UPDATE#5: Hull-Raney Ion Gun Contruction

[raneyt]

Folks,

I finished the first incarnation of the ion gun. I used the G-10 rods to hold the flanges in alignment and finished a frame whereby the ion gun is shock-mounted using four extension springs (insulated from the frame). I also began leak testing the system and have not found the leak yet.

I also sealed the flanges with a acetic acid-free RTV so that I wouldn't induce any corrosion problems in the vacuum pump. If the leak is from any of the glass-to-metal flange joints (likely) and I can't correct the leak by tightening the tie rods further, I may disassemble the system and just use vacuum epoxy to hold everthing together (and dispense with the tie rods entirely).

As an aside, Richard Hull and I drove down to the Raleigh hamfest this past Sunday. it was a nice surprise and pleasure meeting Carl Willis there. He was selling some neat stuff too. I bought some porcelain stand-off insulators, a physics lab rheostat, etc. Richard bought even more stuff from him. So, I think Carl had less junk to take home (unless he got some good deals like us).

Well, good luck with your experiments. I'll keep you posted.

Regards,

TIM