Help a newbie mix a developer

[wintoid]

First of all, I'm a complete newbie to mixing my own developer and I'm happy to receive advice of any sort on this thread. Please, treat me like an idiot, it's the best way for me to learn.

I like DDX very much. It's expensive, comparatively. I've heard that Microphen is very similar to DDX, and have read that ID68 is pretty much Microphen. I am planning to buy the chemicals to mix my own ID68, and I have located the formula from a thread on this site. Am I on the right track so far?

I've purchased some scales, which are Salter 1250, and the minimum unit is 0.1g. I'm hoping to be able to use these to measure the chemicals. The ingredients for 1 litre of ID68 include 0.13gm Phenidone. Given that my scales only measure down to 0.1g, how can I accurately measure 0.13gm Phenidone?

How important is it to get these formulae absolutely accurate? Are some of the ingredients more crucial than others?

In terms of temperature, will ID68 mix at room temperature? Should I just mix it with 1L of water, or should I start with 750ml of water, and then add another 250ml once it's dissolved?

How am I supposed to find the answers to these questions, short of posting a new thread every time I try a new developer? Does Anchell and Troop list ID68?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really hoping to be successful first time with a homebrew developer.

Thanks.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Developers are generally made to be used within a very tight mixing ratio to get the 'published results'. Of course in photography, rules are made to be broken. Keeps the creativity up. But for starters I would keep very close to dead on and then experiment once you have acheived familiarity with what you've got.

As to finding about developers, I would simply do a forum search for whatever you need to know about. I am POSITIVE it has been discussed and mulled over ad naseum.

 

[T Hoskinson]

First of all, I'm a complete newbie to mixing my own developer and I'm happy to receive advice of any sort on this thread. Please, treat me like an idiot, it's the best way for me to learn.

I like DDX very much. It's expensive, comparatively. I've heard that Microphen is very similar to DDX, and have read that ID68 is pretty much Microphen. I am planning to buy the chemicals to mix my own ID68, and I have located the formula from a thread on this site. Am I on the right track so far?

I've purchased some scales, which are Salter 1250, and the minimum unit is 0.1g. I'm hoping to be able to use these to measure the chemicals. The ingredients for 1 litre of ID68 include 0.13gm Phenidone. Given that my scales only measure down to 0.1g, how can I accurately measure 0.13gm Phenidone?



How important is it to get these formulae absolutely accurate? Are some of the ingredients more crucial than others?

In terms of temperature, will ID68 mix at room temperature? Should I just mix it with 1L of water, or should I start with 750ml of water, and then add another 250ml once it's dissolved?

How am I supposed to find the answers to these questions, short of posting a new thread every time I try a new developer? Does Anchell and Troop list ID68?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really hoping to be successful first time with a homebrew developer.

Thanks.

Trust Ian Grant's (APUG posted) formula and usage advice for ID68.

You can make a Phenidone stock solution by dissolving 1 gram of Phenidone in 100ml of Propylene Glycol.
It will keep for years as a stock solution.
Add 13ml of this stock solution to your ID68 recipe.

You could also use a dry form of alcohol as a solvent (like 90-99% isopropyl alcohol), but as a percentage stock solution, it would not keep as well as one made with Propylene Glycol. You could always use a dry alcohol as the Phenidone solvent and then dump the unused portion of the percentage solution.

Phenidone is probably the most quantity critical chemical in the ID68 formula.

 

[wintoid]

Thank you, that's very helpful!