Hi folks,

I picked up an OIP Model 165 gas laser, part no. 763-065 from the
physics lab trash today. Try as I might, I couldn't find the PSU to go
with it. It has a (custom?) three-pin inline power connector with a
metal clip on one side.

There's no info on OIP's website (www.oip.be), and they appear to be
more specialised in defense applications, so manuals would be
difficult to obtain, I'd imagine. A web search yielded absolutely
nothing. I'm not ruling it out might be relabeled tho (haven't opened
it up yet).

Can anyone give me any infos on this gadget, i.e. type, emitted power,
PSU outputs?

Any obvious defects I should look for to rule out it's completely
busted? (It looks a bit knocked about).

Thanks for any info,

--Roland

"GanjaTron" wrote in message
...

Hi folks,

I picked up an OIP Model 165 gas laser, part no. 763-065 from the
physics lab trash today. Try as I might, I couldn't find the PSU to go
with it. It has a (custom?) three-pin inline power connector with a
metal clip on one side.

There's no info on OIP's website (www.oip.be), and they appear to be
more specialised in defense applications, so manuals would be
difficult to obtain, I'd imagine. A web search yielded absolutely
nothing. I'm not ruling it out might be relabeled tho (haven't opened
it up yet).

Can anyone give me any infos on this gadget, i.e. type, emitted power,
PSU outputs?

Any obvious defects I should look for to rule out it's completely
busted? (It looks a bit knocked about).

Thanks for any info,

--Roland
Roland, try posting on alt.lasers and include any data from the rating plate
or the CDRH label, i.e. wavelength and power (although I'm guessing you
haven't located that label from your request for information on power) and
mention the dimensions and shape of the laser head as it will give some clue
as to what it is.
Martin
--
martindot herewhybrowat herentlworlddot herecom

On Jul 27, 8:27*pm, "Martin Whybrow"
wrote:

Roland, try posting on alt.lasers and include any data from the rating plate
or the CDRH label, i.e. wavelength and power (although I'm guessing you
haven't located that label from your request for information on power) and
mention the dimensions and shape of the laser head as it will give some clue
as to what it is.

Hi Martin,

there's no rating plate of any kind on the case. All it says is "OIP
GASLASER MODEL 165" and the logo "OIP GENT BELGIUM".

Popping open the lid I see two glass bulbs linked to a common tube at
opposite ends. The tube appears to emit on both sides (one aperture is
covered with duct tape). One of the bulbs contains an electrode, the
other a metal cylinder connected in series with a big fat resistor.
It's almost disappointingly simple, but apparently intact.

The only additional info I could find is a label on the tube reading:

He-Ne PLASMATUBE
MODEL Nr. 165
SERIAL Nr. G1196

No mention of ratings whatsoever.

I'll try alt.lasers and see if they know more. Having read Sam's Laser
FAQ I assumed sci.electronics would be a good starting point. Thanks
for the reply!

--Roland

Oh, and there's a nice sticker with skull 'n' crossbones warning you
of high voltage. :^D

"GanjaTron" wrote in message
...
On Jul 27, 8:27 pm, "Martin Whybrow"
wrote:

Roland, try posting on alt.lasers and include any data from the rating
plate
or the CDRH label, i.e. wavelength and power (although I'm guessing you
haven't located that label from your request for information on power) and
mention the dimensions and shape of the laser head as it will give some
clue
as to what it is.

Hi Martin,

there's no rating plate of any kind on the case. All it says is "OIP
GASLASER MODEL 165" and the logo "OIP GENT BELGIUM".

Popping open the lid I see two glass bulbs linked to a common tube at
opposite ends. The tube appears to emit on both sides (one aperture is
covered with duct tape). One of the bulbs contains an electrode, the
other a metal cylinder connected in series with a big fat resistor.
It's almost disappointingly simple, but apparently intact.

The only additional info I could find is a label on the tube reading:

He-Ne PLASMATUBE
MODEL Nr. 165
SERIAL Nr. G1196

No mention of ratings whatsoever.

I'll try alt.lasers and see if they know more. Having read Sam's Laser
FAQ I assumed sci.electronics would be a good starting point. Thanks
for the reply!

--Roland
Sounds like a fairly old helium neon laser design; the big cylinder is the
cathode, the other electrode is, obviously, the anode. Power rating is
rarely more than 10mW per ft of bore length and the wavelength is likely to
be 632.8nm. Operating voltages are in the order of 1.5 to 2KV per ft and
typically 10KV strike voltage. I imagine the third wire on the connector is
connected to the chassis of the laser head as a safety ground. Can you see
any signs of a getter patch in the sidearms? Not having one isn't always bad
as the cathode can sometimes act as a getter but a white or powdery getter
patch is always bad.
Sam also frequents alt.lasers so he's likely to see the message if you post
over there.
Martin
--
martindot herewhybrowat herentlworlddot herecom

GanjaTron writes:

Hi folks,

I picked up an OIP Model 165 gas laser, part no. 763-065 from the
physics lab trash today. Try as I might, I couldn't find the PSU to go
with it. It has a (custom?) three-pin inline power connector with a
metal clip on one side.

There's no info on OIP's website (www.oip.be), and they appear to be
more specialised in defense applications, so manuals would be
difficult to obtain, I'd imagine. A web search yielded absolutely
nothing. I'm not ruling it out might be relabeled tho (haven't opened
it up yet).

Can anyone give me any infos on this gadget, i.e. type, emitted power,
PSU outputs?

Any obvious defects I should look for to rule out it's completely
busted? (It looks a bit knocked about).

I think some photos are in order. This is the first time I've even
heard of OIPQ

Aside from broken glass, the next tip-off would be an exhausted getter,
but many gas lasers don't even have one.

--
sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

GanjaTron writes:

On Jul 27, 8:27*pm, "Martin Whybrow"
wrote:

Roland, try posting on alt.lasers and include any data from the rating plate
or the CDRH label, i.e. wavelength and power (although I'm guessing you
haven't located that label from your request for information on power) and
mention the dimensions and shape of the laser head as it will give some clue
as to what it is.

Hi Martin,

there's no rating plate of any kind on the case. All it says is "OIP
GASLASER MODEL 165" and the logo "OIP GENT BELGIUM".

Popping open the lid I see two glass bulbs linked to a common tube at
opposite ends. The tube appears to emit on both sides (one aperture is
covered with duct tape). One of the bulbs contains an electrode, the
other a metal cylinder connected in series with a big fat resistor.
It's almost disappointingly simple, but apparently intact.

The only additional info I could find is a label on the tube reading:

He-Ne PLASMATUBE
MODEL Nr. 165
SERIAL Nr. G1196

OK, so as somewhat expected it is/was a helium-neon laser.

If you have a source of RF like a hand-held tesla coil or even a
plasma globe power supply, you could see if it is gas-intact.
Or apply HV DC limited to a few mA, + to the small electrode via the
ballast resistor, - to the can electrode.

No mention of ratings whatsoever.

I'll try alt.lasers and see if they know more. Having read Sam's Laser
FAQ I assumed sci.electronics would be a good starting point. Thanks
for the reply!

These guys deal with Blu-ray lasers, not REAL lasers.

Cheers!

--
sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

Hi Sam, hi folks,

there's no getter as far as I can tell. This appears to be a semi-
antique piece of kit (late 60s / early 70s, I'd say). The whole thing
has a garage-workshop look & feel to it. The glass tube looks
handmade! (In other words: it's probably crap?)

I'll snap some pics and the post the URLs.

Oh, I went back today to pick up something that had a variable HV
supply, naively thinking I could adapt it. On closer inspection, I was
totally dumbfounded: it's a Baird-Atomic Abacus GM Scaler Model 123.
It has five counter tubes (glowing dots counting clockwise). There's
also a 5-pin connector for a probe of sorts (missing). Hope I'm not
getting OT here, I just mention it in the off chance somebody could
enlighten me as to what the heck this gagdet does! ;^)

Later,

--Roland

Okay, I've uploaded pix to my webspace, if anyone cares to take a
look:

http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0975a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0976a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0981a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0987a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0989a.jpg

It looks like it would suck in operation (if it's not completely
dead). :^D

Regards,

--Roland

"GanjaTron" wrote in message
...
Okay, I've uploaded pix to my webspace, if anyone cares to take a
look:

http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0975a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0976a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0981a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0987a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0989a.jpg

It looks like it would suck in operation (if it's not completely
dead). :^D

Regards,

--Roland
It's a helium neon laser for certain, Brewster window type with external
mirrors. If it runs a discharge then you may find you have to tweak the
mirrors to get it to lase. The active bore length looks to be about 10 to
12" going by the sheet of paper next to the head so it may have produced as
much as 5mW when new. If you can find a high voltage source to get it to
discharge, e.g. an Oudin coil as Sam suggested, you want to see a nice
salmon pink discharge; if it shows any blue or is tending to white then it
may have gone 'soft', typically on old HeNes the window seals leak unless
they're of the optically contacted type.
One thing that strikes me as odd about that is the wiring, what I would
expect to be the anode has a blue wire with thin insulation whereas the
other electrode has a heavily insulated wire and is connected to the
resistor; normally the cathode (cylinder) would be close to ground potential
and the anode would be elevated and have the resistor in series with it.
Hopefully Sam will step in at this point as he may have come across and
electrode arrangement like this one before.
Martin
--
martindot herewhybrowat herentlworlddot herecom

GanjaTron writes:

Okay, I've uploaded pix to my webspace, if anyone cares to take a
look:

http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0975a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0976a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0981a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0987a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0989a.jpg

It looks like it would suck in operation (if it's not completely
dead). :^D

There's a 99 percent chance it's up to air and quite dead, but still
worth testing with either a low current HV power supply, or a small
RF source like a Tesla coil to see if it ionizes.

It's similar or identical to the Optics Technology 170 laser:

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/laserpi....htm#heneot170

But I'm not even sure that Optics Technology was the actual mfg.
--
sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

"Martin Whybrow" writes:

"GanjaTron" wrote in message
...
Okay, I've uploaded pix to my webspace, if anyone cares to take a
look:

http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0975a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0976a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0981a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0987a.jpg
http://www.ganjatron.net/misc/oip/dsci0989a.jpg

It looks like it would suck in operation (if it's not completely
dead). :^D

Regards,

--Roland
It's a helium neon laser for certain, Brewster window type with external
mirrors. If it runs a discharge then you may find you have to tweak the
mirrors to get it to lase. The active bore length looks to be about 10 to
12" going by the sheet of paper next to the head so it may have produced as
much as 5mW when new. If you can find a high voltage source to get it to
discharge, e.g. an Oudin coil as Sam suggested, you want to see a nice
salmon pink discharge; if it shows any blue or is tending to white then it
may have gone 'soft', typically on old HeNes the window seals leak unless
they're of the optically contacted type.
One thing that strikes me as odd about that is the wiring, what I would
expect to be the anode has a blue wire with thin insulation whereas the
other electrode has a heavily insulated wire and is connected to the
resistor; normally the cathode (cylinder) would be close to ground potential
and the anode would be elevated and have the resistor in series with it.
Hopefully Sam will step in at this point as he may have come across and
electrode arrangement like this one before.

I have seen a few where the anode near ground.

There's nothing fundamental about doing it one way or the other.

However, putting the ballast resistor on the cathode with its higher
capacitance could ultimately be problematic. Maybe.

--
sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

GanjaTron writes:

Hi Sam, hi folks,

there's no getter as far as I can tell. This appears to be a semi-
antique piece of kit (late 60s / early 70s, I'd say). The whole thing
has a garage-workshop look & feel to it. The glass tube looks
handmade! (In other words: it's probably crap?)

I'll snap some pics and the post the URLs.

Oh, I went back today to pick up something that had a variable HV
supply, naively thinking I could adapt it. On closer inspection, I was
totally dumbfounded: it's a Baird-Atomic Abacus GM Scaler Model 123.
It has five counter tubes (glowing dots counting clockwise). There's
also a 5-pin connector for a probe of sorts (missing). Hope I'm not
getting OT here, I just mention it in the off chance somebody could
enlighten me as to what the heck this gagdet does! ;^)

GM=Geiger Mueller - A Geiger counter. Those tubes are actually quite
clever as they not only show the value by the location of the glowing
dots, but also implement the logic of the counter via the gas discharge
and some transfer electrodes between the glowing ones.

Google "Dekatron".

--
sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.