CALUMET solid state shutter tester...... HELP!

[bkarasek]

I have had the Calumet solid state shutter tester now for several years. Periodically, I take it out... put in a new battery and then try to understand the manual that comes with it. After about an hour, my level of frustration reaches the point where I just put it back into the drawer. Does anybody have simpler and readable instructions for using it. Basically, I want to test the speeds on my LF leaf shutters. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[removed account4]

hi bkarasek

i have one of those shutter speed testers too
couldn't be simpler to use ...
open lens up all the way, have a bright light infront of your lens
fire the shutter ( have the probe/tester facing the lens and "on" position )
there is a large sequence of #s that appears on the screen,
you look at the chart, find the number, or the one closest to it,
and it tells you your shutter's speed.
a friend and i did the same thing at his repair shop
it was a brightly lit screen the lens faced ( like the bulb )
a probe and a chart that is full of #s ...
i've used the speed tester to aproximate the speed of my graflex slr
worked great !

they make shutter speed testers that work with cellphones
and others that you match a sound on your computer
i've never used those so i can't affirm or deny that they do
what they are designed to do.

good luck !
john

ps. the tester you have hasn't been made for years
and is sought after by a lot of people, if you decide
you want to get rid of it, i am sure it will pay for itself and
then some ...

 

[bkarasek]

hello and thanks for the input. Unfortunately, I only get a reading sometimes.... I turn it on and point it at a light, and I can't get a consecutive reading ... have to turn it on and off. I have used three different fresh batteries and same behaviour with the tester.

 

[cowanw]

You must ensure the lens and tester are parallel and centred. It also helps if the tester is in the dark; I usually hold it in the bellows with the receiver just behind the lens.
the testers probe is slightly off centre and stray light affects the test.

 

[bkarasek]

Thanks all for your input, very helpful. I have a feeling that the problem is the innards 0f the tester, resistors. capacitators ,and what have you that has gone wonky.

I would get several on/off consecutive readings and then nothing, on/off 5-6x and nothing. Then I would hold the tester right up against the 150w enlarger bulb and the readout would start and I could get and several readings on the shutter before the cycle repeats... Makes for very tedious shutter testing.... Methinks that it may be whatever it is that captures the light. Anyway, a friend who is very competent in electronics has offered to look at the patient's innards.

The shutter that I was testing had been tested yesterday by my friend above, so I had a point of comparison as to whether the tester gave the right readings..... With the results I did manage to get, from 1s> 1/200, they correlated very closely, 1/3f variation in one case. Then the tester stops working, as I pointed out above, with the ensuing cycles......

Regards, Bogdan

 

[bkarasek]

I finally had the Calumet shutter tester cleaned by a friend and it is working fine.

I tested my leaf shutters. Now I want to test my focalplane shutters, Leica, Nikon, Exakta, Bessa, and several Speed Graphics. The manual is not very clear on this. Any input from somebody who has done it would be very welcome.

 

[removed account4]

in case you don't have the instructions
http://www.kennethleegallery.com/html/shuttertester/manual.php
it should be pretty self explanatory ...