Ilford enlarger parts

Hello all,

I recently visited a gentleman who has processed film/prints professionally for as long as I've been alive (26 years) I'm trying to learn from him. We got to talking about enlargers and he has an Ilford enlarger set up for 4x5 that has something broken inside the head unit, we don't know what it is exactly but he said it was just a plug it in and it'll work, we just need to plug it in in the darkroom. We ran out of time the other day so we didn't figure out exactly what part was but my question is, Is there a source that has a bunch of parts laying around or is it an ebay type thing. I will get some more information later, I was just sending out some fealers.

Thanks in advance

You may need to find one on Ebay or even here, if that "plugin" part is something mechanical and unique to that head.

If whatever is an electrical component, more than likely you'll be able to find a substitute or a modern equivalent and use that instead.

Unless we know exactly what part it is, it'll be difficult to help you.

Can you take a photograph of that broken part next time and post it here?

If it's a Multigrade 500 head, http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/201172015792221.pdf may be able to help (pp.44-48). Having had an encounter with an MG500 with a faulty relay, the problem may lie in the power supply box, not the head itself. It's a slightly tricky system to pin down faults in.

Best of Luck,

Lachlan

He has another enlarger that is that is the MG500 I believe and it is stuck on filter #5, do you have any suggestions on how to go about getting it unstuck? I'm a pretty technical person and can more than likely take it apart but, we have only met a few times but I don't think he's going to just let me dive in.

Any chance one bulb is burnt out? The MG500 using two bulb/filter combinations one for green (low grade) and one blue (high). The contrast is controlled by varying the brightness of the bulbs. Controlled by the keypad unit via triacs located in the power supply unit. Take a look at the user manual linked above to start. Schematics are around, search the threads here. I have a couple variations, I believe I found them here. The electronics in the power supply are mounted on the right hand end cover. A scope would be usefull to troubleshoot, you might get by with a meter if need be. The electronics in the power supply are pretty basic, the control pad not so basic.

Varitions to look for are the control pad: older type was all touch pads the later had a large bar for the start switch. On the power supply look at the cable connector to the head, one has all flat pins, the later ones have a single round pin with the rest flat.

Let us know what you find, these are too nice to let them die without a fight.

George is right, unless it is one of the earliest models, which uses magenta and yellow filtration, like its predecessor, the MG400 series.