Hours of use in an argon laser

[Pedro Camello]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi all,

we have a Nikon A1 with a multiline argon laser. Is it possible for the user to know how many hours has been used the laser?

Thanks

[Konstantín Levitskiy]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi Pedro.

In our Melles Griot multiline Ar
https://imgur.com/GY8C6Ct
we have a clock window on it
https://imgur.com/iJpH5Pg
By the way, it goes badly. We don't have a good power at 514nm. It seems to be a problem with an internal lens. They will change it with another of different manufacturer.

Our neighbours in our city has another problem with the same laser, it has about 4000 h of use.

Best regards,
Konstantin

Servicio de Microscopía
InstitutodeBiomedicinadeSevilla - IBiS
41013 Sevilla
Email: [hidden email]
Web: www.ibis-sevilla.es



-----Mensaje original-----
De: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] En nombre de Pedro Camello
Enviado el: lunes, 05 de febrero de 2018 11:54
Para: [hidden email]
Asunto: Hours of use in an argon laser

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi all,

we have a Nikon A1 with a multiline argon laser. Is it possible for the user to know how many hours has been used the laser?

Thanks


---
El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

[Craig Brideau]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Some Argon lasers have an hour counter somewhere on the body of the laser.
Not all of them do. Argon lasers are only specified for about 2000 hours,
then any time after that you could expect problems. I try to minimize run
time on the system by having the users turn off the Argon when they are not
using it. I also just replaced an Argon with a much smaller 488nm diode
laser, although I had to sacrifice the other spectral lines to do this.

Craig

On Mon, Feb 5, 2018 at 7:44 AM, Konstantín Levitskiy <[hidden email]
> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Hi Pedro.
>
> In our Melles Griot multiline Ar
> https://imgur.com/GY8C6Ct
> we have a clock window on it
> https://imgur.com/iJpH5Pg
> By the way, it goes badly. We don't have a good power at 514nm. It seems
> to be a problem with an internal lens. They will change it with another of
> different manufacturer.
>
> Our neighbours in our city has another problem with the same laser, it has
> about 4000 h of use.
>
> Best regards,
> Konstantin
>
> Servicio de Microscopía
> InstitutodeBiomedicinadeSevilla - IBiS
> 41013 Sevilla
> Email: [hidden email]
> Web: www.ibis-sevilla.es
>
>
>
> -----Mensaje original-----
> De: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] En
> nombre de Pedro Camello
> Enviado el: lunes, 05 de febrero de 2018 11:54
> Para: [hidden email]
> Asunto: Hours of use in an argon laser
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Hi all,
>
> we have a Nikon A1 with a multiline argon laser. Is it possible for the
> user to know how many hours has been used the laser?
>
> Thanks
>
>
> ---
> El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en
> busca de virus.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>

[Pedro Camello]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Craig and Konstantin, thanks for your reply.

I found easily the counter (it was partially hidden by other equipment) and it states 1020.2 hours.
I thought the laser was specified for 5000 hours; what problems can I expect beyond 2000 hours?
To save hours, would 10-15 min ignition before the use be enough?

Thanks for your help

[Sylvie Le Guyader]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi everyone



We have as a policy that we only turn off our argon lasers if the next user scheduled to use it has booked more than 2h later. Users book the microscope and mention if they will use the argon laser or not. This allows the previous user to know when the next is coming and if they will use the argon.



Over the years we have had very few changes of our argons (we have 4 argons at our facility).

Our two most popular systems with argon got new lasers in 2013 (one in May and one in September). They both now counts 7700h which is an average of respectively 4.6 and 5h/day (counting every day of the year) for each argon laser (more for the microscopes)! I think that we get to these high numbers because we do not turn them off/on very often.

We also have them on half power all the time (20 mW instead of 40 mW) and simply set the AOTF % higher.



The warranty runs 5000h or 1 year, which ever comes first. 1 full year is 8760h so it is likely that the warranty is in reality 1 year.



My understanding of the 457 and 514 nm lines of an Argon lasers is that their power is quite variable between one argon and the next and that only the power of the 488 is specified by suppliers. The other lines are bonus lines. When you get a new argon, you should specifically ask if you want one with specific 457 and 514 lines power. Otherwise the power of these lines is anyway quite a lot lower than the 488 but it is also random.



I have a related question about argon refurbishing but I mail it in a different mail.



Med vänlig hälsning / Best regards



Sylvie



@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Sylvie Le Guyader, PhD

Live Cell Imaging Facility Manager

Karolinska Institutet- Bionut Dpt

Hälsovägen 7C,

Room 7362/7840

14157 Huddinge, Sweden

mobile: [phone]

LCI website







-----Original Message-----

From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Pedro Camello

Sent: den 6 februari 2018 10:00

To: [hidden email]

Subject: Re: Hours of use in an argon laser



*****

To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:

http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy

Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.

*****



Craig and Konstantin, thanks for your reply.



I found easily the counter (it was partially hidden by other equipment) and it states 1020.2 hours.

I thought the laser was specified for 5000 hours; what problems can I expect beyond 2000 hours?

To save hours, would 10-15 min ignition before the use be enough?



Thanks for your help

[Hongtao Chen]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

1000 hours is low, but you may notice in some Olympus confocal systems,
these lasers are labeled 1000H warranty.
2000 hours are normal.
I have one died at 3800h and one at 4100h, both have low power and output
are unstable.


On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 1:00 AM, Pedro Camello <[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Craig and Konstantin, thanks for your reply.
>
> I found easily the counter (it was partially hidden by other equipment)
> and it states 1020.2 hours.
> I thought the laser was specified for 5000 hours; what problems can I
> expect beyond 2000 hours?
> To save hours, would 10-15 min ignition before the use be enough?
>
> Thanks for your help
>

[Craig Brideau]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

I agree with Sylvie; I use a similar procedure. One thing you might find
depending on your microscope is that the laser control system turns all the
lasers on by default when you power up the system. The argon usually has
it's own additional power switch so I have trained my users to turn it on
and off with that rather than relying on the laser control box. Like Sylvie
the users know if the next user needs the laser or not and will keep it on
or shut it off accordingly. (usually) :)

Craig


On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 4:19 AM, Sylvie Le Guyader <[hidden email]>
wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Hi everyone
>
>
>
> We have as a policy that we only turn off our argon lasers if the next
> user scheduled to use it has booked more than 2h later. Users book the
> microscope and mention if they will use the argon laser or not. This allows
> the previous user to know when the next is coming and if they will use the
> argon.
>
>
>
> Over the years we have had very few changes of our argons (we have 4
> argons at our facility).
>
> Our two most popular systems with argon got new lasers in 2013 (one in May
> and one in September). They both now counts 7700h which is an average of
> respectively 4.6 and 5h/day (counting every day of the year) for each argon
> laser (more for the microscopes)! I think that we get to these high numbers
> because we do not turn them off/on very often.
>
> We also have them on half power all the time (20 mW instead of 40 mW) and
> simply set the AOTF % higher.
>
>
>
> The warranty runs 5000h or 1 year, which ever comes first. 1 full year is
> 8760h so it is likely that the warranty is in reality 1 year.
>
>
>
> My understanding of the 457 and 514 nm lines of an Argon lasers is that
> their power is quite variable between one argon and the next and that only
> the power of the 488 is specified by suppliers. The other lines are bonus
> lines. When you get a new argon, you should specifically ask if you want
> one with specific 457 and 514 lines power. Otherwise the power of these
> lines is anyway quite a lot lower than the 488 but it is also random.
>
>
>
> I have a related question about argon refurbishing but I mail it in a
> different mail.
>
>
>
> Med vänlig hälsning / Best regards
>
>
>
> Sylvie
>
>
>
> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
>
> Sylvie Le Guyader, PhD
>
> Live Cell Imaging Facility Manager
>
> Karolinska Institutet- Bionut Dpt
>
> Hälsovägen 7C,
>
> Room 7362/7840
>
> 14157 Huddinge, Sweden
>
> mobile: [phone]
>
> LCI website
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Pedro Camello
>
> Sent: den 6 februari 2018 10:00
>
> To: [hidden email]
>
> Subject: Re: Hours of use in an argon laser
>
>
>
> *****
>
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
>
> *****
>
>
>
> Craig and Konstantin, thanks for your reply.
>
>
>
> I found easily the counter (it was partially hidden by other equipment)
> and it states 1020.2 hours.
>
> I thought the laser was specified for 5000 hours; what problems can I
> expect beyond 2000 hours?
>
> To save hours, would 10-15 min ignition before the use be enough?
>
>
>
> Thanks for your help
>