Possible Sam and Wayne Auctions

Helium-Neon Laser Tube: Uniphase 098-1, 1.3 mW

This is a Uniphase model 098-1 helium-neon laser tube removed from a supermarket barcode scanner. It is in excellent condition and has been tested, producing 1.3 mW after a 10 minute warmup. The tube requires a ballast resistance of 75K ohms, and power supply capable of 1,300 V at 3.7 to 4 mA with an 8 kV start (not included). It is 243 mm (9.6 inches) long by 26 mm (1.05 inches) in diameter. Beam diameter: .75 mm, divergence: 2.6 mR (can be improved with a positive lens), random polarization. I'll also toss in a set of four (4) 27.4K resistors to use for the ballast resistance (3 should be sufficient but some power supplies may be happier with 4, not shown) and plastic HeNe tube mounting brackets.

Winning bidder pays fixed shipping cost of $5.00 in the U.S.A., $6.00 to Canada. Sorry, no sales overseas. Money orders or cashier's checks preferred. I will accept personal checks from people I've dealt with before.

Please do not bid unless you are serious about following through on your committment and are aware of the dangers associated with the high voltage power supply required to operate this device and the laser beam it produces. This is not a toy.

Opening bid: $9.95

Helium-Neon Laser Tube: Siemens LGR-7641S, 1.0 mW

Helium-Neon Laser Kit

Here is nearly everything you need to have a high quality 1 mW helium-neon laser of your very own that can be built into your favorite science project or way-cool case. It includes:

1 Uniphase, Siemens, or Melles Griot 0.8 to 1.5 mW, 150 mm (6 inch) HeNe laser tube, divergence of 8 mR*.
1 Collimating lens and right angle prism assembly.
1 Laser Drive model 103-23 HeNe laser power supply. This runs on 21-31 VDC.
1 Ballast resistor.
1 Set of plastic HeNe laser tube mounting brackets. Output-end bracket includes adjustable attenuator (about 0 to 25 percent reduction). This can be removed entirely if desired.

The power supply, ballast resistor, and brackets are wired together so that all you need to do is attach them to a baseplate (this is needed to support the brackets at the correct distance). You will need a source of 21 to 31 VDC at about 500 mA. This can be a DC wall adapter (available from places like Jameco and MCM Electronics for under $10), homeless laptop power pack, or a home-built power supply (I will provide schematics - all parts available from Radio Shack). A power switch and indicator light are optional (not included). The power supply has an enable input which turns the laser on when grounded. Detailed wiring diagrams are provided.

* The HeNe laser tube includes a glass lens cemented onto the output mirror which increases the divergence for the original barcode scanner application. The beam is still very high quality but expands quicker than you might expect. By adding the collimating lens (included) at a distance of about 4 inches from the tube, an even lower divergence (more parallel) beam can be produced than with a bare tube (I estimate this to be 1 mR or better). Or, by varying the spacing between the lens and tube, it can be focused to a tiny spot at an arbitrary distance. However, if desired, the lens can be removed by soaking the end of the tube in acetone (nail polish remover) overnight. The resulting divergence of the bare tube is about 1.7 mR which is optimal for this size HeNe tube.

All of the laser and optics components are from supermarket barcode scanners that were removed from service due to upgrade, are in excellent condition, and fully within manufactuer's specs.

Winning bidder pays fixed shipping cost of $6.00 in the U.S.A., $7.00 to Canada. Sorry, no sales overseas. Money orders or cashier's checks preferred. I will accept personal checks from people I've dealt with before.

Opening bid: $25.

Helium-Neon Laser and Optics Kit

This adds the following:

Large front surface mirrors (qty. 6). These have irregular 4 sided polygonal shapes but can be diced to size using a glass cutter or diamond wet wheel.
1/2 inch x 1/2 inch front surface mirror on adjustable mount.
1-5/8 inch x 1-1/2 inch front surface mirror on adjustable mount at 45 degrees.
Photodiode and preamp board with hookup instructions.
Proximity detector LED/photodiode pair.
Large plastic convex lens with center hole.
5 or 6 faceted scanner mirror mounted on motor, with drive board and wiring diagram. This runs at a regulated speed on 12 VDC. Reflecting a laser beam off of the scanner will result in 5 or 6 parallel lines. Mirror assembly may be pulled from motor shaft to install your own alternate mirrors.
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Opening bid: $40.

Helium-Neon Laser Head with One Brewster Window

This is an item for the true laser experimenter! It is a CLIMET model 9048 HeNe laser head containing a hard-seal Melles Griot HeNe laser tube with an internal high reflector (HR) mirror and Brewster window at the other end. The original application was probably particle counting or particulate monitoring which required the high photon flux inside the resonator.

A complete description may be found in Sam's Laser FAQ in the section: A One Brewster HeNe Laser Tube. A compatible power supply, and external output coupler (OC) mirror and mirror mount are required to make a working laser. There are detailed plans for a complete experimenter's laser in Sam's Instant External Mirror Laser Using a One Brewster HeNe Tube. Photos of the working system are shown in: Sam's External Mirror Laser Using One Brewster HeNe Laser Head.

This laser head was removed from equipment but appears to be in very good condition and has been fully tested. The actual HeNe tube is encased in a sturdy aluminum cylinder with 68K ohm ballast resistor and solar cell power sensor (at the rear, not tested). This laser head can be used to easily construct the ideal laser for experiments inside the cavity with various types of mirrors and optics. With a typical mirror, the output beam is multimode (very interesting pattern). However, single mode (TEM00) operation can be forced by inserting a stop in the cavity. But, the fun part is what to do with all those photons between the mirrors!

Note that this auction is for what is shown in the photo below - the laser head only guaranteed capable of at least 2 mW of output power with the OC mirror from a typical HeNe laser tube and over 500 mW of circulating power inside the resonator with the HR mirror from a typical HeNe tube - probably a lot more with a high quality HR mirror.

The power requirements are 1,520 V at 6.5 mA with an 8 to 10 kV start. This can be provided by a power supply like the Melles Griot 05-LPM-379. Dimensions of laser head are: 10.5 inches from internal HR to Brewster window and 11.25 inches overall length; the cylinder is 1.75 inches in diameter. The flange has four #6 holes forming a square 1.6" on a side.

If you don't know what this is, how to use it, or what to do with it, you probably don't need it or want it! Where you would just like to have a working HeNe laser, there are numerous other auctions for complete systems or components.

Opening bid: $30.