Having trouble with my brand new laser tube (Cloudray). Wrote the manufacturer and I was instructed to “disconnect the power signal line from the LPS and test fire laser”. My assumption is that they want the pot out the circuit to check if, indeed, it’s the pot causing the problem. I reviewed Don K’s pdf on the LPS and if I got this right, I going to remove the 5V side of the pot input.
Do I have this right?
Mike
Sorry for the late reply.
What problem are you having?
Hi Don…thanks for the reply. Anyhow, installed new laser tube; got about 10 hours or less on it. Anode and cathode leads are wrapped, soldered, shrink wrapped, covered by 100% silicone tubing. Running distilled water, algicide and a couple of drops of Dawn. Laser tube is making high frequency whining noise proportional to current applied. Tube lases poorly at low current values; does not lase at all at higher values. Swapped LPS with brand new one; no change.
Contacted manufacturer and they requested info that I listed on previous post. I ran the pot on my ohm meter; appears normal sweeping from 0-1000 ohms. There’s not much left to really check; got to be the tube.
Appreciate any thoughts you might have.
Thanks,
Mike
By the sound, I would say the LPS is arching. However, the current meter is not fluctuating like it usually does with arching.
Therefore I suspect the tube.
Did the new tube ever work properly?
Does the tube behave differently when firing with the switch down on the supply vs the panel?
If you turn out the lights, in the dark, can you see any arching or corona in or around the tube or LPS?
Take a video of the current meter while the laser is firing at the highest safe current setting. Fire the laser with the test switch down on the supply. This will tell us if the LPS’s current is jumping. Don’t vary the power during the video.
No arcing at all; I checked it about 5 times with the lights out. Did the new tube ever work properly? Well, truthfully that’s a matter of some conjecture…it ran ok for a while at low power settings (i.e., less than 12 MA), but I generally don’t overdrive my laser. It developed this problem rather quickly, so I’d say no, it never did. I have tested my LPS (both, actually) at full power and the current maintained stable at about 24MA with no arcing. I have fired the laser from the LPS and the panel - no difference.
And yes, I do believe you’re correct that the tube has failed. Bad on me for getting a Cloudray. Regardless of what Cloudray does or doesn’t do for me in terms of compensation, I getting a LightObject tube.
Very appreciative of your thoughts on this matter.
Mike