New laser... My dreams have come true.

[GooeyGus]

My breaker is really what is limiting me right now... I can only do about 18A steadily.

Hey pat, is there a way to set the minimum current on a 265 psu?

My normal 265 took a dump, so I'm using a spare. It will only go down to 20A, and my breaker blows after about 10 minutes. My other supply went down to around 13A with this head.

Also, even though I couldn't get it to 30A, I gave it a tiny shot of gas. The tube volts were barely 220 at 20A. It came up to mid/high 220s, but obviously I don't want to add more until I get the current to the correct level.

Also I'm not sure if the magnet is working with this new supply. On the old one I could see a bit of a change in brightness when I turned the field up, but not really with this one. It could also be because the old PSU was at 13A and this one was running 20A, as I know the current will rise with the field at low current levels.

[Ed-laserproductions.ca]

I had a bunch of these and I have to say the most trouble was always from the power supplies. So many different versions and they all had their own personalities!
The fact that you have plasma and there are no tube obstructions means you have a really good chance of getting some laser action.

Here are a few things to try.
Remove the optic holders one at a time. Are the optics even in the holders?
Funny but I ran into it once. Lab kept the optics

Take the front optic holder out. Use a white piece of paper on the wall a couple feet away.
You will see some nice purple pink light on the paper. Adjust the back knobs until all the rings are lined up inside of one another. Replace the front optic and try adjusting the knobs at the back to see if you can get anything.
Keep those brewster covers back to avoid snapping stems!! especially if you have to do the rocking.

Really you need to have the tube up to 28+ amps to get good flashes if i remember correctly.

If you ever add gas (which you said you did) keep the tube on for a couple hours at least to let the tube balance its self out.

[Eidetic]

If you're only at 18A, you'll have difficulty getting it to lase unless you're right on top of the alignment. If you can't increase the current, work in total darkness so you can see when it faintly flashes.

Also, using a He-Ne to shoot the bore will give you difficulty if you don't set that beam up very stable. Bolt or glue the mounts well. Because the He-Ne beam is much smaller diameter than the bore of the Argon tube, you have to be certain it's perfectly centered in the bore glow at both ends of the tube. And shut off the He-Ne while you search, so you can see the very weak flash of light when it happens.

And don't forget to open the aperture fully!

[Laserman532]

you need more current, you do not want to set your supply below about 13 amps..

use a compass to check the magnet likes I taught ya!

[mixedgas]

[QUOTE=GooeyGus;139105]My breaker is really what is limiting me right now... I can only do about 18A steadily.

once the current is on, put a voltmeter across the magnet. Vary the field control, You should see a change in voltage..

Steve

[GooeyGus]

Good news guys... I'm hooked into a 50A breaker today, so I should be able to do everything I need to do. Check tube volts at 30A, make sure the magnet control is working, etc etc.

I'm running up to my moms house right now to grab my extra set of Ar optics. If I cant get this thing lasing today I'm going to be upset.

At least I wont have to deal with the stupid breaker blowing every few minutes if I go barely above 18A.

Wish me luck!

[Ed-laserproductions.ca]

How to Pressure check

Run at 30 Amps
Read the # off the Fill Scale
Multiply by 6
This equals your tube voltage
It should be in the green!

[GooeyGus]

i'm just going to measure TV's with my multimeter... sometimes I dont trust the calibrations on those power supplies.

My power supply has a weird scale too... instead of just the green section, it has a whole bunch of different color sections corresponding to optimum pressures for different lines of Ar and Kr... I'm just going to put it in the middle (or ~237VDC)

[Ed-laserproductions.ca]

If you get it going, which I think you will, I have schematics and trouble shooting documents for the PS.
Good thing to have around!

They are kinda hard to come by. Everyone of these seemed to have its own personality.

[Ed-laserproductions.ca]

You have 3-phase power at your house?!

This might sound silly but I have never lived anywhere with 3-Phase power. Ever!

If you hook this up to single phase 208 (really 2 phase) you will have problems.

Are you sure you have 3-phase power in your house?

The 265 has 4 wires (if memory serves me) the the phases/legs and ground NO COMMON