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Jobo ATL-2 rebuilding project


Oh and BTW, this part is now $90 to $250 in the USA when you can find it...
 
You mean doing the bleach-fix outside the machine? Why this? Even if every use I do a cleaning cycle?
Ps the water pump is quite cheap in Italy/europe, about 26/30€ in some places
 
How much complicate is to unmount the jobo atl2 for a good clean and maybe how difficult is changing the silicone chem pipes? thanks in advance
 
MicheleRubino said:
How much complicate is to unmount the jobo atl2 for a good clean and maybe how difficult is changing the silicone chem pipes? thanks in advance
Click to expand...

My chem pipes are sealed-in with silicone and are hard to trace without taking the head apart. I refused to dismantle the head unless it is absolutely necessary.

To clean these pipes, I attached a bit of microfiber cloth to the end of a moderately flexible bit of insulated copper wire and pushed it up into the discharge port of each chemical bottle. I then poured a citric acid mixture down to fill the tube and let it soak before flushing with several liters of water.

You can even swab the length of the pipe with the microfiber contraption IF you don't get too aggressive and are patient.

Seems to have done the job and cleared the tubes.
 
Citric acid is great for lime. Slightly warm the solution too.

I worked in an analytical chemistry laboratory for several years we used formic acid to clean steam generators. Nasty stuff and expensive, worked great.

Bar keeper's friend works well too.
 
Hi everyone, so they give me this atl2 and from the videos they sent before picking it up machine was turning on good. Now I started cleaning it and wanted to reset some programs… now the machine gives me 30.00 error with 3 blinking. I can check the temperature, moving the arm but nothing else.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Michael
 
Hello, I would like to kindly ask for your advice.

I need to repair the SET/RUN rotary switch in my JOBO ATL-2 Plus, but I am not a technician and have very limited experience with electronics.

Could you please guide me on how to properly access and replace this switch?

Do I need to remove the front panel first, or is the knob separable from the outside?

Any detailed instructions or tips would be extremely helpful.

Thank you very much in advance.
 

Hello Fred,
This thread is more than 5 years old, so I don't know if you get this ...
I'm in Europe .. I own an 'ATL-2 Plus' (which I'm sale here -- sorry, not to the U.S. ... anyone in Paris is welcome to contact me, though!) and an ATL-3, which I'll keep. I've never actually activated either of them and — to make sure I don't become like the guy who you said "should NEVER be allowed to own any photo lab related equipment", I like to keep direct contact with people like yourself who have experience and advice about the particular equipment. If you're still actively using your machine and OK with the idea, I'd really appreciate if you contacted me by DM!
Best,
Christopher
 
Hi!

I just came across this thread.


I have a Jobo ATL-2 Plus that has been unused for more than 15 years. I’ve tried starting it up, and both the pump and the heating element are working fine. I was able to run a complete processing cycle using water in the chemical containers.


But then problems appeared!
Suddenly the waste arm started moving heavily, and you can hear that the motor sounds strained.
At position 1, the machine now reports “Error 3”.


According to ChatGPT, this has something to do with the air distributor.
I disassembled the machine (following steps from chat gpt) without touching the air distributor, and I carefully removed and cleaned the waste arm.
It has now been reinstalled, but the machine still reports Error 3 on startup.


ChatGPT says that Error 3 can also be caused by the waste arm not being positioned correctly in relation to the zero-position sensor.
Additionally, I have discovered that a thin white wire going from the front part to the motor has come loose.
Could this also cause Error 3?

I am knowledgeable in electronics and have approached this very methodically, but I have never disassembled an ATL before—it’s quite a complex machine.

Is there anyone here who can help me moving further?
Is it possible to remove the entire air distributor with the motor and resolder the white wire?


When the machine is started, it immediately reports Error 3, and the waste arm moves a bit forward, then a bit back, and ends up positioned halfway over drain outlet 1.

Any good advice on what the next step should be?

Best regards
Bjorn
 
 
Hello.. Without having the board on the bench, in the past and with prior experiences the #3 error code you are asking about was often caused on the 94017 Interface Board Control Head and not the manifold system. This board is responsible for all the motor and valve functions in the head. In past failures this part has been the culprit and it is a 1µF tantalum capacitor at location C7. Hope this helps.
 
Hello Fred.
Thank you for your reply.
Do you have a pdf copy of the service manual for ATL2 plus? Or do you have a link to this?
 

Just came across this 6 year old post.
Did you manage to build a new "air distribution unit" with Arduino?
Any pictures, or descriptions on how this can be done?

BR
Bjorn
 
Hello Bjorn... sorry but I did not manage to build an air distribution unit. I have always been able to scavenge parts that were needed. Unfortunately with the processors becoming much more scarce finding some of the parts is starting to become impossible.
 
Is the spring installed correctly? I think it is very tight. ???

Bjorn

 
Hello.. yes it is installed correctly. It is designed to move the arm from location to location with the ability to swing independently if necessary. The spring will sit with the white tab on the gear between the springs prongs.
 
Fred of Wisconsin said:
Hello.. yes it is installed correctly. It is designed to move the arm from location to location with the ability to swing independently if necessary. The spring will sit with the white tab on the gear between the springs prongs.
Click to expand...




The broken cable is now soldered together and my ATL2+ is back together. Works perfectly. I've learned a lot about how complex it is built. Thanks for helping with my questions along the way.

Bjorn
 
You are welcome.. I am glad that you were able to roll up your sleeves and make the repair to get your ATL-2 back up and working. It is truly a learning experience. I am presently working on two complete tear down's and rebuilds of an older ATL-2 and an ATL-2 PLUS to fill my day. What I mean by tearing down a machine, every single part of the machine down to the last screw is apart, all the PCB's are cleaned and e-prom and battery's are replaced, right down to the lift arm and head assembly. My apology for the disappearance awhile back, my health took control of my daily activities.
 
Wow! My experience so far is that even though the machine is complex and has a lot of mechanics and electronics in very little space, it seems robustly built. I went about it very systematically, taking many photos along the way and carefully checking screws and parts. It was both fun and interesting at the same time. I might be interested in taking the entire processor part out at some point, to be able to give the tub and plastic parts a proper, deep cleaning.
But at the same time I have gained respect for it working again. And it is easy to do something wrong, so it takes a little courage to get started...
See photos. Can you give a good tip for cleaning?


 
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