8x10 Enlarger for Heiland LED Recommendations

[carlj]

Also, forgot to ask, what timer are you using with the Chromega F? I guess with the LED you have a wide choice.

The one that came with the enlarger for use with the standard head, the labeling on the front:

EPI 1000/Timer - Model 2

Below that printed: Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Instruments Inc.

It's an electronic timer. Next time I go to where the enlarger is located I'll take a closer look on the back.

 

[btaylor]

Hi carlj,
The half moon “wings” are part of the negative carrier, they locate the carrier and allow it to turn for portrait or landscape orientation. My panel is mounted above an 11x14 picture frame that I got from Target that sits on the carrier, so the LED panel covers just fine.
Currently I just hold the Ilford filters (6x6 I think?) under the lens. I am going to make a holder out of some wire and mount the filters in gel holders going forward.
As far as exposure times for larger prints it’s just math- once you know the magnification and time you can calculate further magnification times (Kodak made a handy calculator in their data book, I usually use an Ilford enlarging light meter though).
I got new styrofoam for my mixing box too! Not that many parts are available for the old beasts.
I have a Time-O-Lite timer that will handle the wattage of the dichro head (1000 watts? 2000? I don’t remember). I got the timer in a box of other darkroom stuff but it handles the high wattage. Of course for the LED it doesn’t matter. One thing I was worried about were start up time variation for the LED, turns out it’s nothing to worry about, exposures have been consistent.

Bruce

 

[carlj]

Hi Bruce,

I appreciate your comments. They've been very helpful. I'll have to make up my mind. Probably my biggest thing is deciding what to use as a baseboard. Try to fabricate something that will fit or buy some kind of worktable (perhaps in the interim). It sounds like it should be easy but looking at table options that are relatively solid and given the floors are uneven (needs adjustable legs) it's a bit more complicated (or maybe I'm the one making it complicated?) without wanting to spend too much $$$. But now I'm getting off-topic.

Thanks!!

 

[btaylor]

Hi carlj, do you have a complete Omega F? The table I have is a simple affair with 2 pieces of steel bolted to a piece of plywood that are hung off the column.

 

[carlj]

It's complete except for no baseboard (I guess it got separated from the enlarger somewhere along the line). I emailed the former owner recently (he had left the US when I purchased the enlarger) who reported he had problems with vibration from the fan using the baseboard but I'd never heard of anyone having that problem before. Noise, yes, vibration no. Also, where it's located now has concrete floors and I'm not anticipating that would be a problem. I have the fan sitting on a small table (or boxes). I'm not able to mount it on an outer wall at this time.

Could you post a photo of your setup?

Thanks!