Uniphase 2214-25MLUP

[Minerva]

I *did* find a better laser than the one I originally asked about, a Uniphase 2214-25MLUP, and I found a power supply that's actually designed to work with it. One simple question, though. The literature on the series of laser this laser falls into lists the wavelength for this laser as 458 to 515. Does that mean I can adjust it to get either, or does that mean that there's a chance I would be getting a green laser? There's another one I can go with if this one isn't the color I want, but this one is slightly cheaper. Thank you for your help. To let you in on a secret (well, not really, since he mostly knows), it's a gift for my laser-loving boyfriend.

[stanwax]

Hi Minerva

Great gift for any photon loving partner Yes this laser with the suffix 'ML' is multiline meaning it will produce light at several wavelengths at the same time. It is not selectable - as far as I know on this laser so you get a single beam made up of green and a few blue lines. This is cool to have but if he just wants one colour green or blue you need to pick one with a different suffix

GL = Green at 514nm (they say 515 cos its actually 514.5)
VL = Deep blue almost violet (hence the V) at 458nm lovely colour but will be lower power.
SL = turquiose blue 488nm very strong line so lots of power (relativley)

As Im sure you will have worked out the number preceeding the suffix is the power rating which on an argon is usually taken as minimum end of life power so they will often do more than this.

Hope it helps

Rob

[buffo]

if he just wants one colour green or blue you need to pick one with a different suffix

I disagree, Rob...

If Minerva buys a multi-line argon laser, he can always use a dichro to separate the blue and green lines. Then he could use scanner or flag blanking to modulate those colors individually, and finally re-combine them afterwards using another dichro.

Sure, you'd loose 5-10 percent of your total power, but it's a poor man's solution to adding both blue and green to a projector. Add a 50 mw 635 nm diode and a dichro to mix in the red, and you'd have all the lasers you'd need for an RGB projector! (And if he doesn't need the green, he can send it off to a separate beam rail, or even a beam dump...)

Multi-line argon lasers are very nice. Even if all you ever do is play around with spinning mirrors and diffraction gratings, it's still more fun when you've got both the blue and green lines. I've got a few single line argons, and I was much happier when I finally got my first multi-line unit working.

Minerva - you ought to be able to pick up a complete argon laser package (power supply and laser) on E-bay for between $200 and $300 (plus shipping) that will give you 50 to 100 mw of power on all lines. If you get lucky, you might be able to find one that makes 150 mw... (look for an ALC 60X or an NEC 532)

Adam

[stanwax]

Adam
you are correct, a multiline is best but I read that they were looking for a specific colour the phrase ' if this one isn't the color I want' suggested this hence my response as if you want one colour you want as much of it as possible and single line optics should produce more of a line than if you separate it from multi line output.

Rob

[mixedgas]

one is slightly cheaper. Thank you for your help. To let you in on a secret (well, not really, since he mostly knows), it's a gift for my laser-loving boyfriend.[/QUOTE]

where are you in ohio?

Steve

[allthatwhichis]

I *did* find a better laser than the one I originally asked about...it's a gift for my laser-loving boyfriend.

Now THAT's a loving girlfriend!!!

[Minerva]

one is slightly cheaper. Thank you for your help. To let you in on a secret (well, not really, since he mostly knows), it's a gift for my laser-loving boyfriend.

where are you in ohio?

Steve

Marion, about an hour north of Columbus.

[Minerva]

This is going badly for me. I'm going to Ohio State in the fall on a full ride scholarship, and they told me they would reimburse me if I made a laptop purchase. Problem is, they're not doing it soon enough and the power supply auction is going to end before that happens (possibly the laser heads too, but there seem to be more of those). :-( I can't find another power supply with a 120V plug instead of the weird 240V plugs. I want to get one of these lasers so bad, but there's no point if it doesn't have anything to plug into.

[Xytrell]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure you'll find another decent deal. Also, many of the lower power argons are capable of running from 120V after a few switch flips inside and a trip to the local hardware store for a new plug.