Minolta 45a problem

1kgcoffee · Dec 4, 2017

I'm experiencing a strange issue with the Minolta 45a.

First print of the day, I set to a relatively high exposure (250-208-215). The negative was quite dense.

Well, the last two numbers, G/B seemed to fire off fine, but the first was going ever slowly, until it halted at 17% and made a ticking sound every second or so. I turned it off and set it up for another exposure, just 43-0-0. The last two numbers fired off again down to zero, even though they were already at zero, and the first stuck at 98%. while the controller unit seems to make a ticking or clicking sound consistently with the first number not budging, as if it's trying to fire. Strangely, the unit seems to be firing off some red, while the last two numbers are winding down but it's not showing on the controller.

Reset the unit a few times, still getting a ticking sound, but the first number going down only to 98% after a few weak flashes.

Opened the controller unit up and everything looks alright. Capacitors look fine.

Is this an issue with a burnt out tube, or possibly something on the controller? Wondering if anyone has experienced this issue before? The controller is supposed to tell you when a tube needs a replacement, but it's not showing. It was working just fine yesterday.

-thanks in advance,
1kgcoffee

1kgcoffee · Dec 5, 2017

Update:

It's the xenon tube. Opened it up just now. One of the red tubes is obviously burn out. I also figured out what the little contraption rigged to the top of the unit is - a scaffolding for forced air cooling.

Managed to get a hold of Darryl Nicholas of colorBAT, the leading expert on the Minolta 45a. Got some great insight from him on the innerworkings of the 45a, this head is very prone to overheating and has some design weaknesses in the light output it is was originally engineered for VS what it was reengineered and marketed as. It should really have about twice as much output for normal application. I may post the contents of our exchange later with his permission.

Other flash tubes may work according to Darryl Nicholas, but how well is a mystery. I don't think anyone has tried it yet. They seem to be about the right size for a flash unit, and you can find similar ones on ebay and aliexpress for far less than beseler surplus. I really like this unit and would like to keep it operational. Failing this, I may have to find another head, or rig up something new. I will keep everyone posted

mshchem · Feb 3, 2018

1kgcoffee said:
Update:

It's the xenon tube. Opened it up just now. One of the red tubes is obviously burn out. I also figured out what the little contraption rigged to the top of the unit is - a scaffolding for forced air cooling.

Managed to get a hold of Darryl Nicholas of colorBAT, the leading expert on the Minolta 45a. Got some great insight from him on the innerworkings of the 45a, this head is very prone to overheating and has some design weaknesses in the light output it is was originally engineered for VS what it was reengineered and marketed as. It should really have about twice as much output for normal application. I may post the contents of our exchange later with his permission.

Other flash tubes may work according to Darryl Nicholas, but how well is a mystery. I don't think anyone has tried it yet. They seem to be about the right size for a flash unit, and you can find similar ones on ebay and aliexpress for far less than beseler surplus. I really like this unit and would like to keep it operational. Failing this, I may have to find another head, or rig up something new. I will keep everyone posted

I got ahold of one of these heads, I have a Ch 1 code, which indicates weakness in the red channel. I can fire all 3 channels blue is blue, green is green, but the red channel looks almost orange. Both red tubes are starting to blacken and should be replaced. My question is when you open up your head do the "red" filters look red? Mine are orange'ish in color. I have another additive head it doesn't look like this. Do you have any updates? I'm really curious about the color of my filters? Seems weird.
Best Regards Mike

1kgcoffee · Feb 4, 2018

Honestly can't remember but I do remember reading in the colorbat manual that the panes do not fade or change. They had a little bit of a rainbow pattern on them.

Honestly the replacement parts are so expensive it's not worth it, I have found a better alternative that produces more light and no need to use a mixing box. Im working on a tutorial about ra-4 with the lifx rgb bulb. It's easier to use and the bulb will last forever. Short exposure times too.

mshchem · Feb 4, 2018

OK, the Ch 1 is one of the programs, I have found the filters are "normal" all the tubes are firing. I have dichro colorheads that I know how to use. I put the Minolta job on the shelf for now. I'm very impressed by this head. I will get around to it one of these days.
Best Mike

1kgcoffee · Feb 4, 2018

ch1 can mean inevitable burnt tube from my research -or channel. But at $50 a pop if you can even find them, it's hard to justify if you do serious volume. There is a supplier for xenon tubes of various sizes, but he never responded to my email and they might not even work. The 45a is now a display piece

EdSawyer · Feb 5, 2018

You can get a whole head with some tubes in it for basically almost the price of the spare tubes alone on ebay. that might be a better option. As mentioned it's a great head, and worth fixing/using if you can. The spare tubes come up at reasonable prices from time to time, just have to keep looking for them. I have the manuals posted online along with ColorBAT service instructions and such, if anyone needs them.

1kgcoffee · Feb 5, 2018

I have it on my ebay watchlist. They do occasionally come up (every few months) but often for a final price of more than $100 including shipping. My other gripe is the one minute limit on the focus tube plus flicker which makes it difficult to find critical focus. It is a very nifty piece of equipment for those willing to invest in it. The diffused light is wonderful but I rather let the die hards have them.

For $80 you can have a lifx bulb that will never need replacement and can make exposures in less than 7 sec that the Minolta needs. I believe that accurate one second exposures will be possible as the brightness of the bulb can be controlled. In some ways it is better than the 45a. I'm hoping to turn a few people onto it.

EdSawyer · Feb 6, 2018

$100 + shipping is a steal for one of these, esp. if the tubes are good. Tubes alone are usually $25/ea (X6 in a head). This was a $2500+ head when new so $100 is a complete steal.

Agreed the focus is a bit of a hassle but you do get used to it. A good grain focuser helps a lot (the Peak long-mirror one is my current favorite).

Not familiar with lifx bulb...but hard to believe it would "never" need replacement. (nothing lasts forever). Besides being a great color head the 45A has many useful features like color ring-arounds, a great multi-channel analyzer with various memory/programming options, etc. If anything I usually want *longer* exposures, not shorter, to allow time for dodging/burning. 1sec exposures would be pretty difficult to deal with in that regard.

Ed

JRingo · Mar 14, 2019

EdSawyer said:
You can get a whole head with some tubes in it for basically almost the price of the spare tubes alone on ebay. that might be a better option. As mentioned it's a great head, and worth fixing/using if you can. The spare tubes come up at reasonable prices from time to time, just have to keep looking for them. I have the manuals posted online along with ColorBAT service instructions and such, if anyone needs them.

Ed, do you still have the manuals posted online somewhere? I just purchased this head, but the manual did not come with it.

mshchem · Mar 14, 2019

JRingo said:
Ed, do you still have the manuals posted online somewhere? I just purchased this head, but the manual did not come with it.

KHB Photografix , Kevin Brown, great guy he makes beautiful reprints as nice as original. Come bound with plastic cover $18 Canadian.

http://store.khbphotografix.com/Beseler-45A-Color-Head-Instruction-Manual.html

He knows all about this kind of stuff. You can call him. Great resource!

1kgcoffee · Mar 14, 2019

Here is the manual:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kFvg9jm6WhMbEkoyqruPG1vW4AHaKayp

I no longer use this head. It's a beautiful piece of technology, but I find the lifx rgb bulb in my condensor to be much better.

EdSawyer, the beauty of the lifx bulb is that you can reduce brightness of the bulb from 0-100%, meaning that you can have super long or super short exposures. Believe me, it is much more intuitive than the minolta.

EdSawyer · Mar 14, 2019

I think once you are used to the minolta it's pretty intuitive. I don't use some of the features that often (color ring arounds for example) but those that I do come to be pretty easy to remember. I wish the focus bulb was continuous, that's the only improvement I'd make, but I can live with that considering the other benefits. good to know about the lifx bulb.

I have all the manuals and related info compiled here:

https://mypages.unh.edu/sites/default/files/ems/files/beseler_45a_manual.zip

mshchem · Mar 14, 2019

1kgcoffee said:
Here is the manual:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kFvg9jm6WhMbEkoyqruPG1vW4AHaKayp

I no longer use this head. It's a beautiful piece of technology, but I find the lifx rgb bulb in my condensor to be much better.

EdSawyer, the beauty of the lifx bulb is that you can reduce brightness of the bulb from 0-100%, meaning that you can have super long or super short exposures. Believe me, it is much more intuitive than the minolta.

So you use a smart led bulb and a phone to print color and VC?

1kgcoffee · Mar 14, 2019

EdSawyer,
I think if it weren't for the focus bulb I would still be using the minolta. My darkroom is quite hot, the head poorly ventilated and eats flash tubes. I looked for alternative sources but if we cannibalize old heads it's only a matter of time before scarcity drives the price up. This makes me quite anxious. I rather let folks who know and love it have the remaining supply.

mshchem,
Most of printing I do is colour, and there isn't a huge amount of time for that. I set the colour with the phone, it stays in the light bulbs memory, and then I use the darkroom timer to control exposure. It's possible to have an app interface with the bulb, operate on a timer, even make seperate programmed exposures for RGB or split grades without the use of a traditional enlarger timer. I haven't bothered as I like my darkroom timer and barely have time for printing as it is. Only a few prints with VC. I have yet to figure out what specific colours correspond with grades. But the potential for split grade printing is there as well. It's a kickstarter idea for any person with time and programming skills.

JRingo · Mar 14, 2019

mshchem said:
KHB Photografix , Kevin Brown, great guy he makes beautiful reprints as nice as original. Come bound with plastic cover $18 Canadian.

http://store.khbphotografix.com/Beseler-45A-Color-Head-Instruction-Manual.html

He knows all about this kind of stuff. You can call him. Great resource!

Thanks so much. I appreciate it.

JRingo · Mar 14, 2019

EdSawyer said:
I think once you are used to the minolta it's pretty intuitive. I don't use some of the features that often (color ring arounds for example) but those that I do come to be pretty easy to remember. I wish the focus bulb was continuous, that's the only improvement I'd make, but I can live with that considering the other benefits. good to know about the lifx bulb.

I have all the manuals and related info compiled here:

https://mypages.unh.edu/sites/default/files/ems/files/beseler_45a_manual.zip

Thanks, Ed, for making the manuals available. That's a huge help. I thought I might be able to take a few lucky guesses and figure this thing out, but there is more to it than I imagined. Thanks again.

mshchem · Mar 15, 2019

1kgcoffee said:
EdSawyer,
I think if it weren't for the focus bulb I would still be using the minolta. My darkroom is quite hot, the head poorly ventilated and eats flash tubes. I looked for alternative sources but if we cannibalize old heads it's only a matter of time before scarcity drives the price up. This makes me quite anxious. I rather let folks who know and love it have the remaining supply.

mshchem,
Most of printing I do is colour, and there isn't a huge amount of time for that. I set the colour with the phone, it stays in the light bulbs memory, and then I use the darkroom timer to control exposure. It's possible to have an app interface with the bulb, operate on a timer, even make seperate programmed exposures for RGB or split grades without the use of a traditional enlarger timer. I haven't bothered as I like my darkroom timer and barely have time for printing as it is. Only a few prints with VC. I have yet to figure out what specific colours correspond with grades. But the potential for split grade printing is there as well. It's a kickstarter idea for any person with time and programming skills.

I've found with modern film and paper once I have figured out the filtration all I need is to control exposure time as you are doing. That's great no need for old quirky dichro head.
Good to know.

Minolta 45a problem

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