Darkroom portraits

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ic-racer

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I got the sales brochure for the HL2501 in with the papers on my L1840. I saw the fancy circuit boards that swing out. At the time I was thinking "yeah, they know you are going to be down there on your hands and knees fiddling with that all the time..." because, I had just spent quite a few hours signal tracing and fixing the 24v motor speed control on my L1840's power supply (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9772&d=1202449116 ).

Good find!
 

langedp

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Curt said:
... I'm glad I didn't go with a Beseler conversion.
Click to expand...

I agree. If you're going to enlarge 8x10 negs, get the most enlarger you can afford. You won't regret it. This is actually my third 8x10 enlarger. First was the Omega F. Then a DeVere 1010 horizontal. And now the Durst 2501. The Durst is by far the best designed and in the best condition.

Dave
 

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Thanks. That's always a risk with these things. I had some display problems initially on the console so I pulled the 'scope out and checked a few things. Luckily I received a full set of schematics along with the spare parts. Turned out to be nothing more than dirty contacts on one of the ribbon cable connectors.

Most of the electronics are rack mounted in the base on pull out slides. Pull up a stool and you're good to go. One of the key spare "parts" is a complete slide rack with all the boards and power supply.

Dave
 

ic-racer

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Wow, that really was a great deal! You got spare boards! (drool...drool) My L1840 was the exact same price.

The L1840 only has two boards, and I would love to have had replacements. I did not get a schematic, my schematic is still 'on the way' from Durst.it, but I was able to scribble one down by following the traces.

With your electrical background, you would be the only one to appreciate this, but Durst was using part of a NAND logic chip as a positive feedback loop to make an oscillating clock for the motor speed control. Just a resistor and capactor to regulate the speed of the oscillations. Well, either the input impedence of the NAND chip changed or the capacitor was leaking, but a new 40nf cap and a trimmer and I was set. With the trimmer I got it oscillating right at factory specs and now she focuses like a dream.
 

langedp

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I not only got spare boards, but I got a second entire system. See the photo below.

I saw your other thread on rebuilding your 1840. The 4093 nand gate they used is not your normal nand gate. They made a gated oscillator with it which is not uncommon and is shown on the data sheet. A very inexpensive way to make a square wave oscillator that you can turn on and off.

Dave
 

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ic-racer

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langedp said:
The 4093 nand gate they used is not your normal nand gate. They made a gated oscillator with it which is not uncommon and is shown on the data sheet. A very inexpensive way to make a square wave oscillator that you can turn on and off.

Dave
Click to expand...

Yea, they are showing an "Astable Multivibrator" which is the same circuit. I missed that when looking over the sheet. I was just placing an order to Mouser.com for another project and wondered if there would be any benefit in putting in a new 4093? For, example, how do you think it fails? Do the specs drift off, or does it just go 'poof'? It does seem to be working fine right now.
 
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langedp

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ic-racer said:
...Do the specs drift off, or does it just go 'poof'? It does seem to be working fine right now.
Click to expand...

I'd leave it alone if it's working. Order another IC as a spare since you're placing an order anyways.

IC reliability typically follows what's known as a bathtub curve. Failure rate vs. time plotted on a graph looks like the cross section of a bathtub. High failure rate in the intial hours known as infantile failure due to mfg defects. A long, low failure rate during the middle hours which could last many years. And a high failure rate again towards end of life. Thermal cycling from power on/off is one of the failure accelerators and soldering and desoldering the IC a number of times doesn't help. If the chip is in the middle hours, I'd leave it alone and chances are you'll never need to replace it.

Dave
 

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It just occurred to me that I had made some pictures of my setup a while back but had never posted them. So here goes. From left to right:

- the corner enlarger station with the Omega DII

- the film drying cabinet

- the ventilation system (with the fan OUTSIDE the darkroom)

- the wet side. Print drying screens slide under the sink.

- overall floor plan
 

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pesphoto

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Louie,
Now I get what you were saying. I like that setup with the enlarger and cabinets on either side.
 

Monophoto

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pesphoto said:
Louie,
Now I get what you were saying. I like that setup with the enlarger and cabinets on either side.
Click to expand...

Actually, that design was sort of forced on me.

- there is a beam overhead that determined the ceiling height.

- With that ceiling height, it would not have been possible to elevate the head on the Omega DII all the way to the top of its column, and to compensate for that, I would have had to design the counter to permit the space under the enlarger to be lowered. Having done that in my former darkroom, I knew that it would be complicated to do and not all that convenient to use.

- So instead, by putting the enlarger in a corner, I was able to construct a matching recess in the dropped ceiling directly over that corner that provides the clearance required to accommodate the enlarger.

But it turns out that its a very comfortable working space. I can have the paper box on the counter on the right, and negatives on the counter on the left. I have a safelight mounted on the side of the ceiling recess that shines up toward the ceiling. The result is a enough light throughout the space to be able to see what I need to see. Only the walls in the corner are painted flat black to manage light spillage from the enlarger.

Robert Hall said:
Nice and clean. Did you make your own drying cabinet? Forced air?
Click to expand...

The drying cabinet is made of MDF with a plexiglass insert in the door so I can see what is happening. There is a fan behind that white louver at the top that draws air into the box through a sheet of air conditioning filter material. The air then flows down through a second filter (this time, a standard furnace filter), past a 200W light bulb (mainly a source of heat) and over the film, and then out through a louver at the bottom. The film hangs from a rack made from a cut-off scrap of ClosetMaid shelving.
 
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TheTrailTog

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Well, it's not pretty but, gotta start some where...LOL Here's my humble addition to this thread. I played around with other set-ups but, this seems to work the best for me for now. Trays are in the bathtub and just outside the bathroom door is the kitchen sink where I do my washing. I had originally planned on making kind of a table top to put over the tub for my trays and then put my print washer in the tub. However, I forgot to take note that the faucets in the tub and bathroom sink are old school and I can't attach the washer to them. So I opted for the easy route of just putting the trays in the tub. I had also wanted to get a cart for the enlarger but, that didn't quite work out either. This seems to work fairly well for me for now though.
 

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ic-racer

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That last one is great. People who don't have a dark room and are browsing here should realize there no way to tell if a print came from a converted bathroom darkroom or a full-featured dedicated darkroom.
 

TheTrailTog

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Thanks ic and the best part is it only takes about 5 minutes tops to set-up and about 10 minutes to breakdown and clean up.
 

pesphoto

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Xia, looks very usable. Maybe get yourself a small table so you can raise up the enlarger a little to save your back and make priting a bit easier.
 

TheTrailTog

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Hi pes. I tried using a table but the problem is room size and layout. Really the only place to put it on a table would be up against the far wall. Unfortunately, there are few problems using that far wall I hadn't planned on when in the beginning. One, the outlet is at the opposite end, over the toilet. Another thing was that I need to work around the table for using the trays in the tub. Also, I have a 2 blade easel which over hangs the baseboard depending on how I'm printing. In that corner, if I used a table, the baseboard would be flush up against the wall It just seems to work best for me this way and I don't mind working on the floor.
 

arigram

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Xia, maybe a board over the tub and a rack for the trays that stacks them up vertically and slightly diagonally?
 

Bob F.

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I simply put the enlarger on the toilet seat and a sheet of plywood over the bath with two wooden strips along one long edge (either side of the bath's top edge) to stop it sliding off. Then I chopped the legs down on an old chair to give myself a comfortable seat . Saved my back!

Your enlarger looks a bit too large for that (mine was a small Meopta 35mm only one) but an hour with some wood could provide a small table that fits over the toilet seat, providing a larger surface.

Now I have a "proper" darkroom, but I certainly had plenty of fun in my make-shift bathroom one! Whatever you do, enjoy!

Have fun, Bob.
 

TheTrailTog

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Thanks guys, the more I think about it, the more I think I'm going to keep it simple as it is right now. I have no problems working in there now comfortably. Any thing else bit for it just means more to breakdown/set-up and also more I need space to store away. Anybody who has lived in a small apartment knows space is a premium. The only limiting factor for me at the moment, is my eyes. I find about at the 2 hour mark my eyes have had enough from straining in the low light. I start to get a good headache and have to call it a night. Though it could just be that I'm turning on the lights after every print to see how it turned, so my eyes are constantly having to readjust.
 

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Getting Ready for April 21 - Global Darkroom Day

I did a little darkroom cleaning yesterday and went out and got this rack.

This is a little more than half of what I have.

Not pictured are the 5 liter jugs of Ilford chemistry and about a dozen or so boxes of Ilford 16x20 fiber paper.
 

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arigram

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Nice rack

(that's also more than my local store has in stock)
 

Fraxinus

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New Work Area - Wet & Dry

After forty-two years and at least six darkrooms built and equipped, the last five of which have been work-based, number seven (possibly the last?) is purely for my own indulgence and right in my own back yard.

Completed in December last year, I designed and built it from scratch on a plot of land adjacent to the house. One side is the lightroom, where the Macs, PCs, scanners and printers reside (mainly for business purposes, honest...), the other side is the darkroom equipped to print from 35mm to 5x7. At a mezzanine level, there is storage space and a print finishing area. Total ground floor area, about 29 square metres (~300 square feet).

Three windows all have boxed darkroom blackout blinds so the whole area can be plunged into darkness easily. It has light-tight air intake/extraction fans and underfloor heating; all the doors have lightproof ventilation grilles so that airflow can be maintained, even when in dark use. There's a small internal room with no windows for film loading and to provide the essential tea and coffee-making facility, the entrance provides a library/seating area with views over the garden and there is also a small toilet and washroom. It is certainly the most pleasant work area I've ever had, completely self-contained - but that was the idea.

So am I crazy to invest so much in a 'dying craft'? Well I don't think so; since giving up traditional processing at work nearly seven years ago, I've had an overwhelming desire to get back to the peace and quiet of the darkroom to pursue my love of traditional 'analogue' work. Whilst I still need to spend some hours in front of computers to pay for my current luxury accommodation, when that's done I can easily revert to enlarger baseboard instead of Apple keyboard. And eventually, when I've long gone, the whole place could easily be converted to a livable annexe to the main house - it's actually built to a higher standard!

So far it's working well, the only drawback being finding the time to use it without appearing to be a complete recluse and totally neglecting the rest of the household!
 

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ic-racer

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Fraxinus said:
After forty-two years and at least six darkrooms built and equipped, the last five of which have been work-based, number seven (possibly the last?) is purely for my own indulgence and right in my own back yard.
Click to expand...

That is awesome. That this was created for you own personal photography is quite laudable! A fantastic encouragement to keep building conventional darkrooms!
 
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