New laser... My dreams have come true.

[Laser Ben]

HEHE...a factory trained technician might use one of these...(hint: not the dime)

This is a "pre lase PT alignment tool" It screws onto the bayonette adapter and perfectly aligns tube and lases a new PT installation DEAD CENTER!

Ah yes, tools...

I have a factory alignment kit for a 168H.O. It has a pair of those pieces as well as a bunch of other random shit.

[dsli_jon]

Hey Jas -

So is the pinhole in the middle so that I can look in and see the tube perfectly centered?

You're funny, dude... the hole is #1, so you have a CENTER-POINT of reference, and like Pat 'splained, you adjust the lit tube, so the 'glow-spot' coming from the b-stem is CENTERED on that hole; Front-side, then Rear... now, your 'bore' should-be pretty-well centered on the 'optical axis' (nice term, Robert.. of the resonator, so now, when you do the front > back / back > front 'bore-shoot' (if you even need-to - probably not..) you are at least starting from the 'correct place'...

Likely, once you have the tube centered, all you should have to do is get that HR 'plasma hot-spot' centered thru the OC (via bounce-mirror > paper @ rear, like I 'splained ) and you should be able to walk-thru 'the field', and find the majik...

Also, should I set the optics holders as close to "0" as I can?

No, I 'get ya', and sure - certainly better than if one or the other is way-whacked out, one side or the other... Again, Read Post #39....

Don't make me (or Pat come up there and 'teach that thing a lesson' for ya - you can do it!!! Just 'have a little talk' with it, beforehand - just gotta say, "...Ok, PT... here's the deal... I'M the Daddy, and YOU'RE the little boy, although you are brilliant..." ........yes, I am 'certifiable'... you should hear me having 'discussions' with Vista!!

Dude, you're going to *weep* when you finally get that thing 'blasing'....
'KIT'...
j

[Laserman532]

yes, what he said

[mixedgas]

If that old bitch doesn't lase soon, take each of those coherent mirrors out, set a hene well across the room, put each mirror in the hene beam and measure the distance from the reflective surface of the mirror to the focal spot in centimeters. Make sure the hene to mirror distance is hugeonormos (tm) so your in the far field of the hene well away from the waist, Sunlight works well for this too. Its about as collimated as it gets. IE I want to know the mirror radius for each mirror. Then measure the distance from optics mount to optics mount and give me that number.. Then give me the part numbers in pencil on the side of the optics. I'll calculate the stability factor for you and we can see if you have a stable resonator. I'll then plot you the stabbility curve in some software I have. Those radius numbers are usually anywhere from 1 meter to 4 meters, some times more, and in a few cases, twice that. The rear may be a flat in US lasers, and the OC can be a flat in Russian ion lasers.. But if its Coherent, it has a radius on the OC fer sure...

steve

[allthatwhichis]

IE I want to know the mirror radius for each mirror. Then measure the distance from optics mount to optics mount and give me that number.. Then give me the part numbers in pencil on the side of the optics. I'll calculate the stability factor for you and we can see if you have a stable resonator. I'll then plot you the stabbility curve in some software I have. ...
steve

...............

[GooeyGus]

I'll see if I can tackle the PT alignment this weekend. I ended up having to work the entire past weekend, so hopefully that doesn't happen again.

Jon - I read through the user manual you gave me and it does indeed cover PT alignment, so I'll use that as a reference guide, although it seems pretty straightforward. Loosen the tube, adjust a few screws until I'm centered, bolt the tube down again and go for it.

Hopefully this does the trick!!

[Laserman532]

you dont bolt the tube down until you are done aligning it...remember pacolem1? howz i tautz ya?

now grab those tools i give ya and stick them where they belong

Now if this is a 164 or 5 with an aperture..there is another procedure that you follow to peak it properly, but it sort of goes like this... Its called "peaking the laser on the aperture"

get laser lasing, then walk beam to the center of the OC, peak the PT for center center (on b stems) THe amount of power dosnt matter as long as you know an actual reading of some sort.

FIRST - Walk beam to center of OC mirror and install aperture assembly. 25 amps will be just fine

if you dont have a power meter, this is a waste of time...you can not do it by eye.

1- while looking at a power meter, decrease aperature size for about a 50% decrease in power from what ever number you were reading (so if you had one watt decrease aperture for about 500mw)

2- adjust back plate for maximum reading on meter (it dosnt matter what it is as long is it is more)

3- open aperture (to maximum size)

4- adjust PT for maximum output (you will gain power)

5- go to 1

repeat about 5 or 6 times and you will have a perfectly aligned laser, producing maximum power and peaked on the aperture!

send consultant payment to... well....ME!!! (jk of course)

[dsli_jon]

I'll see if I can tackle the PT alignment this weekend.

[mixedgas]

ALL THAT

Shamelessly borrowed from WIKI and recolored, see pic:

IF I do the math and GGs numbers don't put him in the blue area, he does not lase based on the mirror configuration. He then has a unstable resonator and needs to change a optic. In other works if your not in the blue in most cases you do not fold back and amplify light in the gain medium. Also it helps if the pink areas in the picture just fill the gain medium.

In my experience Coherent usually tries for the -1,-1 case, and you can see if the crossover points dont match and line up, it quickly goes to heck in a handbasket, or just doesn't lase.

Steve