Repairing and Refilling a HeNe Tube at Home?
If you are really really ambitious, have lots of time on your hands, have access to lab supplies, laser grade He:Ne gas mixture, and a high vacuum system in good condition, you, too, can refill an HeNe tube – at least as an experiment. Whether it could be sealed off and then expect to have a long life is another matter. First, any physical damage would have to be repaired. For example, if an overzealous attempt at mirror alignment resulted in a mirror breaking off at the frit seal, it would have to be reattached – in as precisely the same position as possible using new glass frit or Epoxy (though that will leak over time). If someone yanked on the anode wire on a large HeNe tube broke the metal-to-glass seal, that would have to be repaired – again with Epoxy or by actually heating the glass to fuse it together. However, the latter risks shattering the entire tube if you aren’t experienced in glass working. If you don’t know where the leak is, then you need to find it first.
• Regrinding or Otherwise Compensating for a Chipped Mirror • Using a Microwave Oven to Evaluate and Revive HeNe Laser Tubes • Reports from Sam’s HeNe Laser Hospital • Sam Succeeds in Aligning a LONG HeNe Tube • Repairing the Northern Lights Tube • Strengthening a Weak Siemens HeNe Tube • Attempting to Revive Some Soft-Seal HeNe Tubes • Followup Experiments with a Low Power RF Source on Patient #3 • Treatement for the Yellow HeNe Laser Tube with a Warped Bore • Reviving a Spectra-Physics Model 130B Antique Laser • Restoration of a Spectra-Physics Model 130B Antique • Two Melles Griot HeNe Laser Heads with Terminal Sputtering Disease • Four Melles Griot HeNe Laser Heads with Broken Bores • Spectra-Physics Model 120 HeNe Laser Head with Terminal Gas Leakage Disease • Spectra-Physics Model 120 HeNe Laser Head with Moderate Gas Leakage Disease • Spectra-Physics Model 907 With No Output • Melles Griot GreNe with No Output • Melles Griot Long GreNes with No Output • Melles Griot Yellow Laser
• HTR: Regrinding or Otherwise Compensating for a Chipped Mirror • HTR: Using a Microwave Oven to Evaluate and Revive HeNe Laser Tubes • HTR: Reports from Sam’s HeNe Laser Hospital • HTR: Sam Succeeds in Aligning a LONG HeNe Tube • HTR: Repairing the Northern Lights Tube • HTR: Strengthening a Weak Siemens HeNe Tube • HTR: Attempting to Revive Some Soft-Seal HeNe Tubes • HTR: Followup Experiments with a Low Power RF Source on Patient #3 • HTR: Treatement for the Yellow HeNe Laser Tube with a Warped Bore • HTR: Reviving a Spectra-Physics Model 130B Antique Laser • HTR: Restoration of a Spectra-Physics Model 130B Antique • HTR: Two Melles Griot HeNe Laser Heads with Terminal Sputtering Disease • HTR: Four Melles Griot HeNe Laser Heads with Broken Bores • HTR: Spectra-Physics Model 120 HeNe Laser Head with Terminal Gas Leakage Disease • HTR: Spectra-Physics Model 120 HeNe Laser Head with Moderate Gas Leakage Disease • HTR: Spectra-Physics Model 907 With No Output • HTR: Melles Griot GreNe
