You should be able to get a key made by a locksmith. Baring that, key
switches are easy to find with new keys. You could remove the key switch and
install a common toggle switch for trouble shooting the laser tube.

Most likely you will find the tube will not start. Over the years, the He
gas has migrated through the glass and the seals and will be at low
pressure.

If this is the case, It is possible to soak the tube in a He atmosphere and
He will diffuse back into the tube. This will take a few days to do and you
will need to check it frequently

tm


wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

I'm a high school physics teacher, and just found an ML855 HeNe Laser from
1989 in a storage closet at my school that I'm trying to get to energize. My
degree is in electrical engineering, so I'm not unfamiliar with
troubleshooting electronics, but I've never worked with laser electronics,
especially not from the 80s. The device requires a key to activate a switch,
which I cannot find, but I was able to use a paperclip, while the device was
unplugged, to attempt to rotate the lock mechanism into the "on" position.
Now, I'm not sure if this rotated the actual switch or just some part of the
lock, so the source of this entire problem could be that I am missing that
key. If this is so, how could I obtain a replacement key for this unit?

If this is not the case, and you think my "jimmy the lock with a paperclip"
method should have turned it on, does anyone know of any common failures
with this model laser? The power light on the back does not even turn on, so
if it is a failure, I imagine it's with the power supply.

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks