The model 360 must have been either one of Metrologic's first HeNe lasers or their absolute cheapest one. A bunch of monkeys could have designed something more stylish!
(The following 5 photos provided courtesy of: Dave (Ws407c@aol.com).)
This setup has Edmund Scientific labeling but there is no doubt that it was manufactured by Metrologic. However, there is no model number of any kind. It uses a classic Metrologic J-tube but with an internal HR mirror and Brewster window at the other end instead of an OC. The J-tube uses a neon sign electrode for the cathode, but may even predate the other more common internal mirror J-tubes since it simply has thick wire leads rather than caps for terminals. The power supply is a simple transformer/reftifier/filter with no regulation similar to the one in the ML-360, above, but runs at a higher voltage. Thus there are double the number of capacitors and more components elsewhere. The laser and external OC mirror on a kinematic mount are attached to an optical rail to permit their spacing to be varied. Although the rail, laser mount, and mirror mount appear in 1976 and 1979 Metrologic catalogs, the laser itself does not. So, it must be early 1970s or before. There are also no dates anywhere on or in the laser.
This is a model ML855 self contained HeNe laser. This unit is rated 5.4 mW output at 632.8 nm (normal red), TEM00, 1.2 mR divergence. 105 to 115 VAC input, 15 W. This general design is typical of the more modern Metrologic lasers. Later ones (like this) used Melles Griot tubes.
(The following 4 photos provided courtesy of: Dave (Ws407c@aol.com).)
