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Default [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
No, the Uniphase is just fine, don't worry
Update #2: Laser tube is confirmed working! Except now I am reading 93 volts AC between the host and ground! See my second post, below for details.
Update #1: It might not be the tube, turns out one of the components has a heatsink which is connected directly to the host. The board is otherwise loose inside the case. When the laser hit the floor the leads on that component broke. The component is clearly loose. Heading downstairs to warm up the soldering iron. Stay tuned!
This post concerns a non-working Metrologic HeNe laser, 632.8nm. No idea what model number or what the actual output was, there is no label on the outside indicating any of that. There's the usual safety sticker of course; class IIIa laser, according to that. Very, very old, 1980's I figure. This has got to be a really nice one; it has a video and audio input on the back.
I got the laser when I was in 11th grade, back in 1998. I was 17 at the time. This is the first laser I ever owned. I never did find out if the a/v modulation worked but it put out a typical TEM00 red beam.
Then, I broke it by accident. It fell off my bed and dropped a few feet onto a carpeted floor, and after that it never lased again. I'm not kidding when I say I'm klutzy and tend to drop things without warning, and this laser clearly paid the price for that. The memory of it is still crystal-clear and it's always sort of bothered me, in a way. I figured the tube was damaged and that it wasn't fixable, or at least that it was beyond anything I could do for it. Ebay didn't exist at that time and neither did LPF. I had no idea where to find a replacement tube, and I assumed it would have cost 100's of dollars anyway. So, I put the the laser away and it's sat in a box in my basement ever since, 15 years now.
Until today! Nowadays we have LPF and ebay, and between the two maybe I can bring this laser back to life. So, I pulled it from storage, opened it up carefully, and had a look to see if something might be done.
The power light comes on when I flip the switch, but the tube doesn't light up at all. Not even the pink plasma discharge. Nothing rattles around inside the tube. It's hard to see into the tube as there is a metal can covering most everything, but I'm pretty sure that the central bore tube is cracked. Never actually saw a HeNe tube in person until now but I'm pretty sure the bore tube is supposed to be a single piece of glass all the way through, and when I shine a laser into it (flashlight batteries are currently dead) it looks like the bore has a crack in it. Would that cause it to not light up at all though?
The board looks fine, can't imagine why it wouldn't be, so I'm going to cross my fingers and assume that that isn't the problem. I'm not sure how to test it for high voltage output since my multimeter only goes up to 1000 volts. No spark or anything after I unplugged it and shorted the HV leads, but maybe the caps have resistors across them to drain off unused charge. The ground lead broke off the board due to a really poor solder joint, but that's a trivial repair. Advice on how to test the board would definitely be appreciated.
What do you all think? Probably just killed the tube and all it needs is a new one, I hope?
Photos:
In the first two I tried to get a shot of what I think is the crack in the bore tube. The metal can covers up pretty much everything and the viewing angle is therefore awkward. The automatic focus wasn't cooperating much either:
Bore tube attempt #2:
Tube serial number. It matches the number on the tube's actual label, which is hidden below this hand-written one:
The board, bottom side. Looks OK to me. Lots of pretty caps. Nothing missing or broken, except the ground lead on the right:
Top side of the board:
The back panel, with A/V jacks:
Aperture panel:
Closer look at the host/casing. Is it still called a host when it's a gas laser? White enameled aluminum:
Safety sticker, old and faded:
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Old Today, 04:26 AM #2
Sigurthr
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Default Re: Repairing broken HeNe laser
If you decide you want some diagnostics done I can test both the tube and the power supply, but you'll have to pay shipping both ways. I can do basic oscilloscope probing, short circuit current measurements, high impedance HV measurements, and RF excitation testing of the tube to determine fill gas health and if it will lase or not. I'm not equipped to test the A/V modulation linearity but can inject a test signal in and check for it in the laser's output in case I do get it lasing.
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Old Today, 04:56 AM #3
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Default Re: Repairing broken HeNe laser
Any update? Have you repaired the loose connections?
Eager to see how this works out!
-Matt
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Old Today, 05:32 AM #4
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Default Re: Repairing broken HeNe laser
Yes, the laser is working again! When it hit the floor it broke the leads on the voltage regulator (I think that's what it is). I resoldered them and the laser came right on as soon as I powered it up.
I didn't plug the laser straight in. First I turned on the laser's switch, then plugged it into a power bar, which was switched off. Then plugged in the power bar and used its switch to power up the laser. It worked, the laser came right on and the beam was exactly as I remembered!
But now I have a new problem: I'm reading 93 volts AC between the host and ground. I don't trust old electronics in general and I especially don't trust anything I've worked on until I prove that it's safe. Good thing! I put my meter between the host and the kitchen sink and sure enough, the host is definitely live. Not sure what is causing that or how to fix it just yet. I resoldered the ground wire to the board but the outlet in question is 2-prong, not grounded. I'm hesitant to try a grounded outlet because I'm worried that something will short out and really kill the laser. More likely it would just pop the fuse, but still....
I only read the voltage when the laser is on, so maybe it's that voltage regulator component; maybe I didn't do something right. Really do not like working with mains voltage/current at all so to me this is a much more serious issue.
But at least the laser is working! My first "real" laser repair, on my first laser no less Now I just need to find out why the host is live!
ETA: I have confirmed that it's the component I re-soldered. For some reason, its heatsink is live to ground. I need to find out why that is.
Maybe it's some sort of leakage from that component; the resistance between the mains leads and the host is very high, about 1500k ohms, and actually I had to work at it to get the meter to read voltage at all. But eventually I got a solid connection and it read a constant 93 volts AC. Both the live and neutral give me resistance values, ~1800k ohms and ~1500k ohms, respectively. However the live wire only reads when the power switch is on. The neutral reads regardless of whether the switch is on.
edit 2/28/14 at1:43 AM - I was wrong, the live wire reads ~1800k ohms to ground and the neutral 1500k ohms. I have edited everything below to reflect the corrected information:
For all I know, maybe it was always like that. The last time I had the thing turned on was 15 years ago and I had handled the unit while powered many times. Never a problem. So I don't know if this is a new problem, or if it was always that way, in which case it evidently wasn't an issue.
But there shouldn't be any readable resistance at all, should there? Between the host and the mains leads? At 93 volts RMS that would give me a peak voltage of about +/- 131 volts. Since we mainly care about the live wire, then according to Ohm's law, 131 volts divided by 1800k ohms resistance *should* mean that the peak current is limited to no more than 72 µA = 0.072mA = 0.000072 amps = 52µA RMS.
However I am not satisfied with that, the price of being wrong could be very high. There should be no connection at all between any electrified component and the host, should there? The investigation continues as we speak, will update when I have more information.
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Old Today, 08:08 AM #5
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Default Re: [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
First off put a silpad insulator between that Heatsink and the case connection. The back of the Tab of that mounting device is likely live.
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Old Today, 08:33 AM #6
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Default Re: [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
Laser is dead again. The leads are too fragile and will not stay solid.
PISS POOR design, to connect such a sensitive and important component to the case in such a way that it will break off the board at the first drop or shock. Frustrating!
The tab does have an insulating washer between it and the heatsink. It's not the component itself that is shorting to the case, it's the entire ground bar on the board.
I don't think there is anything else I can do for it, I've tried resoldering the leads and the laser doesn't light up at all. Maybe I should send it to a member to see if they can do something with it, but I think there's not much else I can do with it.
Oh well, at least I got to see it lase one last time
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Old Today, 08:36 AM #7
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Default Re: [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
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Default Re: help neded
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Greenander View Post
THIS is the fix!
excuse me, but i do not understand what are you talking about, and i do not understand what that photo should mean to me, since i am asking how to make my first HPL, but if this is one way for you to be happy (teasing me) then go on i do not care about this childish things
best regards
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Default Re: help neded
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Default Re: [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
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Reload this Page [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
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Unread Today, 04:19 AM #1
Marco Polo
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Default [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
No, the Uniphase is just fine, don't worry
Update #2: Laser tube is confirmed working! Except now I am reading 93 volts AC between the host and ground! See my second post, below for details.
Update #1: It might not be the tube, turns out one of the components has a heatsink which is connected directly to the host. The board is otherwise loose inside the case. When the laser hit the floor the leads on that component broke. The component is clearly loose. Heading downstairs to warm up the soldering iron. Stay tuned!
This post concerns a non-working Metrologic HeNe laser, 632.8nm. No idea what model number or what the actual output was, there is no label on the outside indicating any of that. There's the usual safety sticker of course; class IIIa laser, according to that. Very, very old, 1980's I figure. This has got to be a really nice one; it has a video and audio input on the back.
I got the laser when I was in 11th grade, back in 1998. I was 17 at the time. This is the first laser I ever owned. I never did find out if the a/v modulation worked but it put out a typical TEM00 red beam.
Then, I broke it by accident. It fell off my bed and dropped a few feet onto a carpeted floor, and after that it never lased again. I'm not kidding when I say I'm klutzy and tend to drop things without warning, and this laser clearly paid the price for that. The memory of it is still crystal-clear and it's always sort of bothered me, in a way. I figured the tube was damaged and that it wasn't fixable, or at least that it was beyond anything I could do for it. Ebay didn't exist at that time and neither did LPF. I had no idea where to find a replacement tube, and I assumed it would have cost 100's of dollars anyway. So, I put the the laser away and it's sat in a box in my basement ever since, 15 years now.
Until today! Nowadays we have LPF and ebay, and between the two maybe I can bring this laser back to life. So, I pulled it from storage, opened it up carefully, and had a look to see if something might be done.
The power light comes on when I flip the switch, but the tube doesn't light up at all. Not even the pink plasma discharge. Nothing rattles around inside the tube. It's hard to see into the tube as there is a metal can covering most everything, but I'm pretty sure that the central bore tube is cracked. Never actually saw a HeNe tube in person until now but I'm pretty sure the bore tube is supposed to be a single piece of glass all the way through, and when I shine a laser into it (flashlight batteries are currently dead) it looks like the bore has a crack in it. Would that cause it to not light up at all though?
The board looks fine, can't imagine why it wouldn't be, so I'm going to cross my fingers and assume that that isn't the problem. I'm not sure how to test it for high voltage output since my multimeter only goes up to 1000 volts. No spark or anything after I unplugged it and shorted the HV leads, but maybe the caps have resistors across them to drain off unused charge. The ground lead broke off the board due to a really poor solder joint, but that's a trivial repair. Advice on how to test the board would definitely be appreciated.
What do you all think? Probably just killed the tube and all it needs is a new one, I hope?
Photos:
In the first two I tried to get a shot of what I think is the crack in the bore tube. The metal can covers up pretty much everything and the viewing angle is therefore awkward. The automatic focus wasn't cooperating much either:
Bore tube attempt #2:
Tube serial number. It matches the number on the tube's actual label, which is hidden below this hand-written one:
The board, bottom side. Looks OK to me. Lots of pretty caps. Nothing missing or broken, except the ground lead on the right:
Top side of the board:
The back panel, with A/V jacks:
Aperture panel:
Closer look at the host/casing. Is it still called a host when it's a gas laser? White enameled aluminum:
Safety sticker, old and faded:
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Unread Today, 04:26 AM #2
Sigurthr
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Default Re: Repairing broken HeNe laser
If you decide you want some diagnostics done I can test both the tube and the power supply, but you'll have to pay shipping both ways. I can do basic oscilloscope probing, short circuit current measurements, high impedance HV measurements, and RF excitation testing of the tube to determine fill gas health and if it will lase or not. I'm not equipped to test the A/V modulation linearity but can inject a test signal in and check for it in the laser's output in case I do get it lasing.
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Default Re: Repairing broken HeNe laser
Any update? Have you repaired the loose connections?
Eager to see how this works out!
-Matt
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Marco Polo
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Default Re: Repairing broken HeNe laser
Yes, the laser is working again! When it hit the floor it broke the leads on the voltage regulator (I think that's what it is). I resoldered them and the laser came right on as soon as I powered it up.
I didn't plug the laser straight in. First I turned on the laser's switch, then plugged it into a power bar, which was switched off. Then plugged in the power bar and used its switch to power up the laser. It worked, the laser came right on and the beam was exactly as I remembered!
But now I have a new problem: I'm reading 93 volts AC between the host and ground. I don't trust old electronics in general and I especially don't trust anything I've worked on until I prove that it's safe. Good thing! I put my meter between the host and the kitchen sink and sure enough, the host is definitely live. Not sure what is causing that or how to fix it just yet. I resoldered the ground wire to the board but the outlet in question is 2-prong, not grounded. I'm hesitant to try a grounded outlet because I'm worried that something will short out and really kill the laser. More likely it would just pop the fuse, but still....
I only read the voltage when the laser is on, so maybe it's that voltage regulator component; maybe I didn't do something right. Really do not like working with mains voltage/current at all so to me this is a much more serious issue.
But at least the laser is working! My first "real" laser repair, on my first laser no less Now I just need to find out why the host is live!
ETA: I have confirmed that it's the component I re-soldered. For some reason, its heatsink is live to ground. I need to find out why that is.
Maybe it's some sort of leakage from that component; the resistance between the mains leads and the host is very high, about 1500k ohms, and actually I had to work at it to get the meter to read voltage at all. But eventually I got a solid connection and it read a constant 93 volts AC. Both the live and neutral give me resistance values, ~1800k ohms and ~1500k ohms, respectively. However the live wire only reads when the power switch is on. The neutral reads regardless of whether the switch is on.
edit 2/28/14 at1:43 AM - I was wrong, the live wire reads ~1800k ohms to ground and the neutral 1500k ohms. I have edited everything below to reflect the corrected information:
For all I know, maybe it was always like that. The last time I had the thing turned on was 15 years ago and I had handled the unit while powered many times. Never a problem. So I don't know if this is a new problem, or if it was always that way, in which case it evidently wasn't an issue.
But there shouldn't be any readable resistance at all, should there? Between the host and the mains leads? At 93 volts RMS that would give me a peak voltage of about +/- 131 volts. Since we mainly care about the live wire, then according to Ohm's law, 131 volts divided by 1800k ohms resistance *should* mean that the peak current is limited to no more than 72 µA = 0.072mA = 0.000072 amps = 52µA RMS.
However I am not satisfied with that, the price of being wrong could be very high. There should be no connection at all between any electrified component and the host, should there? The investigation continues as we speak, will update when I have more information.
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532nm SkyLaser HL532 200mW w/ IR filter - Lazerer LZCS 100mW - various Laser 301's
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Default Re: [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
First off put a silpad insulator between that Heatsink and the case connection. The back of the Tab of that mounting device is likely live.
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Marco Polo
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Default Re: [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
Laser is dead again. The leads are too fragile and will not stay solid.
PISS POOR design, to connect such a sensitive and important component to the case in such a way that it will break off the board at the first drop or shock. Frustrating!
The tab does have an insulating washer between it and the heatsink. It's not the component itself that is shorting to the case, it's the entire ground bar on the board.
I don't think there is anything else I can do for it, I've tried resoldering the leads and the laser doesn't light up at all. Maybe I should send it to a member to see if they can do something with it, but I think there's not much else I can do with it.
Oh well, at least I got to see it lase one last time
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532nm SkyLaser HL532 200mW w/ IR filter - Lazerer LZCS 100mW - various Laser 301's
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450nm SkyLaser HL450 100mW - SkyLaser LP450 80mW - Lazerer LZCS 127mW
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CHEAP BATTERIES CAN KILL YOU - please read this thread to see the truth about UltraFire and other CRAP brands!
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Unread Today, 08:36 AM #7
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Default Re: [MOSTLY FIXED] Repairing broken HeNe laser
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Default Re: help neded
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Greenander View Post
THIS is the fix!
excuse me, but i do not understand what are you talking about, and i do not understand what that photo should mean to me, since i am asking how to make my first HPL, but if this is one way for you to be happy (teasing me) then go on i do not care about this childish things
best regards
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Default Re: help neded
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