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Registered Member #119
Joined: Fri Feb 10 2006, 06:26AM
Location: USA
Posts: 114
Yay! I tried Steve's suggestion and I heard the thunk of the relay kicking in and saw the lights on the side come on(both)! However, there was a problem. There was arching to the wire and some smoke as a result. I did not directly see the arch, but rather saw it from the side and think I know what the problem is(as I turned it off fairly quickly). This might have been due to a lose connection(on the one that was arching the pin hole is slightly different). I might try a large jumper wire. Is there anything else I should possibly check before just assuming that that was the problem? I'm pretty sure it was just a bad connection, but in the thought that there is a HV arc that might be hitting something, I thought I'd ask. btw, here is a link to the picture I saw that made me wonder if it was a YAG: The plug looks like a 6 pin plug the size of the one that I have. Just a thought... Edit: Just looked at it in brighter light. The HV output arched between pins 1 and 2. Shows that it is working, but bad design! I'll have to find some way to insulate the output. Is there a good way to measure the voltage? My scope and VOM only go up to 1kV each. Also, I know that people get away with using 600V rated wire even with HV since the wires stay fairly far away from each other. How well does it hold up close together? I'd imagine it would just arch through, but I figure it couldn't hurt to ask.
Registered Member #56
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445
So long as the voltage is DC, you can make a simple voltage divider. To get a if you go for 100:1 ration (10kv in = 100v out) you could use a series string of 10 1meg resistors and a 100k in series with that. Hook the output across the whole string and put your meter across the 100k.
I would say you should be safe using normal wire, I have found that even like cat5 wire holds up to >10kv at low frequencies...
Did it ark on the side of the connector inside the supply or outside of it? If it was across the outside pins it might be because it was expecting the other half of the connector giving a greater tracking distance... It could also be that without being loaded down by the laser tube the voltage got higher than it should (and normally hoking it up without a tube wouldn't hurt, but if someone jumped the interlock...)
If you have problems with arking at the connector you could place a little silicone/rtv/whatever on the connector...
That is a pretty standard connector, I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that if a laser has a matching one on it it is the right head for the supply...
Registered Member #119
Joined: Fri Feb 10 2006, 06:26AM
Location: USA
Posts: 114
Thanks for the advice! Got both my HeNe laser tubes to fire up. Interestingly enough, the larger tube was able to fire up without adjustment, while the smaller tube required me to up the voltage a bit on the variac for it to fire up. Unfortunatly, both of these tubes were previously ruined, so they don't put out a beam. I'll see if I can get to HSC and pick up another tube. Since the tubes were already ruined, I played around a bit with them. It turns out that it won't fire up either tube(at least under 120V, I didn't push it) if they aren't the right polarity. The smaller tube flashed on the wrong polarity while the larger tube just made the audible sputter of the mirror getting clouded. Time to get a new tube and maybe start playing around with my other lasers! I have some questions about them too if someone can answer them, but I guess that wasn't really the topic of this thread.
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Laser power supply identification
