Leitz Focomat V35 suddenly not working

I recently purchased a Focomat V35 and tested it right when it arrived, and all worked just fine. Our power can be a bit weird at times, so I thought that I would use a voltage stabilizer to make sure my voltage supply was steady. I happened to have a Unicolor Voltage Stabilizer already that seemed to offer what I needed so I followed the instructions and hooked the voltage stabilizer into the wall outlet, which went into my Kaiser digital timer, then into my Focomat V35. When I started my V35 using the timer, I got a weird steady buzz in the timer that I hadn't heard before and I was also under the impression that I blew my bulb (my Focomat uses the Philips 13139 bulb, btw). After ordering a fresh batch of lights (testing with the Osram lights that are supposed to be a replacement for the 13139 lights before committing to using the official Philips bulbs I paid way too much for) I tested my V35 and it still doesn't come on.

I've spent hours troubleshooting this through multiple forums here and know to check the wires that connect to the bulb due to bulb heat over time, and they look great. No discoloration, burns, or signs of wear at all. I've also seen people talk about the transformer, but I'm not sure where to find that.

If anyone has any ideas on what this could be, I would sincerely appreciate the help and tips!

Thank you,

Justin

Welcome to Photrio.
Are you sure that the Voltage Stabilizer doesn't put out something like 82V, rather than ~120V?
Many voltage stabilizers were designed for colour heads that required something other than the mains voltage.

MattKing said:

Welcome to Photrio.
Are you sure that the Voltage Stabilizer doesn't put out something like 82V, rather than ~120V?
Many voltage stabilizers were designed for colour heads that required something other than the mains voltage.

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Thank you for the reply and the welcome, Matt! The VAC output says 110. This was the first time using the stabilizer though, and it my V35 stopped working after this. Say that the stabilizer is faulty or incompatible, do you know what problems that may have caused? Thanks again.

I doubt that this colorhead needs a stabilizer. Probably has internal stabilizer.??

mshchem said:

I doubt that this colorhead needs a stabilizer. Probably has internal stabilizer.??

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I don't have the color head. I have the bnw MC/VC head. I've seen mixed things on whether or not the V35 needs a stabilizer. Many in the community say it doesn't, but info from Leitz says to use the Focometer or stabilizer. I chose to use one because I had one and figured that it couldn't hurt... well, it hurt.

There are square wave and sine wave stabilizers; I have found the electronic darkroom timers do not like square wave types.

Have you tried removing the stabilizer and testing the enlarger/timer?

I tried using an older stabilizer with my GraLab electronic timer and it was not happy at all.

Maybe you can try putting the stabilizer between the timer and the enlarger IF you really need it.

Kino said:

There are square wave and sine wave stabilizers; I have found the electronic darkroom timers do not like square wave types.

Have you tried removing the stabilizer and testing the enlarger/timer?

I tried using an older stabilizer with my GraLab electronic timer and it was not happy at all.

Maybe you can try putting the stabilizer between the timer and the enlarger IF you really need it.

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Thanks for the reply. I have tried testing both the V35 separately and the V35 with the timer. The timer still works fine, the V35 does not turn on separately or with the timer. The Unicolor stabilizer that I have specifically says to not connect the stabilizer between the timer and enlarger, so I haven't tried doing that.

Well, the stabilizer may have popped the fuse.


Scroll down to the electrical wiring section.

Kino said:

Well, the stabilizer may have popped the fuse.

Leitz Focomat V35

Scroll down to the electrical wiring section.

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You were right! I just got this enlarger last week, so I still wasn't familiar with the wiring config, fuse and transformer location, etc, but managed to find a schematic that helped located everything. I just went to the hardware store and bought a new fuse, tried it out, and it's working. The only odd thing so far is that I'm only seeing half of my 35mm frame projected onto the table, which I'm sure is user error. Nothing appears to be blocking the light or lens, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Thanks for the fuse recommendation!

justintjamison said:

You were right! I just got this enlarger last week, so I still wasn't familiar with the wiring config, fuse and transformer location, etc, but managed to find a schematic that helped located everything. I just went to the hardware store and bought a new fuse, tried it out, and it's working. The only odd thing so far is that I'm only seeing half of my 35mm frame projected onto the table, which I'm sure is user error. Nothing appears to be blocking the light or lens, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Thanks for the fuse recommendation!

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Great! Glad it wasn't a real serious problem.

BTW: Are you sure there isn't a half-frame negative carrier in the enlarger?

Kino said:

BTW: Are you sure there isn't a half-frame negative carrier in the enlarger?

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Yeah, I’m glad that it was an easy fix as well. Plus, my original 13139 bulb is still good. I’m sure that I have the full frame negative carrier in. I was already running test before the fuse blew and it was fine. So far, I haven’t been able to figure out what’s causing the blockage.

Kino said:

BTW: Are you sure there isn't a half-frame negative carrier in the enlarger?

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I haven’t tried this yet but I just learned about the masking knobs. I’m starting to wonder if I bumped one or did something to one by mistake. I’ll have a look when I get back to my v35.

Kino said:

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It was the masking knobs. They were all messed up. Another easy fix, and I'm glad that I know about them now.

Good to hear you are up and running! That's a nice setup.

Most people are unaware that a small computer UPS is a fine voltage stabilizer and typically a lot cheaper to buy. Most, even the most cheap ones, have full sine wave output.

Kino said:

Most people are unaware that a small computer UPS is a fine voltage stabilizer and typically a lot cheaper to buy. Most, even the most cheap ones, have full sine wave output.

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Good to know! I seemed to be getting really steady light throughout my printing process without a stabilizer, but I may still pick one up to be safe. Thank you again for all of the help. Posting my results from this weekend's V35 printing this morning.

mshchem said:

Good to hear you are up and running! That's a nice setup.

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Really appreciate that! I was so relieved that it was a simple fix. I'll be posting my results from this weekend shortly!

Hey all, thank you so much for the help! Thanks to you all, I was able to get up and running this weekend and managed to print some of my work for the first time with the V35. I took a photo of my print in case you want to check it out. The image was taken with a Leica M6 TTL with a 50mm f2 Summicron Dual Range about a month ago in NYC.

Very nice! Glad you got going!

justintjamison said:

Hey all, thank you so much for the help! Thanks to you all, I was able to get up and running this weekend and managed to print some of my work for the first time with the V35. I took a photo of my print in case you want to check it out. The image was taken with a Leica M6 TTL with a 50mm f2 Summicron Dual Range about a month ago in NYC.

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This is terrific! You're good to go with a tremendous setup! Well done!