Looking to upgrade my enlarger timer

I currently have a Time-O-Lite professional which works fine, but is a little limiting. It can be a bit imprecise when it comes to short exposure times (under 5 seconds) or for fine tuning exposure times by a second or two. The maximum time of 60 seconds can also be limiting with slower papers or bigger enlargement (circumvented by running the timer multiple times). I do like that it has a plug for my safe lights and will shut them off when focusing or running the enlarger.

I'm ideally looking for something that will have better fine controls and will allow for exposure times longer than 60 seconds. It must retain the function of shutting off my safelights when the enlarger light is on. I would also want a timer that beeps or makes a sound to indicate the passing of each second (for dodging and burning). I am aware of a few digital timers that meet these needs, but I am skeptical of there longevity after receiving and returning an digital timer with corroded buttons.

A timer I was eyeing is the Beseler 8177, but it is hard to find any information about these.

Looking for some recommendations and feedback on this topic since there are so many options to choose from.

Kearsarge 301

LPL ET 500

DLG

I know what you mean with the Time-O-Lite timer: it is nice but not quite okay. The three I mention are basically the same but better and a bit more sophisticated. If you like simple but very good timers that have safelight outputs, the Kearsarge 301 is great, the LPL too but I found the pushbuttons not great. The DLG is a recent made timer and simply excellent ! I think in the US Catlab is selling them.

That beseler is a good timer. I had one. It worked for 20 odd years and then died mysteriously.

I'm currently using a gralab 545 that works well for me. It has two channels which is nice when doing split grade printing. Its mechanical switches seem a little touchy, like I need to shoot contact cleaner into all of them. But not touchy enough that I've actually done that.

And don't forget the foot-switch. Having both hands ready for accurate burning and dodging movements means shorter exposures can be used; more prints less time.

Gra-lab 450

Maybe hard to find should not be too expensive, I have Heathkit my wife bought me the kit in the 70s, it's been my primary timer for 40 years, never any trouble, only downside is that it does not have foot switch, but will time 1/2 second intervals. I just checked Ebay, there is a heathkit, but much more elaborate and looks be newer, it does have foot switches seems pricy at $199.00

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333923283716?hash=item4dbf60f304:g:GpwAAOSwmt1gUS8t

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rh deigns timer3 - a dream! solidly built, simple to use, well designed.

i've used various gralab timers, (which are good) - easily beats them all, the timer 3 is top-of-the-line.

GraLab 505 digital timer, single channel, or Gralab 525 dual channel if you are into split grade printing. I have both with foot switches and love them.

The Time3 from RH Design is simple and amazing. The only thing missing is, in my view, the safety light switch.

I used a dual channel GraLab for a long time, they are easy to work with and versatile. I prefer the ability to directly enter the time to the rotary switch timers.
But, if you have the funds, I'd recommend an RH Designs f/stop timer.

cirwin2010 said:

I currently have a Time-O-Lite professional which works fine, but is a little limiting. It can be a bit imprecise when it comes to short exposure times (under 5 seconds) or for fine tuning exposure times by a second or two. The maximum time of 60 seconds can also be limiting with slower papers or bigger enlargement (circumvented by running the timer multiple times). I do like that it has a plug for my safe lights and will shut them off when focusing or running the enlarger.

I'm ideally looking for something that will have better fine controls and will allow for exposure times longer than 60 seconds. It must retain the function of shutting off my safelights when the enlarger light is on. I would also want a timer that beeps or makes a sound to indicate the passing of each second (for dodging and burning). I am aware of a few digital timers that meet these needs, but I am skeptical of there longevity after receiving and returning an digital timer with corroded buttons.

A timer I was eyeing is the Beseler 8177, but it is hard to find any information about these.

Looking for some recommendations and feedback on this topic since there are so many options to choose from.

Click to expand...

The RHDesigns 'StopClockII is the best darkroom timer there is and it does f-stop timing too!

The RH Designs products looks interesting (although expensive compared to used options). The Time3 looks nice, but I don't think it has a safelight outlet The StopClock Pro has some interesting features and has automatic safelight switching, but I don't think I can justify the cost.

What are people's thoughts on the Gralab analog timers? I think those go past 60 seconds right? Some of the digital options like the 450 look nice, but lack that second safelight outlet (really helps with setting my my easel and lack of outlets).

I currently use a foot switch equipped Gralab 450 and a separate manual switch for my safelight - I really would prefer to have a built in safelight outlet on the timer.
I've been wondering about somehow putting together an automatic remote safelight switch to replace the manual one - one that would switch the safelight off, when the enlarger lamp is on.

I use an Omega timer. It has one truly winning characteristic: it clicks every second. It can time up to 60 minutes, too. It also has an outlet for safelight. However, it sometimes runs over or under by as much as 2 seconds (but I like 30 second or longer exposures - a second more or less doesn't matter very much). I think it's a design flaw - not something particularly wrong with mine. I have a couple of GraLab and a TimeOLite but I wouldn't give up that clicking.
The worst thing about those timers is when you accidentally turn on the buzzer and it goes off. Scares the hell out of you.

Footswitch and metronome

The Gralab analog timers are a bit of a pain for enlarging use because they don't reset to a time selection. Not to say they never made one, but I haven't encountered a version that does.
For processing they are great, but for an analog style enlarging timer, your Time-o-lite is much better, IMHO. At a minimum the Gralab would share the short exposure and fine tuning problems you noted initially.
Even with the shortcomings you note, the time-o-lites are very productive timers when you don't need to make a lot of fine adjustments and do most of your exposing for times longer than 5 or 10 seconds. They are easy to use for doing f/stop style timing as it's easy to set 1/2 or 2x times up to it's max limit. In that regard they are easier than most digital timers, (also IMHO). The advantage of machines like the RH designs f/stop timers is that you get a much finer control and can work in 1/6 stop increments if you wish, along with automation for things like test strips, split grade printing and dry-down compensation. I bought mine used, for a pretty good price, but if it broke unrepairably, I'd be ordering a new one the next day.

Aside from things like automated f/stop timing, I'd say your major decision point is whether you want a full keyboard to directly enter times, or a set of rotary knobs to set .1, 1, and 10's of seconds. (or, as Peter notes, a metronome and count off seconds in your head).
Generically, many, if not most timers will have secondary sockets for turning a safelight on and off, though I may be in a bit of a minority in not finding that useful. My preference is to have the safelights on a wall switch. But, some of that comes from much of my darkroom time being spent in commercial or group darkrooms where switching safelights for exposures wasn't an option.

bdial said:

Generically, many, if not most timers will have secondary sockets for turning a safelight on and off, though I may be in a bit of a minority in not finding that useful.

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Why is turning off the safelight during exposure useful? The only reason I can think of is that you might be able to see the image better, helping with dodging/burning. Is there any other reason? Conserve electricity?

albada said:

Why is turning off the safelight during exposure useful? The only reason I can think of is that you might be able to see the image better, helping with dodging/burning. Is there any other reason? Conserve electricity?

Click to expand...

That is exactly the reason.
When you focus the (high magnification) image, or need to dodge or burn, it can make a big difference.
Especially if you are working with a relatively low output enlarger, or doing a high contrast, mostly magenta/blue burn.

Peter Schrager said:

Footswitch and metronome

Click to expand...

Purist.

Get a rhdesign fstop timer with foot switch and safe light switch. Best money spent.
Once you start using fstops times, you'll never go back to linear times.

MattKing said:

That is exactly the reason.
When you focus the (high magnification) image, or need to dodge or burn, it can make a big difference.
Especially if you are working with a relatively low output enlarger, or doing a high contrast, mostly magenta/blue burn.

Click to expand...

That makes sense. Thanks. I think I can add an outlet and internal circuitry to my home-made LED timer/controller.

Maris said:

And don't forget the foot-switch. Having both hands ready for accurate burning and dodging movements means shorter exposures can be used; more prints less time.

Click to expand...

If I had to print without a foot switch, I might just give it up. But I've wired musician-type switches into timers, they're like fifteen bucks.

My thoughts on timers -

I've never adjusted to f-stop timing and have never found I needed it, YMMV as they say.

A repeating audible time though? I couldn't live without it. Beseler and Omega made a few models. The beeps are priceless to me, if I have an exposure that's 12 seconds and I want to dodge for 4, I can just count the beeps and not have to look at a dial. Both of my repeating timers have click-stops on the ten and one-second dials, so I don't even have to look at the timer to set various times.

A foot switch seems absolutely necessary for how I print, for things like positioning burn and dodge tools. For precise burn with cards, I use duplex paper (white on top, black on the bottom, it's expensive but you can make your own with spray glue, it's a really nice hack) so I can clearly see the neg. I slide a scrap of red lighting gel over the burn opening. I add 3 seconds to the time, hit the footswitch, and get the card in place; after three seconds, I slide the gel away with my thumb.

If your exposures are too short for accuracy, get a sheet of 2-stop lighting gel and trim and stick it in the filter slot. You can even stack it. I've found this really great for flashing paper precisely, or using burn or SCIM masks at the neg stage, small test prints and so on.

M Carter said:

But I've wired musician-type switches into timers, they're like fifteen bucks.

Click to expand...

Watch out for weird (from our perspective) out of production UK and European connectors.
When I had my Multigrade 400 equipped D6 enlarger, I paid KHB a fair bit of money to supply a foot switch with the correct old style UK connector.

I'm in the same camp as M Carter above.

I don't need an f-stop timer; I use percentages. They give the same results as f-stop timing without all those pesky square roots and calculations.

I, too, count beeps. My timer is permanently set on 99 seconds; I start and stop exposures with my burning card.

And, I also find that a footswitch is indispensable.

My current timers are GraLab 450 models. I have some with older-style manual switches, some with the covered push buttons. Functions are the same. They are simple and reliable.

I don't need a fancy programmable timer or one with memory; I keep notes. I don't need small fractions of a second either; my exposure times are always long enough to make tenth-of-a-second accuracy superfluous.

For years I printed with a metronome and a simple on/off switch for the enlarger light. My 450s were an upgrade

Best,

Doremus

I had a Kearsarge timer which I loved. It had channels to store times. It crapped out because it's decades old. I bought another one on ebay that didn't last long either. Most of the electronics in them are very old.