Yes Spectra Physics still exists - very much so! A quick check on the net and you can find the Spectra Physics website (http://www.splasers.com/) . The website doesn't seem to have any info so I would suspect that your laser is quite old, in which case you are probably experiencing the symptoms of an over pressurized laser tube. The secret to keeping this laser alive and well at this point is to make sure you turn it on at least once a week and run it for an hour. A service tech once told me that oxygen can seep into the ion tube and cause increased pressure which will cause erratic lasing or no lasing at all. He indicated that this becomes a problem if the tube sits unused for a while. The cure is to run it for an extended period of time. Our old Spectra Physics argon laser was the same after a two week holiday - but it lasted another two years before it gave up the ghost so you may not need another laser for a while. Start saving though! At 11:37 AM 8/20/01 +0200, Claudio Vallan wrote: >Hi, > >I am experiencing some problems with our Spinnaker Laser (from >Spectra-Physics) and would like to ask if somebody can tell me what is >happening. The Spinnaker is a water cooled 1 Watt Ion Laser. It's maximal >output is 272 mW as measured on the multimeter of the remote controller. I >usually use it at 30 mW, where it consumes 7.8 AMP. > >After coming back from Holidays (Laser has been 3 Weeks without running) >the laser started to give troubles. It would turn up, but after a certain >period at 30 mW it just would stop lasing (more than 30 minutes). The same >effect could be reached in a few seconds if turning the power higher than >150 mW. Though, it did not completely stop leasing, as there were sparks >of blue light generated. The indicators on the remote control did not show >anything unusual even when the laser was sparking (AC ON green / Emission >white/ Sum Fault, Interlock and Water Flow OK). The only unusual thing >which I had noticed was that some weeks ago, when putting the laser at >maximum output it took it some seconds to reach 272 mW while usually that >is not the case. After I let it run for a 30 Minutes at full output this >behaviour had disappeared. I do not think the problem I have has to do >with cooling as there seem to be no problem with the water (Though I can >not be 100% sure). > >BD told me that I have to buy a new laser and while searching money to do >that I replaced the Spinnaker with the second Laser (I am working on a >Vantage), so we can at least work with 3 colours in the meanwhile. But when >I tried to turn on the Spinnaker the next day (just for fun) the laser was >working normal again. On the third day I had again the problems, but just >once, when turning it on a second time it just worked normal. Since then it >seems to have no problems. > >Can somebody tell me what happens? Will I need a new laser very soon? Could >the laser be repaired? Does Spectra-Physics still exist and what is their >address? Is there a good book out there about Lasers with the topics: how >they work, how you maintain, troubleshoot and repair them? > >Answers to any of above questions very appreciated > >cheers > >Claudio > >=================================================== >Claudio Vallan PhD Phone Lab: 031 / 632 88 76 >FACS-LAB DKF Phone Office: 031 / 632 99 68 >University of Bern E-Mail: vallan@dkf7.unibe.ch >c/o Institute of Pathology >Murtenstrasse 31 Insel hosptial area only: >3010 Bern Beeper: 181 67 59 >Switzerland >=================================================== Derek Schulze Flow Cytometry and Confocal Microscopy Facility Manager Cancer Research Labs Queen's University Kingston, ON Canada
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