RHDesigns fstop timers

Blighty · Nov 6, 2005

It now really surprises me that there are printers which do not have an RH timer!
How can they do without one?

Ari,
I don't have one BUT I want one! Up to now, I've sufficed with a Durst Tim 60, very cheap, very cheerful but basically adequate.

Fintan · Nov 6, 2005

L Gebhardt said:
I bought the Analyser 500 (for the Ilford Multigrade 500) and it is a great device.

I'm looking at that one for my enlarger, can you tell me if it has the dry-down function?

Les McLean · Nov 6, 2005

Fintan said:
I'm looking at that one for my enlarger, can you tell me if it has the dry-down function?

The dry down feature is only available on the Stop Clock Pro Timer, might I suggest that you seriously consider that timer rather than the Analyser 500 for in my opinion it is so much better than any other timer currently available.

Fintan · Nov 6, 2005

Les McLean said:
The dry down feature is only available on the Stop Clock Pro Timer, might I suggest that you seriously consider that timer rather than the Analyser 500 for in my opinion it is so much better than any other timer currently available.

Thanks for that Les. I've just seen that the Analyser is not compatable with my Duka 50 safelight. It would be an easy choice if I wasnt such a crap printer.

Dave Miller · Nov 6, 2005

Fintan said:
Thanks for that Les. I've just seen that the Analyser is not compatable with my Duka 50 safelight. It would be an easy choice if I wasnt such a crap printer.

That's all the more reason to get one' isn't it? Ditch the Duka and get a tungstan safe light like the Ilford 902, just as bright, but switchable.

Les McLean · Nov 6, 2005

Fintan said:
Thanks for that Les. I've just seen that the Analyser is not compatable with my Duka 50 safelight. It would be an easy choice if I wasnt such a crap printer.

Be careful when using the Duka 50 especially if you do as I often do and switch off the safelight when sorting out the print crop and making the exposure. I had three in my darkroom some years ago and started to experience strange marks and what appeared to be staining on my prints. I am very careful in all aspects of darkroom work and was quite puzzled for several days when I couldn't trace the cause. I happened to be speaking to a friend about it and as we discussed my darkroom equipment and practices he pointed out that the Duka requires a warm up time before the light is "safe". I dumped the Duka's and have not had the problem since.

The way from a crap printer to a good printer is simply practice and method. We've all been crap printers at some time.

Fintan · Nov 6, 2005

Les McLean said:
Be careful when using the Duka 50 especially if you do as I often do and switch off the safelight when sorting out the print crop and making the exposure. I had three in my darkroom some years ago and started to experience strange marks and what appeared to be staining on my prints. I am very careful in all aspects of darkroom work and was quite puzzled for several days when I couldn't trace the cause. I happened to be speaking to a friend about it and as we discussed my darkroom equipment and practices he pointed out that the Duka requires a warm up time before the light is "safe". I dumped the Duka's and have not had the problem since.

The way from a crap printer to a good printer is simply practice and method. We've all been crap printers at some time.

You warned me about that ages ago Les and sorted out one of the most frustrating darkroom problems I've ever had. Thanks again.

The guy I bought my DeVere off of gave me the Duka and I've a double socket in the right place so I'll get another safelight soon. Winter is printing season for me so I hope to get plenty of practice this year and will be taking a more methodical approach this year.

BTW The jury is still out on the analyser, decisions.....decisions!!

Muihlinn · Nov 7, 2005

I do use the Analyzer and despite I'm more than happy with it I find myself missising some of the stopclock's features more times than I've thougth.

L Gebhardt · Nov 7, 2005

Fintan said:
I'm looking at that one for my enlarger, can you tell me if it has the dry-down function?

Not that I know of, but with the Analyser it is a semi-redundant feature. I say this because you calibrate your dry paper and produce a custom "grey scale display" for each paper. So you know what each value will dry to. I still stick a sheet in the microwave to see for sure, but they almost always come out as I expect.

I found out after I bought the Analyser 500 that they also sell the [font=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Sans-serif,sans-serif]StopClock 500 which does have the dry down feature. I think you can also buy the Zone Master and hook it up to the StopClock and get both the Analyser feature with drydown and 1/24 stop precision. I almost wish I had gone this way, but then I wouldn't have any money for paper.
[/font]

RH Designs · Nov 7, 2005

Just to clarify - the Analyser doesn't need a dry-down function because the grey scale represents the tones on the final dry print - assuming of course that you dry the test strips fully when you calibrate it! Dry-down compensation corrects for the discrepancy between a dry print and a wet test strip so is a time-saver when you're using test strips to determine exposure.

Kind regards
Richard Ross
RH Designs

Fintan · Nov 7, 2005

rfgr said:
Just to clarify - the Analyser doesn't need a dry-down function because the grey scale represents the tones on the final dry print - assuming of course that you dry the test strips fully when you calibrate it! Dry-down compensation corrects for the discrepancy between a dry print and a wet test strip so is a time-saver when you're using test strips to determine exposure.

Kind regards
Richard Ross
RH Designs

Thanks for all the replies to my question and thanks for the clarification Richard.

Sorry Lee if I hijacked your thread but hope you found the info useful to you.

markbb · Nov 7, 2005

Good to see so many happy users of RH Design's stuff here, but aren't we in danger of falling foul of APUGs aims? The anaylser and Stop clock are both digital devices.

lee · Nov 7, 2005

Not a problem I own a stopclock pro and a flasher unit now. So, it is not my thread anymore. but thanks for the thought.

lee\c

David Brown · Nov 18, 2005

ARGHHHH .....

Well, my fancy pants, digital readout, glow in the dark (but not too much) enlarger timer just went belly up tonight!!

While most are still looking for the perfect camera, my photographic Holy Grail has been the enlarger timer. I've spent a minor fortune on used timers off Ebay, and either they haven't worked properly or I just didn't like them. And then this, the most recent one - which I did like - died!!!

I won't bore you with the grissly details, but the bottom line is - I need a new timer. I normally buy everything used, but I'm a bit gun-shy on this.

So, I'm considering the RH Designs Stopclock. It's a chunk of money, but it comes highly recommended (see prior 4 pages of posts, and other sites), it has a 2-year warranty and I've seen it in action in Lee's darkroom.

I have time (sic) to contemplate this, since my perfectly good, mechanical, 30+ year old Time-O-Lite (bought new) will work in the meantime. I guess I'm just looking for moral support on what will be the most expensive single thing in my darkroom.

Questions:

How long will it take to get here (Texas) from UK?
Will shipping double the cost?
Do I really have to change the plug on the back, or has RH fixed that?

Cheers, y'all.

Bummed out David.

photomc · Nov 18, 2005

Bummer David

As to the StopClock Pro...YES!! The plugs really don't have to be changed, but you will need one of the adapter cords...PM Frank, he found some local and helped cut the cost a bit that way. Shipping does add to the cost. but is still worth it overall IMO. The only alternative would be a Metrolux II, but it's in the same price range after shipping is all said and done. Agree with you that a good timer is hard to find...love the StopClock, but let me know I have a Gralab 505 that just never worked for me you can use until you get something if you want.

RH Designs · Nov 20, 2005

Hi David

Sorry to hear about your timer (crocodile tears ;-) ) In answer to your questions:

Shipping normally takes about a week as long as there aren'y any customs delays
Shipping cost is 23.25 GBP - we have just negotiated a better deal with our carrier which has reduced it by about 30% from previously. That makes the total 182.70 GBP, or about US$325.
The enlarger connectors are international types as found on PCs - the market is too small to permit us to make versions customised for each country I'm afraid. You can buy low-cost adaptors locally, such as www.iec.net/m1304.html

Hope that helps!
Regards
Richard Ross

David Brown · Nov 20, 2005

RH Designs said:
Hi David

Sorry to hear about your timer (crocodile tears ;-) ) In answer to your questions:

<snip>

Hope that helps!
Regards
Richard Ross

Mr Ross:

Thanks! Yes, that answers my questions perfectly! I should have just emailed you (and, in fact, was planning to do that today :rolleyes: ) in the first place.

The electrical adapters, now that I know what is involved, is not a big deal.

Might be an order soon.

Cheers. y'all.

David

pentaxuser · Nov 20, 2005

Fintan said:
Thanks for that Les. I've just seen that the Analyser is not compatable with my Duka 50 safelight. It would be an easy choice if I wasnt such a crap printer.

Fintan. If you do decide to take Dave Miller's advice and ditch the DUKA 50, can you let me know. I have a DUKA 10 for which I was able to obtain a secondhand bulb luckily when my existing one went a couple of weeks ago. The price was reasonable but there's no knowing its usage or when it might go as well.

Perhaps I shouldn't say this as it may tempt you to keep the DUKA( seriously, hang on to it for colour work until the lamp goes) but as I understand it, the way round the warm-up problem of the DUKA for B&W printing with the RH designs instrument is to turn the illumination knob to zero. That cuts out the light from the sodium lamp by totally shielding it rather than turning it off.

Having said that, I would seriously urge you to consider the DUKA for colour work only. A new replacement lamp can be obtained but for over £200 from two photographic suppliers I have checked. I suspect a lot of searching will get you a new one cheaper but I spoke to Techlamps who supply Nova and the guy said that he stopped stocking DUKA sodium lamps when the price to him went to £130! He was embarrased by what he had to sell it for even to make a small profit. Another company I tried said that they didn't stock it but could get it for me, They wanted over £340. Yes that is not a mistake on the numerical keys. The quote was just over £340. It really is a disgrace. The makers must be like the builder who has just too much work on his hands to do your house extension but simply quotes a ridiculous price which if you are willing to pay, he will then schedule you in, as the profit opportunity is just too good to miss. The DUKA is such a great light for colour and yet they seem to want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

I intend to revert back to using a Durst Tricolor safelight for B&W as the DUKA is just too expensive to use for B&W.

Sorry for this lengthy distraction but if you're a DUKA fan as I am, then I felt you ought to know what awaits you if you ever need a new lamp. Use the DUKA sparingly and take up Dave's suggestion in terms of not using the DUKA for B&W.

Pentaxuser

Fintan · Nov 20, 2005

Hi Pentaxuser, I'll be keeping the Duka, but geting another safelight. Unfortuntaly it seems my Ilford timer is now broken so I've bigger problems.

pentaxuser · Nov 21, 2005

Fintan said:
Hi Pentaxuser, I'll be keeping the Duka, but geting another safelight. Unfortuntaly it seems my Ilford timer is now broken so I've bigger problems.

Fintan. Sorry to hear about your timer. Problems seem to feed off one another. There seems little doubt that RH designs is the way to go based on APUG reports. They seem expensive until you learn the cost of a sodium tube for a DUKA. Anyway you may have seen my earlier thread on anyone throwing out a DUKA which had ceased to work.

Having looked inside my lamp when the bulb went I discovered two other things prone to wear apart from the sodium tube. One is the starter unit which "fires" the sodium tube just like a fluorescent tube when you first switch on. If your light won't start then check the starter before either throwing the DUKA out or trying to get a new sodium tube. The starters are only about £1 or 200 times cheaper than the tube!

The other issue is the two plastic prongs on the part of the knob which is inside the half dome and which hold the aluminium arm which moves the light shield to alter the light output. They go brittle and mine broke. I think I will be able to get mine repaired this time but in the event that my knob forks go again and you do decide to ditch your DUKA ,if and when it stops working,can you contact me.

A spare knob attachment would be useful. I'll pay for postage and maybe we can come to an agreement on a sale price for the knob attachment.

Thanks

Pentaxuser

TomWB · Nov 30, 2005

RH Designs said:

Hi David

Sorry to hear about your timer (crocodile tears ;-) ) In answer to your questions:

Shipping normally takes about a week as long as there aren'y any customs delays
Shipping cost is 23.25 GBP - we have just negotiated a better deal with our carrier which has reduced it by about 30% from previously. That makes the total 182.70 GBP, or about US$325.
The enlarger connectors are international types as found on PCs - the market is too small to permit us to make versions customised for each country I'm afraid. You can buy low-cost adaptors locally, such as www.iec.net/m1304.html

Hope that helps!
Regards
Richard Ross

Click to expand...

Has anyone in the USA ordered one of these recently from England? (Or any other product from Europe, for that matter?) I'm wondering how the Customs thing works. I normally get packages from B&H or Freestyle at work by UPS etc. - will my package be held in a customs office or what? I'm in Seattle, which is a good sized city. Thanks

Lee L · Nov 30, 2005

TomWB said:
Has anyone in the USA ordered one of these recently from England? (Or any other product from Europe, for that matter?) I'm wondering how the Customs thing works. I normally get packages from B&H or Freestyle at work by UPS etc. - will my package be held in a customs office or what? I'm in Seattle, which is a good sized city. Thanks

I ordered one on Nov 21. Delivery was Nov 26th. No customs involvement that I could see. The carrier was done as described by the RH Designs website, so it went from the British postal service to the US postal service and was delivered with a signature required by my regular postman. Think of it as the equivalent of USPS Priority Mail.

BTW, I've only gotten one short printing session in, but I felt right at home with it after an hour of running through the functions beforehand. I love it. Split filter printing for the second time, but with blue/green Rosco gels rather than stock VC filters from Kodak or Ilford. Got exactly what I wanted on the third print.

The IEC adapter cords from Colorado were slower arriving by three days, but they are just the thing, and nice quality. However shipping on those was the same price as the cords, total of a bit over $12.

Lee

David Brown · Nov 30, 2005

TomWB said:
Has anyone in the USA ordered one of these recently from England? ...

Ordered mine Monday night (effectively Tuesday in England.) Got a shipping notice email today (Wed.). I'll post when I receive delivery.

David

BWGirl · Nov 30, 2005

Congratulations, David! You are going to love that thing!

tbm · Dec 1, 2005

I've ordered RH Designs products twice, and they've always arrived at my house in Los Angeles from England within a week.

By the way, if you've purchased the Stop Clock Professional, I've performed thorough tests with both Ilford RC and fiber papers and have determined accurately that the dry-down factor setting for RC papers is -1 and the factor for fiber papers is -8. Simply select this with the dry-down feature, hit ext, press the dry-down button to activate it, and leave it on during your entire printing sessions in your darkroom. You'll have no more inaccurate prints with this outstanding feature! I love the APUG forums, and if I've saved any of you from having to spend a lot of time and paper performing your own dry-down tests, I'll be happy!

Terry

RHDesigns fstop timers

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