LEONARD ZABLOW <[log in to unmask]>
 
>We encountered the same problem that Ricky Critcher reported, now
>having to have our third Kr/Ar laser replaced after only 300 hrs.
>Luckily, we are still under warranty, but the future looks grim. We
>understand that some labs have replaced this laser with separate Ar
>and He/Ne lasers, and would like to learn about the relative costs.
>
>Even with the warranty, we will be down for over a week since new
>lasers are not available, according to BioRad. Our field service
>engineer spreads a rumor about an upcoming development of a new model
>with nominal 6000 hr lifetime, but maybe this must also be prorated
>by the factor we have seen for the current model!
 
 
We have an Ar/Kr laser that was designed with a special gas mixture
to give us a more Ar (than Kr) spectrum, specifically, it has 457, 488,
514, and 568nm, (and no 647 line).
The laser has been given light-moderate use, and although we haven't tallied up
all the hours, I would say it is in the 1000 range over the last 2 years.
One of the things that probably preserves its life is the fact that it
has a very accessible power control, so we are able to keep the current
down when not needed, and we train our users to be power misers. The laser
shows no sign of impending failure. In fact, I'd say it has been about
the same now as ever. I would not give the thing an absolute glowing
recommendation though, as we have had alignment problems with heat
cycling, but it certainly hasn't been like some of the horror stories
I've heard from some users of this forum. The laser is an LS-1000 from
American Laser Corp. in Salt Lake City Ut. Cost: ~$11,000
We use it with a Leica CLSM, on a Fluovert FU microscope.
Best of luck to all.
 
Cheers,
-A.J.
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Andy Jacobson   <[log in to unmask]>     <[log in to unmask]>
Dept. Pharmacology / Div. Nuclear Medicine and Biophysics
CHS B2-086
UCLA School of Medicine                         Phone:310-641-1600x102
Los Angeles, CA 90024-6948                      Fax:  310-825-4517
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