Was it a good deal or did I get burned

[mixedgas]

A working Half Note with driver for 250 is a steal. That is about half the going rate for a beat up, old, used Half Note without a driver.

Steve

[Junktronix]

Sadly, that seller is scrapping the driver electronics and selling just the laser cavity. His 'test' is to power the pump diode with a DC power supply and without controlling the diode or KTP temperature. If he sees any green at all, he calls it working. I have many examples that pass this test, but won't make more and a few hundred mW when properly driven. He's not a bad guy though - just not very experienced with lasers. Pretty sure he'd replace the laser if you found it was not making full power.

To run this, you'll need to find a 30A laser diode driver, a 10-15A TEC temperature controller for the large baseplate TEC and a smaller temperature controller for the KTP oven.

[tribble]

You won the auction. It's a little late to be asking if you should go through with it IMHO.

[Luthervan]

Thanks everyone for your help. I had thought about backing out of the auction because even at the good deal it was, I really couldn't afford it (I know, join the crowd right? lol). But it sounds like it will be an awesome laser and if worse comes to worse I can probably easily resell it for more than I have in it.

I thought a while about my intro that I promised but never have been too good at that sort of thing so I thought I'd write whatever I could come up with in that section and share with you here, in context, the email I sent back to the seller. It will probably give you a better idea of who i am than I can explain.

"Hi, thank you for caring enough about my purchase to pack it well, etc. as this laser is a very special purchase for me. I have a few less powerful ones but this one is my dream come true as far as a hobby goes. I have daydreamed about it for too many hours to count. I have a special safe place to keep it until I have the power supply(s) and everything ready to go. Then soon hopefully, using my utmost care, and precise capabilities, hook it all up and watch with the amazement of a child as that powerful green beam shines off into infinity. And yes I would love to have a spare one or two but afraid that's not in the budget right now even with the awesome deal I got on this one. Thank you again."

[Luthervan]

Oh and hello Junktronix, I have you on my eBay favorite sellers list (assuming you are one in the same).

[norty303]

I'm afraid I agree with Tribble. If this was an auction format sale and you made a bid, you are committed to buy. It is this sort of nonsense that has made eBay a bit of a joke for sellers

[Luthervan]

I'm afraid I agree with Tribble. If this was an auction format sale and you made a bid, you are committed to buy. It is this sort of nonsense that has made eBay a bit of a joke for sellers

You won the auction. It's a little late to be asking if you should go through with it IMHO.

I agrree with both of you and I should have clarified that the only way I would have backed out (and wouldnt have been proud of it still) is if i explained to the seller that I may have spent a little more in my excitement than I should have and ask his permission to back out. If he said no then by all means I would keep my end of the bargain because I made a commitment and I am a man of my word. But fortunately it didnt come to that. Because I have only done that one other time and that was when I accidentally put in one too many zero's for my bid. Too many people these days have no idea what being a man of your word means.

[norty303]

Too many people these days have no idea what being a man of your word means.

Agreed, I think the faceless nature of the internet and online auctions makes people act in ways they'd never do face to face. I ended up having to ring someone's Dad once, via the 'obtain contact details' functionality and explain he was messing me about over a purchase from him. Parents are the best solution to lots of issues

[Luthervan]

Oh.. I keep forgetting - I want to also thank everyone for the privilege to be a member of PL. And please, if I ever do or say anything that isn't fitting, don't hesitate to let me know.

[Junktronix]

I get a fair number of buyers changing their mind after committing to buy. It's annoying, but honestly I'd rather cancel a sale than ship a laser out, have it shipped back, have to deal with shipping damage because the buyer didn't pack it well enough and ultimately end up giving them a full refund and getting negative feedback (the buyer is *always* right you know). It doesn't always go this badly, but often enough that I never refuse to cancel a sale if asked.