Using Durst TRA 450 with EPi ST-450

I've got a new to me Durst L1000 with a CLS450. It's got a Durst TRA 450 power supply and a EPi ST-450 Stabilizer / Timer.

The power supply seems to be working OK; it powers on and when I flick the lamp switch the lamp works.

The ST-450 - which is a real clunker - powers on, and I can hear the mechanical clicks of the timer working. It seems accurate. Only problem is, it doesn't turn the lamp on. I can't quite figure that out, and am not very handy with electronics. The fuses on both units look good, but I could always try replacing them if that might help.

I'm wondering if I can substitute another timer in instead of the ST-450? Or are they both required for the system to work?

Any ideas?

I'm not familiar with the 450 head but I have a L1000 that came with a Pavelle 401 head and the associated timer. It was missing the wired remote so there was no way to operate it. I replaced the special plug on the power cord for the head with a regular 3 prong grounded plug and found 120v bulbs to replace the 24v bulbs. Works like a charm on a regular timer and I can more easily find replacement bulbs. It's much brighter now, too. A previous owner had wired in some resistors for the bulbs - really not sure why but it didn't seem right to me.

Hi Marco, are you sure you correctly connected power cords? There is real snake nest on the back of my Durst color head CLS 80 transformer/power supply. Sorry, it's way below my sink to retrieve it and check model#. It does not have timer but to connect it to regular timer was kind of strange way around. L1000 is strange beast, much more like Durst response to ChrOmegas, then classic Durst. Do you have glass negative carrier for it?

It is a real snakes nest of plugs on the back of both units. There seem to be some proprietary plugs too, which is a pain in the neck.

I think I've got it set up correctly ; I have the original instructions and have gone over them carefully.

I think the problem is with the ST450 timer. When I switch it over to focus, it makes a terrible sound like a car grinding gears. My guess is that it's shot.

I plugged in a spare ic-timer, and connected the tra 450 to it, and I appear to be in business. It's a bit unwieldy, but I guess I'm just not used to working with colour heads.

And yes, Goran, I've got a glass neg carrier. It's not as nice as the one on the 138s, but it's good enough! Even have a wall mount that needs installing.

Thanks for the help!

If you know some old school electrician ask him to take look inside ST450 timer. It must be some kind of weird small issue. Those machines are very simple and incredibly well build and fixable by competent technician. Have fun with it. For sure it's quite different than your present point source 138s