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LAN_403

Legit_bacon

Fri Aug 03 2012, 11:04AM

Registered Member #4034 Joined: Thu Jul 28 2011, 10:41PM
Location: somewhere in the Southern hemisphere
Posts: 138

So I was browsing youtube the other day and came across this:

after some research I found that the laser module from a Abrams tank which turns out to be illegal to export from the US to New Zealand, the module was named SSY-1.

So my question, are there possible substitutes for this part that aren't ridiculously priced?

Or ulternatly would a xenon flash tube that could be focused or even a ruby laser do?

-matt

Forty

Fri Aug 03 2012, 02:04PM

Registered Member #3888 Joined: Sun May 15 2011, 09:50PM
Location: Erie, PA
Posts: 649

I believe xenon flash bulbs can be used to pump a laser. Since the xenon doesn't lase itself, if you focused it you'd just have a focused flash of light (which can still burn stuff but only at the point that it's focused to)

Goldmine has a few cheap crystal laser rods that I think can be used to make your own pulsed laser if you set it up right (probably needs mirrors and a q-switch, I'm not too experienced with building them)

Daedronus

Fri Aug 03 2012, 03:23PM

Registered Member #2329 Joined: Tue Sept 01 2009, 08:25AM
Location:
Posts: 370

Depends on how much patience and luck you have, I got nd:yag medical laser modules, flash lamp pumped as cheap as 150$ (+shipping).

Check out my youtube channel...

PS: stay away from anything that is not nd:yag, like erbium or holmium, finding resonator mirrors for them is a big PITA

PPS:

I'd make a best offer for 150$
I'm guessing this is a nd:ce:yag essentialy it's nd:yag, same lasing line, 1064nm

Shrad

Wed Aug 08 2012, 12:46PM

Registered Member #3215 Joined: Sun Sept 19 2010, 08:42PM
Location:
Posts: 780

go for passive Q-switch like Cr4+:YAG plus Nd:YAG, or bonded Cr4+:Nd:YAG

Legit_bacon

Thu Aug 09 2012, 05:54AM

Registered Member #4034 Joined: Thu Jul 28 2011, 10:41PM
Location: somewhere in the Southern hemisphere
Posts: 138

Thanks for replies all, unfortunately i don't have upwards of $250 Nzd to blow on a project... So might have to sideline this idea. Defiantly look into it when my fiances are healthier :D

Carbon_Rod

Thu Aug 16 2012, 06:41AM

Registered Member #65 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:43AM
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Posts: 1155

US customs will sometimes seize/bounce imported lasers over 5mW, and prohibit surplus headed out of the country. Note medical devices need transport certificates, but surplus junk does not... a common ebay scam with "no refunds" offered for an item that can't be shipped....

Typically, some use five solid state diode laser stacks in a pentagram mirror cavity to pump high power rods. This is usually not consumer level hardware, and if any optics are out/dirty it fails catastrophically.
Yet they are now often available in the lower range 50W to 500W products:

Note, a YAG rod with its end reflector cup assemblies intact/aligned are cheap, and driving it to the crystals physical limits should be trivial. Mostly the cheap surplus "bare" rods are from old obsolete low power range finder technology.

Personally, I think the room-temperature solid-state maser is a more interesting technology.

Perhaps a better description of what you are trying to build may yield viable options.
If the lifespan of an Arc flash tube is acceptable, it may be a cheaper option....

Sigurthr

Thu Aug 16 2012, 01:39PM

Registered Member #4463 Joined: Wed Apr 18 2012, 08:08AM
Location: MI's Upper Peninsula
Posts: 597

Heh, I remember that thread >.>
(I designed the pulse circuit the OP ended up using.)

Nd:YAG alignment is a bitch, but it certainly can be done. Do try for rods with built in mirrors though, as it greatly simplifies things.

An aspect that needs consideration when looking at making your own YAG (or Ruby) laser is cooling. The rod and lamp are going to get HOT... FAST, and need active cooling. Water cooled flash lamps are common, but it isn't as easy to cool a laser rod, so DIYers usually wind up keeping the pulse rate quite low to compensate.

Btw, you can easily pulse a CO2 laser system, and they are MUCH cheaper and easier to find. IIRC SSY-1 systems run around $600 for a working complete unit, you can get a brand new CO2 tube +power supply (honestly if you're on this forum though you could probably build one yourself though) for <$400.

I've got long standing plans to grab one of those $100 chinese CO2 tubes and build a psu from my SGTC's old NST using the old MMC as a filter cap, and some cheap HV diodes for a full wave rectifier.

Pinky's Brain

Thu Aug 16 2012, 02:24PM

Registered Member #2901 Joined: Thu Jun 03 2010, 01:25PM
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Posts: 837

Why can't you put everything under water? It's has good transparency in UV and visible wavelengths and it's a good insulator at short pulse lengths.

Daedronus

Thu Aug 16 2012, 10:35PM

Registered Member #2329 Joined: Tue Sept 01 2009, 08:25AM
Location:
Posts: 370

IMHO medical heads are far from obsolete or low power.
Perhaps they are obsolete from a medical point of view but the power is there.

and they don't get hot THAT fast without water. not to mention most, like the one I linked, have water ports, and the flash lamp is fully isolated from the water, you can just use tap or distiled water !

SSY1 is junk, it's small, it's low power.
You can get a medical grade head for 150-250$ + mirros 70-80$ + mirror holders 80$
Add a power supply and some kind of mounting rail and your done.

And,
I never had any issues with the customs importing medical grade laser heads.

Legit_bacon

Sat Aug 18 2012, 01:03AM

Registered Member #4034 Joined: Thu Jul 28 2011, 10:41PM
Location: somewhere in the Southern hemisphere
Posts: 138

Im sorry i think theres a bit of misunderstanding as to what im wanting to achieve.

This was the origional video i watched and was hoping to find a cheap way to build something similiar but lower power. Unfortuanatly due to some unfortuante curcumstances involving my smart phone i have no money for projects at all :(

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