I'm really happy whenever a laser that was built before all the safety devices were required (interlocks, shutters, keys and stickers) comes across my path. This one is a 1973 GTE Sylvania model 948 carbon dioxide system. It features a sealed quartz plasma tube giving >10W at 10.6 microns, GaAs output coupler and Brewster window attached with Torrseal, high reflector mounted on a piezoelectric translator for fine tuning the wavelength, a Germanium output window, a DC-DC converter in the head, and a brass flow switch. It's all original but might have had a couple of hoses replaced.

The detail pic shows a white oily substance that was leaking out of the DC-DC converter. I think it was the glue used to hold an insulating tape on the inside of the cover. Cleaned up easy with acetone. I should probably run something through the water jacket to clean it out, but that can always happen later. The ad is from Laser Focus of February 1970, introducing the model. Also shown are the various badges the line wore over the years. The first two in the '70s, the latter in the '80s.

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