Author Topic: Identification of laser  (Read 938 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline tom99Topic starter

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 9
  • Country: gb
Identification of laser
« on: August 08, 2022, 09:09:14 am »
Hi,
So I purchased a job lot of electronic items. Amongst the items there was a laser. I have no experience with lasers and have no idea what type it is or how to use it. Any advice etc would be much appreciated!
Thanks, Tom
 

Offline Gyro

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 9410
  • Country: gb
Re: Identification of laser
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2022, 09:23:57 am »
It's a Ne-He (Neon - Helium) laser tube. You haven't given dimensions so it's difficult to give a power output, but it will be somewhere in the 1mW range, normally with a Red Beam. It will require something like 1.5 - 2kV (current limited) to run and up to 8kV to start.

Although laser diodes have become very widespread, He-Ne laser tubes typically produce a much better columnated (low divergence) circular beam. This site is one of the best around in terms of physical description, care and feeding etc...  https://www.experimental-engineering.co.uk/helium-neon-lasers/he-ne-lasers-introduction/
Best Regards, Chris
 

Offline tom99Topic starter

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 9
  • Country: gb
Re: Identification of laser
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2022, 10:59:47 am »
It's a Ne-He (Neon - Helium) laser tube. You haven't given dimensions so it's difficult to give a power output, but it will be somewhere in the 1mW range, normally with a Red Beam. It will require something like 1.5 - 2kV (current limited) to run and up to 8kV to start.

Although laser diodes have become very widespread, He-Ne laser tubes typically produce a much better columnated (low divergence) circular beam. This site is one of the best around in terms of physical description, care and feeding etc...  https://www.experimental-engineering.co.uk/helium-neon-lasers/he-ne-lasers-introduction/

Thank you for the quick answer! Shame I haven't got a safe means of testing it. Any idea on the value of it? Not really sure whether to sell it or keep it in the hopes of one day using it (like most electronics  ::))
 

Offline Gyro

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 9410
  • Country: gb
Re: Identification of laser
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2022, 01:03:54 pm »
I'm not sure on the value - size, power, condition manufacturer etc. all play a part. Brand new, known brand ones seem to be able to command several hundred pounds on ebay these days, others, much less.

The main factor is whether it actually works or not. The alignment and condition of the mirrors (one 100% reflective, the other, the beam exit end, about 99%) is critical, They need to be spot on for the tube to go into laser mode. Also assuming that the seals are intact. If you have no evidence that it is functional, it becomes a pretty ornament in price terms.

Generating those sort of DC voltages is a lot easier than it used to be. Normally comprising a flyback inverter followed by an ordinary voltge multiplier of a few stages and the all important series ballast resistor (covered on the website). That sort of setup can be run from a low voltage supply rather than directly from the mains (the output can still bite though!).
« Last Edit: August 08, 2022, 01:05:54 pm by Gyro »
Best Regards, Chris
 

Offline tom99Topic starter

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 9
  • Country: gb
Re: Identification of laser
« Reply #4 on: August 14, 2022, 01:22:27 pm »
I'm not sure on the value - size, power, condition manufacturer etc. all play a part. Brand new, known brand ones seem to be able to command several hundred pounds on ebay these days, others, much less.

The main factor is whether it actually works or not. The alignment and condition of the mirrors (one 100% reflective, the other, the beam exit end, about 99%) is critical, They need to be spot on for the tube to go into laser mode. Also assuming that the seals are intact. If you have no evidence that it is functional, it becomes a pretty ornament in price terms.

Generating those sort of DC voltages is a lot easier than it used to be. Normally comprising a flyback inverter followed by an ordinary voltge multiplier of a few stages and the all important series ballast resistor (covered on the website). That sort of setup can be run from a low voltage supply rather than directly from the mains (the output can still bite though!).

Thank you for all the help Gyro! If I get it up and running I'll post it here. Won't be for a while. Got a few deflection e/m tubes to test over the next week or so. Might post the results of those though
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf