Hamamatsu L6001-01, L6599-01, L6299-12 Fragile!

Before sending your Hamamatsu lamp house to GetSpares.com. Although, most arrive in great, re-buildable condition, great care must be taken so that the sensitive elliptical (also known as parabolic or ellipsoidal) mirror is not destroyed while in shipping.  This applies to all Hamamatsu light sources with these spherical reflectors such as L6001-01, L6599-01 and L6299-12.

Cracked Hamamatsu Mirror. So Sad!

Cracked Hamamatsu Mirror. So Sad!

Some guidelines for shipping Hamamatsu Lamp Houses:

  • Pack one per box for obvious reasons, you don’t want problems from lost or stolen packages to be magnified.  Replacement of these boxes is approximately $20,000 from the manufacturer and is not easy.
  • Use lots of protective packing.   Assume the box will be abused.
  • If the alignment posts on the mirror are already cracked or “thinned” from years of use, call GetSpares.com.  There are special instructions because standard shipping will very likely cause the remaining posts to crack and wreak havoc.
  • Remove bulb from unit.

The vast majority of units arrive in good shape, but we wanted to warn customers that care must be taken.  In case your curious, this particular Hamamatsu was refurbished  (extra mirror was expensive !) and is shining bright and exposing edge beads daily.

Power Supply in Main Computer FC-9821Ka for DNS 80A/80B (not FC-9821Ke)

The DNS 80A and 80B tracks have varying main computers depending on the serial number and configuration of the track.  This article discusses the power supply for a FC-9821Ka computer, which is not the same as the FC-9821Ke.  Before following the diagnostic procedure below, ensure that the computer you are inspecting is the Ka.

Front view of DNS 80 FC9821Ka main computer

Front view of DNS 80 FC9821Ka main computer

Rear view of DNS 80 FC9821Ka main computer

Rear view of DNS 80 FC9821Ka main computer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of an FC-9821Ke installed in the DNS 80B (very similar appearance to FC-9821Ka)

View of an FC-9821Ke installed in the DNS 80B (very similar appearance to FC-9821Ka)

View of an FC-9821Ke installed in the DNS 80B (very similar appearance to FC-9821Ka)

View of an FC-9821Ke installed in the DNS 80B (very similar appearance to FC-9821Ka)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The power supply is mounted on the inside of the back wall of the computer box.  Molex cables drop down to the motherboard and attach to five connectors to power the majority of the computer (a separate cable goes to the hard drive).  Below is a photograph of these connections viewed from the side.  An illustrated representation of these connections has also been provided (drawn from the perspective of facing forward from the rear of the computer and looking top-down onto the motherboard).

Image of power supply connections to DNS 80A/B FC2981Ka motherboard

Image of power supply connections to DNS 80A/B FC2981Ka motherboard

Top-down view illustrated representation of power supply connections to DNS 80A/B FC9821Ka motherboard

Top-down view illustrated representation of power supply connections to DNS 80A/B FC9821Ka motherboard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The black wires are all connected to GND.  Relative to GND the DC levels on the other wires are as follows (assume pin 1 is the leftmost for each connector in above illustration):

DC1:

1) EMPTY

2) RED —  +5V Vcc
3) ORANGE —  +12V
4) BLUE —  -12V (note this is a negative supply)
5) 6) BLACK — GND

DC2:

1) 2) BLACK — GND

3) EMPTY

4) 5) 6) RED — +5V Vcc

DC3:

1) 2) 3) GREEN — +5V Vdd

4) 5) 6) BLACK — GND

DC9:

1) WHITE — +2.015V

2) 3) RED — +5V Vcc

DC10:

1) 2) 3) WHITE — these are actually unused.  Note that these wires lead to an interconnect which does not involve these conductors (in other words, they are floating).

4) BLACK — GND

5) 6) RED — +5.082V  *NOT Vcc – these are an isolated 5V supply*

7) WHITE — +5.049V

If your DNS 80 track is completely inoperable/dead, you may have a bad computer.  And it may be as simple as a dead supply. Or the computer may need to be replaced (i.e. bad motherboard).  Check the DC voltages out of the supply. If you  don’t get these numbers, the supply is the culprit.  If you do get these numbers, the motherboard is likely bad.  In either case, contact www.GetSpares.com to seek repair or replacement.