to be 'in your face' with the 'fyi'...

    cheers...
    j
    ....and armed only with his trusty 21 Zorgawatt KTiOPO4...

  4. #14
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    gashead is offline Admin Verified: Best Accent Ever(Tm)
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    Quote Originally Posted by masterpj View Post
    Oh my god I'm in love *looks at argon laser picture*

    ... At the moment my wallet shouts "No you won't!" though.

    better luck later perhaps =)
    You may also find your Utility supply shouts "No you won't!" - Gas Heads require 3 Phase power supply in most cases, coupled with a decent water supply, water filters in most areas (note to self).

    I have to beg, borrow and steal time in venues and workshops where 3 Phase is supplied, you wouldn't believe the hassle I get because I need so much heavy mains.
    Then they relax, thats until they realise I also require a water supply.. you can see the look of horror on their face. (He's using three phase, and then connecting water to the same piece of equipment...)

    It is worth it though, I get endless amounts of joy from watching a beautiful piece of sci-engineering strike into life, plus the beam specs are to die for.

    A while back, I tried to rectify the situation - I saw a house on the market - about half an hour north of where I live currently.. it had a little shop out the front and as it happened 3ph power.

    The wife and I went to view it, but she likes where we live too much.

    So, this gives you an idea of the intoxication of Gas Lasers.. a man will sell his house to run them!

    Nige.

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    I have 3-phase

  6. #16
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    @dsli_jon haha it's ok.
    And indeed, who knows, maybe later I would be able to afford such awsomeness.

  7. #17
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    gashead is offline Admin Verified: Best Accent Ever(Tm)
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    Quote Originally Posted by masterpj View Post
    I have 3-phase

    You suck.

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    Quote Originally Posted by gashead View Post
    You suck.
    Hehe, you jelly?

    I love you too
    haha

  9. #19
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    Laser Warning 3 phase, the wife would kill me.

    Surly if you where prepared to move house to gain 3 phase then its got to be worth enquiring with the local electricity distributor about having 3 phase brought to your house? I have done conversions on domestic properties into flats and the supply company will dig the path or road outside you property and do the connection (for a cost), you may live where the supply cables run to your house from a pole which would be easier for them to do the connection.

    Just a thought.

    Tony
    Squat that bug,

    One day I'll finish my build.
    https://www.facebook.com/Azteclasers?fref=ts

  10. #20
    mixedgas's Avatar
    mixedgas is offline Creaky Old Award Winning Bastard Technologist
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    My best friend has 65 Lexel 85-SVG tubes in magnets, and some heads, rated to deliver 450 mW of 488 and 450 mW of 514 for 8500 hours (1 year) plus the other lines as a bonus. Power supplies for these are easy to make and they are are 220-240 single phase, 165 volt tubes. He wants 500$ a tube and a bit more for a head, and they are shippable as he has the tubes in the factory shipping boxes. He does have a few PSUs.

    A home made psu consists of a hot water heater element as a dropping element and 12-20 cheap To247 power fets. He has actually made the PSU small enough to fit in a head and give current regulation.

    These are the heads and tubes that were all the rage through Europe a few years ago, as "Zeiss" heads, but these have better Brewsters with crystal quartz instead of fused silica like most older Lexels had, hence the better power. We have easily gotten 1.75 watts on the bench at test current with some of these.

    He has has 95I-KRs and a bunch of other OEM lasers.

    If you want 10-20 watts he has HGM20 tubes, short resonator, fat beam, very compact, very tough for medical service, and they will survive shipping, and probably being dropped 6 feet. There is not much difference between a HGM 8(single) and a HGM 20 (three phase) psu, so if you have hot enough line, and Europe usually does, no problems getting the big tube going at reduced power off single.

    If you add some means of feedback regulation, you can get away with parallel water heater elements as droppers, but you MUST have some feedback some place for to get long tube life. (Strings of Surplus FETS are cheap)

    He is tired of storing all this (pictures of the storage area are confidential, but would shock PLers in terms of scope) and while the prices will not be fire-sale, much is coming onto the market soon.

    Ion has its uses, and you do not always need to have a PCAOM to do well with Ion color (I HATE THAT "elitest" MYTH) people will put up with solid state that drags on and off for about 4-5 points, but will not tolerate less then point by point color in Ion. Somethings wrong there!

    Note I cannot draw, apologies for the "walleyevision" attachments (see Hot Shots part deux)

    Steve
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails colors(2).PNG  

    colors(1).PNG  

    Last edited by mixedgas; 02-15-2011 at 04:18.

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