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Thread: WTB: Mixed gas tube for Lexel 95 head; PCAOM

  1. #1
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    Default WTB: Mixed gas tube for Lexel 95 head; PCAOM

    Hello all,

    After over half a decade of having been caught up in 'life', I'm working on getting back into a couple of my hobbies, notably lasers and electronics... About a decade ago, I started a journey to build a laser projector. I started off with the lasers themselves, and the addiction took hold, and I never finished the projector side of things... Instead, I ended up with two Lexel 75's, an 85, two 95's, an ALC60X, ALC909, rotary phase converters, variable frequency drives, jet pumps, 55 gallon drums, heat exchangers, and so forth. Lol... Sort of got caught up in ion lasers.... I also ended up buying a set of EyeMagic galvos, amps, and so forth... I always wanted to design and build my own DAC, and write my own software, but with that whole 'life' thing, I lost sight of my goals...

    Fast forward a number of years, and here I sit, wanting to get back into the hobby/addiction. I know that's a loaded proposition... I never attended LA (Lasers Anonymous), so the addiction might flare back up... But that's okay.

    I see that there's a nice DAC out there now; the Ether Dream. I think I'm going to go this route.. I'll have to revisit the software to refresh my memory on the features of each package...

    Anyway, to my questions...

    1) Does anyone happen to have a mixed gas tube that would be suitable for retrofit into a Lexel 95 head that they'd be willing to part with? Preferably Lexel, but from what I can recall, there's several others that can be fitted into these heads... The couple of tube refurb companies I had dealt with in the past seem to have disappeared...

    2) I'd also need a PCAOM... Anyone have an old PCAOM system (and controller) laying around they'd sell?

    Just as I was starting to get sucked into life, laser diodes were coming into their own... I suppose it might be easier, maybe even cheaper, to go that route... I know I'd certainly end up with a less power hungry, less complex system... But there's just something about ion lasers that I'll always hold dear in my heart and mind.

    Anyway, just thought I'd check to see if anyone had these items for sale.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
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    Hi Bradstockdale,

    Where in the world are you located. I am in the UK and have a couple of PCAOMs and drivers which are excess to my needs. Just not sure about how much the shipping might be to you. They came out of an old high power mixed gas ion installation and will handle the power perfectly. I will try and dig them out and send over some pictures and any tech spec. I will also take a look and see if I have a mixed gas tube for your Lexels, what type of power were you thinking of? Here again the location may be the limiting factor. But I will definitely see if I can help you out.

    Cheers

    Steve

  3. #3
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    Hi,

    Just found the old spec sheet of the PCAOMs I have. I don't have the remote control unit, as they were installed in TARM beamtables that I used to own. I have 2 of these and if you are interested then I can dig them out and test them.

    http://www.metronixlaser.de/AA-PCAOM-Anleitung.pdf

    I will look into the plasma tubes later in the week.

    If you are interested PM with your location and make me an offer re price, I will then find out the shipping cost for just these and the frightening cost if I can find a tube, as this would need very careful crating and shipping if you are outside the UK!

    Cheers

    Steve

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    Lightbulb

    ..anybody else find the irony of seeing (yet another..) 'Brad' and 'WTB' being in the same thread.. amusing? Must be some 'cosmic-force' out there with a healthy sense of humor..
    (..small 'inside (PL) joke'.. Nothing-bad on you, bradstockdale.. (or our Dear 'BB'..) Welcome to PL..

    re: 'Where are you', Yes, indeed, as If you are in the States, there is a 'Steve' (...also highly-ironic..) who's handle, here is.. wait for it - 'mixedgas' that is The Maestro of Lexel Ar, Kr and/or, well, Mixedgas-tubes.. If you are State-side, Steve can fix you up, proper..

    ..IF, however, you're on the 'other side of the pond', the (posting..) Steve, Laserhobbit, I am sure can / will also fix you up, proper.. He is, likewise, a Gentleman, and knows his kit, well..

    ..If you Are in the States, I might be able to help with an AO, but.. I'd rather not-sell, unless you're 'really stuck'.. Laserhobbit-Steve's 'AA' are good kit, also..

    Lastly, too-bad you've got such an 'itty-bitty resonator'.. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coherent-Sab.../191502694630? ..in case you find a way to 'stretch' your 95-chassis..

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

  5. #5
    Bradfo69's Avatar
    Bradfo69 is offline Pending BST Forum Purchases: $47,127,283.53
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    Quote Originally Posted by dsli_jon View Post
    ..anybody else find the irony of seeing (yet another..) 'Brad' and 'WTB' being in the same thread.. amusing? Must be some 'cosmic-force' out there with a healthy sense of humor..
    (..small 'inside (PL) joke'.. Nothing-bad on you, bradstockdale.. (or our Dear 'BB'..)
    Yeah.... something about seeing another "Brad" in the Buy/Sell section is a bit unsettling.

    Fortunately, I've somehow managed to escape the ion side of things. (Well... at least the "smaller" ion things.) So, most of that is all yours! Welcome (back)!

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    Quote Originally Posted by bradstockdale View Post
    Just as I was starting to get sucked into life, laser diodes were coming into their own... I suppose it might be easier, maybe even cheaper, to go that route... I know I'd certainly end up with a less power hungry, less complex system... But there's just something about ion lasers that I'll always hold dear in my heart and mind.
    Diodes are nice for the reasons you mentioned, no water/chillers to deal with, no 500CFM fans, no tapping into your air conditioner mains to run them. However, there are certainly huge drawbacks. I have yet to see a modern projector of any serious power that had matched beams that didn't have spatial filtering and beam shaping optics. Different emmiter sizes, different divergence, different fast axis... The other problem with diodes is the CRI for white... put simply, the white on diode projectors sucks a lot. Mixed gas also doesn't suffer the beam alignment headaches that diodes present.
    Last edited by absolom7691; 02-10-2015 at 01:48.
    If you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the wrong room.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bradfo69 View Post
    ...something about seeing another "Brad" in the Buy/Sell section is a bit unsettling...
    ..I can see the 'western-style standoff' in the streets of B/S/T, even-now.. tumbleweed-posts blowing by; the hot, dry air tingling w/ the impending lightning-strike of a 'BIN' mouse-click...

    Quote Originally Posted by absolom7691 View Post
    ...put simply, the white on diode projectors suck a lot...
    ..Not to mention.. http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...1&d=1232521512

    http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...6&d=1198375394 ..etc ...Sorry, but..Untill the day I can have 9-11 lines of color in One beam - for less than 9-11 $-digits (ie: supercontinuum or fiber-lasers w/ AO-mod, etc..) I am more than happy to hump a bit of feeder / hose for the unmatched-glory of the end result.. And don't even get me started on what "Sho Co's" are doing, turning the Art of Laser Shows into nothing more than controlling a bunch of lighting-fixtures.. Ugh...

    OK, I'll shut up now..
    j
    ....and armed only with his trusty 21 Zorgawatt KTiOPO4...

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    Quote Originally Posted by dsli_jon View Post
    OK, I'll shut up now..
    Rant away! I think the only lasers out there right now that can match Ion, as far a beam quality and available wavelengths are OPSLs, which would cost more than a few kidneys on black market! Even still, you'd have to deal with beam alignment. Ions still reign supreme in this arena!
    Last edited by absolom7691; 02-10-2015 at 02:00.
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    Quote Originally Posted by absolom7691 View Post
    ...the only lasers out there right now that can match Ion, as far a beam quality and available wavelengths are OPSLs...
    In the 'high-power class', yes.. But, don't forget Fiber-lasers, their smaller more colorFULL cousins http://www.mpbc.ca/_en/web/lasers/cw/visible/index.html ..but, at ~$22K *per line* (!) - even if they were 'only' $10K / line - you're still hard-pressed to beat a WL, even-with the 'Power / Water-needs'... Heck, for what it would *cost you* to get that many lines of color - via either Fiber or OPS - you can Own, even a large-frame Ion, build one of these pups http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...929#post294929 ..and have enough left over to BUY a nice used 'Whisperwatt' genny, and I think you'd still come out ahead on the balance-sheet. Oh, and yes, as you nicely point-out, 'look Ma, no alignment-issues'..

    ..Never mind that 'trailer of road-cases', that's just a few suitcases, no big deal..
    j
    ....and armed only with his trusty 21 Zorgawatt KTiOPO4...

  10. #10
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    Use a Argon for the all lines and a 635 nm diode for the red. Problem solved.

    Steve
    Qui habet Christos, habet Vitam!
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    When I still could have...

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