What are the odds here...

[Alansworld]

I work in my bathroom, which is quite roomy, and, best of all, is an internal room. For timing, the bathroom clock is perfect. It's a quartz movement with a single AA battery, and the second hand makes a loud enough click to be perfect for counting both exposure and dev/fix.

So yesterday, I was exposing a print. I'd worked out it needed 73 seconds exposure - fairly dense neg.

And at 27 seconds the battery died.....! I was so amazed I stopped counting and lost my print. These batteries last for months and months! I wonder what the odds are of mine dying at such a crucial moment!

Alan

 

[Whiteymorange]

The chance of any technical part failing is directly proportional to the importance of the endeavor.

 

[GuyBoden]

The chance of any technical part failing is directly proportional to the importance of the endeavor.

Haha, so true

 

[tkamiya]

Once, I had my timer die right in the middle of film development session and worse, it was during developer phase of the process. I had to run to the other room and get a watch to continue. Geez.... talk about the worse possible timing. The film came out ok.

 

[Rick A]

Mr. Murphy strikes again!

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Mr. Murphy needs to be lynched. I grew up with a grandfather clock in the kitchen. And anytime I here a clock ticking I will reset myself by counting along with it. Hence, I time print processing in my head. Not enough room where I keep the trays for a convenience such as a clock to view. Course, I suppose I could have a clicker going, huh.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

You're lucky you weren't souping negs. It's only a print. It's all perspective.

 

[dpurdy]

I have counted seconds in my head for years and still check myself now and then to see how close I am. That used to be my polaroid timer and people knew not to ask me a question while I was counting. I count my long exposures on camera. I have the beeper going on my enlarger timer and I always count along out of habit. I used to have a balky timer for film processing and now and then had to take over in keeping time in my head. Once you get the habit you can't stop yourself.
Dennis

 

[jp80874]

Is there some chance your clock gives some warning that you haven’t considered, that would help you avoid this again? My Braun travel clock changes the way it counts seconds a day or two before it stops running. It usually is enough warning to get me to put in a new battery. The sound and the look is quite different.

When not on the road, we use it as a backup bedroom clock in the event the power goes out, which happens frequently here. My wife says that the school system really considers it important that she show up in the morning to control a classroom full of first graders. Funny how those parents are. They want you to keep their kid safe and secure, but they don’t want to pass the levy that helps keep good teachers.

John Powers

 

[jovo]

I've been afraid to use the darkroom in bad weather for fear we'd lose electricity. The clocks, and safelight would be bad enough, but because the darkroom is below the first floor in the walkout basement, I have an "up pump" to drain the sink. If that shuts off, I'd have to very quickly stop the Versalab print washer from draining (in the dark) since the water wouldn't be pumped up and out of the sink. Ironically, the very bad weather that would make working in the darkroom the most inviting is exactly the worst weather during which to do it.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I think Murphy was kind in this case. It could have been during film developing. Negs are not do-overs, but prints are.
Just make sure to switch out batteries once a year or at an interval you know is safe. I always mark batteries with a date (if possible) when I put them into things like the house thermostat, etc. That way I know how long they last if they go past being completely discharged and drained.
I know of someone that had a battery operated thermostat in their house, and while going on vacation in cold weather the batteries died. Thankfully it wasn't too cold, so water pipes did not freeze, burst, and destroy the house. Checking your batteries is good practice.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Murphy was an optimist.