Running a ground tonight

Bill Burk · Jul 19, 2012

I was thinking maybe the Omegalite-D doesn't have the most even light distribution, so I had my eye out for a grid lamp.

Just got a new arrival - Aristo cold light head (thanks Art!)...

I added an opalite piece of glass I'd had cut for the D-II many years ago.

Cleaned up the unit and added a cds sensor so I can connect it to my ohmmeter like I did with the Omegalite-D. The banana plug sockets I had on hand were gold plated speaker jacks I'd planned to use at a friend's house but never got around to it. So this is looking first-class.

Rewired it like my electrician friend would like it. Added a grounded cord, screwing the ground wire firmly to the case.

Now I don't know why I didn't measure first and wire second. But after bolting the new head onto the enlarger and checking how well it aim... I go to run the wire to the Omega A-R-T timer... Guess how short it was...

So now I am going to have to make a one-foot extension cord.

Thinking I'll do it up right, and the Omega A-R-T is only two-prong... I am going to run a ground from the wall (verified grounded) to the enlarger. Then I can ground my new three prong cord and run a two-prong into the timer.

Bill Burk · Jul 19, 2012

Dry night in the darkroom. Had to call the water department in on a neighbor down the street, they left the water running again... underneath their sidewalk...

So the main's shut off as they work on the pipe - again - I think they worked this section of the main four times.

Bill Burk · Jul 19, 2012

OK I am really not an engineer. I should have checked my parts supply.

Can't run a two-prong extension cord tonight. Got plenty of two-prong plugs with wires. But I don't have a two-prong socket.

Used the last one a while back to make a six-inch extension cord.

markbarendt · Jul 19, 2012

You must be in sales or accounting?

paul ron · Jul 19, 2012

If you are running 3 prong why are you making a 2 prong for the timmer? It defeats the reasojn for 3 prong, grounding.

Also since it is a wet area, consider using a ground fault recepticle on that line?

THe water went out because you grounded the line!

.

ic-racer · Jul 19, 2012

Maybe time for a timer upgrade to one with grounded receptacles?

Or, if you have a lot of free time and like projects, you can run the Aristo off a relay in a box with a 3 prong cord to your mains. That is how I run my 1414 Aristo, to save wear and tear on the timer contacts.

In your case, you can then power the relay coil from your non-grounded timer. If you ever upgrade to a fancy electronic timer, you won't ever have to worry about its electrical contact rating when powering the Aristo.

If you look in the picture below it shows how the trigger line from the timer is not grounded and the ground (green line) passes through from mains to the Aristo head.

In your case, however, I'd just get a new timer.

ic-racer · Jul 19, 2012

I was thinking of you when I saw this on e-bay. This is the only time I have ever seen the Omega below-the-lens Electronic Shutter for sale.

BTW I think that picture is showing an OMEGA E3 with rare 5x7 Omegalight and electronic shutter.

Bill Burk · Jul 19, 2012

markbarendt said:
You must be in sales or accounting?

Even better for the punchline....

Technical support.

Bill Burk · Jul 19, 2012

paul ron said:
If you are running 3 prong why are you making a 2 prong for the timmer? It defeats the reasojn for 3 prong, grounding.

Also since it is a wet area, consider using a ground fault recepticle on that line?

THe water went out because you grounded the line!

.

Good one paul ron!

It was a night filled with the sounds of jackhammers and generators.

Dreamed I went to Las Vegas and was shooting a beater custom Rolleiflex with eye-level finder modified to make 22 movie frames on 120... dream included its user manual with cinematography tips. Some people didn't like being filmed, and sometimes the camera jammed or the winding spring ran down too fast. Darned detailed dreams, my wife's seminar had been canceled at the last minute because the speaker had something better to do. I was considering giving an impromptu photograpy presentation but didn't have any slides and I even if I had one, I wasn't about to use a memory card with a powerpoint presentation...

Finished the grounding... and coincidentally the water's back on.

If you hadn't written this post I would have done a half-baked job. So thank you.

I found another two-prong socket, I hadn't used the last one. I have grounded the stainless steel sink, the stainless steel timer shelf, the Omega A-R-T timer case and the Aristo head. But I had to run two wires for the missing 42 inches from timer to enlarger plug.

markbarendt · Jul 19, 2012

Bill Burk said:
Even better for the punchline....

Technical support.

I was trying to be nice.

Bill Burk · Jul 19, 2012

Tried to estimate the color of the new Aristo lamp by holding up a colorhead next to it - almost pure cyan.

Guess it's the old-style spectrum that is unfriendly to MG paper.

Guess what. I don't care. I print Graded paper. Only time I use MG is for high contrast.

markbarendt · Jul 19, 2012

This is one of the true joys of learning, sometimes on is enough.

Bill Burk · Jul 19, 2012

markbarendt said:
...sometimes on is enough.

Great quotable

Running a ground tonight

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