macona wrote:I had a 80 watt PSU die once. Just stopped working. Found a blown mosfet inside, it was replaced under warranty so I didnt do anything more.
Tubes should not just stop working unless there was a sudden breach and it came up to air. But since you saw it flicker the chances are that it is the power supply.
The FETs in my supply don't show any physical damage, and I'm well past my warranty. I generally waste no time voiding those.
twehr wrote:I am curious... Have you checked to ensure that the power supply is actually receiving a signal to fire the laser? (Alternatively, have you tested by pressing the test button on the power supply?)
Yes and Yes. Those were the first and seconds things I checked.
So here is the verdict: PSU
A friend of mine at work used to have a TV repair business and had a high voltage probe. He let me borrow it. It's a BK Precision HV-40.
- BK Precision HV-40
Touching the tip of the HV probe on the tube connection with the red wire and the ground clip connected to the laser PSU chassis I could only barely see any movement of the needle. That ought to equate to something less than 1kV. I think it's pretty safe to say that the PSU is bad. I've got a new one on order.
Here are some pictures of the internals:
Thanks everyone for adding your 2 cents. I'll update again once the new supply comes in and my laser is back to working.