Craigslist find: gas lasers for $20? Help me identify!

[Konad]

Pick these up for $20 as is (the whole lot)
The Nec is the only operable one at the moment but the power supply is making some bad noises and it clearly need some fixing up.

The argon head was said to have a beautiful aqua/turquoise color. I nearly peed my pants when he said that. I don't have the power supply but I do have the umbilical cord to start building from. I have absolutely no idea what kind of unit this could be.

The last tube does have a barcode was some identifying markings but beyond that I don't even know how to use the darn thing.

I apologize for my ignorance. Clearly I know nothing about gas lasers and was hoping I could get some help from the community. I was wondering if anyone could identify, value and help me get these things running? Sorry for the poor pictures. I'm recovering from hand surgery and don't have the energy to grab the DSLR.

I'm pretty pleased for $20 even though I don't know what I have! What do you think?

Argon head

Tube

 

[ultimatekaiser]

That's an older tube, soft-seal....red, at I think 5mW or more new...who knows what it does now...

Edit: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/brochures/#brcnec

 

[hakzaw1]

good score any way you look at it
most of the answers to your Qs can be found at Sam's
PS for argon are super cheap wiser IMO then ever trying to build one- if yoy were here i would give you one- they are NOT cheap to ship

the embilical is AFAK alays attached to the head and does not 'come-up' in the traditional sense- Sams has the one best for you but many are interchangeable.
one possible issue may be the fact that argons like dogs need exercise but once a month not twice a day.
I do 10 min at idle then crank up the amps for a bit- never too long at peak 9 arojund 10A for my ML) then another 10 at Idle you can build your own remote interface to run at more than idle- best advice from hak- go to NWLEM and bring it- let'Platinum' jonathon (the host-/portland) know are bringing and maybe he or Jeff has a PS you can test with. Some LEMs are great places for BS &T
I would not buy a PS until I knew the argon would fire up.

that a nice NEC red- sweet color and spot nice for small LUMIA- make some bounce FSMs and it can run all day without the need of a rest cycle. It allso may be a good one for holos-
its a 30-50$ laser easy
nice score!! good for you best wishes with the argon- drop in anytime to get one from me I am on the San Bernard river so drop in-lol
-put a WTB in BS & T and you may get one..

hak

edit
the numbers on the argon sticker about mW- its not what it will do-
my wild guess- you may see 15mW from it- but its a sweet blue and thin like 5paghetti.

 

[bloompyle]

good score any way you look at it
most of the answers to your Qs can be found at Sam's
PS for argon are super cheap wiser IMO then ever trying to build one- if yoy were here i would give you one- they are NOT cheap to ship

the embilical is AFAK alays attached to the head and does not 'come-up' in the traditional sense- Sams has the one best for you but many are interchangeable.
one possible issue may be the fact that argons like dogs need exercise but once a month not twice a day.
I do 10 min at idle then crank up the amps for a bit- never too long at peak 9 arojund 10A for my ML) then another 10 at Idle you can build your own remote interface to run at more than idle- best advice from hak- go to NWLEM and bring it- let'Platinum' jonathon (the host-/portland) know are bringing and maybe he or Jeff has a PS you can test with. Some LEMs are great places for BS &T
I would not buy a PS until I knew the argon would fire up.

that a nice NEC red- sweet color and spot nice for small LUMIA- make some bounce FSMs and it can run all day without the need of a rest cycle. It allso may be a good one for holos-
its a 30-50$ laser easy
nice score!! good for you best wishes with the argon- drop in anytime to get one from me I am on the San Bernard river so drop in-lol
-put a WTB in BS & T and you may get one..

hak

edit
the numbers on the argon sticker about mW- its not what it will do-
my wild guess- you may see 15mW from it- but its a sweet blue and thin like 5paghetti.

Take the above post with a grain of salt.

For instance, not all umbilical cords come from the head, or PSU, or either. I have two lasers here with umbilicals that can be unscrewed, and unplugged, from both ends, and then coiled up for storage. They're also completely interchangeable from each other, as they are EXACTLY the same. One is a Melles Griot, and the other an Omnichrome.

Also, without seeing the model number, there is no way to assume wavelength or output. Could be single line on one of three different argon lines (458, 488, or 514), multiline, or tunable. Hell, it could even be IR (probably not).

Could also be anywhere from 5 - 300mW rated, and it could still do 0 to 300.

We'll need at least a model number, preferably with the manufacturer, to determine anything about it. Other than it is argon.

With ALL THAT being said, I feel that I could comfortably label this as an Omnichrome 532. It bears quite a bit of similarity to mine here, with a few subtle differences. With that being said, I have NO IDEA what that large chunk in the front of the head is. I've never seen anything like it...

 

[ultimatekaiser]

It looks like an optronics argon

 

[bdgreenb]

That head looks just like my nec3030 ~30mw output when aligned. It is ML, mine produces 5ish

 

[Konad]

I was just going to say that I found out it's a Nec glg-3030. Although there are no markings to identify it. SAMs FAQ helped with pictures

 

[bdgreenb]

it's a tasty piece of laser. Mine has a HUGE fan on it that doubles as a circulation fan for the room:umbrella:. Hope you get it firing! Good Luck.

 

[bloompyle]

bdgreen - What are the letters on yours before the 3030? ML3030?

Just curious, because in other lasers, GL means it's a 514.5 head.

SL = 488
VL = 457
GL = 514
ML = 457 - 514

Just curious I'm not familiar with NEC nomenclature just yet.

 

[Konad]

Based on that I guess that would make mine an sl. Sadly I may never know for sure :-(. I don't have the technical expertise to make a power supply and don't feel like spending $150 on a factory unit.

Also, this the tube i have is a .5mW Green. I went back to look at the emails my conversation with the seller prior to purchase.

 

[ultimatekaiser]

The bare tube? Yes. It's a melles griot random polarized green. Useful for mirror alignments.

 

[bdgreenb]

gonna go fire up my argon this afternoon(it's currently at my parents house where i use my old room as a lab), ill let you know later bloom

 

[jcranmer]

Based on that I guess that would make mine an sl. Sadly I may never know for sure :-(. I don't have the technical expertise to make a power supply and don't feel like spending $150 on a factory unit.

Also, this the tube i have is a .5mW Green. I went back to look at the emails my conversation with the seller prior to purchase.

Check with Daquin, you never know, he may have a PS for your argon. If you can't find or afford a PS, you should consider putting it for sale here, as I'm sure someone would be willing to pay back at least what you have in it and maybe a little more.