I picked up some EG&G Thryatron drivers today at a good price from a local surplus shop in town. I don’t go to the surplus shop as often as I should, there’s always interesting things moving in and out of that place and to catch them you really have to check often. I am somewhat driven away by the fact that they don’t like to sell laser equipment to normal people and often they dispose of it in other ways which is a bit aggravating. Fortunately they don’t mind selling the power supplies and associate equipment to run lasers!
EG&G TM-29 Pair
The two modules shown below are TM-29 Thyratron drivers by EG&G one is newer revision than the other from inside and outside appearances as well as variations on the serial number. I’m not sure what these these thyratron drivers originally cost, but judging from the insides and the fact they’re from EG&G I’m going guess they weren’t cheap. I’m planning on using one of these with the TEA N2 a friend gave laser instead of the original triggering circuit as these have a variable speed control and will integrate nicely into the setup.
The TM-29 has variable pulse rate up to 2kHz as well as a manual fire button. Additionally they can be linked together with a co-ax cable to work in tandem running two thyratrons or providing a sync output to another piece of equipment that requires knowing when the thyratron was fired. That’s pretty cool and adds some flexibility to what type of laser projects they can be used for in the future. The TM-29 is spec’ed for 3″ and larger thyratrons, so I may have to find a large thyratron for some capacitor discharge experiments, or do some research and study to see if these will run smaller ones without causing any damage.
EG&G TM-29 Pair
EG&G TM-29 Pair – Back
EG&G TM-29 Internals
EG&G TM-29 Internals 2
EG&G TM-29 Internals 3
EG&G TM-29 Internals 4
EG&G TM-29 Internals 5
EG&G TM-29 Internals 6
EG&G TM-29 Internals 7
EG&G TM-29 115/230 selectable
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3 responses to Found Some New Toys – EG&G TM-29 Thyratron Triggers
I have some high power switchmode power supplies from excimer lasers. These supplies can charge a 96nF storage cap bank in 10mS. I have thyratron trigger pcbs, a large number of 2nF 40KV TDK “doorknob” capacitors. I have 3 EEV glass thryratrons that were used for CO2 TEA lasers. If you are interested in purchasing any of these items please contact me
Please use the feedback form if you wish to sell me cool laser stuff! Thanks!
Hi,
It’s a year late, but that’s how some of my projects go–so I’ll make the offer:
I have a GE GL=7390 Hydrogen Thyratron; rated @ 33 MegaWatt; 33KV; 2,000 Amps; S/N 8170.
It’s used, in factory box. I’ll guarantee it to work (but not for how long) and I’ll gusrantee that it can be rebuilt. $250.00 plus $25.00 shipping to anywhere in lower 48 states.
Came from a university sale.
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