Fusor Forums

Here's the transducer I'm thinking of getting:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/28397032723 ... R6rC6dvvYA
I was wondering if I should buy it since it's the first thing I want to get, does it seem like a good buy? Also I was curious if a mass spectrometer would work with this because one of my friends suggested that spectrometers have a fair amount of the necessary components for a fusion reactor.
My current fusion model I'm thinking of building has 2 gate valves and 1 ball valve for the vacuum side of my fusor, as well as an air cooled diffusion pump and a 2 stage vacuum pump. I saw that an oil trap may be good for keeping a clean chamber but I might add one on later.
Lastly, for transducers like this one, what other components are needed for connecting it to my chamber and laptop? My friend suggested LabView for analyzing the data and graphing it to my laptop.

Matthew, I not used one of these personally but there are several useful threads about connecting to 901p's on here. It should be simple to log the data from an Ardunio to a PC.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=11533

As long as you use a modern pump oil, e.g. silicone, as far as I am aware you shouldn't need an oil trap. My diff pump is enormous in comparison to the chamber but get no issues with oil contamination.

I use one of these. Simple to setup and reliable.

-Matt

The MKS 901P's are nice vacuum sensors. The thread link Emma provided should give you all you want to know if you study the posts for a while and read the manual shared there. You can use them with an analog voltage output but the serial data interface is better in my opinion.

The ones people were getting on ebay a few years back were with KF16 vacuum connectors. As I recall they were going for $50 or less in most listings back then. Did a search today and didn't see any from the US. All were over $100. Bummer. I only saw one in the original form with KF16 from Germany and expensive. Most were a different form factor, longer cylindrical shape. I assume they would work the same as to connecting and reading but I only have used the original ones.

The listing you shared from Korea has a VCR connector for the vacuum, not sure which size (VCR 4 or 8). To use it you will need to find a mating connector and it needs a VCR gasket that is intended for single use only. The KF16 is easier and more common in my opinion.

Just thought I would share some observations. Good luck on what you decide. Too bad you missed out on the ones that were available a few years back.