helium neon laser DC power

[ultimatekaiser]

Picked up a dc power brick for a small bare tube hene. Was looking for general thoughts on powering it? 12V wall adapter? Or maybe just a ton of AA cells?

I've never powered gas in this way. Thx in advance!

 

[djQUAN]

A ton of AA cells isn't a good way in the long run. Best would be a decent sized AC wallwart or lipo cells. What's the current requirement?

 

[ARG]

A lipo pack would be better if you want it battery powered, 8 AA cells is madness
You can use an old 12V laptop PS if you want it wall plugged

 

[Meatball]

For 12VDC in, a 12V wall wart is just fine. I tend to use recycled ATX supplies modded for the job.

 

[ultimatekaiser]

A wall wart huh...interesting thought. Might go with that. I did figure the wall was a better option. How might I hook that up though to the leads?

 

[Meatball]

You'll need to post a few pictures of your PSU at this point. Be sureto include a picture of the specs on the sticker, and a clear view of all wires.

Its really a very straight forward connection. I just want to be sure that you have the hardware you think you have.

Here are a couple options at this point:

Amazon.com: 12V 2A DC Universal Regulated Switching Power Supply: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Wall Adapter Power Supply - 12VDC 1A: Electronics

 

[ultimatekaiser]

Its a melles griot PS and I know the requirements
just taking ideas basically. but here's the specs.

Input: 12V @ .7-1.6A
output: 10KV Start / 1600-2000V operating power @ 6.5mA

flying leads for DC input:
Red = +
black = -
yellow = TTL/Ground (must be grounded for operation)
Violet loop is the CDRH safety delay. it is intact and would be cut to eliminate/defeat the wait

I was thinking of using a DC input at 12V and 1A

 

[ARG]

Input: 12V @ .7-1.6A
I was thinking of using a DC input at 12V and 1A

That's quite a wide range for the input current there.
I would use a 2A supply to be on the safe side. Always best to have a little more current than the maximum rating.