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Thread: 2114-40MLA PSU problem

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Marysville, WA
    Posts
    855

    Default 2114-40MLA PSU problem

    Hey Everyone,
    I recently aquired a little single line argon for the 2114-40 PSU that I've had sitting here for a while. The laser has almost 0 hours on it and works great.

    Now to the problem... When these power supplies are 'starting' the tube, they ramp up the current to 10A and then after the tube catches, the current drops to whatever it is set at. In my case, idle is 3.96A. When I try to increase the tube current while it's running, I get this weird 'hiss' noise for about one second and then the output stops. After another 30 seconds the tube re-ignites itself. Now, since the PSU tries to start the tube at 10A this also causes starting issues. If the tube doesn't catch before the output stops (due to the aforementioned problem) it obviously stops trying to light for 30 seconds and then tries again. I haven't connected a potentiometer to figure out exactly what current this begins at, but I hooked up a jumper to turn the tube to 8A when connected, and when I connect it the same thing happens.

    Anyone have any idea what this hissing could be? It almost sounds like an air valve being opened (obviously theres no air in there... I was just trying to give an idea of the sound). The part that throws me off is that it idles and runs perfectly. The 2500 remote I'm using is defective and only allows me to turn the current to 4.55A, but it works perfectly at that level as well.

    I also tried another power supply and it did the same thing. BUT these two power supplies came from the exact same source at the same time so I cant really say that it is something other than the PSU, until I can get a verified working PSU and test it.

    Thanks in advance for the help!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Cairns, Australia
    Posts
    1,896

    Default

    Argons use HV right? If so, the HV could be the high frequency high voltage, which when corona develops it makes a hissing noise liek you describe.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Marysville, WA
    Posts
    855

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Things View Post
    Argons use HV right? If so, the HV could be the high frequency high voltage, which when corona develops it makes a hissing noise liek you describe.
    They really only use high voltage while starting the tube, to ionize the gas. Other than that it's fairly low voltage at high amperage levels. The tube uses around 100VDC (I haven't measured this specific tube) @ 4-10A. The cathode is usually around 3v @ 25A or so.

    I'm going to hook up a quick remote with potentiometer so I can adjust the power slowly and let you guys know exactly when the trouble starts.

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